apple picking and apple baking

I love apples. A lot. If I go to a restaurant and there's an apple dessert, I'll order it. If I'm ever stranded on a desert isle and I'm allowed one thing, it'll be an apple. Okay, well maybe that's a bit far-fetched, but I'm trying to make a point. I love apples. So when we got the opportunity to go apple picking here in Holland, I jumped at it. It wasn't my first time though. Pick-your-own fruit farms and orchards in Ontario (Canada) is abundant, and I've attended my share of family fruit-picking outings. Apples, cherries, strawberries at least twice, and blueberries just off the top of my head. I guess maybe that's why I adore Autumn so.

Apple-lovers, this one's for you.

This recipe is for apple pie, but I've used the recipe to create an apple crostata and apple turnover.

Apple Pie adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Pate Brisee;

- 2 ½ cups flour

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- 225 grams cold butter, cut into cubes

- ½ cup ice water

Apple Filling;

- 5 apples, cored, peeled, quartered and sliced

- ¾ cup sugar (or more if your apples are on the tart side)
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

- pinch of nutmeg

- Combine flour, salt and sugar, and add butter. Mix with fork until it resembles coarse meal. Add the water until the mixture just starts to hold together. When it stays together when squeezed, it's fine.

- Shape the dough into two discs, cover with clingwrap and refridgerate for at least one hour.

- Mix all the ingredients for the filling together.

- Roll out the dough between two sheets of clingwrap. I find that this method works the best for me, and it also makes transferring the dough to the pan a breeze. Remove the top sheet of the plasticwrap, lift the dough by sliding your hand on the underside, and flip over onto your baking dish. Then remove the other piece of clingwrap. Easy peasy!

- Spoon in the apple filling, and cover with the second piece of pie crust.

- Pinch the edges or use a fork, and cut slits in the top to let the steam escape. Another option is to slice the dough into strips and make a lattice cover.

- Brush with an egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar. (I unfortunately found that all my eggs were finished when I needed to do the eggwash. I speak from experience, don't forget this part. It makes the crust shiny, golden, and ooh-aah worthy.)

- Bake in a 175C preheated oven for approximately 1 hour, or until golden.

to do

To do list Sept. 28th:

1. Update blog
2. Add scarf to Etsy
3. Sew pillow cushions
4. Drink copious amounts of tea and soup to chase away this oncoming flu

Well, hello again! I've got three little tidbits of posts here for you today. The first being a couple snaps of our France trip. It was incredibly beautiful and incredibly inspiring. New sights, new sounds, new tastes. What can I say? I'm officially in love. On to the pictures!

Quick snap while driving through Lyon.

Sharp shadows of a palm.


Little shell found on the beach.


Deliciously sweet chanterais melon bought at a roadside market.

back

Hello Lovelies,

Can you believe Fall is here!? Our trip to France was sublime, and I'm fully accustomed to the little chill in the air we returned to. I won't rub it in, but we had soaring temperatures of 25-30C everyday.
What do you think about the new banner? Yesterday was spent apple picking, and apple pie baking (recipe soon to come) and I was just so inspired by all that Autumn has to offer, I thought I'd spruce up the place with a new header. Delicious, isn't it?

white

An unconventional source of inspiration, to say the least. I've been finding myself drawn to white lately. The white of beautifully textured canvas paper. The white of rough unglazed ceramic beads. The white of a bare wall, waiting to be decorated with a new piece of art. On my desk are pieces of a white bag which are waiting to be sewn together.


But it'll have to wait. We leave for France in two days, for a short but greatly anticipated holiday. 10 days at the beach with nothing to do but talk, sip wine, read, pick up seashells, and hopefully, if the water's still warm, take a dip or two.

Take care friends. See you when I get back.

winding down

Summer may be coming to an end but my spirits are high. Next week we leave for France. Just a short holiday with me and my mister, back to one of the very first places we vacationed together; Sérignan Plage. I can't wait.

And I won't lie to you. I'm anxiously waiting for fall's return. It brings out the best in me. It's when I'm most productive. I love nothing more than to seal myself in my studio, working late, music in the background, and preferably a thick slice of home-baked apple pie close at hand.

Autumn, I can't wait for you either.

A new item just recently added in Etsy. I'm channelling apples with that red.

peacock

I've just completed one of the two larger pieces I was telling you about yesterday. This is a table centerpiece which has been wetfelted and then needlefelted. It was a tricky one to do simply because I found the soapy water would cool down too rapidly before I even got a chance to start felting. And if you're not careful (and quick,) you'd easily be left with a soggy mess. I'm quite pleased with the result though. I guess all that hair-pulling did have a positive effect.

What do you think about it?

new ideas

Even though I have lengthy lists of to-felt items in my notebook/computer/miscellaneous scraps of paper littered on my desk, it's not that often I take the plunge to make something daring. Is it the frugal part in me that dreads wasting precious art materials? Is the self-conscious part in me that fears the outcome? That the finished item may not turn out to be what I had envisioned? What does this say about me? That's I'm a nervous wreck, that I'm a perfectionist, that I'm normal? I've always kept other people's opinions and possible reactions in the back of my mind whenever I did something artistic, and it's only recently (a few years) that I've been consciously trying to break that habit. It's harder than it sounds, but I feel like I'm a good way ahead.
Today was one such day. I made two of my largest felted items to date, and I don't think I'll stop there.

My words to you; Shake it off, and take the plunge.

Signing off....