Lammas - The First Fruits of the Season

This morning I heard the sound of school buses practicing their morning routes. School starts next week, back to school shopping is in full swing and the crosswalks near the schools are getting fresh paint. All signs point to the beginning of Fall. Here in the United States, Fall begins on the 21 of September. But did you know that in old farming cultures, August 1 was Lammas or the harvest of The First Fruits of the Season? I'm sure this harvest included many different kinds of fruit, vegetables and grains. Last week I was at our local Farmer's Market and saw apples fresh from See Canyon, tables of bright red tomatoes and basil and bins full to the top with corn. During Lammas, early wheat was the focus, milled and mixed with yeast, water and salt to make fresh, hot loaves of bread. So when was the last time you made bread? For me, it's only been about a week. I was "inspired" by Margaret over on YouTube. Here are a couple of her bread making Vlogs. (Part 2) You can also find some great recipes on the internet. If you don't feel like you have the time for all the mixing, kneading, rising, and cooking, see if you can find a breadmaker you like. Enjoy all your harvest activities; drinking fresh apple cider, walking in leaves, watching High School football and tailgating, try making a fresh, hot loaf of bread and give thanks for the Harvest.

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Baby Shower Busy-ness

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Week 7: A Valentine's Pie To Remember!

Back with Week #7 of my 52 weeks of pie! Like most of us, I wanted to create a really beautiful pie, well actually a tart, especially for my Valentine, Wes. It had to be chocolate, decadent and beautiful all at the same time. After looking high and low on the internet for something good, I decided on THIS wonderful Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart featured on the Frayed Apron Blog. I mean, look at her picture! Who wouldn't want to make and eat this??!! (From the Frayed Apron Blog) Now, you may say a Tart isn't a Pie but it actually is. It has a crust and a filling so in my book, its a VARIETY of pie. Over the course of my "52 Weeks of Pie," you will see tarts, pies and galettes, a free form type of pie. So keep checking back, you'll be glad you did! The first different thing for me was the crust. It's put together much like the others with just the addition of cocoa powder. I did use the vodka again instead of the water or milk as suggested because

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