Wake up! Morning Glory Muffins

I bought a pound of carrots from Brookford Farm through the Rock Op Co-op. These were nice thick stubby carrots with a very sweet bite. I decided I wanted to make them into some sort of muffin, I love my muffins and so do my kids! Lucy even told me this morning that these tasted like donuts and dear husband said I should definitely make these again. Now grating the carrots was a labor of love. Pre-grate your carrots before mixing together this recipe! You'll get your workout for the evening.

I've adapted this recipe to my tastes (and what I had in my kitchen!) There's quite a few local things you can use in this recipe; carrots, apples, homemade applesauce and eggs.

Morning Glory Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 apple - peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup raisins
1 egg
2 egg whites
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, applesauce, oil and vanilla.
3. In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in carrots, apples and raisins. Stir in apple butter mixture until just moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.
4. In a small bowl, combine walnuts and wheat germ; sprinkle over the muffin tops. Press the wheat germ and walnuts gently into the muffin mix so it sticks once they're baked.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.

You must try these at least once, you'll be hooked! Enjoy!

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It's a smash hit!

I have a special new product to tell you about. I was given a few samples for my kids to try from a company called Smashies. Smashies are 3.2 oz packets of drinkable applesauce. Get it? NO mess! I never thought I'd see mess-less applesauce!

Here are some great things about Smashies applesauce:

• Certified Organic
• No high fructose corn syrup
  
• No mess
• No added sugar
• Portable and convenient
  
• One serving of fruit per packet
• Local company (Boston, MA)

My kids loved these and they figured out how to drink it real quick. I don't think they're available in our stores yet (Market Basket, Hannaford or Shaw's), but I plan on requesting the product in my local Hannaford. I just love all the features of the applesauce, especially the no mess part!

Here are a few pics of my kids enjoying their applesauce!

Thanks Smashies for a great product and I hope we see this in the store soon. (Hey, if you don't want to wait, you can buy it online...)

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Pumpkin Banana Bread

I had a spare "really ripe" banana ready for use when I came across this recipe from the Country Home magazine. It has everything in it, apple cider, pumpkin, cranberries and a banana. I used local apple cider from McKenzie's Farm in Milton, NH. You can also make your own pumpkin puree if you have the wherewithal.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup cooking oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/3 cups white whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 2/3 cup apple cider or water
• 1 15-oz. can pumpkin
• 1 medium ripe banana, mashed (1/2 cup)
• 1 6-oz. pkg. dried cranberries

1. Grease bottoms and 1/2 inch up sides of four 7 1/2x3 1/2x2-inch or two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed beat sugars and oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, soda, salt, and spices. Alternately add dry mixture and cider to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin and banana. Stir in cranberries, if using.

3. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes for small pans or 50 to 60 minutes for larger pans or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. If necessary, cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. Makes 4 small loaves or 2 large loaves (32 servings).

Enjoy!

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Weekend Review

What a whirlwind weekend! Life has been so utterly crazy lately!

Saturday my mom and I took the kids to the Fall Foliage Fest hosted by the Good Shepherd School in Barrington, NH. The kids had a grand ole time bouncing in the bouncy houses and we enjoyed a few hot dogs and cookies! We didn't stick around for the auction, but it looks like a bunch of great things were available.

After the festival, we took the kids to the Coppal House Farm & Corn Maze in Lee, NH. I will be blogging about this activity this week. So stand by for that post!

I totally missed the Butternut Farm Fall Festival today! Church service was smack dab in the middle of the festival and we didn't get home in time! I hope somebody was able to go and join the fall festivities. I do need to get back to Butternut to pick some more apples!

October 25th and 26th will be the last Applecrest Farm weekend festivals. Lots of free things to do and a bunch of apples to pick. This would made a great "end of fall" activity!

The October Eat Local challenge is still going on for the remainder of October. I am ashamed to tell you how I've been doing. Let's just say that I'm doing the best I can! It's been tough with two young mouths to feed and a limited budget. I will be picking up my 2nd co-op order on Tuesday, though, so I am doing good eating local meats. Be on the lookout for a few new stew/soup recipes in the next week or so.

Also note that you still have time to enter Annie's Homegrown Kiwi magazine offer. And finally, for a bit of Monday fun, head over to Confessions of an Apron Queen and enter her weekly apron giveaway!

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Baked Apple Donuts

I originally found this recipe on Michelle's blog, Scribbet: Motherhood in Alaska. I posted about it being one of the donuts I may try in the future because my first donut making experience was a complete failure.

I am happy to officially report that with the help of Michelle's recipe, I successfully make donuts! First off, I couldn't resist a recipe with dough made in the bread machine. I mean, how simple is that? Secondly, I was able to use one of my local apples. So here's the recipe with my tweaks noted:

Baked Apple Donuts

Combine the following ingredients in this order in your bread machine and set your machine to "dough" cycle:

1 cup milk
¼ cup wheat germ
3 ¾ cups flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat flour and the rest white flour)
3 tablespoon olive oil (I used 3 tablespoons melted butter)
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1 large grated apple (1 large honeycrisp apple)
1 large egg
2 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger (I didn't have ginger so I used 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg)
1 tablespoon fast-acting yeast

When the dough is ready, shape into 14 donuts and let them rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until browned and done. Immediately dip in a cinnamon/sugar mix

Ok I totally forgot to let them rise for an additional 30 minutes. Oops! But I did roll the dough out on a floured counter to about a 1/2 in. thickness. I used my donut cutter to easily cut out MANY donuts and donut holes! They baked just fine in the 15 minute time frame.

I think the whole wheat flour detracted from the taste of the donut. I'll probably use all white flour next time. It was also lacking in the apple flavor department, but that's probably due to the fact that I didn't use a real nice baking apple and I could have probably used another 1/2 cup shredded apple as well.

Overall, a wonderful recipe to utilize your apples and bread machine. Plus it's a much healther "donut" considering the use of wheat germ, apples and baking vs. frying. Enjoy!

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Butternut Farm Fall Festival

Butternut Farm in Farmington, NH will be hosting their fall festival on Sunday October 19 from 11 am - 2 pm. They'll have pick-your-own apples, a selection of food as well as free wagon rides, pumpkin decorating, free candy apples, face painting and more.

Be sure to check the fall festival link and stop by for a nice fall event. Also a reminder that Applecrest Orchards in Hampton Falls, NH has their weekend festivals till the end of October. More information here.

Happy apple picking!

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It's a wrap!

Phew, the weekend's events are finished and now we have Sunday to rest and catch up.

We had a blast at the Apple Harvest Fest in Dover. My parents joined up with us so Steve and I got a few moments to ourselves, which is always nice. The kids were able to enjoy a few rides, pet some animals, eat ice cream and ride the ponies. I also stopped by the MOPS tent and said hello to those gals as well. Did anyone else stop by Apple Harvest Fest?

And back up to Friday night when we went to the Children's Museum of New Hampshire's free Family Fun Night. Evan had fun digging at the Dino Detective exhibit and I had fun chasing two wildly excited children! Thankfully my mom came along to help with the wrangling. And does anyone else have a child in the "non-photographic" stage? Neither want to look at me for a nice picture!

The next free Family Fun Night is scheduled for November 7th. Be sure to mark it on the calender!

I also wanted to mention that Thistle Ridge Farm in Dover, NH will be having a Family Farm Day from noon to 5 pm on Saturday October 11th. Visit Sarah's "Seacoast Eat Local" blog for more info.

And....one more reminder that Applecrest Farm Orchards in Hampton Falls, NH has weekly festivals on Saturday till the end of October. Just one more event to make the fall weekends a fun time for all. Lots of good apple recipes out there. Yum!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

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Apple Harvest Fest

This Saturday, October 4th, is Dover's annual Apple Harvest Fest. I'm totally crossing my fingers for good weather as last weeks Eliot Festival Day was rained out.

Click here for a schedule at Fosters.com.

There will be lots of things to do, see, and taste! There will be a carnival-like center near the NH Children's Museum/Henry Law Park area, a pancake breakfast at 8 am at the Cocheco Falls Courtyard (no way are we making it to that!), lots of entertainment and shopping down Central Ave and of course, tons of apples!

Be sure to head down, it's going to be a nice day and I'm sure it'll be tons of fun.

Also, don't forget that this Friday night from 5:30 - 8:30 pm is the NH Children's Museum's Family Fun Night. Can we say a free kid focused event? See you there!

And more house cleaning, remember it's not too late to sign up for Annie's free magazine offer. My subscription is on it's way! Check this post for more info.

Have a great Wednesday!

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Crockpot Applesauce

I've seen this recipe posted in a few different places and I thought it was an awesome idea. What could be better than the smell of apples and cinnamon in the air and a nice bowl of applesauce?

The kids and I stopped by Butternut Farms again and picked some Honeycrisp apples. The apples were huge! I'm not sure if these were the best applesauce apples, but it looked and tasted fine. (For more info on apple varieties and uses, check this chart.) Here's the recipe:

Crockpot Applesauce
4-5 large apples (I used 5 extra large apples)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup water

Peel, core and slice your apples and place in the crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Mash with fork or potato masher.

This is how my apples started their journey in the crockpot: I cooked them for a little over 4 hours and mashed them easily with a potato masher. Enjoy this simple recipe for yummy fresh applesauce.

I found a recipe for "Zucchini Muffins with Everything Nice" in one of my new cookbooks (quaint recipe name) that calls for applesauce so I'll be trying out the homemade applesauce in a recipe tomorrow. Stand by for that recipe and picture!

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Maple Apple Crisp

Here's a nice recipe to warm up those cool fall evenings. You can't beat a nice maple apple crisp! I made this last night to go with my Shepard's Pie. Come back again Thursday for that recipe!

The apples are MacIntosh from Butternut Farms and the maple syrup is Sugarmomma's Maple Syrup from the Exeter Farmer's Market.

Maple Apple Crisp

INGREDIENTS
5 apples - peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup butter, softened (I reduced the butter amount from the original recipe, it was perfect this way)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Place apples in an 8x8 inch baking dish. Toss apples with syrup. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy this simple recipe that tastes and smells delicious!

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Applecrest Farm Weekend Festivals

Yesterday the kiddos and I went to the Exeter Farmer's Market for the first time. Due to Steve's work shift and the kids nap schedule, it has made it tough for us to get to the Exeter market. I was quite pleased to make it before closing time yesterday! I picked up some wonderful local maple syrup (I prefer Grade B, but be sure to find a maple syrup supplier who will let you taste test first, this is what sold me on the product!), I also bought a head of cauliflower and plan to make Sarah's Roasted Cauliflower and last but not least, I bought some local bacon from Kellie Brook Farm in Greenland, NH. I can't wait for local eggs and bacon this weekend!

Anyway, moving on to what this post is truly about! The great fall festivals that Applecrest Farm Orchards in Hampton Falls, NH hosts. These festivals run every Saturday and Sunday from the first weekend in September till mid-October. Some of the activities include:

• FREE live Folk and Bluegrass music
• Pick-your-own apples and pumpkins
• Horse-drawn orchard hayrides
• Children's petting zoo
• Face painting
• Pie eating contests
• Balloons
• Apple pie and ice cream
• Old-fashioned hot cider donuts
• Make-your-own scarecrow
• Our World Famous Corn Roast featuring: grilled gourmet sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, fire-roasted corn, Maine clam chowder, fresh pressed apple cider and more.

It sounds like a wonderful time and there are a good handful of weekends left to enjoy some fall festivities. So pack the family up and head over to Applecrest Farm Orchards, I know I will be putting this on my fall calendar!

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Today's post is brought to you by...

...the letter "A". For apple that is!

I made a gutsy move and chose to bring both the toddlers to the apple orchard by myself. Gasp! I was just hoping and praying they'd sit in the wagon for the most part. Our destination was, yet again, the wonderful Butternut Farm in Farmington, NH. Jonamac's, MacIntosh and Ginger Gold's are ready for picking now and through the weekend. MacIntosh apples should be around for the next couple weeks. Note that Butternut Farm has a great automated daily message of what's ripe for picking if you call (603) 335-4705. I highly suggest you call prior to going over to see what's ripe and check the picking hours.

Anyway, the trip went over surprisingly well and the kids got out of the wagon a few times to pick some apples and plums. Here they are in their wagon enjoying apples (I must have had 10 apples with bite marks in them!)Like I said earlier I also picked some plums, which I have no clue what I'm going to do with. Are there any good plum recipes? Maybe I'll just eat them! Haha! :)

One of my goals it to perfect a homemade pie crust recipe so I can make an amazing homemade apple pie. Does anyone have any pie crust recipes that are tried and true that they want to share? I haven't decided which recipe from my cookbooks I want to try yet. But first I need to get a pastry blender to cut in my butter! The knife and fork method didn't work too well on the peach crisp I made!

So after this rainy weekend is over you should head over to the farm and pick some of the first apples of the season. I'm actually excited for fall now and it was actually FUN to take the kids to the orchard and share with them the love of apple picking (and eating while picking) in New England.

Ok, I'll leave you with a few more pics of my kiddos (yes there are also sheep and chickens to visit at Butternut Farm). And don't forget to check out the apple chart I posted about. It'll help you to know which apples to pick for eating, baking or both.

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An apple a day...

...keeps the doctor away, right? Apples are now coming into season so it's time to get picking! Oh my, does that mean fall is upon us, already?! Yowsers, did the summer fly by!

Today I was e-mailed the The Prepared Pantry newsletter and in it was a wonderful apple chart. It covers all sorts of apple varieties and how to use them and their flavors. Wonderful to have around to see which varieties should be eaten plain and what can be baked or both. Be sure to bookmark this apple chart!

Also, The Prepared Pantry has a free baking e-book delivered once every week for 8 weeks. And their newsletter is nice too. They do sell baking items and mixes, but there are loads of recipes and helpful tips mixed it. Give it a try, it's a wealth of information.

Don't forget that Butternut Farm is picking apples as of now and I'm sure there are many more pick-your-own apple farms gearing up to open now. Yahoo for apple season!

(Apple Jacket picture from JacquelineKnits ltd. on Etsy. Available for $12 each. (I want one now!))

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