Where The Heck Have I Been? ~or~ Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Whew!  A lot has happened in the last couple of months.  The Ohio State Buckeyes earned yet another National Championship, I had to replace my home Wi-Fi router, and planted my garden on time this year so maybe something will actually grow.  

But first and foremost, I want to wish you all a very happy St. Patrick's Day!

Yes, I have been away for a while, but I hope you will forgive my absence as I have been a very busy girl as of late...more so than usual.  I've been thinking about re-vamping this site to encompass all of my creative endeavors, and that is still something that I am working on, but I can't wait anymore and I felt like I really needed to post here now instead of waiting until I finish mapping out my all-encompassing future blog.

What have I been doing?  Well, I have been teaching college first-year English composition this semester on top of doing my 40 hour per week IT job.  I've been slowly chipping away at some other writing projects in my "spare" time and still cranking out articles for Boyd Street Magazine.  Even though I've had my hands full, I am certainly NOT complaining.  I have learned so much in my adventures as of late.  For instance, I've learned that I love teaching, (especially on the college level) almost as much as I love writing.  I'd never thought about being a professor before or teaching anything for that matter, but after getting a taste of it, I can't imagine not doing it.

Don't worry, as busy as my life has been lately, I still find time to cook at least 3-4 times a week.  Not just because I have to eat, but because cooking is a creative outlet for me.  When I don't carve out some time to do that, I get a little grumpy...okay, a lot grumpy.  I've also baked and made sweets and completely stopped working out, so all is well.  I also discovered that apparently I have cookie cutters for every holiday.  So I made Valentine's gingerbread cookies and shamrock gingerbread cookies in the last couple of months.  Basically I just feel like I need to have a reason/excuse to make gingerbread cookies because I love them.

I've also been running a bed & breakfast for the last few weeks.  Okay, well not really an actual B&B, but I have been entertaining different friends from different states at different times who have "made reservations" to stay at my house.  This makes me very happy because I feel like people are comfortable in my home.  I've hosted many gatherings, cookouts, watch parties, game nights, etc. by invitation, but to have those I care about contact me and ask to stay over and have me cook for them makes me feel very warm and fuzzy inside.  A dream of mine is to be a full-time writer who owns a cozy bed & breakfast somewhere in New England where I live and write and cook and care for others who flow in and out of my home on their personal journeys.  Seriously, I wouldn't want for anything if that was the rest of my life.

This is not the epic post that I wanted to do after such a long hiatus, however, I did not want to wait any longer.  I have also decided that I can't stay away, so I will be posting my usual restaurant/product reviews and recipes, as well as current project updates, and some personal tidbits here while I'm deciding on the details about rebuilding this site.  Thank you so much for checking in regularly, and know that I will be posting regularly once again.

So, toast this day with your green beers and shamrock gingerbread cookies, because they are tradition...apparently and have yourself a fantastic St. Patrick's Day!

No Tricks, All Treats!

Today's the day, folks!  Happy Halloween!  Heading out to a party tonight?  Or trick-or-treating?  I've got some recipes to get you set up for the festivities!  First up, classic holiday gingerbread skulls! 

Ok, I admit that most people don't think of gingerbread for Halloween, but gingerbread cookies are sooo good, why would you waste 2 months waiting for it?  My answer, I don't.  Gingerbread cookies in October has been a tradition in my house for like a decade.  We can't even be bothered to put icing on them, not to say you can't, but they are so warm and soft and awesome right out of the oven! Plus I don't have that kind of will power to wait until they cool.

First thing's first, allow yourself at least 4 hours before your shin-dig to make these.  Throwing the goods together, cutting, and baking take no time at all, but the chill time of the dough is about 3 hours, so take that into consideration.

Gingerbread Halloween Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 c molasses

2-1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 Tbls. vinegar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat shortening with electric mixer for about 30 seconds.  Add the sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking sida, cinnamon, and cloves.  Beat until combined.  

Beat in the molasses, egg, and vinegar until smooth.  Then add in the flour, a little at a time, and beat with mixer until stiff.  Then use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix it the rest of the way.

Divide the dough in half.  Cover and chill for about 3 hours, then remove from fridge and continue.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set to the side.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the dough until it's about 1/8 of an inch thick.  Using Halloween themed cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes and place about 1" apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 5-6 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 

Repeat cutting and cooking process with the other half of the dough.  Use any scraps to make your own spooky creations!

You will probably need something to wash these down, not because they're not moist, but because I needed a segue into the next thing on my Halloween recipe list - how about some Hot Apple Cider?

Hot Apple Cider

Ingredients:

1 Gallon of apple juice 

1/4 c brown sugar

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp. whole cloves

3 stick of cinnamon

Directions:

Now, there are a few ways to do this.  You could disolve the brown sugar and allspice in a 1/2 cup of boiling water then add it to the rest of the stuff.  But in my family, we just toss everything together in a crock pot and let it simmer then serve!

I recomend the crock pot method because you can just throw and go.  You can put it on high for about an hour then on the low or "warm" setting for the rest of the evening.  Put a ladle and some mugs close by and you have yourself an all-night sipper.

And the last recipe to share with you in this post, is full of gooey goodness!

Caramel Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

4 medium apples, sliced (granny smith works best, but any mixture of tart apples will do)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 sm. package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

2 Tbls. milk

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c old-fashioned oats

1/3 c butter, softened

3/4 tsp. ground allspice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Greese the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with shortening or cooking pray, and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the sliced apples, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Transfer the apple mixture ti your prepared baking dish.  Place as many caramel squares on top of the apples as you would like, then sprinkle the milk over the caramel layer.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, brown sugar, flour, oats, allspice, and butter until well mixed.  Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over the caramel-covered apples.

Bake, uncovered, for about 35-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are tender when pierced with a folk.  Serve warm, with a dollop of ice cream, which is of course optional. The ice cream is optional, not the serving the apple crisp warm, just to be clear.  

There you have it folks!  Yummy treats for your Halloween!  Have fun, and have a very happy Halloween!