Apple Crisp

You might not know it from the weather, but it is fall. This means it is time for fresh apples. I love apples: eating them fresh, drinking non-pasteurized cider, making apple sauce and apple crisp. I am sure this has nothing to due with the fact that I worked at Robinette’s Orchard for years, being surrounded by apples and their byproducts. Tonight I had a little free time and threw together this yummy treat.

The Vacation is over

It is already Tuesday and I need to start thinking about Saturday. I will admit I have really enjoyed my 10 day break from baking. I was able to get stuff done in the evenings, like an oil change and visiting some friends, which I normally don’t have time to do. I also have a wonderful weekend. But to be completely honest I did do some baking, it was suggested to me that I bring some banana bread up to Mackinac with me, as a treat for some of the other volunteers, so I quickly made a couple batches and while I was at it I made some oatmeal scotchie cookies. But it was not really baking; I did it at home, while I was doing other things. :)

Saturday’s forecast looks lovely – sunny around 75 degrees – I am hoping that forecast sticks. I think they are doing another arts and crafts weekend, but I don’t know for sure. Tonight I will have to take inventory and decide what to make for this week. Will keep you posted.

Mackinacisms

This weekend was the 6th time in the past 10 years I have gone up to Mackinac Island, and I have to say I love it there. To me the island is this safe wonderland where you are transformed into a bygone era, brought back to a slower time and can just forget about the real world for a while. In addition the conference I attended is a large group of like minded people who I have been involved with for 12 years now. To me it is kind of like a family reunion – a great big dysfunctional family, but a family none the less.

I think this is part of the reason I was so disturbed when I saw a new addition to main street.
I don’t have any against Starbucks per say, but to me to see it in downtown Mackinac Island, just concerns me that this is opening a door for a total commercialization of the Island. I love the idea of small mom and pop stores owned by the year round residents of the island that you can not find any where else. The restaurants there are familiar and comfortable and I would hate the idea of a McDonalds nestled in between fudge shops. I hope that this starbucks in the exception and it does not go any further.

There are a many things that you only find on Mackinac and I took some pictures of a few of my favorite things.Taking a bike ride around the Island is a must! One of the first places I pass is Mission Point where they always have beautiful flowers. Here are some pictures of the view from the bike ride. If you look real closely in this one you can see the bridge in the back. A few years back we discovered one of the funniest things I have ever seen. A gated community on the Island. Hmmm.... no cars allowed on the Island, no fence on either side of the gate, so the horses, bikes or people walking can just go around the gate. Unfortunately the gate was open as I rode by, so the effect is not quite as strong.

Only I would find the hidden Mickey on the Island - after finding it years ago, it is now one of my favorite pieces of Disney trivia.

One tradition I did not get to do this year was to go to the Island school and swing. It is the best view I have ever had on a swing. But I did get a quick picture.
This is the house we stayed in last time - it brings back lots of great memories and from now on will always be a stopping point.And of course you can not forget the Fudge!

All in all it was a great weekend and I will miss it until next time.

Back from Mackinac

Good weekend, lots of fun, tired, but a good tired stemming from a long weekend trying to do too much in too little time.

I did get a couple of pictures of some of the candidates.

Will write more later.

Reprieve

This week I am taking a much needed break. Last week I received an email with an offer I could not refuse for this coming weekend. There is a conference that takes place every other year up on Mackinac Island. I have attended every conference since 1997, but due to circumstances this year I had come to the realization that I was just not going to be able to go. I’ll admit I was a bit sad, but was okay with not going. Then last week I received an email offer of a place to stay in exchange for some volunteering. After taking a day to weigh the costs I decided to go. Ever since then I have been so excited and thankful for a week off.

Each of the conferences I have attended has been very different experiences and I never know what to expect. This year we are staying at the Island House – I have never stayed here before, but I am sure it will be nice. I also am excited to take a bike ride around the Island, which is always one of my favorite things to do. Of course spending time with friends is always a highlight. And we always seam to have fun.

Cold and Slow Saturday

Saturday morning started out very cold, with temps in the lows 40’s. Thankfully the sun was out, which created some warmth, but it felt much more like late October, not mid September. The market was slow all day long, which made for a long morning. BUT I did decent again. I have hit a range in terms of sales at the market and I was right in that range. After homing home and warming up, I had no complaints.

Productive Thursday

This week there is a wedding at church on Saturday with the rehearsal tonight. I always try to be cognoscente of other events going on and plan accordingly. So Thursday I planned on making more then I usually do. I have to say I got a ton done. I am so excited! I got my banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, congo bars and brownies all done last night. I was exhausted by the end of the night, but happy with what I accomplished. Tonight I have to make my Amish Friendship bread, Zucchini Carrot Nut bread (which I have enough pans to bake them at the same time) and make and frost my cookies. That should make for a pretty short night. I am not sure how I will react if I get more then 5 or 6 hours of sleep tonight. :) It should give me time to pull out some warmer clothes, they have lowered the high temp for the day tomorrow and it is going to be cold!

Brrr....

Saturday’s forecast is calling for a high or 61 degrees, which means that Saturday morning is going to be downright cold. I am really not ready for cold, cooler, yes I wanted it not to be 90 degrees, but a high of 61 – that means jeans and sweaters, pulling out the heavy fleece., maybe even a cup of hot chocolate to hold. I don’t know what impact, if any that will have on the farmers market traffic. Will the colder weather draw people to buy fresh apples, pumpkins or other fall favorites? Or will people just want to stay home and have a cozy morning in bed (that would be my choice :) ). Soccer games have started and other school activities. People just get busy in the fall. So that leads to the big question of how much do I bake? I think for this week I am going to plan the same quantity as last week – partly due to the fact that I have a special order of 5 loaves already. We will just have to see how it goes.

Sunny Saturday

It was another beautiful day Saturday. Sunny, but not too hot. The market was pretty busy with the craft sale. I didn’t get a chance to check out the booths, but from what I hear it was a success, I believe they are going to have it again on September 29th. There was also a lot of new people at the market – not sure if that was the draw or the eat local challenge that started on Friday – but what ever it was it was good. I had another good day. The pumpkin bread had a great debut, I sold 14 loaves! In all I sold 50 loaves of bread!

Dreary day

Today was one of those days I just wanted to crawl back into bed, doze, read, do anything but get up. Unfortunately this was not an option. Thankfully tomorrow forecast does not include rain. They are saying a little fog in the morning and then a sunny day in the mid 70’s – perfect farmer’s market weather!

Tomorrow will be the debut of my pumpkin bread, my new card table (bought on sale Monday) and the art and crafts section of the market. I have not heard recently how many new vendors they expect, but it will be interesting to see how it goes. I do hope it is a success – I think it will be a big draw. I plan to have;

Amish Friendship Bread
Banana Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Carrot Nut Bread
Congo Bars
Frosted Cookies
Turtle Brownies.

I did not get time to work out the kinks in the muffins – I was interrupted by a city planning commission meeting concerning a request to build an Auto Zone store next to my driveway – the request was denied. But maybe some time this week? Stop by if you have time – would love to see you.

The most toxic thing in my house

This weekend’s experimenting with recipes found me in need of some Nutmeg. Now I have used Nutmeg occasionally through out my baking, but not very often and I did not have any on hand. In pricing out this spice I found it to be pretty expensive in small quantities, which was not helping my cost per unit totals. So I make the trek to a distribution center and purchased a large container, roughly 162 teaspoons. After completed the baking test run, I made arrangements with my family to be the taste testers (yes I do accept volunteers for these difficult positions). Now my nephew has a peanut allergy, and I am always very careful about what food I bring into their home and make sure it is safe for him to eat. As I was looking over the ingredients, I realized I did not know anything about Nutmeg, including if it was a nut. So I did a quick internet search and discovered some very interesting things about it.

First of all it is not a nut, a fruit.

Second in large quantities it can be toxic, or even deadly. Here is the report…

In low doses, nutmeg produces no noticeable physiological or neurological response. Large doses of 30 g (~6 teaspoons) or more are dangerous, potentially inducing convulsions, palpitations, nausea, eventual dehydration, and generalized body pain. In amounts of 5–20 g (~1-4 teaspoons) it is a mild to medium hallucinogen, producing visual distortions and a mild euphoria. It is a common misconception that nutmeg contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). While untrue, nutmeg taken in combination with MAOIs may elevate risks.[1] A test was carried out on the substance that showed that, when ingested in large amounts, nutmeg takes on a similar chemical make-up to MDMA (ecstasy). However, use of nutmeg as a recreational drug is unpopular due to its unpleasant taste and its side effects, including dizziness, flushes, dry mouth, accelerated heartbeat, temporary constipation, difficulty in urination, nausea, and panic. A user will not experience a peak until approximately six hours after ingestion, and effects can linger for up to three days afterwards.

A risk in any large-quantity (over 25 g, ~5 teaspoons) ingestion of nutmeg is the onset of 'nutmeg poisoning', an acute psychiatric disorder marked by thought disorder, a sense of impending death, and agitation. Some cases have resulted in hospitalization.

Fatal doses in children are significantly lower, with approximately 15g being sufficient to cause one of only two recorded nutmeg toxicity deaths, in an eight year old child.

Nutmeg is an abortifacient, and as such any significant doses should be avoided by pregnant women.

Third in many cultures it is used as an aphrodisiac or stimulant.

And finally it known as an underground drug and at times has been widely used in jails or by very poor communities.

I found this all to be very interesting. Now, for all I know this could be common knowledge, but this is one area I know very little about. :)

It does make me think though, if 6 teaspoons is considered a large amount that could be potentially lethal, I currently have about 27 times that amount in my house. Hmm… I am pretty sure that make it the most toxic thing I have in my house.

Labor Day equals work?

First, an update on Saturday - things went well. With it being Labor Day weekend things were a bit slower, but over all it was a good day. I am looking forward to next week with the introduction of the Art and Crafts area. Of course I know I will be tempted to go see what is over there and buy something. :)

The rest of the weekend I have been busy getting stuff done around my house. I have not had a day off since the 4th of July and had a ton of stuff to catch up on, all those normal Saturday activities that I don’t have time for these days. Did I get everything done I wanted to? No, but I knew that would be impossible, I did get a lot though, and I am happy with my progress.

Pumpkin Bread – I am finally happy with my pumpkin bread recipe. One of my jobs for this weekend was to do some experimenting with this so that I can debut pumpkin bread this weekend. I am happy to say there will be pumpkin bread on Saturday. I am also working on Morning Glory muffins, not quite there yet, but hopefully a little tweaking tomorrow night will produce the results I am looking for.