Garden Fresh

Mmmm
Nothing like veggies straight out of the garden!

I almost forgot how good it feels to cook your own food. I've been so busy getting together a portfolio and organizing bank accounts and checking out caterers that I haven't had time to enjoy some of my favorite things! I keep thinking that I'm missing out on hiking and biking, but I've forgotten about the simple things like cooking.

This weekend Joe and I picked blueberries in the park and made asparagus pizza, blueberry pancakes, grilled shrimp with a grilled veggie and feta salad (obviously not all in the same day), and I just pulled a blueberry coffee cake out of the oven! Yummm!

Caramel Apple Deliciousness!

Monday night I decided to get going on a long list of apple recipes I wanted to try with our freshly picked apples (all 15 or so pounds of them!). I decided not to dance around with apple crisp or anything simple like that and dive right in with a Caramel Apple Cheesecake.

Did I mention I love cheesecake?

It's been so long since I've had any and I can't say I've ever attempted to bake my own (except one of those no-bake box versions which come out tasting more like pudding than actual cheesecake). The recipe I was using wasn't exactly the best, but apart from a few mishaps -like buying the wrong size can of evaporated milk because the recipe just said "1 can" instead of specifying small and not large; or like saying I should cook the cheesecake for 40 minutes but not supplying me with a method of being sure it was cooked through since my oven is probably not the same as Miss Suzy Homemakers- the thing turned out pretty darn good.

Now when I say "good" I mean it tasted fantastic. Absolutely fabulous. What did not turn out as, however, is pretty. I snapped a few pictures with the intent of proudly displaying them, but Joe and I decided that it looked a bit more like a lumpy fruit cake than a delicious cheesecake, so I decided to pass on the home photos and show you this:



What it could/should have looked like. At least this pictures gives you some idea of how yummy it tastes instead of leaving you wondering if its edible (and in case you're wondering, the picture came from here, which is not where I got the recipe, but maybe this one is easier to follow.)

As if that wasn't enough to quench my thirst for questionably difficult baking, Joe has decided to make his own hard apple cider this fall. Yes...I know what you're thinking. Can he really do that without a giant press and all sorts of chemicals and such? Well wouldn't you know that with the abundant resources the internet provides, Joe has found a feasible recipe and ordered the necessary yeast. Yikes! This should be interesting. I suppose it helps that we usually make a good cooking team (we did make some really delicious egg rolls together the other night), but I'm a bit nervous about this one. Maybe I shouldn't have bought him that home brewing kit after all??

Family and Domestication

So I'm sitting here at work, with no one in the gallery, doing nothing--as you can tell--and I have two things running through my mind:

1. I can't wait for mine and Joe's parents to get here. Joe's parents arrive on Saturday and mine arrive the following Friday, followed by a visit from one of Joe's - and mine as well - friends. It's going to be a busy month, but I'm ready for a slice of home. I'm a family girl, and I've been away for quite a while. I talk to my mom rather frequently and I'm looking forward to actually seeing her. We're both pretty silly, and we tend to have a good time together (provided we're not being stubborn and arguing over something stupid). I think I'm mostly just excited to show them that their daughter is doing well, living happily in a really great place.

2. I've turned into a regular do-it-yourself, Betty Crocker. Joe and I canned pickles last week, have a large jar of strawberry cordial brewing in the basement, yesterday we made clam strips and mint brownies (which are a bit closer to fudge than a brownie) and now I'm about to take on a blueberry-raspberry pie. What is this? Does living on my own in a house turn me into Dotty Domestic? It's like a switch flipped and I'm all of a sudden the domestic girl from some old poster with a tray of muffins balanced in my oven-mit covered hands. I'm 21!?! What is this?

OK OK...It's probably more likely that I simply enjoy cooking and finally have time to do so instead of sitting down to some art history homework or something, but it's different.