Apple Loaf Cake

I have bookmarked several blogs that provide me with inspiration for cooking, crafting and finding beauty in the simple things of our daily lives. Homespun Living is definitely one of them. I used some of the tasty tiny apples we bought at the farmer's market


and Deb's recipe for Apple Loaf Cake and I love the result.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspooons baking powder

1/2 cup butter, cut up

1/2 pound cooking apples, peeled, cored, & finely chopped (1 1/4 cups)

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

• Butter and flour a 8.5 x 4.5 x 3.75 -inch loaf pan; butter & flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift flour, sugar & baking powder into large bowl. With pastry blender or knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine meal. (I like to use my food processor ~ just pulse, don't overdo). Toss chopped apple in flour mixture. Set aside.
• In small bowl, whisk together egg & milk until blended. Stir into apple mixture until mixed. (Batter will be stiff.) Spread batter evenly in dish.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool on rack 10 minutes. Remove from dish. Cool on rack. Yield: 12 servings

I also love the fact that I did not have to use any of my electrical gizmos to mix the batter. ;)

Finally!

As of yesterday, 10.30 am we are officially home owners! Yay!
We both want to move in immediately but that would probably lead to chaos and destruction so we are taking it slowly as planned.
This weekend we will be working in the house, cleaning, measuring, planting a new bush in front of the basement window and I want to paint the insides of the kitchen cabinets. I got paint and tools and cleaning stuff ready to go. :)
I realized yesterday that we are almost finished with packing, the biggest part that still needs doing is the kitchen and I plan on doing that next week. Everything else that we don't use on a daily basis is pretty much packed away. I am also very, very tired. ;)

Apple-Cinnamon-Raisin-Muffins

I made these for breakfast this morning and they tasted really good. We bought some fresh apples at the Farmer's Market yesterday. The apple harvest will not be very big this year because of the frost we had at Easter and now the drought and heat is getting to them. The apples are very small but crisp and flavorful. I used the standard muffin recipe from my trusted BH&G Cookbook:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
2/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

and added

2 small apples, cut into small cubes
cinnamon to taste
1 handful of raisins

to the flour mixture.

Combine egg, milk, and oil and add all at once to flour mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy). Lightly grease muffing cups, fill 2/3 full. Bake in a 400° oven about 20 minutes or until golden. They tasted good warm or cold.

Moving

In one month from now we will be moving again. This time only about 10 minutes down the road and not halfway around the world but the stress does not seem to be any less. Last time I had a whole year for packing and getting ready, now it is only a few weeks. I try hard not to panic and to take it one box at a time.
Miss Kitty is frazzled and battling hair balls and stressing me even more. Why is it, that there are always several things going on at the same time that cause me stress?
Oh, before I forget, we bought a house. Small, old and old fashioned and has everything we were looking for, 2 bedrooms, a big garden, a basement and an attic and a shed in the yard. It is close to the historic part of town and right across from a big city park. It is a corner lot, so we have only two direct neighbors and the yard is big enough to not be too close. The house came through inspection last week with flying colors, no major repairs needed, all we want to have done is an electrician go over the wiring to make sure everything is working and safe.
I won't have much time for anything in the coming weeks but I know that it will be worth all the stress. And now I am off to pack a few more boxes. :)

Early Birthday Presents

I must have been a good girl in the past year, I got some really nice birthday presents (it is my 29th birthday by the way, in about 5 years I will turn 39 and then just stay there, I think ;) ).
My friend Sabine in Germany sent me two books from my amazon wish-list:

Our friends Gerhard and Regine in Vienna showed quite a lot of trust in the postal systems on both sides of the big pond by sending me this (ain't it cute?):


Even Miss Kitty likes it. :)

Ouch!

Sunday night we were invited to share a large watermelon with friends and we spent a delightful time in their garden, eating and chatting and listening to the sounds of the falling night.
The next morning I woke up with about 15 mosquito bites. I am currently trying hard to practice self control and NOT SCRATCH any of them, and believe me, it is hard. I got stuff to put on them but since it requires rubbing it seems to aggravate them even more. I do feel just a tad uncomfortable and miserable. :(

Pay It Forward Meme

Pay It Forward meme: I will send a handmade gift to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your journal.

New Look!

After discovering how to switch to the new Blogger layout, I decided to give my blog a completely new look. I also gave in and bought myself a banner making software which I really enjoyed using back when I used their evaluation version. And today I got a check in the mail for a little more than the software cost me. :) I might play around with color options over the coming weeks, depending on how I feel and maybe according to the season. I have also started two new blogs, but so far they are still empty. And I hope to have BIG news soon.

Woohoo!

I finally figured out how to switch to the new Blogspot layout and still keep all my stuff. :) You won't notice the difference but it sure is easier to edit now.