easy-peasy pie

Its seems as though I've gone through a distinct Pie Baking Stage in my pregnancy, whereby I put on my Big Girl panties, conquered my culinary fears and made my very own butter pie crust dough -or pate brisee, if you're feelin' fancy- from scratch. Not a big deal to some but, I had cleared a major kitchen hurdle with great success and I was proud. And you know what? It wasn't all that hard to make-- it just required a bit of patience (another post for another day).

Its always good to have a fantastic dessert recipe for those occasions when you are short on patience, though, and this is mine. My Nana's Swedish apple pie. All the sumptuous slow-baked flavor of a more traditional pie with the minimal effort of a crisp. The best part? Its crustless. That's right- no pastry cutters, rolling pins or dough-chilling required. It only takes an hour to get from apple peelin' to pullin' that golden delicious creation from the oven. Perfect for upcoming family holiday gatherings where you might not have the time, patience or sanity to make one of those tasty-but-time-consuming-double-crusted jobs.

Swedish Apple Pie

Serves: 6 - 8 (or 1 - 2 very hungry pregnant women)

Ingredients:

For the filling--

• 3 - 5 apples (or enough to fill 2/3 of your pie plate), peeled and sliced*
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

For the topping--

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

*Using a mixture of different types of apples is always a good idea to get a balance of flavor and texture in any apple pie. Tart and crisp + sweet and soft = awesome pie, every time.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the apple slices with the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice, and spread into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish or pie plate. If you're really in a pinch and don't have any fresh lemons hanging around, a splash of orange juice works just as well.

Mix all the topping ingredients together until well combined but, still crumbly (it should stick together when you pinch it). Crumble the topping evenly over the apples and pat down lightly (but not too much-- the crust has a better texture when not smoothed down, in my humble opinion). 

Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden and the juices are a-bubblin'. Best served warm with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream. 

Possibly not as pretty as a rolled dough pie but, certainly just as delicious. x   
          

changes

I'm not sure about where you live but, 'round here the trees are finally turning all brilliant shades of gold, orange, scarlet and rusty red. It makes my early morning commute a real treat for the eyes, and the unpredictable New England weather worth the inconvenience.

Here are some pretty fall-inspired prints to brighten your day...

Left: Peaceful Park by Sally Elford

Right: Lovely Landscape by Courtney Oquist

Enjoy darlings!

xxx,

Mrs. M

shades of fall: kale-inspired purples

Hello there darlings! I hope you all had a great weekend.

I did quite a bit of shopping over mine, and in my travels I saw these gorgeous purple kales on display in front of the supermarket. I was so enamored with all the beautiful purples and pinks in this plant: shades of magenta, fuchsia, and earthy plum. I have since learned (read: Wikipedia'd) that this variety of hardy autumn kale is mostly ornamental here in the U.S. and I can see why...

Photo Credits: Kale for Sale by Finstr (left), Flowering Cabbage- Brassia oleracea by debsteinberg (right). Found via Flickr.

Beautiful, no?

Well, these stunning cabbage relatives have served as the color inspiration for my Etsy picks today. I've expanded my selections to include home and bath goodies as well-- hope you like!

Clockwise from top left:

*Organic Dala horse tee in mulberry by maryink

*Pleasantly purple upcycled top {with vintage buttons! squeeee!} by Pandaloo

*Vintage lace screen printed organic tee by New Duds

*Two-piece magenta dress by Janey Clothing

Clockwise from top left:

*Plum Chrysanthemum clutch by Shakuyaku

*Suzie earrings by Kande

*Messenger bag/MacBook sleeve by Track and Field Designs

*Vintage plum cocktail ring by Kyle Anne Metals

Left to right:

*Plum silk screened napkins (set of 6) by Marywibis

*Two of Hearts bowls by Red Hot Pottery

*Shanghai Plum soap by Flowering Tree Botanicals

*Honeybird giclee print in purple by Yumi Yumi

As always, I had to throw some vintage and nature motifs in there, and I love including upcycled and organic picks, too. Whadda ya think? I am sooooo obsessed with that Honeybird print-- I've been eyeing it for months! And I think those purple napkins would be a great alternative to the typical orange 'n black Halloween table decor.

Enjoy & have a great week!

xxx,

Mrs. M

shades of fall: golden amber

Hello again darlings!

I'm in the process of updating my "big girl" wardrobe with some fabulous fall pieces but, I'm kind of sick of the same old ubiquitous browns and oranges. Don't get me wrong-- I love a beautiful chocolate brown but, I want to shake things up a bit with some bold color. Personally, I *love* rich jewel tones for autumn so, I'm gonna share some of my favorite finds with you in the seasonal shades I adore.

Warm yellows definitely remind me of fall-- I always think of golden chrysanthemums, which seem to be everywhere right now. These hues can vary greatly, from bright mustards and goldenrods to deeper shades of honey and amber. Here are some gorgeous golden-amber Etsy finds to inspire you....

*Jewelry*

Clockwise from top left:

*Hollywood Luxe earrings in Mandarin by Kristin Friesen

*amber ring by Nur Cirakoglu

*Cider necklace by that jewelry girl

*Little Beauties citrine earrings by Distinction Jewelry

*Accessories*

Clockwise from top left:

*Eco Toes in Golden Yellow by infusion

*Golden winter scarf by Kiamichi 7

*Migratory belt buckle by Flight Path Designs

*3 pocket leather wallet by the Fig Leaf

*Clothing*

Clockwise from top left:

*Rococo shawl by Tickled Pink Knits

*Mustard silk dress by forEvaMore

*Schoolbus cardigan by red boots design

*organic Autumn fern tunic by purusha people

So what do you think?

I especially love the natural motifs - like the leaf prints and migrating birds - plus the school reference and warm knits.... if these things don't say "fall", I don't know what does!

Enjoy!

xxx,

Mrs. M

fallin'

We've got 2 weeks until Autumn finally descends upon us, but after Labor Day summer is pretty much finished in my book. As much as I love fall in New England, I'm a little sad this year-- I feel like we were seriously jipped out of a real summer because of all the nasty, cool weather we had this year. Le sigh.


BUT after last weekend, I'm letting go of summer. Hubby and I had a 'last hurrah' in the frigid water at the beach, eating hamburgers off the grill and finally getting ice cream cones from Gellar's (the summer snack bar in our little town-- we've lived here for 4 months but, now I feel like a true Manomet-ian!).


I also treated myself to some new warmer duds and saw Rob Zombie's Halloween II, to get me in the mood for the season. It worked. I'm really looking forward to cool, crisp days, warm-hued leaves and making my Dr. Dakota Block Halloween costume, among lots of other things.


Here are some of my favorite fall-inspired picks from Etsy that I just had to share...

Clockwise from the top left:

~Mother and Child Aspen Leaf necklace by Elizabeth Scott Designs
~Tufted Titmouse by Robert Socha Photography
~Skeleton Leaf earrings by Roundabout Designs
~Acorn Tree by Laura Berger (check out her blog & flickr photostream too)


I don't know about you, but I *love* discovering new-to-me Etsy artisans and their work, then hoarding them in my ridiculously long favorite lists. I figure since I can't buy them all - which is exactly why I don't have a credit card - the least I can do is share them and hope you see something you like enough to buy. I heart supporting handmade awesomeness (and no, they don't pay me to say that).


Anywho, I've got lots to look forward to this fall-- how about you?


I'll be attending my second NY Harvest Festival & Freedom Fair on October 9th, which is a whole pile of interesting. I'll hopefully be able to catch the Wailers (!!!) and the always-funky George Clinton, too. Seeing the bright foliage throughout the Catskills is worth the trip alone.

Then on the 18th, I'll be going to my first ICP show in at least a year and I am so pumped for that! They might not be your cup of tea but, god damn do they put on a helluva show.

In between all these exciting events and Halloween of course, I would also love to squeeze in a few fall crafts (like Martha's simple-but-lovely autumn luminarias or another leaf craft of some sort) because I have been neglecting my poor crafty supplies since our move.

AND I want to go apple picking! I haven't been since I was a kid and I am just dying to go. I have been hanging onto PickYourOwn.org for months and I will definitely be checking that out for apple orchards, pumpkin patches and other agricultural fall fun 'round here. I can't wait to make some warm cinnamony-delicious desserts with apples I've picked myself-- it doesn't get much better than that!



Hope you're enjoying September thus far darlings!

xxx,
Mrs. M