a la peanut butter sandwiches

I don't need the Amazing Mumford's magic to make the kids finish their lunch. Simple shapes and cutters transform sandwiches and make them disappear. A favorite shape is the train from Williams-Sonoma, a gift from my sister-in-law. Sean asks for a peanut butter and Nutella train sandwich just about every day.

Eddy Fruit Farm

Another gorgeous Fall day perfect for apple picking...this time at Eddy Fruit Farm in Chesterland. I love to go out and pick fruit. I keep track of the seasons and farms for strawberries, blueberries, apples- whatever is available and whatever I can use in a recipe. Picking fruit allows me to escape reality for a few hours. I am drawn to it and sometimes think that I fervently bake so that I can go back to pick more.

We first stopped by the barn to grab bags and check out a map of the more than 10 varieties of apples in the orchard. We were off, with kids in the wagon, to the labeled rows of apple trees to search for the best pick. We gathered Melrose, Ida Red (they make pink applesauce!), Blushing Golden, and Empire apples.

With thoughts of pink applesauce, apple tarts and everything else apple in my head, I excitedly asked Sean if he would like to have some slices of the apples that he picked. He replied, "No! I want apple dippers from McDonald's." Back to reality.

criss cross applesauce

"Let's make applesauce!" exclaimed Sean. Off I went to the Food Network's website for a recipe and found an easy one by Cathy Lowe. It was short enough for a scribble on scrap paper rather than to print it out.

Applesauce (Cathy Lowe)

2 T. butter

1 t. cinnamon

4 apples, peeled, cored, diced

1/2 t. nutmeg

2 T. water

1/4 c. sugar

Combine all ingredients into a saucepan and stir over medium heat for about 30 minutes until apples get mushy. Mash them to desired consistency.

Sean chose to mash but only after I removed them from the stove and into a mixing bowl. After all of that work he wouldn't even eat it! The boy lives on apple slices but refuses applesauce- homemade! Thankfully, Kate lapped it up.

Columbus Day parade

It was a rainy day for a parade so we left our one year old with Grandma and headed out with Sean, 3, to Cleveland's Little Italy. This was my first Columbus Day Parade; I'm usually in the classroom teaching students about the parts of a cell. The high school bands were drumming, politicians were glad-handing and candy was flying. The regal Christopher Columbus rode past Holy Rosary followed by pink-haired stylists from La Barberia riding Rocket Cars. Then came the Orlando Bread truck. What a sight! Loaves of Italian bread and bags of rolls were flying through the air into a crowd of flailing arms. Lucky were the few who snagged a loaf. We were witnessing the Pied Piper of Little Italy. It was worth standing in the cold rain.

After the parade, we ate some pizza and headed to Gallucci's on Euclid Avenue. Sean was impressed by all of the salami, pepperoni and large chunks of mozzarella. Aisles of pasta in every shape and size, San Marzano tomatoes and red wine made me want to rush home to make meatballs.

caramel apple cookies

I am bringing cookies to my nephew's first birthday party today. We still have apples from the farm so I thought this would be a delicious and kid-friendly recipe to try. I found it on an inspiring blog by Katie Goodman called Goodlife Eats. Her recipes are both her own and adapted from other recipes out there but what really sells them are the photos. Here is the caramel apple cookie photo and recipe.

My cookies did not look like this until the last tray came out of the oven. The first batch spread out and formed one sheet of thin cookies. My guess is that I did not wait the entire hour for the dough to chill. The dough went back into the fridge for another 30 minutes. This time I placed only one tray into the oven and they did not spread. For the last tray, I rolled the chilled dough into balls and increased the temperature to 375 degrees. This worked the best. So, out of 3 1/2 dozen cookies, about 5 cookies look like the photo. They all taste good (if you don't mind a little caramel gripping your teeth), flat or rounded. There's something about oats that conveys warmth and coziness to a cookie.

I checked Heinen's and Giant Eagle for the Kraft caramel baking bits but came home with a bag of individually wrapped caramels. I cut them into quarters last night. Before kids, I would have embarked on a quest to find the baking bits even if the search monopolized my day. I'm thinking maybe Target...

king and queen

These kids love their chairs from Grandma. It makes them feel like they are the king and queen of the castle. Do they need a chair for that?

apple prints

We experimented with different surfaces for the acrylic paints. Paper towels worked the best, followed by construction paper. The printer paper produced dull and messy prints. Check out Martha's apple printing on brown lunch bags, tote bags, and napkins here. Perhaps we can replicate them one day. Overall, Sean had more fun painting the outside of the apple than stamping the apple. Give the boy a brush and some paint and he's happy.