No Toast Required

Hello Sweets,


Happy Friday y'all!!  I hope you have some quality kitchen time scheduled for this weekend, I think I'm going to take a break from packing and do some creating myself.  I woke up today so unbelievably stiff this morning thanks to my tumble down the stairs yesterday, which has made doing anything difficult.  However, nothing was going to keep me from giving y'all something juicy to read ;)  And no I'm not taking about the latest gossip, but I am talking about berries.

Keeping with my Thanksgiving throw back, I have the final recipe that I used back in November!  This particular Thanksgiving accompaniment is something I'm not a huge fan of, but that being said the homemade version I whipped up tasted pretty good on it's own lol.  I have to try everything I make in order to adequately write a good post, well that and I ask the person I make it for.  Today's post contains cranberries, so you can only guess what I used them for.  If you guessed cranberry jelly then you'd be correct!  Nathans dad loves it with his turkey, so I asked him if I could make it for him.  He agreed on the condition that I didn't vary too far from the flavor his lovely canned stuff tasted like >_<  Of course I took that as I could make it flavorful but don't add too much extra spice to it, lets be honest most pre packaged stuff doesn't have much flavor period.  Since I haven't eaten too much cranberry jelly in my life (okay, any lol), I had to do some research to see what types of spices others had used.  Thankfully I had a general understanding on how to make the jelly itself from when I made my pie fillings, it's a little different but not overly.

Cranberry Jelly

Ingredients

2 1/4C cranberries

1 1/2C sugar

2/3C apple cider

1/2 lemon, juice only

dash of cinnamon

cinnamon was a last minute addition

Directions:

1)  Place everything, except cinnamon, in a medium sauce pan.

 

2)  Over medium-high heat, cook until cranberries burst.

 

3)  Stir regularly, adding a splash of water if the mixture becomes too thick.

 

4)  Once finished, place in a sieve and push with a rubber spatula.  Continuing until only seeds and skins are left.  Add the cinnamon, stirring to incorporate fully.  Chill at least 12 hours to set.

completely solidified, even has markings from the Ziploc container

  

Nathans dad really liked it, he said it tasted better than the canned stuff.  He even like the subtle cinnamon flavor I added, and now I hope he'll let me do it every year :)  This, just like the pumpkin pie, was something I had never tried before.  I don't think it's beginners luck, but I do think because I am becoming more confident in my kitchen skills it is transferring over to my creations.  Not much makes me smile more than being able to make something for those I care most about :)

Since this is a shorter post I wanted to share some updated photos of my new place, now that everything is installed.

 

 

 

I  am so excited, it's so close that I can barely contain my excitement!!!  I know it's been official for a while, but now that everything is installed and working it actually feels real :D  I get my key on Tuesday and then I start the move, so if you don't hear from me daily y'all will know why.  I am going to do my best to post, but if I haven't done any baking or cooking you may just get a quick little blurb :)  Until next time...

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Something Crisp to make the Crisp Nights Warmer

Hello Sweets,

I hope everyone had a productive Tuesday :)  I spent the afternoon with my grandparents, which is always nice, and then came home to prep for my day trip tomorrow.  Well, and of course bake something delicious! I bet you are all wondering where I'm off to for my day trip tomorrow.  I will be travelling to Toronto to see a neurosurgeon, ya not quite what you probably had in mind.  I'm looking forward to meeting this doctor, he comes highly recommended, but more importantly, to hopefully get some direction on how to manage my migraines.  I would be even more impressed if he can see where the problem is coming from.  I'll give you guys an update tomorrow.  Since I will be travelling most of the day tomorrow I won't be baking anything, but I'll have to get lunch from somewhere so perhaps I'll talk about that too!

Are you dying to know what my hearty fall treat is?  I decided to make a yummy old fashion apple crisp, with a Canuckette twist of course ;) (the twist is the cranberries and pecans).  It was very random why I chose to make the crisp; I was wandering the produce section in the grocery store looking for a new vegetable to try, when I came upon the large display of apples, all shiny and piled high.  I decided I would pick up a few and figure out what to make with them later, so of course I went home and put on my researching hat.  There are a million things you can make with apples, but as soon as I came across some apple crisp recipes, I remembered I have an old family recipe that needed to be used.  The more I thought about it, the more my mouth watered, and that was sign enough for me to know it was what was being made lol.  Let us get to this yummy recipe :)

Canuckette's Old Family Apple Crisp

Ingredients

2C tart apples, peeled and sliced (approx 3 medium)

1/2C dried cranberries

3/4C brown sugar, packed

1/2C all-purpose flour

1/2C old fashion oats (you can use quick oats)

1 Tsp cinnamon

1/2Tsp allspice

1/3C butter, cold

1/4C pecans, chopped

Directions:

1)  Place apples and cranberries in a greased 8" square baking pan.

2)  In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and allspice.

3)  Cut in butter until soft and crumbly, then add pecans.  Sprinkle over apples and cranberries.

4)  Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes or until the apples are tender.  Of course enjoy!

It is so yummy!

This recipe is so simple and yummy, the hardest part is peeling the apples lol, but it is all worth while once completed.  The flavors of the apples and cranberries together scream fall to my taste buds, and satisfy the dessert craving without being overloaded with strong sugary flavors.  It is definitely a recipe for any level of baker, and you'll be very proud of your final product (I know I am).  Do you have a favorite fall dessert?  For those of you wondering, I did not use all four apples, I only used three and cut up the other for a snack :p

Having the day off tomorrow from the kitchen makes me feel both sad and okay, on the one hand I have to focus on my health tomorrow in hopes of answers, and on the other hand, I won't be creating tomorrow :(  But it does give me time to think about what I would like to do for Thursday, and I am thinking something along the line of simplicity (clearly I am already thinking of something lol), however it is going to be kept a secret.  

I always expect that telling the story of my health to each doctor would get easier, but it never does.  I always end up getting emotional, which makes me worry about what the doctors will think.  Nathan always tells me I'm one of the strongest woman he knows, and that anyone else in my shoes would have crumbled under the pressure.  It is very sweet of him, and I now believe it as well, but it still doesn't take away the nervousness I get each night before an important appointment.  Best thing for me to do tonight is to my range of motion exercises (exercising helps me relax), and leave it in God's hands, as there is nothing I can do other than tell my story.  Anyways that's enough talk about stresses lol. I will fill you all in on the outcome from my appointment tomorrow, and I will tell you all about my Toronto experience (there is always something lol).  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo