I want a new set of pots and pans for Christmas, that would make me very happy. and maybe a new kitchen too!

As mentioned in my last post, while making my apple pie yesterday I accidently forgot to "dot" the apples with butter prior to going into the oven. Turns out, it wasn't entirely necessary the pie turned out delicious and the Macintosh apples I used were the perfect type to use in this particular recipe. I used my favourite pie crust recipe from Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter

Mom's Apple Pie

Filling

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 to 7 cups thinly sliced peeled and cored apples

1 tablespoon butter

Streusel Topping

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1/4 tsp nutmeg

In small bowl combine sugar and next 5 ingredients. Place half sliced apples in pie crust and sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Top with rest of apples then rest of sugar mixture. NOTE: I added the apples to the sugar mixture and coated them well before putting them in the pie pan. Dot filling with butter. Top with the strusel topping.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

I've been making ALOT of vegetarian meals lately, so I knew it was time to start adding a little more meat to our dinner menus. Last night I made Veal Scallopini. The original recipe just called for the veal to be smothered with a mushroom sauce type thing, in addition to that I served it on a bed of brown rice spaghetti pasta, which gave the meal more substance. The veal was a little tough but thats because B wanted it crispy which meant it spent way more time in the pan than it should have. I will make this again, but will subsitute chicken for the veal. I used portobello, shitake, crimini and oyster mushrooms. Love mushrooms, the more the better! The recipe didn't call for Basil, but I added some to the flour which coated the veal.

Dinner tonight is Vegetable Pearl Barley Stew, it's in the crock pot now and smells yummy. I hear W bouncing around in her crib and I better get her before she jumps her way out! She's attempted MANY times. I'm just waiting for a huge THUD!

The shrill of a squaking squirrel

Even though we haven't left the house yet, it's been a fine day. We had a morning chock-full of giggles, photo ops, dress-up and a certain little someone decided she was actually hungry today. hungry! this makes mama happy.

Several months ago I decided it was time to vamp up my domestic skills. Off i went to Chapters and purchased 2 new cookbooks which I now use on a weekly basis. Charlie Trotter's Home Cooking and Perfect Salads by Linda Doeser. I've also been using recipes from blogs written by, in my opinion, culinary geniuses. Recently I've discovered that I no longer loathe cooking and have learned to embrace it because until I get that maid i've been longing for, im the sole cook in this joint. I was always so afraid to venture out and try new recipes and ingredients, but I knew my husband and child could not live off Quinoa alone..but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God...so i started incorporating more meat, potatoes, and BUTTER! Once in a while ill whip up a scant albiet scrumptious salad, last night was a feta, strawberry and mint salad, no mint and added brown rice fusilli. Tonight im going to make Asian Lettuce wraps, the recipe is from a blog i enjoy reading called alexandra's kitchen. Her meals and photos are phennomenal!

The house is quiet, the dust has (somewhat) settled and life is good.