Yesterday, Shawn and I took a great little day trip on Saturday to Gays Mills, Wisconsin for their Apple Festival. The town is near the Wisconsin – Iowa border, about 2 hours away, in the Kickapoo Valley. It was a great drive, beautiful weather, rolling hills, leaves turning colors – just perfect. We took in the sights, sounds, and tastes. Fresh from the oven apple fritters, apple pie, homemade ice cream, yum zum.

We also stopped at a couple of apple farms on the way back home. Had some fresh apple cider and an apple slushy. (genius, a slushy made with apple cider!!) I picked up a few Honeycrisp apples to bring home. Total apple heaven.

Ok, so last week I got the bright idea to buy some beets at the DCFM to make at home. This original quest ended in failure because I did not plan ahead and have a recipe in mind to actually cook them. So, the beets decided to commit suicide in my crisper drawer while I fretted on what to do to them.

This week I went back to the DCFM to buy more beets, this time with a plan. My good veggie guru gave me a simple recipe for roasting them in the oven. Armed with this culinary knowledge, I set forth on my quest again last night to have them for dinner. . . Success!! They turned out beautifully. Tender, moist and lustfully juicy red. Hurray! I ate two of them last night for dinner plain. I am going to slice up the remaining two for lunch: chilled beets with walnuts and goat cheese.

This weekend, the hubby and I went to the Dane County Farmers Market (DCFM) for some produce, flowers, and a delicious chocolate long john. Yum Zum. Among other things, I purchased approximately 30 lbs of tomatoes. (This is about one of those large cardboard produce boxes full.) The reason why I did this is not for some out of control craving, but because I have been wanting to can some for the winter. No, I am not crazy. This was time consuming, but actually pretty easy to do. I have done it in the past in CMH with my own tomatoes. Plus, I have fond memories of my mom and our neighbor basically openning a canning factory in the kitchen each summer. So, I now have ten quart jars full of yummy tomatoes in the pantry. I am thinking that I can get another batch done before the season is over, so I will have enough to make homemade sauce for through the winter.

I know that some people are thinking, “ Is she nuts? Why not just buy some canned tomatoes from the store?” Well, with those canned tomatoes, you do not really know where they are coming from, how they were grown, or when they were canned. I feel that these are healthier and better tasting. Plus, it is also way more inexpensive to “put up” some tomatoes on my own that buying them all at the store. I am looking forward to winter so I can see how they turned out.

Ok, so I had a great idea to buy some beets at the farmer’s market. They looked so good, fresh and earthy. Aren’t they just great looking? Plus, they are always so delicious at restaurants in salads and things. What was I thinking?? They are now sitting in my fridge, mocking me every time I open the door. What am I going to make with these things and how the heck do you cook them? I have looked through all my cookbooks and all I can find is a recipe for shredded beet slaw. Blech. I am determined to find a simple, yummy recipe online for these suckers. Hopefully I will find one before they revolt.

Well I was able to scratch that baking itch this morning by whipping up a batch of cupcakes. Decided on using recipes from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook: Bridal Edition. (I received this from a good family friend as a shower gift.) Good old Betty knows her baking. Here are the recipes that I used:

Starlight Yellow Cake
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour 1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened. 1 1/4 c. milk
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla 3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350°. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9x2 inches, Will also fill 2 round cake pans or approx 24 cupcakes.) and lightly flour.

Beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s).

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center. (Cupcakes took about 20 minutes.) Cool completely before frosting.

Velvet Buttercream Frosting
3 c. powdered sugar 1/3 c. butter, softened.
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 tbs. milk
Food coloring (optional)

Mix powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.

Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Add food coloring, if desired.

Now that we are fully in the house and I have all of my lovely kitchen gadgets back ( Hello my lovely KitchenAid MixMaster, how I missed you so!) I am itching to put my new kitchen through its paces and bake up a storm. I am particularly dreaming about whipping up some wonderful cupcakes. Little darlings of bite size goodness. Yum.

The only problem is what the heck would I do with them all? You can’t really make just a few cupcakes, part of the pleasure of making them is the assembly line process. Sweet little soldiers lined up on the counter ready to be frosted and sprinkled. . . Maybe I can bake a batch or two and send them with the hubby to the office. (Of course keeping a few back for a tasty after dinner treat.) Sounds like a plan, I let you know how they turn out.

Here is an interesting article in the New York Times about food art. This is not the usual, radish roses, but pretty cool sculptures made from fruits and vegetables. I like the way the artists/chefs use everyday produce to imagine fanciful animals, flowers, and even portraits. The shape of the food lends itself to the object that is created. I wonder if they are as yummy as they are beautiful.

Photo by: Jimmy Zhang

Okay, so I am rummaging in the kitchen for dinner. Nothing sounds good. So I have a bowl of cheerios and a banana. Definitely not a Michelin three star meal. But what I have really been craving is a Chicago-style hot dog. I know, it is not the healthiest thing in the world, but a Bozo ‘Vienna Beef’ hot dog that is “run through the garden” is something that I haven’t had in over a year. Who could resist this yumminess?