Yum! Apple Crepes!

After all of this lovely apple picking this past week, we got to work making many appley type things.  Mostly, just eating them straight up.  But it's been a Saturday/Sunday morning tradition in our house for 10 years now to make a big breakfast (crepes, french toast or pancakes) and so this past Saturday we made some caramelized apple crepes.

The best thing about crepes is that you can really go with the season and load them up with whatever is growing at the moment--strawberries and rhubarb in the spring, peaches and blueberries in the summer, apples and cranberries into the fall/winter and when nothing is really in season, bananas will do.  I always like to either enhance sweetness with Nutella or off-set it with Mascarpone cheese (a sweet Italian cream cheese).

This is the best crepe recipe that I have found, in my old Betty Crocker cookbook.  I can't find it online anymore.  It's the perfect one for sweet crepes--with vanilla and sugar) and if you choose to do savory, skip those two ingredients.

Crepes

1 1/2 cup of flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of milk
2 Tbsp of butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs

1. Heat a crepe skillet on low while mixing ingredients.  I use a 9 inch Cuisinox.  These skillets do not require butter.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and sald in a bowl.  Stir in remaining ingredients and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.   
3. Pour 1/3-1/2 cup into the skillet (depending on the size) and rotate the skillet slowly until the batter reaches all of the edges of the skillet.  Cook until very lightly but still brown on the bottom.  Use a rubber scrapper to gently lift all of the edges before flipping
4.  Stack crepes together on a plate covered with tinfoil to keep warm and soft as the air will dry and make them stiff.
5.  Add a dollop of mascarpone in a line down the middle and fill with caramelized apples.  Roll up and top with fruit and/or maple syrup.



Caramelized Apples

Now for the filling!  Make sure to use cooking apples (Cortlands are best).  Cooking apples will keep their shape when cooked and the tart flavor is beautiful!  Do not use the softer apples like MacIntosh as they will turn to mush.

3-4 medium sized cooking apples such as Cortlands
1/4 cup of maple syrup

1. Thinly slice apples (leave skin on or peel beforehand if you like)
2.  Place in a frying pan on medium/high heat and cover with maple syrup.
3. Cook until soft and the maple syrup is thick and sticky, covering the apples.  You may choose to add more syrup.
4. Fill crepes! :)

Hope you love 'em!

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Apples!

Apple picking season is here!!  Truly one of my favorite things to do with the kids.  And today was perfect apple picking weather!  100% sunny.  Crisp in the morning, warm in the afternoon. We drove to Caledon with my parents to meet up with some friends and pick apples at a lovely little orchard full of dwarf apple trees, called Berryview across from Downey's where we pick strawberries.   It was perfect for taking little ones apple picking.   We were able to borrow a wagon for the littles to sit in while we walked through the orchard. Of course, this was a new experience for Maggie and she flailed her arms with great pleasure while we bounced along the short path. 

Magdalene sat in the wagon and sucked delightfully on a few apples, which she couldn't eat because she doesn't have any teeth yet.  And Bumpa impressed us all by breaking an apple in two with his bare hands, a talent he's performed many, many times since we were children and have tried to attempt ourselves, always unsuccessfully.

Gabriel was really really into the apple picking (unlike the blueberries and strawberries we picked this year) I think because they were so big and easy to pick and most of them were quite ripe. It didn't take us long at all to fill our bag full.  Some of those trees were absolutely LOADED with brilliant red apples.  It was so beautiful!

Now, to eat ourselves silly on apples until we are pretty sure we will never eat another apple again all winter.  And many fabulous apple creations coming up.  Apple pie.  Carmelized apples in crepes. Apple sauce. Apple butter.  Apple pancakes.....  I'm pretty sure that bag we picked will be gone in less than a week and we'll be back out there doing it again next week and every week after until the season is done.

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Hello Fall.

Today was one of those crisp days.  When you wake up and put on a sweater and leave it on all day.   That's sort of how it's been lately here in Toronto, interspersed with some hot and humid days here and there.  Or days when you start with a sweater on and later regret it.  In a good way.

The other day was exactly one like today--cool and fresh and brisk.   And since it started at 4:30, by 8:00 am we were desperate to get out.  So we did.  We took a long walk by the river while Maggie napped and we threw all sorts of sticks and rocks into the bushes as we went.  You know, burning off steam.  Our little guy is always so full of energy and a perseveration on throwings things (over the fence, on the roof, down the stairs...) so we try to provide some positive and appropriate outlets which is a rather full-time challenge in creative parenting these days.   He certainly has quite the muscles in his arms now and likely will have a career in baseball with his side-arm long-distance throw.

Anyway, the changing of the leaves around here is simply stunning.  It's those brilliant reds--first on the flaming Sumacks that are the most striking.  I have always been a huge fan of summer but as it gets on to fall, I find I am embracing warm sweaters, boots, hearty soups and stews, fall leaves and apple picking!!  But will leave that for tomorrow.

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Pirates, We be Six.

A-hoy mateys!  Today be "Talk like a Pirate Day." 

Just in case you didn't know, today has been unofficially declared around the world (or maybe just in North America) "Happy Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day."  We found out about it last year when we got a card in the mail from our family announcing the upcoming day and we celebrated just a little bit.  You can see that blog post here.  But this year, we really got in the spirit for sure.

I am not entirely sure how the whole thing began, but maybe it was a really cool pair of cufflinks with skulls on them?  From that point on, at least one (or two or three) of our Christmas presents contain some form of skulls and crossbones, everything from socks, birthday decorations, dress up stuff, a bib, a dog tag, a mug, napkins, cards, cufflinks, a bracelet, etc.  I mean, it sort of is getting a little bit out of hand, don't you think.  But it's all in good fun.

But it does mean that we are all decked out when it comes to "Talk like a pirate day."  The kids had Seaweed Pirate Soup for lunch and we had a fine bit a fish for supper with my parents who are here for the week with us.   I didn't get my own cutlass and I didn't make a crocodile Dundee cake.  I'll save that for next year, I guess.  But we did have plenty of pirate booty and we all sported our most menacing faces. 

 And just in case you didn't know, there is a little song about our family.  It goes something like this:

“Potter-Davey’s Privateers”

By Stephen Strople

With thanks from: Stan Rogers, “Barrett’s Privateers”

The year was two thousand and twelve,

I think I was in Squamish then.

When a letter of marque

Came from the stork

And the first little pirate did spring forth.

Ahoy-matey! I am told,

We’ll cruise the seas for American gold.

We’ll fire no guns, shed no tears.

Now, I’m a baby pirate, tender in years—

The first of Potter-Davey’s privateers.

Now here I sit in my very first year.

I think I am in Washington.

But what it won’t be long ‘fore I sail away

In my blue rocking dory from Maine, olay!

Ahoy-matey! I am told,

We’ll cruise the seas for American gold.

We’ll fire no guns, shed no tears.

Now, I’m a baby pirate, tender in years—

The first of Potter-Davey’s privateers.

 

(And there are a few more verses now that Magdalene has joined our family).  We promise to get a good recording and publish next year!

For now, may the wind be in yer sails!

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Cousin Elsie's Birthday

One of the joys of living in Toronto is that we get to see and spend time with our cousins.  But not only that--Gabriel and Magdalene have cousins too and so it has been really fun seeing them get to know each other and interact and become friends too.  Last week we got to have a family birthday party with Elsie. 

Ok, so Elsie turned six and is all grown up.  She is in school, loves arts and crafts and has a significant vocabulary.  Gabriel is still two and can barely sit still for a second and most of what he says I'm pretty sure Elsie doesn't understand.  But man, oh man, does Gabriel ever love his cousin to pieces.  Despite their age difference, they have a lot of fun together.  After church every Sunday they run laps of the sanctuary to burn off steam.  Both of them finish all sweaty and exhausted and so I have Elsie to thank for those big long afternoon naps on Sunday. 

So when we found out about Elsie's birthday party, he got pretty excited and was talking about "Elsie's Happy" for a week.  Oh, kids birthdays are soooo much fun!  They just tore around in the backyard chasing each other, got tossed around and up in the air by the uncles, blew bubbles, bopped their balloons like monkeys, tore through presents, iced cupcakes and then only ate the icing and the sprinkles (Gabriel).  It was wonderful, simple fun.  (Although I'm sure putting it all together was an incredible feat and I am sure everyone completely crashed when it was a

I would just like to point out that this is Gabriel's ecstatic-i-can't-believe-how-happy-and-excited-i-am face.  It's a rarity to catch on camera since he is usually running so face when he makes it. 

Seriously, Magdalene, that pout cracks me up!

 And can I just say how amazing the uncles/aunts/cousins are with kids!!  Love this!!!

Oh!  There's Frankie!

Well, we think this girl is pretty special!  Thanks for sharing your day with us, darling!
 
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