Thursday, November 02, 2006

Odds and Ends

Quebec Crab-Apples or Pommettes

If you are wondering what to do with all those crab-apples you impulsively bought because they looked so pretty, here’s an idea: make crab-apple liqueur.



Stuff a gallon jar with as many (washed) crab-apples as you can, but leaving an inch or so at the mouth. Pour in 1 cup sugar. Now top it up with your preferred brand of vodka until the apples are covered. Close tightly and place in a dark, cool place for about 3 months (think of is as a nice post-holiday stash), and remember to turn it on it’s top every few weeks to mix it up a little. After about 6 months, strain out the apples (keeping one or two to throw back in to look pretty) and strain through a cheesecloth. Return to the jar and voila! you will have a beautiful clear, rose coloured liqueur with a lovely mild apple flavour. I like to drink it chilled as an aperitif, but it’s also great shaken up in fruit cocktails.



Note: I’ve seen recipes where a lot more sugar is added. Up to four times what I have here. This is entirely up to your discretion.



Noah noshing on some green stuff


Broccoli is one thing that is not ending up under the highchair these days. This little guy loves broccoli and zucchini and when I do a stir-fry for dinner, he’ll clean us out. He sits there and is like “Hand it over, Mama” and then, in a twinkle, it’s in the mouth, chewed up just enough to be able to swallowed with a bit of effort, and he’s asking for more. This lack of attention in the chewing department makes for some pretty interesting posts in my parallel blog: “What’s in Noah’s Diaper?”.
Just kidding, there is no such blog…but I bet Zaak wishes there was.



Noah’s old eating habits are much improved (he hasn’t gagged and vomited in a very long time), but he has developed some alarming new ones which leave my hubby and I scratching our heads and pointing at each other.



“No, YOU. He got it from YOU.”



I am not going to give details, but just let you wait until you have kids and then you can make these startling discoveries on your own.



Shut up, your kids will NOT be perfect!



I’ll stop hugely boring you now-if you are even still reading.






Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Syrup and Butter


If you’re looking for an easy vegetable to go along with tonight’s dinner, look no further than this pretty and simple dish.



Wash a small acorn squash and slice in two. Be careful, these are one of the hardest winter squashes. Scoop out the seeds and place, cut side down on tin foil. Wrap up each half tightly in foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast in 375F oven until it feels soft when you poke it. About 1 ½ hours. While still hot, open up the foil and peel back the skin. It should come off easily and in big pieces. Transfer squash to a plate, sprinkle with sea salt, dot with butter and drizzle with maple syrup. Enjoy!

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Birthday Kudos

It seems like a lot of people were born in early November and I would like to wish a Big Fat Happy Birthday to the following friends and family who celebrated this weekend and tomorrow:
Dorothy, Richard, Austin, Elizabeth, Rose, Jeremy, Michelle, Katelyn, Katrina, Katrine, Kelly, and our nextdoor neighbor who had a "Bonne Fete" sign on his door! You all rock!
I'm sorry for the birthday parties we missed, but we were pretty maxed out at three, and Noah will be taking a few days to recover from all the excitement. =)

5 comments:

April said...

Yum, that does sound like a lovely way to use up crab apples!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Anonymous said...

Yum on the squash. I have two I waiting to be cooked, so I shall try this version.

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