Apples up to my eyeballs!

We have been super busy at my house. Getting into a new routine at the new place. We've been in the new place for 2 months now and things are going well. A few sleep deprived nights, and as a result exhausted days, as our toddler who is about to turn 2 has decided not to sleep through the night again. 

We recently went apple picking at Shelburne Orchards in Shelburne, VT. We LOVE picking our own apples.  There is just something so satisfying and fun about picking them yourself instead of buying them in the grocery store. Shelburne Orchards has a really great selection of Pick Your Own fruit. Picking our own apples there is one of the reasons that Vermont is our favorite New England state. 

 I love fall. I love the way the air smells so clean and fresh and crisp and the colors of the leaves changing to red, orange and yellow. Now, I am really a summer kind of girl. I love the beach and I love lots and lots of sunshine and warmth. But fall holds a special place in my heart too. 

We had really great weather the day we went apple picking. It was cool, but not too cold. It was spectacularly sunny. And we actually went on a weekday so there was hardly anyone around us while we were picking.

Don't they look delicious and pretty?

Don't you just want to reach into the picture and take and apple?

This is what 155 lbs of McIntosh apples looks like.....yes, we picked 155 lbs of apples....only half of them went home with my husband and I. The other 2 bags were my mom's. 

Our toddler was having a great time.

He was a really great little helper. He was having a great time taking apples from us and putting them in the bags.

And picking apples himself.

And eating them....I think he ate 3 apples that day!

 Isn't that just the most adorable little face?

So pretty. So crisp, juicy and slightly tart. Just delicious. 

Not only are the apples beautiful, but they had a really beautiful pile of pumpkins. 

Our toddler picked out 2 little pumpkins. He continually moves them around to different positions in our living room. 

This is the biggest of the 2 pumpkins he picked.

And the little baby one he picked.

Now the little one is in the bag.

Did I mention I love fall? Orange and green are my favorite colors. 

Happy Fall! 

More posts to come with LOTS of apple recipes. I have been apple recipe testing since we got home. I still have TONS of apples left to make things with. Anyone have any apple recipe you'd like to see me make? 

*I have not been compensated in any way for these comments. I just happen to love this orchard and wanted to share with you. *

Sandi 

Peach Oat Wheat Muffins

What to do with a handful of ripe peaches... Hmm, not enough for pie... I bet they'd be good in muffins! If I push them through the baby food mill I should have something similar to the texture of mashed bananas (and I won't have to peel them first) that should work! On a side note - this baby food mill is one of my new favorite gadgets, I think I will keep it around even after baby doesn't need it anymore...

I especially love to have fresh hot muffins for breakfast, but I find lately that it just takes too long to get them ready for breakfast. Even though one of the great things about muffins is how quickly they come together, with my newly mobile little guy cruising all over the place it isn't happening for me. So I decided to try getting everything ready the day before I wanted muffins, and then just stir and bake for speedy breakfast.

I used a mason jar for the liquids, and combined the dry ingredients in a bowl that I could cover. You could really use any airtight container for the liquids, but I happen to always have mason jars on hand, and they feature the added bonus of measurement lines so I didn't have to use separate measuring cups.

Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a resealable container or bowl that you can cover with plastic wrap; set aside. Combine peach puree, (rice)milk, egg, and vanilla in a mason jar or other resealable container (for easiest method, use a container that seals well so you can just shake it to combine rather than needing to whisk) and refrigerate until you're ready to make breakfast.

Then, in the morning, preheat your oven to 400* first thing. Stir together the dry ingredients, shake your jar of liquids and pour it in, then stir everything until just combined. Spoon into your muffin pan (greased or papered if you need, my silicon pan doesn't need...) and bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out mostly dry. A few moist crumbs on the toothpick are ok with these muffins, because the peach puree will stay moist even when they are fully baked. Remove to a rack and enjoy your fresh hot muffins for breakfast!

I really love to use oats in muffins for the taste as well as the added texture. These didn't seem to have as much peach flavor as I expected, but they were quite good!

And here's the recipe:

Peach Oat Wheat Muffins
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
1 C old fashioned oats
1/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 C peach puree (you can supplement with unsweetened applesauce if you are a little short)
1/2 C (rice)milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in a med-large bowl, cover and set aside. Combine peach puree and other liquids in a mason jar or other resealable container, refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 400* and prepare your muffin pan as needed. Stir dry ingredients; shake or whisk liquids and pour into dry mix; stir just to combine. Spoon into muffin pan and bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out mostly dry. Remove muffins to a rack to cool. Store leftovers in airtight container.

Enjoy!                                            

Sue

Roast Pork Tenderloin

Well, my husband's schedule has gone back to keeping him at work later most nights, so I get to cook dinners again! Not that I don't enjoy when he cooks, but I do miss cooking when I don't do it for a while. This dish is nice because you can prepare most of it early in the day, or even the night before if you like, to decrease the time it will take to get dinner ready. For that reason, however, you'll have to excuse my photos if they are a bit blurry, as I was wearing my little helper on my back while doing the prep work - he likes to kick his feet if I hold still to take photos ("Giddyup Mama!") 

First combine your garlic and spices in a mortar.

And use the pestle to crush and macerate them.

Add olive oil and continue to grind the mixture into a thick paste. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can use a food processor or just a knife and cutting board. The cutting board method will take a bit longer and will probably not give you a paste so much as a spice rub, and you'll use the olive oil separately, but if it's all you have it will still taste good!

Rub the spice paste onto all surfaces of the meat. I used two tenderloins because I wanted leftovers, but you could use just one or a different cut if you prefer. You can continue to the cooking stage now, or wrap the meat and refrigerate until you are ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 425*. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a cast iron (or any oven-proof) skillet, and sear the meat on all sides.

Remove the meat and saute onion slices until fragrant. Stir them around with a wooden spoon during this step to pick up the browned spices that stayed in the skillet.

Return the seared meat to the pan on top of the onions and roast in the 425* oven for 10-15 minutes per pound.

Transfer meat to platter and allow it to rest while you deglaze the pan. Return the skillet to the stovetop over med-high heat and pour in about a cup of liquid (water works fine but if you'd like to kick it up feel free to use wine, or I bet it would be great with apple cider...). Stir with wooden spoon to loosen any more browned bits, allow liquid to simmer down if you want it thicker.

Pour your lovely brown onion jus (or gravy if you let it thicken) over the meat to serve.

And now for the recipe:

Roast Pork Tenderloin
1 or 2 pork tenderloins
5-6 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp dry rosemary
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle for searing
1 large onion, sliced
1 cup water or other liquid

Macerate garlic and spices with mortar and pestle, add olive oil and continue to grind into a thick paste. Rub spice paste onto all sides of meat, wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Preheat oven to 425*. Heat olive oil in cast iron skillet and sear meat on all sides. Remove meat and saute onion slices until fragrant, stirring with a wooden spoon to pick up browned spices from skillet. Return meat to skillet on top of onion, roast in 425* oven for 10-15 minutes per pound.
Transfer meat to platter to rest. Return skillet to stovetop over med-high heat. Pour in water or other liquid, stirring to loosen brown bits from skillet. Allow to simmer down to thicken if desired. Pour onion jus/gravy over meat to serve.

Enjoy!                                            

Sue