Parmesan Peppercorn Bread

After many, many failed attempts to make bread at home, I have finally found a foolproof recipe for artisan style loaves- made right in a cast iron pan!

I picked up a flyer from Williams Sonoma on how to season cast iron, and there on the back was a simple, no-knead bread recipe, with four variations on how to flavour the dough (although I'm sure with some thought and creativity the possibilities are endless). It took me awhile to remember to start the dough at night- it takes 12-18 hours for the first rise, but I managed to be organized this weekend to bake bread and cook the famous beef stew- and man, was that a delicious combination!

I won't give out the recipe yet, as it would mess up Christmas plans (hint, hint), so I will just show pictures to give you a small tease of the wonderfulness that is Parmesan Peppercorn Bread. Mmmm!

Cooling, still in the cast iron

Look at that cheese!

Perfect paring, bread and stew

Oh yeah, and a French Apple Cake for dessert

Yum

A is for...

Apples!

We went to Wasem's Orchard last weekend and picked an amazing amount of apples. Michigan has several great orchards in our area, the best known being Wiard's; but with the amount of inflatable bouncy houses and ticket rides it seems more like an amusement park than an orchard- not the best thing for my already high-strung kids! I discovered Wasem's last fall as I drove around aimlessly through the back roads of Ypsi. Lost and without any sense of direction, I stumbled upon this quiet orchard boasting several varieties of apples, pumpkins, and even a few late harvest berries. It was exactly how I picture orchards (i.e.- minus any bouncy houses!) and best of all, they serve freshly made donuts all day long!

We picked enough apples to make two apple pies, dozens of muffins and waffles (to freeze), dumplings, crisps, and cookies, not to mention having them within everyone's reach to munch on between meals. And I still have a huge bowlfull left over! I'm quickly running out of recipes and still not confidant enough of my canning abilities to give preserving a shot, so if anyone has a stellar recipe, send it my way!

Here are the pics:

Luckily they encourage eating while you pick

Ro was especially adept at gathering the most rotten, half-eaten apples off the ground


Me looking way too excited about picking apples

The bounty! Sorry for the dark shot- my camera may be going out :(

The Thing in Our Neighbor's Driveway

All was quiet when we moved into our new apartment in July. Our landlord informed us that while it was located next to campus, it was a quiet neighborhood with several families. Our flatmates upstairs said they were never bothered with any noise. We thought it was safe...


...and then the EMU students returned. What we thought was a quiet house next door is, in fact, one of the major party houses in the Midtown area. Each weekend during the home game they erect a giant inflatable helmet in their parking lot. This thing is enormous, taking up the entire parking lot- which is okay because it is so big they can just park their cars inside it. For two nights they live it up, beer pong and underage girls included, then just as quickly the helmet comes down and is hidden away where the parade they surely stole it from cannot find it.


I don't mind living next to a loud house. I kind of enjoy the excitement it brings to the neighborhood, and really anything is better than the cold seclusion which came with our previous apartment. What I don't like is having to explain to our boys why our neighbors get a giant playhouse in their backyard that they can't play in! It's just not fair!

So, if you're thinking of acquiring a giant inflatable helmet for your backyard beerfests, be polite and invite the family next door for a round of ping pong. I think they'd appreciate it :)

Guitar Shirt

In my craft room sits a pile of projects awaiting completion. These are items of clothing requiring mending, cute baby fluff that I started during naptime but never had time to finish, and bits of craftiness that I set out "Because if I see it everyday I'm more likely to work on it". Plus, I treat my projects like the books I read- if I'm not splitting my time between 3-4 ideas then I feel like I'm not doing anything. So the pile grows and grows...

Upcycled shirt, applique, and fabric paint.

But this shirt, started last April (!) finally made it to the top of the pile. Funny that it really only took a few minutes to complete, once I dedicated myself to finish :)


Next in the pile- Rowan's Halloween costume!

Mmm.. yougart!

We've been practicing self-feeding lately- an essential survival technique should the zombies attack- and here are the results:

Spoons are useful...

... but everyone knows fingers work best!



Yum!

Summer Review

Summer is gone and fall has officially started, so here is one last look at the fun we had while the sun still shone!

Riverside Park: Ro and I walked to this park nearly ever day this summer. It has a huge open area for Ro to run untethered and a series of bridges and decks that overlook the river. Ro's favourite thing to do of late is chase a squirrel up a tree then circle the tree confusedly as the squirrel snickers from above. I really want to put an Elmer Fudd hat on his head to complete the scene.


The School Park: Thusly named because it is the playground for Cager's school. Ro practiced climbing the stairs all summer, starting with the step down to the woodchips, then working his way up to the stairs leading to the slide huge slide that makes me nervous. Now he is able to follow his brothers wherever they go, much to his joy and my paranoia!




The 4th: We snuck back to the construction site next to our old apartment- basically two acres of amputated driveways awaiting ticky-tack houses that will never be built. Perfect for a family of amatuer firework enthusiasts with a giant box of explosives! The other two mums and I watched as our men folk (and wee men folk) danced around creating fire, hoping no one would notice the festivities and call the cops.


Overall, it was a great summer! We've made friends, found lots to do in our small town, and finally seem to be putting down roots. It only took us a year!

Budding Photographer

Rowan has always been fascinated with my camera. He recently learned that when he pushes the button on top, a light flashes and a picture appears on the screen. He now delighted runs away with the camera to take his own pictures- and he's not half bad! Here's a selection of his work, edited to remove the hundreds of fingers over the lens shots :)

Corners of the House:




I wonder if my floors always look this bad from his perspective!

Self Portraits:


And my personal favourites, A Day at the Park:




I know the day he breaks my camera I will regret letting him play with it, but I can't help but wonder if this early introduction to photography could someday lead to an artistic future. I'd love to give him a more durable camera of his own, but until then, I guess we'll share :)