Thanks to these things (photos courtesy of Williams Sonoma):

I experimented with store bought crust and homemade crust. Both worked out really well. I also made my own filling, which was super simple. It was based on this recipe:

Apple Pie Filling

6-7 cups of chopped apples (I used braeburn, my favorite baking apple type)
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
1 cup & 2 Tbsp white sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2.5 cups water

1. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and set aside. Pour water into a sauce pan over medium heat. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add to water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

2. Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until apples are tender (approx. 6-8 minutes).

3. Cool for 30 minutes. Great for freezing/canning.

Pie Mold Review:

These mini pie molds come in 3 shapes – lattice, apple, and star (not shown above). Using the pie molds was pretty fun. Although, I mostly used it to cut out shapes rather than the pressing part. I found it easier to fill them flat. And using my own fork the old fashioned way was more effective in sealing the edges. The pie press was not the greatest – they didn’t seal the edges as well as my own fork. I also refrigerated the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out as it made the dough easier for cutting (same concept as cutting out cookies). The lattice pie mold was slightly trickier because of all the little holes. I had to use a toothpick or my fork to pick the edge in order to take the dough out of the mold (including all the tiny little pieces from the wholes). But it wasn’t hard to do and it only took a couple seconds. All in all, I was pretty pleased with the molds. I want to make a million of these little pies!!

And once the mini pies were filled and sealed, I stuck them in the freezer for another 30 minutes. Then I brushed on the egg wash on the tops, sprinkled with some more sugar, then they went in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and/or the filling is hot and bubbly.

Yum!

One of his favorites is pancakes. I make them with whole wheat flour and add in baby food puree (sidenote: as some know, you can substitute oil/butter with applesauce or any type of baby food puree for a nutritious and sweet/moist option). I have  over 100 oz. of purees, ranging from peas to cauliflower to avocado to squash, frozen in ice cubes and stored in a ziplock bags in my freezer. They are extremely helpful not just for baby food, but whenever I want to do a substitution to a meal (a la “sneaky chef” or “deceptively delicious”), I pop out a couple ice cubes.

These pancakes are soft and yummy and you have no idea there is papaya in them.

I found the recipe here, but because I was dealing with whole wheat flour, I added a tad more water. I flash froze them in my freezer – only takes an hour – and then I stacked them in a ziplock bag for freezer storage. Alternatively, instead of flash freezing, you can stack them with parchment/wax paper in between each one for freezing, so they won’t stick together. But I opted not to fiddle with the paper as the pancakes don’t stick to each other when flash frozen first.

Here’s butternut squash in an afternoon:

I split the butternut squash in half, and scooped out the seeds.

Face down in a pan of water, I roasted it in the oven.

I scooped out the flesh (after roasting, it is very soft).

I pureed it (adding a little water until I got the consistency that I wanted), and then froze it in my ice cube trays.

Once frozen, I popped them out of my ice cube trays and stored them in a ziplock bag. (Each ice cube = 1 oz.) This one squash made almost 30 oz. of baby food.

And when I’m ready to prepare a meal for the kiddo, I pull out a couple ice cubes to thaw. Here is 1 oz. of homemade pear, and 1 oz. homemade squash (the kid loves this combo).

I’ve also been successful in making oatmeal cereal, avocado, zucchini, papaya, and green beans. This weekend I’ll make sweet potatoes, carrots, and more pears.

P.S. While I was making avocados, I realized that when you freeze them right away, they stay green! Yea!

ETA: For more information on making your own baby food, when your baby shows signs of being ready, simple/easy recipes, and other useful related topics, here’s a site I found extremely helpful: Wholesome Baby Food

The thing with bento boxes – not only are they uber cute, but they are great with portion sizes. And when I pack a lunch, I know I am eating something healthy and in the right serving size. And it just makes packing a lunch that much more fun. =) So here are a couple of bento items I use the most:

This was among the first containers I ever purchased. I got them in college and I have used them for nearly 10 years. I still use them. I love how I can fit dry cereal or snacks in the Goldfish container, and I can pack a sandwich in the Wonderbread container, and know that it won’t get squished.

And then I got this super cute pink bento box – it’s got several layers, dividers, and chopsticks on top. I use this a lot when I’m packing rice, leftover stirfry, etc. The dividers are great so I can separate my meats from my veggies and whatnot.

Lastly, this is my absolute FAVORITE bento box set up ever!! It’s Totoro!

I love the zipped bag it comes in, and it fits everything in perfectly.

Here are the actual bento containers – a small thermos, two little plastic containers, and a fork + fork case.

I purchased a separate pair of chopsticks (in Totoro of course!) to go along with this set:

It’s perfect!!

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And since I’m talking about cute things, I can show you some onesies I put together recently. It’s not terribly crafty, since I purchased the iron-ons as is (they were on sale at Joanns!), but they were awfully cute.

Here are some of my favorite ones:

Can you tell by the colors what the baby’s gender will be? =)

In the kitchen:
Apple squares! (Recipe here) They are sort of a cross between apple cake but denser… sort of like brownies, but instead of chocolate, apples + walnuts instead. They tasted GREAT straight from the oven, hot and moist and soft and dense!

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On the needles:

Yes, getting my butt in gear to finish up my Owls Sweater. All I have left is to seam the armholes, block it, and contemplate whether or not to put the “eyes” buttons or not.

I don’t know if I’ll fit into this sweater, as I am already 6 months along with a tummy to match, but even if I don’t, that’s OK. Maybe I’ll fit into it in the fall, when things (hopefully) shrink back..? We’ll see.

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An attempt at a new craft:
OK so this project I’m a little embarrassed about. This is a scrapbook that I attempted almost 2 years ago, and it was intended for a friend as a bridal shower gift. Well, this friend is now married a year a half already. Yes, embarrassing. But better late than never, right?

But I do have to admit, from this experience, I learned that I am NOT a scrapbooker. This craft is not my style. It’s too open-ended for me. An empty page scares me a bit. I’m more comfortable with crafts that give me guidance and instruction, rather than just an open canvas.

And I AM back to knitting. I’m halfway through with my owls sweater. And I’m finally back to cooking. (Poor hubby was on his own in the kitchen for several months. He was a good sport about it.) AND I finally picked up my camera for the first time in MONTHS!! It felt so good to be inspired again. I hope to pick up on my jewelry and sewing soon too.

In the meantime, here are some snapshots of a simple pork rib soup (Chinese style) that I whipped up last weekend.

(With noodles and spinach)

It was a really easy soup to do. Here were the ingredients:

Recipe found here: Chinese Pork Rib Soup
I used light soy sauce (less sodium) and 4-5 cups of water. And voila! A homey simple meal. The meat was really tender, and the broth was really good! I’m definitely keeping this recipe.

And then just because I couldn’t resist, a random shot of Costco pizza from the weekend. (I was on a pizza craving for awhile, so these things really excited me.) =)

(Picture courtesy of Williams-Sonoma)

I couldn’t wait to try my hand at this. You can fill these little guys will all sorts of things – jams/jellies, fruit, nutella, chocolate chips, anything to your heart’s content. I heated the pan and brushed a tiny bit of melted butter throughout the pan holes. Then I rummaged through my fridge and found apples and made a little cinnamon sugar to go with it:

I filled the rest with more batter, and wait until those pancake bubbles form on top, and then I carefully (and quickly!) flipped them with bamboo skewers. Flipping them neatly took some practice. But these little guys flip great, the nonstick pan made it so easy.

You can enjoy them with any topping. I recommend a sprinkling of powdered sugar and maple syrup. They are crispy on the outside, and soft and hot on the inside.

Yum!! I can’t wait to put nutella in them next time. Now it’s time to open Christmas presents!!!

SS rollo chain, Swarovski AB crystal channel links and drops in 4mm and 6mm, SS 2.5″ ear threads (box chain), SS mini lobster clasp.

P.S. The reality of photographying jewelry: It took me +20 shots just to narrow it down to these two.

P.P.S. I didn’t make the cookies. All I did was provide a recipe and kitchen supplies. And take pictures. =)

You place it over a pot of boiling water (next to the goulash, simmering nearby):

Making the spaetzle dough:

Placing some of the dough in the spaetzle maker:

Running it back and forth, it pushes the dough through the holes and into the boiling water below:

Finished meal (sorry for the yellowing picture – the sun went down by then):

I have to say, I wasn’t paying too much attention when I was making the meal (I had friends over, and I suck at multi-tasking). I didn’t measure out the flour accurately when making the spaetzle, so it wasn’t as soft as I would like it. But next time I make it, I’ll pay more attention. And I forgot to brown the meat ahead of time to seal in the juices, so the meat wasn’t as tender as I would want it to be, but nevertheless, it was still good. Will do this again one of these days, especially when the season changes and the weather gets cooler.

** Thanks to Les who used my camera to take pictures for me while I was cooking. =)

I love tomatoes, but there’s only so many tomatoes I can eat. So we gave some away. With the remainder lot, I made quite a few tomato dishes. Here are a couple of my personal favorites.

Soup:

This recipe is from my Williams Sonoma Soup and Stew cookbook, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Caprese Salad:

One of my favorite salads, and one of the easiest to put together. It takes tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, olive oil + balsamic vinegar. That’s it! A refreshing taste of summer.

Homemade spaghetti sauce:

There’s something so homey and comforting about a hot plate of spaghetti noodles slathered in chunky spaghetti sauce. Definitely a comfort food and an all time favorite of mine.