i like to bake

Cookies, cakes, pies, bread. I like how you combine flour, sugar, salt, fat and fillings and end up with all manner of mouth-watering foods.

Today it was apples. Six Granny Smith apples, to be precise.

I had planned to bake a pie, but was feeling a little lazy in the crust department. So, I went for a crisp instead. This one from Sunset>>

It's pretty awesome. I can't wait until breakfast to have more.

in which old becomes new

One of the best parts about hosting family for Christmas eve dinner is cooking with leftovers for the rest of the week. Grilled ham and cheese, breakfast ham, and tonight, ham and bean soup.

Easy -- and two out of four loved it (the two who didn't are under the age of 10; I'm choosing to ignore their culinary opinions).

Recipe adapted from Southern Living>> I left out the potatoes and replaced the ham soup base with about a cup of chicken stock blended with one can of the drained beans.

Speaking of leftovers, I can't stop eating these>>

eat my words

If I were eating words, I'd start with these: chocolate, delicious, pumpkin, crunchy. Then, warm bread with salted butter, nutty, chewy, chocolate (again). Pie crust, honeycrisp apple, maple syrup, oatmeal. Rare roast beef and polenta with gravy (a childhood favorite).

But since I'm not, I'll use these instead... In this space, as I share my crafts, gardening, egg gathering (one can hope) and whatever else crosses my path, I'll try to do so with tasty words and good photos.