Apples and Crafternoons

It's fall and the time is passing quickly into winter. I've already contracted and battled my first cold of the season and I've already consumed hot apple rum cider. I have also said "this is my favorite season" at least a dozen times, and I'm starting to feel predictable. That being said, this is my favorite season probably in part because it is so fleeting. In Montréal, the fall is about 2 weeks before you need to start a four layer system before leaving the house.

So now I have to make a few simple goals before the Fall ends and my Fall-time excitement for shifting weather wears off. I have not yet 1) rolled in mutli-colored leaves 2) baked a delicious pumpkin pie 3) started any of my crafting projects.

One thing I have done is make a Tarte Tatin. Twice! Tarte Tatin is one of the simplest desserts I have ever made, but it is SO delicious. Caramel Apple pie! Except I like this even better because I tend to find the texture of apples and lots of crust in a regular apple pie sort of cloying and overwhelming. Here you just use a puff pastry, caramelize butter, sugar and apples, and then invert it after it's baked. It is heavenly.

This is Mike! He took me on a wild adventure to an outlet strip mall not too far North of my apartment. He got money from work to buy a bunch of art supplies, so I went along with him to my favorite Omerre de Serres. 

We went a little wild.

I also got some supplies to start CROSS-STITCHING again! This is a past-time I kept up for about 2 months some years ago and then retired because I just couldn't be bothered to get more supplies. Now that I have tons of pretty threads I cannot WAIT to start up again. Below is my prized cross-stitch from some years back:

I plan to make an accompanying tableau. Any guesses as to the content?

Tarte Tatin

Preheat oven to 425 F

5-7 large apples, preferably green and slightly sour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

squeeze lemon

puff pastry

Peel the apples, core them and cut them in two. lightly sprinkle with lemon juice and put them into the fridge for 24 hours, or just a few if you need to. 

When ready to use, put the softened butter in a oven proof skillet and sprinkle the sugar over it. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has melted, and then place all the apples cut side up in the skillet. cook for around 10-15 minutes and then place a circle of the puff pastry on top of the apples, tucking in the sides inside the edges. 

Place the skillet in the oven till the top turns golden brown, around 20-30 minutes, then take out and immeditaly flip onto a plate. Be CAREFUL. it's really hot. 

let cool slightly but serve warm!!!!

Happy Belated Can-Day!

I spent a weekend not too long ago buying a bunch of mason jars, boiling a vinegar brine and sticking my hands deep into some cored tomatoes: Oh yea, Canning Day has arrived.

This canning day was something special. Not only did I have Kristen's stellar equipment, and four hands in the kitchen, but we made not one, not two, but THREE different types of salsa! JUST SALSA. In addition to our roasted pepper, tomatillo and chipotle salsas, we managed to can 12 jars of stewed tomatoes, pickled carrots and dilly beans, and a few cans of rosemary caramelized onions. 

Not to get cheesy y'all, but canning is a great way to make new friends! There is some serious bonding in the act of canning! Think about it:

You have to handle scalding hot liquids, so there's an element of danger involved (girl scouts, hellooo). 

You're working in the age-old traditions of our supermarket-less ancestors, forging ahead into the long-cold winter with aplomb, and occasionally style, so there's definitely an element of fashion.

Finally, you get to eat and share awesome shit! And then make everyone else feel downright negligent for not having a pantry full of tomatoes. Therefore, you can share in the camaraderie of being better than everyone else. High fives, my canning elite!

Thanks to Amanda, Kristen and Jasper! For my next post, I will disclose the secrets of the following tasty meatball dish.

 If you're in the market to do some canning, do NOT miss this amazing site!!! This woman is absolutely obsessed with canning, and man is she ever good at it. Make sure to follow instructions about pickled veggies (I always make them refrigerator style because I am always going to be scared of botulism). 

And here is a perplexing photo of me with a massive can floating next to my head!!!

Vacate Me

Well, hey again everybody.

My last Friday in Montreal, the day we left on our Adventure out west, the week before this miraculous picture above was taken, that was the Friday when I:

1. got a 444$ fine for our band bus in the mail
2. got a 287$ bill from the CRA
3. got yelled at by the Emploi QC lady for not having a job
4. got turned down for a job I was sure I had
5. got on a bus to leave the city for 2 weeks...with no plans for my future and no $ in my pockets.

Money money oh money. It inspires so much stress. My departure from Montreal was fraught with fears of my return and of the disaster I was leaving behind. Then we got on...

THE TRAIN
+++++++++++++++++

I spent the first 3 days on the train in a fog of money stress. The paradox of living like a prince and inwardly dreading my poor reality. These are the weird attractions of being a musician I suppose.

 It wasn't until Jasper, into the far reaches of the Okanagan, that I realized there wasn't a thing I could do in Montreal to change my situation. And screw it.

So I feted with the silverline travelers and played them some Neil Young and we ate our duck confit eggs benny and blazed a trail through the wintry passes of the North into the low plains of wheat and straight through the majestic majesty of the Rocky mountains. Oh Canada, indeed.

EAST OAKLAND
++++++++++++++++++++

A few rideshares and one great game of golf later (thanks Maggie and Jeff!) we ended up in East Oakland, a land I had yet to explore. In seattle we ate some fine charcuterie provided by our lovely hosts, including the BEST TUNA MELT I HAVE EVER SEEN/EATEN. If you make a tuna melt, go buy some pickle chips. Put them on the Tuna Melt. Seriously.

Anyway, once in Oakland we were swept away on a whirlwind food tour of the city, a tour which very happily focused on tacos! I tried Lengua tacos for the first time, that is cow tongue, and I discovered that not only was it a dollar well spent, but Lengua is an EXCELLENT choice in taco country. It absorbs all that delicious salsa and makes for some crazy tender meat.

LOS ANGELES
++++++++++++++++++++

The taco craze continued. We could not get enough taco after Oakland, and after a terrifying rideshare down the coast to LA, we felt we needed to pack in some tacos to soothe our bruised nerves.

Combine Tacos+records+a bright sunny day. This is an explosive combination and could lead to you believing you should stay in LA forever. Then you go to the beach and you surf and you think, yea I shoudl definitely stay here forever. Never leave.

Then you walk down the beach in the sand and look up and hear lots of noise, you walk over and realize it's muscle beach and they're having a bikini contest and everyone on stage looks unreal and confused and you feel nauseous and take a picture and think ok...it's time to go home now.