An Apple a Day.

The apple-mania continues, this time in the form of homemade applesauce.  Once you try it, you'll never want to go back to jarred again.  Having never made it before, I scoured for a recipe that offered more depth than just apples, water, and sugar.  This was the winning recipe...

Peeling & coring is the longest part.

Everything boils together in one pot.

The end result is outstanding.

Tantric India Bistro.

With another restaurant.com gift certificate in my possession, a friend and I checked out Tantric India Bistro.  The menu was huge and it all looked great...  

Crisp flour chips with potatoes, chickpeas, and

yogurt, drizzled with a tamarind and cilantro sauce.

After much debate, we started with the Papri Chaat (above) as an appetizer and shared the Lamb Korma (below, right) and Bhindi do Piaza (below, left) for our entrees with a side of the Garlic Naan.  The sauces were rich in flavor with just enough heat to make your lips tingle... 

With portions were so large, 

each of us had enough for another meal.

We washed it all down with a delightful mango lassi we wisely shared as one would be a meal in itself.

Don't Burn the Pecans.

With my new harvest of apples, I turned to various cookbooks in search of creative ways to use them.  I made a tried and true recipe for Apple and Cranberry Crisps with Ginger-Pecan Topping.  It's unique blend of flavors put a surprising twist on a classic fall dessert...

Gives a burst of spice.

Ready for the oven.

In order to make the topping for the crisp, you have to toast the pecans first.  Be careful, they burn very easily.  The same is true when you put the topping on the crisp and put it in the oven to finish baking.  A tin foil tent might help...

Great on a cold evening, watching football.

First Signs of Fall.

A favorite childhood pastime is apple picking.  I still make an effort to go every fall.  This year I went to Wojcik Farm in Blackstone, MA with my girlfriends.  Never before have I picked so many apples...

Red ones.

Green ones.





We picked and picked and picked.

Until we had five bushels of apples.

Let's do the math:  If a bushel is approximately twenty pounds, that means we picked one hundred pounds of apples.  When someones mother and grandmother each request a bushel, you happily oblige.  I have already started a list of all the different things I plan to make...

Enjoying the "fruits" of our labor.

Grand Finale.

The girls & I have started a movie night once a month.  We usually begin with drinks, dinner, or in this case, just dessert.  For our indulgence, we headed to Finale Desserterie & Bakery...

 Chocolate Molten Cake.

Lemon Pound Cake.

Dessert Sampler.

Covered Bridge Campground.

My second annual Labor Day weekend trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire was so much fun.  What isn't there to love about camping?  Beautiful scenery, camp fires, hearty meals, a million stars at night, and my personal favorite, s'mores!  The list goes on and on...

View from "The Kanc".

Hence the name of the campground.

Pretty little things.

Fresh spring water.

Miles and miles of hiking.

Sunlight in the morning.

Checking out the Swift River.

Sift and Scoop.

True to my word, I took a hiatus from baking for *almost* two weeks.  A combination of an impending camping trip and being gifted a new sifter and dough scooper, I simply couldn't hold off any longer.  As much as I like trying new recipes, sometimes an oldie but goodie is just what the doctor ordered.  These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies...

Just add flour and shake, shake, shake.

Makes the perfectly shaped

cookie every time.

Warm from the oven, there's no other way.

New York Meets Beantown.

Making the trek all the way from Brooklyn to check out my new digs in Beantown, my best friend and her husband came to visit.  We kicked off our weekend with a great dinner.  Have I mentioned how much I love Restaurant Week?

A fantastic find in the South End.

Hangar steak done jussssssssst right.

The next day, my girlfriend & I set out for the Back Bay for a little retail therapy.  What started out innocently enough turned into an eight hour excursion.  Knowing we were better left to our own devices, Nate and his brother did a bit of their own exploring...

Reflections in the Hancock.

The Boston Public Library, shhhhhh.

Duck, duck, goose.

Our visits are always too short but I wouldn't trade them for anything...

Out on my "roof deck".