Sunday Brunch - {apple crisp}

A few weeks ago, the Bachsters and I went apple picking.  It was a hot day, and I was a little more excited about apple picking than they were, to be honest.  Thankfully, it didn't take us long to fill up our bag and head home with our yummy apples, all set for one of our favorite recipes - apple crisp.

I've made this recipe, from Martha Stewart (of course!) many times and it's always delicious.  Sweet baked apples topped with sugary, buttery oats.  So delicious!  It's really just begging for a big scoop of ice cream, and this time we had Whit's Frozen Custard, which we all went crazy for. 

I think I could eat this every single day and be happy - it's absolutely perfect!

-Cheryl

Goodbye, bees

I'm sad to tell you that my bees didn't make it this year.  I'm not sure exactly why - I have many theories, but nothing solid to work with.  My hive was never a strong one - I had gone through 3 queens, and the numbers of bees never expanded much.  All I can tell you is that one day, I had a queen who was laying eggs and lots of happy bees.  A week later, I only had enough to fit into my cupped hands (don't worry, I didn't actually try that!).

After many conversations with experienced beekeepers, I decided to stop feeding the bees because it became apparent that the bees hanging out in my hive were robber bees.  Checking the hive every few days after the feeder went dry, I knew the ones that remained were my girls, and they were doomed.  I figured the least I could do was provide them shelter until the end.  The last time I checked on them, I decided to not wear my jacket and veil, because I knew there wouldn't be many left.  As I opened the outer cover and peered in, I could have actually counted the remaining bees, there were so few.  One little honey bee looked up at me (I swear she did!).  A few days later, all the bees were gone:

My theory is that it was pesticides.  We all went out for ice cream one evening in August, and we saw several honey bees on the patio of Graeter's, writhing around.  Something was clearly wrong with them.  We were so close to our house, for all I know, those were bees from my hive.  I checked the hive the next day and saw that the hive was almost gone.  It also could have been mites or hive beetles (although I never saw anything major happening with those); it could have been that my hive swarmed (but none of the signs of swarming were present); it could have been a bad hive location, weak queen, or many other factors.  I'll never really know for sure.  If you are interested in learning about some of challenges bees and beekeepers face, I really recommend the documentary The Vanishing of the Bees.

The good news is that I learned a lot this year, and I'm going to get bees again next year and try it again.  There are things I'll do differently (like checking them every week instead of every two weeks).  I'm optimistic about having bees again, and overall, it was a wonderful experience.  I never knew I would care so much about them, and feel so much responsibility for their well being.

Here are some shots of the hive in happier times.  Each of the Bachsters visited the hive with me at least once, and they all loved the experience.  Here's our 8-year-old on her first beekeeping excursion:

  
Here's our oldest DD - she wanted to hold a frame with a lot of bees:

Here's Little Dude, who just enjoyed hanging out close (but not too close) to the bees:

-Cheryl

Book Nook - photography books

If you stop by my blog now and then, you might have noticed the Sunday Brunch posts, where I chat about a favorite recipe.  Maybe you noticed it missing yesterday.  I do apologize - I was unfortunately up until the very wee hours in the morning, working on a photography assignment, photoshopping like a mad woman.  So, I thought in honor of photography, which has been taking up a lot of my time lately (but that's a good thing, in general - not so much in the wee hours of the morning, however), I wanted to share some of the books on the subject that I've been enjoying lately:

Light: Science & Magic - An introduction to Photographic Lighting by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver & Paul Fuqua:




My assignment was to photoshoot a ceramic mug.  Piece of cake, right?  I have spent two weeks of my life trying to figure out how to photograph a mug!  A mug, people!  The problem is, it's very reflective and curved.  So, when you shoot it, you see yourself, your room, your camera, everything on the surface of the mug.  The very nice guy at a local camera store told me that this is one of the hardest things to shoot.  I was so relieved to hear that, because I thought I was doing something wrong.  He suggested this book, Light: Science & Magic, specifically for a chapter on this very subject.  Straight to the library I went and two weeks later, I have a much better understanding of what it takes to photograph a simple mug.  Better understanding yes; better skills, still working on.  This book is a must for any photographer needing to understand studio lighting.

Pro Secrets to Dramatic Digital Photos by Jim Zuckerman:




I liked this book right away because of the topic of the first chapter: shoot great subjects.  Is a photo of a wild African lion better that a portrait of a house cat?  Why?  The author gets us thinking about our photography in new ways right from the start.  I don't always agree with his opinion, but I really appreciate the debate.

There's a lot of technical tips that you might find in other photography books, like how to work shutter speed, how to compose your shots, etc., but even after years of doing photography, I feel like I'm learning from this book.  And the author has included lots of gorgeous photos to inspire.  Dramatic photos, here I come!

A Beautiful Mess - Photo Idea Book: 95 Inspiring Ideas for Photographing your Friends, your World, and Yourself by Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman:




This is a fun book for anyone with a camera, not just pros.  The authors throw out one cute idea after another, anything from how to take a outdoor portrait, how to make your own homemade filters, how to photograph your reflection, wardrobe tips & crafty photo ideas, like making a storybook locket or a photo coaster set.  Our sister-authors have a great eye for photography and they share what works with us.  I got a handful of ideas I'm going to keep in my pocket, and I think just about anyone with a camera (so, everyone then) could get some new ideas after looking through this book.  This one's all about fun with photography - I love that!

-Cheryl   

Book Nook - Throw Out Fifty Things

Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke:




I usually have a good memory for how I discovered or heard about a book, but for this one, I am at a complete loss.  I suppose it was kismet that this book found me: it was way beyond time that I did a de-clutter.

The first part of the book challenges the reader to clean out their physical stuff: all the papers, clothes, books, toys, etc. that pile up and accumulate over time.  Boy, do we have a lot of this around here!  Since I have this thing against throwing stuff away (the equivalent of an eye twitch), I tend to just let it pile up.  Our author encourages us to just let it go, and gives us permission to throw stuff away (as well as giving lots of great tips on how to get rid of your old stuff in an environmentally friendly way).  Blanke walks us through every room in the house, telling us what she's getting rid of, sharing lots of personal stories, and helping us unload.  After that, we head to our office to ditch all the junk from our professional lives.

The next part of the book deals with mental junk that also needs to get thrown out.  Here, she helps us let go of thinking the worst, waiting for the right moment, needing to feel secure, among others.  I enjoyed reading this section, but I think some of these things are much more difficult to let go of, and will take a lot more work than just writing it down on our list of 50 things.

Here are a couple of quotes that really stood out for me:

"When we throw out the physical clutter, we clear our minds.  When we throw out the mental clutter, we clear our souls."

And this one (in the chapter entitled Letting Go of the Need to Have Everyone Like You):

"The truth is, the world belongs not to the one who fits in, but to the one who stands out.  In music, art, architecture, entertainment, politics, and life, it's the maverick, the one who gets carried away, who wins the day.  Every time."

So, I've been working on getting rid of the clutter.  My focus has been the physical junk, but I hope to attack the mental mess too - Gail Blanke has inspired me.  Here's a shot of our front porch, full of clothes and toys and other stuff we just don't need anymore - waiting for pick up by a local charity.  And guess what?  After this picture was taken, I kept adding stuff.  And even better, after it was picked up, I continued to add stuff.  Now, we need a second pick up!

-Cheryl

Sunday Brunch - {portobello mushroom gratins}

If you've read through a few of my blog posts, you probably know that I just love Martha Stewart.  I subscribed to her magazine for a few years, and saved all my issues.  Lately, I've been thinking that I should just get rid of them because all the recipes are online, right?  Well, unfortunately, not this one: individual portobello mushroom gratins.  It comes from Martha's October 2004 issue, which is my favorite one of all (seriously, I keep it with my cookbooks, or on our desk.  A magazine from 2004!). 

Big portobello mushrooms are stuffed with white mushrooms cooked with white wine, parsley, chives, shallots and cream.  Then, they are topped with a cheesy breadcrumb mixture.  So delicious!

I was a little nervous making these for the Bachsters.  Even though they've been wanting to try portobello mushrooms, I was worried this recipe might be a little too grown up for them.  To my surprise, they really liked them.  And so did DH, but I knew he would because he's a portobello guy.

If you do track down the October 2004 issue and make this recipe (sorry I can't link it!), try to get the roundest, most bowl-like portobellos you can.  The flat ones are just uncooperative with the mushroom mixture (but still tasty).

Thank you for another great recipe, Martha! 

-Cheryl

Book Nook - Martha Stewart's Favorite Crafts for Kids

Martha Stewart's Favorite Crafts for Kids: 175 projects for kids of all ages to create, build, design, explore, and share by the editors of Martha Stewart Living:




Right around the time our first Bachster was born, I discovered Martha Stewart Babies and Martha Stewart Kids magazines.  And I started collecting them - any time a new one was on the grocery store shelf, I purchased it.  And then, sadly, they stopped the magazines.  But, I still collected any that I could find at garage sales, e-bay, used book stores and such.  I never did collect them all, but the ones that I have are still sitting in my bookcase and get perused through from time to time.

As you can imagine, I was thrilled when I discovered this book, Martha Stewart's Favorite Crafts for Kids.  Inside are all sorts of crafty craft projects found in the pages of the magazines, like Stickville, meringue mice and felted finger puppets.  Even though the magazines no longer run, there are always new craft projects for kids on marthastewart.com - and some of those projects can be found in the book, like cross-stitch family portraits.  No matter where they originated from, it's wonderful to have so many neat projects in one book.

The projects that I'd like to try with the Bachsters: water fireworks, glass jar xylophone, those adorable cross-stitch family portraits, tie-dye t-shirts, paper bead necklaces, beach board games........the list goes on and on.  I need to make sure the Bachsters all have a chance to look through the book and pick out their favorite projects.  I wonder if we could do all 175?

-Cheryl

Sunday Brunch - {lemon-poppy seed pancakes}

I'm always a little nervous to introduce a new pancake recipe to the Bachsters - they have some pretty strong opinions about pancakes, and are true pancake connoisseurs.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I made the recipe for lemon-poppy seed pancakes from the Wheat Belly Cookbook and they actually liked them.  You never know how it's going to be with this bunch.

The Bachsters insisted that I leave out the poppy seeds, so I did.  But the pancakes were just as good without them, and the Bachsters gobbled them up. They are so unlike our favorite buttermilk pancakes, but in a way, better for you because they use almond flour and stevia instead of flour and sugar.  DD told me that even though she preferred buttermilk pancakes, she liked these too.   Believe me, that's a big compliment.

I didn't set out to make my picture so similar to the cover shot of the pancakes from the cookbook, but I guess I did.  This shot pays homage to the Wheat Belly Cookbook (cover, top half):

-Cheryl