apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Spiced apple cider will be on my stove.

I made some pumpkin bread out of one of my sugar-pie pumpkins using a whole wheat recipe from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book. It's slightly drier than I'd like, but with a little butter or cream cheese, it's good.

Speaking of cream cheese, I have some cheese that is supposed to be a cross between fromage blanc and marscapone draining in butter muslin as we speak. I've made ricotta several times before now, but this is my first attempt at any of the creamier cheeses, so I'm knocking on wood!

Just popped in some spinach lasagna and I've got some mushy bananas waiting to be baked into some banana bread too! It's comfort food weather!

Homemade ricotta cheese. Ajiaco (Columbia chicken and potato soup). Tune in this week for the report!

No plans as of yet.

Here's an entertaining video of a prison food conference:

http://slatev.com/player.html?id=1182700684

Halloween party for wee ones. Chex-mix (hubbie's request), pumpking cupcakes with maple frosting, pumpkin seed brittle and cider on the stove.

No cooking this weekend. Have lots of leftovers from eating out this past week.

Pumpkin pie! The boyfriend has been begging for one. We also have a lot of apples, so maybe one of each, if I'm feeling ambitious...

Creamy butternut soup with bacon and chipotle. A favorite in our house as soon as the weather gets cold.

Last night/this morning I fixed a big pan of of my Aunt's world famous (ok, ok... family famous) egg bake. A nice hearty hot breakfast that is a great way to start off those cool autumn days!

Roasted chicken for dinner and I'm also making a lasagna for tomorrow night. I'm definitely craving comfort food.

@graysquirrel:

You tease with the creamy butternut soup with bacon and chipotle comment. Care to share?

Sweet potato and chicken stew, and a butternut squash tangine.

Hey Mark - what's the family famous Egg Bake? Can you share more or is it a secret recipe?

Roast stuffed with the last of the fresh rosemary out of my garden in a Crock Pot over new potatoes layered with fresh parsley and cabbage sprinkled with Guiness mustard seeds.

Then there's a homemade sour cream apple pie cooling on the table in the backyard. :)

Friday night we had a Halloween party and made butternut squash soup and roast chickens, and then had the usual crudite, dip, hot spiced cider, and candy.

Last night we made sweet potato agnolotti and hericot verts, it was a yummy and delicious weekend.

Ok I have a weird question that maybe somebody can help me with. I am doing Thanksgiving with the family this year but I will be out of town until right beforehand, so I am trying to buy as much nonperishable stuff as I can beforehand. Should I buy my apples beforehand and will they go all funny before I can make them into a pie? Otherwise I will be fighting the crowds on Wednesday the 21st. Can I refrigerate them? How long do apples keep? Three weeks seems too long but I have never refrigerated apples so I don't know.

Anne, apple pies freeze really well, unbaked.
I've never done it but my mom's best friend (the best piemaker) put up a bunch of them every year with the apple harvest.

Sara Kate, mmmmm, I LOVE homemade ricotta. I learned to make it a couple summers ago and now I rarely buy it.

Anne, apples usually keep really well. As long as it's cool, I've kept them in the basement (when we had one) or in the fridge. 3 weeks does sound like a long time but if they're fresh they really should be okay, especially since they are going into a pie. Or maybe I'm just willing to eat wonky apples ;-)

I just made two kinds of cupcakes for Halloween--chocolate with chocolate frosting, and white cake with orange (flavored and colored) frosting. I also have some eggplant roasting for, um, well something, I just haven't figured out what for yet.