Crab Apple Cinnamon Bread

Is it just me or is fall coming way too fast? It's like someone turned the "fall" switch on. Anyways, Steve and I have two, count it TWO crab apple trees in our backyard. Don't get me wrong, I love crab apples, but when they start to fall off the trees, it ends up being a big rotting apple mess, especially with two trees side-by-side. YUM.

So last week, Steve and I were out there picking the apples off the tree in bucket loads. We took so many and yet, it didn't even look like we made a difference... So as you can guess, my job was to "do something with all the apples" we picked. I  was clearly all over that job! What could I bake..or rather what couldn't I bake? So many choices, but the thing is, Mr. Do Something - doesn't like eating "warm apples", so anything I made was for OTHER PEOPLE. It's not like I was going to sit down with a full batch of apple crisp all for myself. Or was I...

Luckily for my co-workers, they were first prize winners of Getting to Eat the Shit I Make out of Crab Apples. I decided on making apple cinnamon bread, and what a good choice - they loved it!

Basically....

Slow Roasted Rosemary & Thyme Carrots

One of the best and worst things about my job is that its right downtown. The best being that it's close to great shopping, like the mall, and on Wednesdays it's home to Regina's own farmers market. The worst being that it's close to great shopping which feeds my unnecessary shoe fetish. 

Garlic Knots

Confession time...I am obsessed with all things italian. The food, the wine, the language and the men. One day I would love to travel to Italy and learn how to cook. I know...I know...that's every foodie's dream isn't it? Well as cliché as it sounds, one day I will make that dream a reality. Until then, I will continue to eat loads of pasta, wash it down with wine, while drooling over ridiculous good looking italian men.

While day dreaming one day of far off places, I remembered I found a recipe for garlic knots. They looked really good so of course I had to try to make them. I've never been good at making bread - so I googled' "how to knead bread". Turns out, best decision ever! My bread rose PERFECTLY and apparently I was never kneading long enough. Lesson learned.

Rosemary & Thyme Spread

I found this incredibly easy and delicious recipe on Cooking For Seven, a fantastic food blog site you should all check out. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it. 

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumb Bars



Apparently I have been M.I.A for awhile now so I apologize. Summer is official here, flowers are blooming and gargens are growing. Most of my time lately, has been spent outside. Apart from a wet spring, the summer is shaping out to be really nice.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

The other night I was craving Apple Crisp, one of my favorite desserts, but I didn't have any apples(a main ingredient, incase you didn't know). Since I couldn't feed my craving, I decided to search the internet for new dessert recipes. I found a few yummy ones that I can hopefully share with you in the future, but honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about hot and delicious Apple Crisp! Something about the smell of warm apples and cinnamon wafting through the air reminds me of my childhood. It's comforting. That thought lead me on to how else you could incorporate apples in baking. First thing that came to mind...COOKIES! I never thought to put fresh apples in cookies, but why not right? Turns out, it was a great idea.

Hasselback Potatoes

Have you ever had Hasselback Potatoes? If you haven't, don't worry! I only discovered these a few months ago. They're the Swedish version of the baked potato and in my opinion, greatly surpass our version of the baked potato - both in taste and presentation. Plus they are SUPER easy, which is probably why this will become a staple in our household. 

What I truly love about potatoes is, that they can be so versatile, you can add any of your favorite spices/ingredients, cook them anyway you want, and most likely your dish will taste amazing. For this recipe I chose to season the potatoes with greek seasoning - but choose whatever seasoning you wish! **cough cough...Lemon Pepper seasoning is also delicious..

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Infused Cinnamon Buns

The title says it all. Chocolate chip cookie dough infused cinnamon buns. I saw this idea online and immediately thought OH YES!!! Best of both worlds,  the oowey gooey cookie dough is perfect for the light breaded cinnamon buns. Whoever came up with this idea originally, deserves an award.