mmmm apple pie!

Yesterday was the first official day of fall.  In these parts it is like someone flipped a switch, and all of a sudden the smells and coolness of the season was upon us.  One of my neighbours came by with an armload of apples from her tree (the ones that the bears didn't manage to eat).  I decided that we would make pie - all from scratch. 

I used to do this years ago, I always made my own crusts and used local apples.  They are the best this time of year, and if you know someone with a tree, even better.  Even the dented, bruised or partially worm (or bear) eaten apples can still be used.  Not that I have ever used a bear eaten apple...

As I was cruising the Pioneer Woman's website awhile ago I bookmarked a pie tutorial that Pam did.  This was a great step by step on how to make the perfect crust.  There were some great tips that I had never tried before, and this pie was one of the best I have made. 

Next up was the filling, so I peeled and sliced some apples, and made a cinnamon/sugar mix to go with it (recipe at the end of the post). 

I followed the directions for the crust and baking the pie from the tutorial above.  The tip about covering the whole pie in foil after it had browned was a great one, it worked beautifully. 

I would suggest you follow the tutorial, and then when it comes time to do the filling, use the following recipe.  It did turn out a bit sweet for me, but you could always alter the sugar.  Another great tip from Pam was to add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the top of the filling before you put the top pie crust on.  Not so great for the hips, but ohhhhh it tasted amazing.

Apple Pie Filling:

2 lbs of peeled and sliced apples (6-10 apples depending on size)

Sugar Mixture
1/4 cup of packed, light brown sugar
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg

Add the sugar mixture to the apples and stir until coated.

Another lag between posts....

Well, I am happy to report that my black hair is much lighter, not the best choice I have made with regard to hair colour.  Especially since my lovely white hair underneath began to grow in within a couple of weeks.  So we (my hairdresser and I) have decided that my lid would benefit from some highlights, so we are back to dark and red.  Oh the drama....

I was thinking about this blog the other day, and I don't think I have formally introduced the newest addition to our family to my readership (yeah, that's right - my massive readership.  All five of you). 

Awhile ago Ken and I decided that having a dog would be good for the family.  I don't go back to my job for awhile yet (I took a leave of absence shortly after Renee was born, and I'll get back to work once she is in school), so by the time I do go back we figured the puppy would be well trained.  We spent a bit of time looking online and at rescue agencies, and finally found some puppies that we were interested in.  We filled out the application, and waited.  And waited.  Finally someone got back to us via e-mail and told us that because we were a young family, they wouldn't give us a dog.  Never mind that we have a fully fenced yard, and that I would be home full time.  Apparently (according to them) I don't know how much work having a dog is.  Needless to say I wasn't impressed.  YES I do know how much work a dog is, and I would make sure that he would be properly trained.  So basically I told them the kiss MY ass.

We then found an interesting litter through another rescue.  Eight puppies who looked like they each had a different dad.  There were dogs that looked like shepards, some that looked like golden labs, and some that had rottie colouring.  So again, we applied, and waited.  The rescue got back to us and told us that they wanted to meet us at our house for an "inspection".  Honestly, having kids was much easier than all this!

So two lovely ladies (and one lovely very large dog) came to our house.  Everything went really well.  The kids loved the big dog, and they all loved our yard.  We were approved!  They even had one of the dogs picked for us.  When they told us that he was essentially a big dumb dog with not as much energy as the rest of the litter we were sold.  They told us that he had a lovely personality and liked to sleep in his dog dish.  Even better.

The next week we got our puppy.  All 20 lbs of fuzz.  The kids were in love. 

The name he was given by the foster mom was "Bentley", and we decided to keep that name.  Totally suits him.  Overall, he has been a very easy dog.  Nowhere near as hard as the kids. 

He does have an easygoing personality, and loves almost everyone, except the mean old Russian lady who lives behind us - every time he hears her voice he runs to the fence and barks.  He doesn't do that with her husband or her grown kids, just her.  Weird. 

Check out his paws. Like I said, he is now 90 lbs and just growing into them. In this photo he was still a mere 30ish lbs or so...

Bentley is very protective of Renee - I guess because he has spent so much time with her, as she is attached to me 24/7.  It is a great relationship though, and Renee loves him to bits.  And no, he hasn't finished growing....

Day 30 - black hair, OY.

Day 30 - black hair, OY., originally uploaded by sassyanna.

today I went to the hairdresser. Brown is what I asked for. Black is what I got. Ken said it looked....well....nice. He thinks. Gonna take alot of getting used to.

Day 29 - Black and White

Day 29 - Black and White, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

Today is the last day of school, and I hope that we have many more days like these over the summer - just relaxing and hanging out as a family. Too bad that I had to wear boots to school today to pick up the kids. It is still raining here, feels like early spring!

Day 28 - Flowers

Day 28 - Flowers, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

an extreme close up for this one, almost done the challenge!

Day 27 - from a distance

Day 27 - from a distance, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

Every year we go to Parksville on Vancouver Island. The kids love it there, and the best times are on the beach when the water is way out, and there are all kinds of interesting things left behind. Shells, jellyfish, crabs...so much to discover.

Day 26 - close up

Day 26 - close up, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

This is Renee's headband, and it is also her favourite colour. She insisted that I take a photo because the sun is shining today and her hair "sparkles". Too cute.

Day 25 - Pink

Day 25 - Pink, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

There is no shortage of pink in this house, and yet I found this one a hard one. Not too much motivation right now to pull out the camera, but I did think this wrapping paper was cute, and what do you know...pink!

Day 24 - animal

Day 24 - animal, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

so I must admit, today's capture is one from the archives. My silly camera conked out, and the couple of shots I managed to get won't convert to jpeg files for some reason. I got a great shot of Bentley today too. Oh well. Just for the record, the Bernese in this photo is not ours, but they are pretty much my favourite breed. Bentley and his friend had a great time together when they met.

Day 23 - Sunflare...

Day 22 - Sunflare..., originally uploaded by sassyanna.

I don't think we have really had a spring here, and now that it is officially summer, it would be nice to put my rain boots away for a few months and bring out the flip-flops. Today was especially wet and cold, except at about 2pm when the sun peeked out for a bit. Thank goodness it did, I don't know how I would have got today's shot otherwise!

Day 22 - Hands

trying to get in the car..., originally uploaded by sassyanna.

Ahhh....they try to escape, but in this case it was futile. The car was locked. It is like those pedestrian "walk" buttons though, you keep pressing and pressing hoping it changes the light. They keep pulling and pulling on the handles hoping the door will unlock.

Day 21 - faceless self portrait.

Day 21 - faceless self portrait., originally uploaded by sassyanna.

Tonight I was whipping up a semi stir fry - prawns and string beans with a peanut satay sauce. Simply divine. Too bad I didn't make enough....

Day 20 - Bokeh

Day 20 - Bokeh, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

This was a tough one. When I think of Bokeh, I think of lots of little lights - none of which were to be found today. I was out in the garden and had a great day overall though. Even found a small bird's nest with eggs in one of our hanging baskets. That will be another post for another day!

Day 19 - Something Orange

Father's day here consisted of just me and Renee.  The boys were at their grandparents, and Ken was in Hong Kong paddling.  We had a great day, except for the fact it was raining.  We needed to get the dog out for a walk, and decided to go to the local waterpark.  It was working, which is quite ironic as it was cold and raining.  There were lots of bright colours though, and I just hope that the kids get a chance to run around in it when it is hot!

Day 18 - Your shoes

Day 18 - Your shoes, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

These are my favourite shoes. And newly cleaned because my daughter hasn't quite mastered the whole "vomiting in the toilet" thing yet. She missed, and hit my chucks. The other feet in the photo belong to our five month old puppy Bentley. He hasn't quite grown into his paws yet.

Day 17 - technology

Day 17 - technology, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

This is Ethan playing his DS. I really struggled with him getting one, and in the end, I told him if he wanted one he had to pay for it himself. So he saved for the better part of two years, and he did it. He doesn't play it that often (thank you swim club!), but he does enjoy some tech time now and then.

Day 16 - long exposure

Day 16 - long exposure, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

What I would have loved to do for this one is go to a bridge, at night and do tail lights and headlights of cars. Alas, it wasn't to be. So the kids were my subject tonight. Kinda fun!

Day 15 - Silhouette

Day 15 - Silhouette, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

Ok, I cheated a bit on this one....Stanley cup finals are on (Go Canucks Go!). This shot was taken on Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. My kids had the BEST time. This freaked me out to watch, but the boys were amazing.

Day 14 - Eyes

Day 14 - Eyes, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

So no camera time today, until the kids were all in bed. Last week I cleaned out the art cupboard so I knew we had lots of spare "eyes" on hand. Even found the coloured felts too. This is about the full extent of my artistic ability. I think my kids could do better!

Day 13 - Yourself with 13 things

Day 13 - Yourself with 13 things, originally uploaded by sassyanna.

mmmmm.....banana bread. Here I am (late at night I might add) making a special treat for my kids. My aunt thought I was crazy breaking out the camera to capture this, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to keep up with the photo challenge.