white apples . a blog

A Cozy Little Orphan Thanksgiving

Charlie and I were on our own this Thanksgiving, so our day was full of much lounging around, snacking on tasty tidbits, and reflecting on all the things that we have to be grateful for:  our very-soon-to-be-born little baby girl, each other, Charlie's incredible/awesome/amazing recovery in the last year, wonderful supportive families, a new job and city next year, great friends all over the country, silly animals, cool sunny days, long weekends, even longer maternity leave, new toys, laughter, joy, anticipation, change, and new beginnings.  And it turns out that while reflecting on our sweet, cozy little life, we also managed to stuff ourselves full of Thanksgiving goodies. 

Our menu-for-two included a delicious brined and smoked chicken prepared by Charlie, Herbs du Provence chestnut and sausage stuffing, Mom's (and my very favorite) corn pudding, cream-braised brussel sprouts (a revelation), Mom's cranberry-orange chutney, utterly indulgent sweet potato casserole (I added a splash of Maker's Mark... I had to...), ethereal popovers, pecan pie (which turned out to be a complete disaster... still swishy... now we pretty much have a pie's worth of gooey praline topping), and pumpkin pie with spiced whipped cream (this one actually retained pie form).  Plus there were various appetizers of cheese, meats, crackers, olives stuffed with delicious things, smoked oysters, and whatnot.  I hope your Thanksgiving was as warm and restorative as ours.

A Very Pumpkiny Thanksgiving Morning

The very best indulgent holiday morning treat is a big batch of homemade cinnamon rolls - soft and pillowy, sweet and cinnamony.  And Alton Brown has the absolute best recipe for cinnamon rolls.  Yes, the dough needs to be made the night before.  Trust me, it is worth it.  And if you substitute 1 of the tablespoons of milk in the icing for very strong coffee, these cinnamon rolls are pure pefection.  However, for this Thanksgiving morning, I wanted something more seasonally themed, so I tried out some Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.  They were lovely and pretty and festive and entirely appropriate for a day dedicated to eating and giving thanks.  This recipe is a combination of Alton Brown's instructions and this recipe from Dishing up Delights.

wake up slow

Long, slow weekend mornings are my favorite - especially in the Fall when the air is cool and the light is soft and sleepy.  Last weekend, we started off our days with Pumpkin Cranberry Scones and a huge sloppy cup of coffee (okay, in my case, it was a dainty little cup of pregnancy tea... sigh...).  If all you've had is store bought scones that are hard and dry and crumbly and chalky, then you're missing out on the tender, pillowy-deliciousness of home-made scones.  This recipe uses buttermilk instead of the traditional cream, which makes them lighter and softer and irresistible.  And pumpkin - you know how I feel about pumpkin.

This weekend there will be no cool, comfortable mornings.  The Santa Ana winds are here and it is hot, hot, hot.  I'm miserably flopping around the house, slowly melting in the heat.  This hateful weather is also ruining a lovely almond pie dough meant for some apples and cranberries as part of a dinner party tonight.  Ugh.  Soggy Cathy.  Soggy pie crust.  Southern California has strange weather.

a joy that's shared is a joy made double

Congratulations to Amy and Chris on their newest little seedling.  She is gorgeous!  Welcome to the world, Nina Josephine!

34 weeks and the sniffles

Things are certainly rounding out now that I'm just about 34 weeks.  The belly is growing to unimaginable proportions, the baby is adamantly poking around with all possible limbs, and the bellybutton is holding steady in the "in" position.  Those of you who are aware of my extreme bellybutton phobia can appreciate the magnitude of this last statement. 

After bragging on Monday that I haven't been sick my whole pregnancy, I managed to catch a cold bug on Tuesday.  So now I'm all sniffly and snotty and generally whiny.  I stayed home from work today to rest and recover and hang around in my pajamas all day watching the Food Network and eating far too many blueberry and oat flapjacks.

We're also working on finishing up the nursery and tidying up  the nest for the arrival of the little one.  Charlie has been cleaning out all the nooks and crannies in this house, while I've been beaching myself on the couch wondering what important piece of baby gear I have neglected to consider.  For instance, apparently babies need hats.  Whether the hat is keep the head warm or just hide that strange cone shape, I have no idea.

Finally, we are eagerly awaiting the very imminent arrival of Amy's and Chris' new baby girl!  Good luck, guys!

change is all i believe in these days...

I'm a very happy Cathy this week.  Barack Obama is our new president!  Multiple yays!!  Charlie and I voted early Tuesday morning in oddly drizzly San Diego weather with absolutely no lines at the polls.  Then we spent the majority of Tuesday evening in a childbirth class learning our hee hee hee hoooos and laboring positions while the rest of the country watched the election results and speeches.  But it was still an exciting and energizing election day.  Even though I am simultaneously proud of and disappointed in my fellow California voters, I couldn't be more thrilled for our country and hopeful for our future.

Here we are just after casting our Obama votes... and just after Charlie coerced one of the poll workers into giving him an "I Voted" sticker in Vietnamese.

In other news, today my company threw me a baby shower - complete with Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake (yes, they know me), streamers, balloons, and many wonderful gifties.  Fun!

where the fruits were jewels

The weather here has been warm.  Too warm.  At least to my wonky internal thermostat (Charlie seems to be freezing all the time).  The heat has made me reluctant to embark on any ambitious baking project, so I've been relying on hearty, rustic desserts that can be thrown together in minutes (like the bread pudding).  That way I can get back to lounging around under the ceiling fan as quickly as possible.

One of the quickest and most satisfying desserts to make is a crisp.  I owe all of my crisp knowledge and experience to my very dear and longtime friend, Alyssa.  She made sure we were all well fed with healthy homemade goodies those four years of college when it was possible to eat half a pound of pasta, half a pepperoni pizza, and whole pint of Ben & Jerry's in one evening without threatening the waistline.   Ahhhh, those were the days.  Anyway, this is based on her fantastic and wonderfully nostalgic recipe for blueberry crisp.  I added pecans because I've spent entirely too much time in the South and thus I always have pecans hanging around the kitchen.  I added nutmeg because I just got a brand new tin from Tsp Spices and felt like breaking it open.  The best part of this recipe is that is results in a nice, thick, generous crisp topping.  No skimpy sprinklings here.

Alyssa's Generous Blueberry Crisp

3 cups frozen blueberries (small ones are best, I used the organic wild blueberries from Wholes Foods)
1 tbsp lemon juice (lemon is so nice with blueberries, but I didn't have any lemons, so I left this out)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar (I think I used 1/2 cup, actually)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8-1/4 tsp nutmeg (I eyeballed... but you never want to overdo nutmeg... not good)
1/3 cup canola oil
5 to 6 drops almost extract (mine doesn't drop, it gushes... I guess I added a "splash")
A handful or two of chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread berries unthawed into a small baking dish (8"x8" pan or 1 1/2-2 quart souffle dish).  Sprinkle lemon juice over the berries.

In a mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and spices.  Mix.  Pour oil and almond extract and mix thoroughly.  Add the pecans and stir.  Sprinkle mixture on blueberries.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until berries are bubbling and top is brown

(post title from Charles Dickens)

Syd the Bumbly Bee

This year The Syd was a bumble bee for Halloween.  Unfortunately, the largest doggie costume that Target sells is a "Large", which is still a little too snug for stuffing all of Sydney's bulk in there.  That's why she looks like she is strapped into a straitjacket.