Spiced Apple Muffins

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Cheesy Bacon Jalapeno Poppers

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Goals Revisited

October was a long month, but for some reason it's still really hard to believe that November has started.  And just for the record, I found my driving gloves, which I haven't seen since last October.  Yeah, that happened.

I didn't really do too much that was noteworthy, or at least not much worth taking photos of.  So I'm just going to jump right into my lax goals for October:

• A home-pressed cider and homemade doughnut party!  I have to admit it was pretty low-key because it looked like everyone else was feeling just as run-down as I was.  The cider and doughnuts were still fantastic, and it was good to see people.
• A couple business trips to visit customers.  As expected, these were exhausting trips.  Fly out one day, visit the customer the next morning, fly back in the afternoon.  I got some delicious food out of the deal - probably way too much.
• Other than that, I had no real plans except to catch up.  I feel pretty caught up.  I still have plenty to do, but it's getting done.

I have no idea what goals to put for November.  Let's just get that out there right now.

• I have wine and cider that needs to be bottled.  The wine doesn't matter too much, but I'm way too excited about the cider to let that sit for very long.
• Speaking of which, I get to taste my first homemade beer this month!  It's been carbing up in the bottles for the past couple weeks.  
• I'm just going to come right out and say it.  I've started lifting weights, and I feel like I've finally found a workout I can get on board with. Cardio takes too much time and is too boring.  Women are all about "toning" with little 2-lb weights.  Push yourself!  The big weights aren't just for men.  The best part?  I'm getting some definition in my abs and it makes me feel awesome.  So my goal is to work my way up to using the 25-lb weights for my SuperSet Saturdays.
• Why am I working on my beach bod in the fall?  I'm glad you asked - I'm going to be showing off these freckles on a Mexican beach while my family gorges themselves on Thanksgiving dinner.  Yeah, I'm missing one of my favorite family gatherings and meals of the year.  But I'm replacing it with fresh fish tacos and guacamole. 
• I really want to put "go through all my stuff and give away anything I don't need or use."  But that's been on my goal list for MONTHS now.  I keep waiting for Saturday at home, and that hardly ever happens.

For some reason, my cell phone has been taking really terrible photos lately (I promise, it's the lighting, not the photographer...I think).  So I don't have too many photos to show what I've been doing this month.  At the top of the post is some hot sauce I made.  We grew habaneros this year and I had no idea what else to do with them!   Here's some grapes my Gram donated for our yearly grape juice making.

What is it about boys and bikes?  Even at 1, he knows what he wants...

Oh yeah, and we pressed MORE cider.  With temps hovering around 40* (by the way, we've gotten SNOW already), my parents are making sure their winter clothes are still up to the task.

So that about sums things up.  The temps are dropping fast and while that first snow is pretty, it's a bittersweet moment.  I'm sure we'll be seeing more of the same in November though. 

Lime Basil Juice + Margarita

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Blackcap Cheesecake Pie

So remember last summer's foraging adventure?  Well, knowing there were free berries out there, I made sure I snagged a few more this summer.  And knowing how much Kyle hates dessert...but loves cheesecake (?) I had to try this recipe out.

Blackcaps are black raspberries.  Let's just clear that up right now.  And you don't need blackcaps to make this recipe.  Use blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries, or raspberries!  Recipes are versatile.  This pie starts out with a graham cracker crust and a layer of cheesecake.

Berries are mixed with a little sugar and cornstarch over the stove, then cooled and poured over the cheesecake.  Let it cool fully to set.

Slice it and serve it.

Blackcap Cheesecake Pie (based on this)
Ingredients
Crust

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9 graham crackers)
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 c. butter, melted

Cheesecake

• 8 oz cream cheese (one package) softened
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla

Berries

• 2 c. fresh berries (if using frozen berries omit the water)
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. water
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1.5 tbs cornstarch mixed in 2 tbs water

Instructions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350*F.   Mix together the crust ingredients and press them into an 9-in pie pan.  Bake for 8 minutes, then cool.
2.  Beat cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy.  Add in eggs, lemon juice and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy.  Pour into pie crust and bake for 30 minutes.  Cool and then refrigerate for an hour.
3.  Combine berries, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for five minutes.  Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil.  Cool to room temperature, then spoon over cheesecake.  Refrigerate before serving.  Store in the refrigerator.

Curried Lentil Soup

 This soup is like a warm hug on a cold day.  Are you experiencing too many cold days lately?  Great, me too.  I could use a warm hug.  I could use more soup.

I think I'm ready to officially declare soup to be one of my favorite foods ever.  It's an easy way to make healthy food - I'm not a big fan of steamed veggies, so soups are a great way to get those veggie servings without roasting or frying.  I've even added a soup section to the Recipes page.

In addition, I really want to encourage you to try making your own chicken broth.  It's so easy, and this soup really makes it convenient.  Since this recipe requires both carrots and celery, you have the perfect opportunity to throw the celery greens and stubs in with the broth, as well as the odds and ends of the carrots.  The flavor is just phenomenal - I find that store-bought cartons just taste a little too canned.  At least check out the broth-making post and give it some consideration.

Saute onions, carrots, celery and mushroom ('shrooms are optional) until tender.  In retrospect, maybe this still counts as frying ;)

Add garlic, ginger and curry powder and saute for 4 more minutes.  Then add lentils, tomatoes, brats and broth.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer until lentils are tender (mine took 20 minutes - check the package to see how long to cook your lentils).  Somewhere between adding the lentils and filling the pot with broth, I realized my 4-qt pot wasn't nearly big enough for the job, so I switched to a 3-gal pot.

Simmer, simmer, simmer.  Good smells waft.  Dream of a ready-to-go lunch for the next week and a half.  Finally, the timer dings.  It's go time.  Soup.

I made a double recipe, so if you make this recipe then a 4-qt pot will be fine.  If you want to have a ready-to-go lunch for the next week and a half, double the recipe below.  This recipe could easily be vegetarian, too - skip the brats and sub in veggie broth for chicken broth.

Curried Lentil Soup (inspiration here)
Ingredients:

• 2 tbs coconut oil
• 1 sm onion, chopped (~1/2 c.)
• 1 c. carrots, chopped
• 1 c. celery, chopped
• 4 oz mushrooms, chopped (1/2 a package, or about 1.5 c.) - totally optional
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbs fresh ginger, minced (can sub 2 tsp ground dried ginger)
• 1 - 1.5 tbs curry powder
• 2 c dry lentils
• 1 c. chopped tomatoes (fresh preferred, a 28 oz can is fine too)
• 4 brats, chopped
• 3 c. chicken broth
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh parsley

Instructions:
1.  Saute the onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms in olive oil until tender.  Mushrooms add a great texture to this soup, but if mushrooms aren't your thing then definitely leave them out.
2.  Add the garlic, ginger, and curry powder and saute 4 more minutes.
3.  Add the lentils, tomatoes, brats and broth.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer according to lentil directions until lentils are tender (15-20 minutes for my lentils).
4.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with fresh parsley, if possible.

Love!  This soup was so delicious, and really made a cold, busy week easier.  I can't wait to make it again!

Fresh Pressed Orange Spiced Cider

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