My 6 Favorite Apple Week Recipes

Since we finished up Apple Week yesterday, I thought I should write about our Apple recipes that really work. I am going to do this instead of things I am grateful for, because a whole lot of my daily gratefulness is for food and a partner who can really cook!

6. Hot sausage sandwiches- I think I maybe got a hot sausage sandwich at Applefest once, but I associate the smell with Liberty Street, crowds, and fall colors, so we usually go this route at some point in the week. My only tip you might not already know is that the peppers and onions stay better if you put them on the bottom. Also, apple mixed in works alright, but not great.

5. Apple Curry and Chicken- This was our big experiment this apple week, and I think the combination of sweet and super spicy was delicious. We were going to do a Chutney, but one of our friends who was potentially eating with us hates garlic (isn't that tragic? Who hates garlic?) We got this recipe from allrecipes.com, and we cut the chicken in half. The whole thing (with rice added) lasted us 2 and a half meals, so it is also a great cost-efficient meal. My only other advice is to double (at least) the curry, and a little salt wakes up the other spices. We like our food spicy, so if you aren't as much that way, you can probably go with the original recipe.

4. Apple cinnamon rolls- For the brunch on Saturday, I made my cinnamon rolls with chopped up apples in the filling. People ate 2 o 3 of them, and I have never had complaints about them (another hand down from my Mom- there aren't too many of these, since she is also not so much with the cooking, so she makes her specialties absolute homeruns). I think there have to be ways to make these more "apple-y" but I will have to work that out next year!

3. Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Apples and Bacon- Apples and Pork are such a perfect combo, which is funny if you think about Judeo Christian history. This recipe, which we found here, singlehandedly (singlesproutedly?) changed my mind about brussel sprouts. The Boy also added raisins. If you want a little extra for any apple recipe, just add raisins.

2. Apple Pancakes- Easy peasy. First, whatever your batter looks like for pancakes (we usually start with a mix, and we found a cool one local to Seattle), throw in a tablespoon of brown sugar and a couple good shakes of cinnamon (why do recipes always give wimpy amounts of cinnamon?). Mix that in for your pancake base.

For the apple topping, cut up 2-3 apples. Put in a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Add in 1 tablespoon of butter and a couple squeezes lemon juice. cook over low heat until it reduces and your apples are soft (The Boy says not too soft!).

1. Grilled Cheese with Cheddar Cheese, Bacon and Green Apple- Ahhh, I had totally forgotten just how delicious this is. You make a regular grilled cheese, but do it with sharp cheddar. Start by cutting your apples (we use granny smith for this) into thin slices (thinner is better, because bigger slices fall out). Fry the bacon until it is crispy, and wipe off any excess grease. Then, pile it in your sandwich (buttered bread, cheddar, apple, bacon) and grill it. It may sound crazy, but try it, and thank me later.

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13 Things You Don't Realize Until You Leave Franklin, PA

Hedging: This is no slam on anyone who now lives in or out of Franklin. I swear these are all based on moments The Boy and I have had when we realize we aren't in Franklin anymore. 

1. Apparently other people vacuum their floors, I sweep mine- Also, jagger, not thorn. And "to be" is not nearly as useful as other people seem to think. The floors needs swept is a perfectly legitimate sentence (The Boy just read this as I was writing it, and it blew his mind. He had no idea that everyone doesn't say "this needs cleaned" or "the ring needs destroyed"). Also, this can be the quickest way to find other people from PA.  You don't need to be from Polklahoma to have an accent.

2. Grocery Stores can be filled with people you don't know- At certain hours and in certain levels of lazy fashion failures, this is even a good thing.

3. Not everyone knows someone who owns lots of guns (in a totally non-creepy way)- Last weekend, we had the gun debate with a friend, and as is often the case, he was surprised (given our general super-liberalism) that we are mostly ok with people having lots of guns (they should have licenses and background checks- and some guns nobody needs- we aren't crazy). Some of the gentlest and most nature-loving people I know are also hunters, there is no disconnect there. Apparently, if your grandpa doesn't like wearing a bolo, doing sudoku, making his own ammo, and sitting in the woods, you have a different mental picture of what it means to be a gun-owner.

Also, and this has been noted many times in and out of Franklin, first day of deer season is not a holiday everywhere.

4. "Frownie Brownie" sounds super racist- Also, the t-shirt has certain historically specific connotations people aren't fond of. It even gets worse if you try to explain it to someone. I am totally sure it is unintentional, but I have been suspicious since I realized the wall of the Barkeyville King's Lady Bathroom says "KKK" on it.

5. You need Identification when you go to the bank- Looking just like one of your parents does not help you when it isn't Northwest Savings Bank.

6. Nearly nothing takes 15 minutes to get to (and some people don't use time as a form of measurement)- Franklin to the cranberry mall? 15-20 minutes. Franklin to Utica? 15 to 20 minutes. To Barkeyville? 15-20 minutes. Also, some people measure distance in miles. For the record, I would guess these distances based purely on the assumption everyone drives at exactly 60 miles an hour at all times.

7. You can buy beer in grocery stores- You can even buy liquor outside the hours of 9 to 5. I still feel like someone might kick me out when I am in the Safeway booze aisle, because I am in the state store without my Mom.

8. Meeting people is its own skill; You haven't always sort of known everyone you know- When people ask when or how the Boy and I met, the short answer is Marching Band. The long answer is that his brother dated my friend all the way back in Middle School, and I can remember watching his dad at the pizza shop as a kid, and there is a picture of he and my mom when he was in 7th grade. When you get out of the small town, friendship feels more like world's colliding. In Franklin, it can feel more like you have always already known that person.

9. Everything is louder than the mighty Allegheny- You miss genuine quiet, or even the slight buzz of 322 and the sound of the river. Both my brother and I both have to listen to things to sleep, but city quiet is never quiet enough, so you are better off drowning it out.

10. Things other than Walmart (and formerly Kings) can be open at 3 in the morning- If it is very late, and you would like to do something or go somewhere, there are other options than "just drive around" or go to Walmart. Though I have found there are fewer King's or Eat'n Park-like establishments in the world than it needs.

11. Parking tickets can be expensive! No longer 2 bucks, every ticket for the rest of your life will remind you of Franklin as a parking utopia.

12. You have to tell your doctor your family history- Because he wasn't also your mom's doctor, or friends with your grandma, etc. I will say, I am cool with our baby not being delivered by the doctor who delivered me, which I know for a while happened a lot in Franklin. No one needs lady parts comparisons with their mother.

13. You can tell your family news before they hear it at the beauty salon or curves- My advice: tell everyone around the same time, or else your grandmas will discuss it at Curves before you get to them. Just because you have left Franklin doesn't mean that people won't still know your business, but the distance means you can at least put it out there at your own speed.

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Throwback: Top Five Things I Miss About Applefest (and Top Five Ideas We've Had for Making our Own)

 I wrote this two years ago, and if I wrote it today, mostly it would say the same things, with the addition that I would like to go see my dad's show. I doubt I will ever be ok with missing Applefest, though I do love our own little traditions now, and I bet lots of people feel this way. So here are my thoughts again...

I am feeling especially homesick this week, because it is Applefest back home this weekend. Franklin Applefest is a huge event in our town, and most FHS almuni go back for the weekend. We will never do that, because the Boy's family owns a restaurant downtown and my Dad is very often involved in the shows, so if we came home, no one would have time to hang out with us! So, this time of year I get pouty and start stating plans to move back as soon as possible.

So here are the things I miss most about Franklin Applefest every year:

1. The season- the air is crisp and cool, but most years it isn't too cold or too rainy (though those Applefests have definitely happened). The best part is that all the trees are starting to change color, so the whole area just looks beautiful. It is the BEST time of year to live in Pennsylvania. It's why fall is my favorite season, and I am pretty sure I am not the only one!

2. The Show! The Barrow Civic Theater always goes for a blockbuster at Applefest, so the show is often kind of "classic." I won't say they are all winners, but I love them when my Dad is directing. This year they are doing Oliver, and my Dad is the director, and everything I have heard is that the show is fantastic, so if you are in Western PA, buy tickets before they sell out (which they often do this weekend).

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3. It's genuine and un-ironic weirdness- you get this a lot in the crafts. We have a shockingly large collection of Applefest seashells (The Pope, Elvis, the American Flag with Native Americans, etc.) The crafts every year go from sweet to just bizarre, but they aren't trying to be cool or weird or ironic. They are just awesome. Plus, very often when you walk around the parks, you will just happen upon something really odd. That is the insane beauty of living in a small town. Things are odd, without trying to be odd.

4. You see EVERYONE you know- This is a picture of me and my cousin Harrison from 5 years ago. This weekend, you can see Harrison with his band at Bossa Nova's on Saturday. Everyone comes back, and when you do, you can't go 5 feet without running into someone else you know. Of course, this is a mixed bag, especially if you are like me and you don't exactly love the small talk, but so often you get to see like 50 people you love in the same hour, and now I understand what a huge freaking blessing that is.
5.The Food- I am happy whenever I am in walking distance from some cotton candy. You could also get a great hot sausage sandwich. The Methodist Church also has a giant pancake breakfast, where you again see everyone you have ever known ever.

Ok, so we again are stuck here this year, so I am pulling out the old Applefest decorations and pushing the boy to buy the stuff I need for Apple Pie. So many of the things we just can't replicate- the crafts, the fall weather, and  seeing people we love. Those are all out (though we are serving at the church Saturday night, so we can look forward to seeing people who vaguely know who we are, oh joy). So I try to focus on the food, the weird representations of fall, and when we can we watch the movie version of the Applefest show. This is what I think works:

1. Apple Cinamon Pancakes- This is NOT what they serve in the basement of the Methodist Church, but it is what we have found works over the year. We make a regular batch of bisquick, just like they say on the box, then add less than a tablespoon of brown sugar and about 3 good shakes of cinnamon.

To make the apples, cut up whichever apple you choose (we usually start with something like granny apple, but for an apple like that you may have to add a little extra sugar). Peal, core, and slice the 5-6 apples, as if you are making an apple pie. Saute the apples with 3 tbs. of butter and a pinch of salt. Do this for 15 minutes, and add a bunch of cinammon, a 1/8 cup of sugar, and a 1/2 cup of water and have it simmer down til it is a consistency you like. If it doesn't seem right yet, throw in some more water and a pinch more sugar, and keep at it. Put on pancakes and enjoy!

2.  Drink apple cider! This may be the best part of our tradition, because it is so good. Even better now that I have given up juice.

3. Embrace our weird crafts and decor- Yep, we bring in little mini pumpkins and buy the weirdest fall/ halloween decorations we can find. I think now that I have the wall in the dining room, I might make some of my own weird crafts and hang them!

4. Hot sausage sandwiches- I am not sure I have any tricks to share on how to make these awesome, except that The Boy Puts the onions and peppers on the bottom of the sandwich so they don't fall all over the place.

5. Bring in fall-colored flowers- this may seem like a stupid thing, but here it is still way hot outside and it looks like July. You wouldn't even know it is fall. Bringing in some natural, but fall-shaded stuff. I am thinking I will try the apple candle-holders later this week. I will let you know how it goes!

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Today's Inspiration- Fine Art Crafting

Today was the last day for this month's genoming, and I think it mostly went pretty well. One of the trends I really like to see, especially while I am missing painted seashells, quilts, and my Grammy's knitgoods, is Contemporary Crafting. I love artists like Florencia Walfish who quilt and embroider.

Florencia Walsh, Me Lo Dijo Mi Garganta ( My Throat told me), 2009, from www.gallerykrom.com

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