Have you been apple picking yet this year? If not, you should definitely go. NOW! The weekend is beautiful and there’s still plenty of apples if you head to the right spot. For me, apple picking is a fall necessity. Last year might have been the first year I can remember that I didn’t go apple picking. It’s a tradition that started with my family as a kid, continued with my high school friends and now I do with my husband every October.
A few days of warmth followed by so so temperatures. April is often one of the most disappointing months for me. I understand March being wishy-washy with its temperature decisions. Spring, winter, spring, winter. It’s in transition. But April. We are now in full-fledged spring. There’s no excuse for cooler temperatures. I expect sunshine and daffodils from here on out. But yesterday seemed to miss the memo. I wanted to drown myself in warming comfort food to shield myself from the bite of “spring”. Nothing rich and hearty like a winter stew. I wanted something that spoke to the lightness of spring but soothed my winter reality. A creamy soup, warm but light, paired with a salad. Parsnip soup.
Ever notice how sweet focused Christmas is? Really all holidays I guess. Christmas cookies and cupcakes and cakes and pies and hot chocolate and eggnog…the list goes on! Sure there’s some savory dishes that become favorites like turkey and ham but for the most part when you go to a party or an event, the dessert is the highlight. Just think how much time and effort (and money) brides put into coming up with the perfect wedding cake. It’s a centerpiece of the whole day. For Christmas desserts, I think of cookies first, but pies…mmmm, pies are a very close second.
It’s soup season! Especially on a day like today. I haven’t actually seen much rain for the past few days but since Saturday Brooklyn has been chilly and raw. The kind of weather that even though it’s not really that cold outside, the dampness gets inside of you and your bones feel cold. Plus it’s just sad and depressing! It’s the holidays people! I don’t need a white Christmas, but a rainy one just won’t do.
I have made a lot of pies in my life, but proud to say I’ve never made a double crusted pie. Meaning those pretty pies with the sheet of dough over top, and the perfect little slits around the center, and perfectly crimped edges? Yeah, I don’t do those. Why, because I’m lazy. And a bit afraid. All that work, then the thought of somehow messing up the top causes way to much anxiety. So all of my pies have become “Dutch”.
Brooklyn Locavore 