It Might Snow Next Week...

...But we're making the most of Fall now.

This morning I was walking across Plac Szczpański, like I usually do, and I found a large obstacle in my way. It was a corral, and inside were three women handing out small bags of apples with pamphlets.
I've seen it before: apples given as incentive to read company literature, but never more than one apple, maybe two if you ask nicely. But bags of apples? Now we're talking.

Anyway, I immediately texted Brian: Free apples! At work I thought about the bounty in my backpack. Brian got two bags, and together we had nine apples (here it starts to sound like a word problem from third grade math class). When I got home from work, I knew what to do. I mean seriously, when life gives you apples...


I love applesauce. Nothing screams Fall quite like yellow leaves and the smell of apples simmering down to their most delicious essence with some help from cinnamon and cloves. And did I mention the apples were free?


It turned out delicious, of course. Some of the apples in the bunch were really very good. Even better, I managed to press out a couple of glasses of cider, too. Together with some trail mix, a great little snack:


I have to admit, though--we still haven't read the pamphlets.

so many preserves

Well, hi there. I've been quite the delinquent blogger. But I'm settled into my house now, so you'll get the blog tour soon. (When everything's clean, that is). For now, a glimpse at some of the fun projects going on around here: one of my housemates started the Food Preservation Society, a club for preserving food and exploring food traditions. The rest of us have been the lucky recipients of a large number of these tasty preserved goods.

Sauerkraut, with farmers market cabbage!


Bread and butter pickles! With cucumbers acquired for free at a local bar.


Tomatoes from the farmers market + a school-funded dehydrator:


Delicious home-dried tomatoes!


Apples picked from various trees around campus become...


Apple butter!


I think I'm pretty good at choosing housemates. Coming up: plum jam, green tomato and apple chutney, apple chips, fruit leather. Oh boy.

Birthday Dinner

Today my parents and I are preparing a little birthday dinner for me and my boyfriend, who will be abroad during our September birthdays, and also for my brother, whose birthday was earlier this month.

Tonight's dinner, moussaka, with carrot cake for dessert, would warrant a post of its own. But it gets me thinking of last week's birthday dinner, in honor of Mallory's 22nd.

We hadn't seen each other since before we started this blog, so it was a sweet chance to do some co-blogging. Somehow we missed the chance, but we did take advantage and do some collaborative cooking. Mallory found a great recipe for vegan, gluten-free "lasagna" made with corn tortillas instead of pasta and filled with a spicy tomato and bean sauce, with layers of avacado and corn in the middle. On top we crumbled baked tortillas to add some crunch, and paired it with spinach salad with a cinnamon-cumin dressing. Between the six of us at dinner, we easily polished off the large pan.

We started at the farmer's market, which is one of my favorite parts of summer in Grinnell, anyway.


It's like slicing butter, only more appetizing.




Halfway through and adding layers.


Halfway through, this time subtracting...


I love the birthday dinner tradition. In fact, I love any excuse for a little dinner party with my friends. Visiting Grinnell last week was a little melancholy, as I mentioned, but writing this post reminds me of a lot of really great moments, from potlucks with Lina and Abby second year and hauling pots of indian food across Mac Field to the German House faculty dinner junior year. From cooking over a makeshift candle-stove when we lost power for five days in February '07 to much-blogged-about summer potlucks last year and grill-outs on the deck this past semester.

I also love any excuse for a little reminiscing.

Not generally a huge sandwich fan...

...But I devised a wonderfully delicious sandwich the other day. Unfortunately I didn't get to take pictures before it was entirely devoured.

Sandwich components:
1. Toasted wheat bread
(I used my fresh, homemade rosemary seven-grain peasant bread. It doesn't get any better than that, but something else just might also work.)
2. Whipped cream cheese
3. Spinach & Arugula
4. Parsley (I used flat leaf -- perfect texture)

Try it. Then thank me.

dresses, plants, rain

I haven't posted anything real in awhile.
That's mostly because I have been filling out job applications like it's my, um, job.
Unfortunately, it's not. I don't have one. But I will!

And in the mean time, I'm going to
1. sew a jacket
2. read Jane Austen
3. swim
4. update this blog. seriously.

here's a quick tour of this past week:

The cutest thing in the garden right now is our circle of friends of green beans:

They've survived the recent downpours like champions.

And what garden would be complete without a terrifying plastic owl?


It won't surprise anyone to know that I've been cooking...


& my parent's CSA box has been keeping things interesting. We made a sweet salad from these pea vines:


Oh! And I totally forgot to post the (basically) completed gingham dress!
It's been sitting on my dressform, almost complete, for well over a week now.
The button tabs are still only pinned on. I just haven't gotten around to it...
But you get the picture. It's pretty sweet.


Until next time!

Unemployment rules.

So, in case you hadn't heard, i'm unemployed for the summer, trying to figure out my visa situation for the coming year, sort our employment stuff, but mostly, yknow, just being unemployed.

the cool part is that i get to cook and sew and go to the gym a lot, which is wonderful. I also get to cook with my retired dad, which is fun. my first day home, we made croquettes, see?

(yes, ok, you can't really see the delicious croquettes under the creamy goopy mushroom alfredo, but you can imagine them, can't you? I can, and it's been over a day since I ate the leftovers for lunch.)

Also, my dad and I bought some seven-grain organic flour, and I made maybe the best looking loaf of peasant bread I've ever made (ever seen? seriously good). Maybe tomorrow I'll take a picture.

Other than that, everything I've been doing seems to be retro inspired. I blame A Dress A Day and El Fez Designs flickr, which I've been reading too much of.

But seriously. The last two projects I've made have turned relatively unbeautiful 80s outfits into fifties-inspired skirts. Here's this morning's skirt:

(And yes! That's my dressform, my eighth-grade birthday present, which my mom had been using in her archives museums while I lived in dorms and apartments--happy to be using it again!)

Next I started this red gingham dress, which hopefully will become beautiful later this week (it's a "very easy" butterick pattern, so I'm only allotting a couple days to do it).


It's this pattern, look how beautiful:


And then my mom's been getting rid of half her library, and giving away all her books... So here's my next read, I think:


PS. Did I mention?
Rhubarb Pie.
Sooo good.