I think I am heading downtown to attend the Remembrance Day Ceremony later on this morning and then heading to the house to do some work.  The trim is all on upstairs and the doors are hung.  I am ready to start cleaning the floors and start prepping for the hardwood.  I guess I never told you that we changed our mind on the upstairs flooring and switched from a laminate floor to “real” hardwood.  We chose a cappuccino color for the upper level and we are pleased to have that decision behind us.

On to the Ginger Snaps – I always seem to have these every year at this time of the year and right through until the new year.  Have you ever had an icebox ginger snap?  They are certainly a great little snack with a glass of milk or if you are like me… I smear a bit of butter on the back side.  These are really simple to make and take no time to prep or to cook.  They are a great cookie to eat right out of the fridge or the freezer.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter
• 1/3 Cup Brown sugar
• 2/3 Cup Molasses
• 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 Tsp. Baking soda
• 2 Tsp. Ginger
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 Tsp. Cloves
• 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
2. In a large bowl mix as listed above and place it on a large piece of wax paper.
3. using your hands shape into a large rectangle about 1 1/2- 2 inches thick.  It will be smooth on the top.
4. Wrap it up in wax paper and chill in fridge for an hour or two. ( You can chill overnight if you want)
5. Remove from fridge and unwrap.  Cut into slices and place on cookie sheet  lined with parchment paper
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: These little cookies make a great outer shell for a quick ice cream sandwich.  Just be sure to pop them back in the freezer for a few minutes once you build them to prevent the ice cream from oozing out.

A Gentle Reminder

Check out Megan’s Pumpkins For Pink E-Book, which raises money for the fight against breast cancer. I contributed my Double Ginger Gingerbread Cookies recipe to it.

Have a great Wednesday and I will see you all back here tomorrow. Oh before I forget. I am on the road all next week in Virginia and I am looking for guest posters. If you are interested and would like to be featured shoot me an email.

Take care
zesty

Happy Monday! What a weekend we had…  to say it was a busy weekend would be an understatement but it was so much fun.  Saturday started with a visit to the house, three truck loads of junk to the dump, checking out the temporary driveway (woo hoo!), followed by a “PEI Spud Run for children”.  We entered both turkeys (our kids) as part of the Marathon Weekend.  It was a good time despite the weather which was very cold and rainy.

On to the Food

Earlier in the week we finally made it to the apple orchard.  It was a a great time where the kids loved it and the weather was very nice.  We came home with a big bag of cooking apples (Cortland) and eating apples (MacIntosh).

Here are a couple of shots in the orchard followed by a killer apple pie – compliments of Mama Zesty’s super pie crust recipe.

Topped with some homemade whip cream or even just plain Vanilla ice cream – a great dessert.  Actually I had a slice of this for breakfast…. Do you think that is a bad thing?

Ingredients

• 6 Apples ( Peeled and Sliced)
• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 3/4 Cup Butter
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 Tbsp. White Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 425 Degrees and Pre grease your pie plate (this one was a 10 inch)
2. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, butter and salt then cut in together.  Once cut in, add the water slowly mixing with a fork.  Do not over mix and do not make it too wet.
3. Cut the dough into two equal parts and then roll out fairly thin.
4. Place the bottom layer of the dough in the pie plate.
5. Add sliced apples sugar and nutmeg ( sprinkled on top.  Add the top crust and cut three steam holes in the middle.  Once the top is in place, use a fork to crimp the edges of the pie to ensure it doesn’t come apart.
6. Brush some milk on the top crust and bake for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove from heat and let cool.



8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The big tip here is not to over work the dough.  If you want a flaky crust, keep your paws off as much as possible.  Just add enough water to combine the flour butter mixture and that is it – otherwise it will be stocky and hard to roll out.

On to the Race

As I mentioned on Friday, Mrs. Zesty was running in a half marathon this weekend.  A few people were sending her well wishes and asked for an update so I thought I would fulfill the request.  Overall the weather was nice but it was fairly cool with a stiff breeze.  Janet did extremely well.  Her time was 2:13.46.  I am super proud of her! Me, the kids along with the in-laws provided support every step of the way (via car).  Great Job J!  Mrs. Zesty is below on the right!

Here is a shot of Zesty Jr. and Mrs. Zesty at the Spud Run on Saturday.

Well that was a post somewhat all over the map but I hope you enjoyed it and have a great Monday.  I will be back in the morning for another riveting write up.

Take care

zesty