In need of a good cry?

If you are having one of those weeks, or you're hormonal, or you just need a good, cathartic cry, pick up this book from a bookstore or the library.  It's a wonderful story of family, love, and learning about yourself.  I started sobbing about 2/3rds of the way through and didn't stop until the end.  Sometimes you just need to let yourself go and really involve yourself into the lives of others (one of the reasons I like books so much), and this book allows you to do just that.  I promise, it's worth the read, and you'll fall in love with the characters!

Best Apple Galette Recipe!!

picture from www.gourmet.com

I tore this recipe out of the November 2007 issue of Gourmet Magazine, and it's served me very well over the past two years. It's a wonderful fall dessert that showcases the best that apples have to offer. I've made it for a few occasions, and each time I've received tons of compliments. It's more rustic than a typical apple pie, and maybe not Thanksgiving centerpiece worthy, but once you taste it, you'll understand why you'll make it again and again.

Apple Galette
Serves 8

Pastry Dough
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
3 to 5 tbsps ice water

*Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (pea sized) butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
*Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.
*Turn out dough onto a work surface. Divide dough into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forwatd motion to help distribute fat. Father all dough together with pastry scraper (or sharp spatula). press into a ball, then flatten into a 5 inch disk. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least one hour. (Dough can be frozen for up to 3 months)

Gallete
2 tbsps Semoline (semolina flour)
2 lb Golden Delicious apples (about 4), peeled, cored, and each cut into 8 wedges
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

*Preheat oven to 350 with rack in the middle.
*Roll out dough into a 13 in round on a lightly floured surface with a lightedly floured rolling pin. Transfer to an ungreased 17x14 inch baking sheet. Sprinkle semolina over dough, leaving a 2 inch border all around.
*Toss apples with lemon juice and zest in a large bowl, then mound on top of semolina (leaving border present) and sprinkle granulated sugar over apples. Fold in dough border over apples, pleating dough as necessary to form a 9 inch round. (When I put the apples on the dough, I start in the center and form circular rings out from the middle)
*Bake galette 30 minutes, then loosely cover with foil and bake until apples are tender and crust is golden, 25-30 minutes more. Remove galette from oven and turn on broiler.
*Dust apples with confectioners sugar and broil 5-6 inches from heat until apples are just golden, 1-3 minutes. Watch this carefully as the sugar can burn! Slide galette brom baking sheet onto a rack , then cool to warm or room temp.
Galette can be baked 5 hours ahead and cooled, uncovered. If desired, reheat in a 350 degree oven until warm, about 5 min.

Amazing Race Begins!

Woo Hoo! One of our favorite TV shows begins again tonight. We love watching the pairs country hop, try to communicate in foreign countries, and see the amazing things they get to experience. The ice wall they had to climb one year is still one of my favorite things they have done! I would definitely have a hard time with the food parts of the challenge (eating weird things grosses me out), but everything else looks like a ton of fun (except I'm not sure how often they get to shower!). B says he'll never do it with me because he knows I'd cry (a lot!!) and he wouldn't want us to fight on National TV. He's probably right. He and his cousin, A, would be great partners, and I'd love it if one day they would audition. What an amazing whirlwind experience it would be!

Is anyone else out there a watcher? Would you audition for this show? Who would you do it with? After you watch tonight, you'll have to let me know who your favorite pair is!!

God Pause- Taste and See

A quick lesson from God Pause this Sunday as I am wishing for communion and praying for thanks.


"O taste and see that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:8)

Psalm 34: 1-9

Bread of Life, we give you thanks for all the ways you nourish us. Help us to feast on your love in community and welcome all to the table.
Amen.
My husband's family shares a love of food. He is an avid follower of the Food Network. His brother is always on the lookout for "the best" restaurant, recipe or product. His mother prepares meal plans days in advance of our visits. All of this makes sharing meals with them tremendously enjoyable. They really savor their food and help me appreciate mine.

In the same way, the body of Christ can help us to savor and appreciate the feast of love that God lays out before us. We are fed and nourished by Holy Communion, the words of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit. But when we share the joy of these things with others we are much more richly blessed. The body of Christ helps us to savor God's goodness and invite others into the feast.
Amy Zalk Larson
Campus Pastor, Luther College
Master of Divinity, 2000

Psalm 34: 1-9 (NRSV)

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.

3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.

6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.

9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.

Have you ever tried a Honeycrisp apple ? They are a midwestern apple that is a cross between a Macoun and Honeygold, developed at the University of Minnesota. AND they are the most wonderful apple you will ever sink your teeth into. Tart and crisp, yet with the perfect sweetness. I hord them all fall because unlike many other apple varieties, these are not a year round specimen. They are only available in the fall and are not grown at very many orchards (yet!). It makes them the luxury apple brand (tee hee!). They definitely cost more at the supermarket and the farmer's market, but, trust me, they are SO worth it. Even B thinks they're good, and he's not really an apple kind of guy. If you can find them in your area, definitely seek them out and try them. I just know you will love them!!

PS- These are best when eaten fresh. They are not good baking apples!
PS #2- Speaking of apples, I have a fantastic apple tart recipe to share with you all. I'll try to get it up this weekend :)

Award!!

Preppy Buckeye, a newer blogger, left me this award yesterday on her blog. Head over and give her some blogger love if you aren't already!!



The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated.



My seven things:
1. I'm a lefty. On my dad's side of the family every single person is a lefty!! So uncommon. To ensure this continues, I married a lefty :)

2. I broke my thumb as a child (slammed it in the car door), and it was never set or casted. It is definitely weird looking now! My mom is one tough cookie and thought I'd be just fine as long as I put ice on it!

3. My favorite board game is Scattergories.

4. My favorite smells are fresh laundry out of the dryier or off the cloothes line, baking bread, and lemon verbena anything.

5. I will not eat mushrooms no matter how fresh or high quality they are. Blech.

6. One of my lifetime goals is to learn to play the stand up bass and play in a jazz trio on Sunday nights.

7. The five famous people I would like to meet in real life are Reese Witherspoon (I mean, who doesn't?), Jennifer Garner (so adorable on Leno this week), Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, and Morgan Freeman.

I'm going to tag the following people to see what they will say!

Adventures of a Sweet Carolina Bride
Be Write There
Black Labs and Lilly
Mrs Preppy
Simple Yet Classic
The Preppy Apron

New Magazine, anyone??

I just received an email from Amazon saying that InStyle is one of their $5 subscriptions until September 26th. I know many of you jumped on the Real Simple bandwagon when Hopsy posted about it being $5 (I did too!), so I thought you may want to also receive InStyle. I read it regularly at the gym, but I think for this price I may have to pick up my own subscription and then donate it to the gym (as I do with all my old magazines).

Town and Country and Country Living are also in the $5 bin, so if you need either of those, check them out there too!!

Movies and marathoning.......

On Saturday night B and I went to see Julie and Julia. I had read the book when it first came out and loved it and just haven't had a chance this summer to get to a theater. Saturday night we knew we couldn't do much as B had a HUGE run on Sunday, so I was finally able to convince him to see the movie with me. I adored it! Meryl Streep was incredible. She's seriously such an amazing actress. Amy Adams was good, but it's hard for anyone to shine while playing alongside Meryl. I also really loved Julia's husband. I adored how in love they were and definitely had a few teary-eyed moments in seeing their devotion on screen. So sweet. If you haven't seen it yet, I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

I also have to say how incredibly proud I am of my husband. He is nearing the end of his marathon training, and I am so impressed with how well he has done. He hasn't skipped a run (not even the 3 milers) during the 18 weeks, and his devotion to this goal is incredible. The 20 miler (the longest run before the marathon) was Sunday morning. He did it in a group setting through CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association). He did lose his group during the run, but he was able to finish near his goal time. He also learned a lot about what he needs to do and not do during the actual marathon. But seriously, ladies, can you believe he did 20 MILES????? I'm just so impressed with him. And this is a guy who had never run before 4 years ago and does not have a long, lean runners type body. It just proves that if your mind is set on a goal, you can complete it. Really it's just in WANTING the end result that will allow you to do anything. I can't wait until I can cheer him on on October 11th!!

Baking Season!

Who Hoo! Today I woke up cold and didn't want to get out of bed. I love that feeling. The crispness in the air, the few leaves that have changed, the jacket I got to pull on when I left the house- Fall is here!

I like fall for so many different reasons- one of the biggest is because it's finally cool enough to turn on the oven and bake!! Last weekend while we were home watching the Michigan game, I tried a new recipe from one of my King Arthur baking bibles and knew I had to share here. If you need a treat for work, a party, school, anything, these are super easy and the best bar cookies I've ever had! B is so impressed with them, and I know they'll be my "go tos" whenever I need something. Try them out; you won't be disappointed!

Ruth Wakefield's Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2 3/4 c all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c unsalted butter, melted
2 1/4 c brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 c chocolate chips (we used 1 c butterscotch chips and 1 c chocolate chips)
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts (we eliminated b/c we don't like nuts in our cookies)

* Preheat the oven to #50. Lightly greats a 10x15 jelly roll pan or a 9x13 pan.
* In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
* In another large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Ad the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour mixture, then the chocolate chips and nuts. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
* Bake the bars for 24-26 min (30-35 min if using the 9x13 pan)

GLEE!!

Are you watching? If not, set your DVRs ladies! It's funny, has great musical numbers, and uses catchy phrases like "Rock-a-fellas". It's got all the high school drama, including the seriously hilarious, often bi%&#y cheerleading coach, the lovesick social worker, the awesome glee club leader, and kids who can SING! Seriously, it's going to be my new fall favorite, for sure!!