Classic Apple Pie

There's something about autumn that gets me every year. The colors. New smells. The cooler, crisper air. The warm thoughts of holidays to come. A new season of baking. 

I made my annual trek to the apple orchard two weeks ago, which means my kitchen will smell like apples for the next month. Here is last year's adventure and once again I returned from the orchard with over 20 pounds of Stayman Winesaps. A side note: I encourage you to try your hand at canning and stock your cabinets with apple butter. It will make you smile on the darkest and coldest of January days. 

An apple pie is a fall essential. Make at least one, whether it's for a regular Sunday dinner or an addition to your Thanksgiving meal. I've used this particular recipe several times and have always been satisfied. I've managed to get away without using cornstarch and I'm convinced that draining and saving the spicy syrup makes all the difference.

Meet one of the greatest kitchen tools, the apple peeler-corer-slicer. If you find yourself making many apple-filled recipes, I suggest investing in one of these. Not only is it fun to cover your kitchen counter in apple peal spaghetti, you won't believe how fast you can peal and slice your apples. After running your apples through this machine, you simply run a knife through the slices to cut them in half.

Vegan Zucchini Walnut Bread

Zucchini is one of my favorite summer veggies. From snacking, to stir-fries, pizzas, and dessert, it's quite a versatile vegetable. I brought home a gorgeous Costata Romanesco from the farm and couldn't wait to try this quick zucchini bread recipe.

From Johnny's Selected Seeds

Costata Romanesco zucchinis are Italian and known for their ribbed, striped skin which is speckled with light green (check them out at Johnny's Selected Seeds). Whichever variety of zucchini you choose to use, be sure to have enough for two whole cups of shredded zucchini.

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

I know it may be a little late for a blueberry post, but forgive me -- the summer heat has kept me out of the kitchen, daydreaming about crisp autumn days and apple pies.

Beea-utiful Berries

7.7 pounds of fresh picked blueberries

I spent July 4th with my friends Dawn and Erin in the fields at Emery's Blueberry Farm in New Egypt, NJ picking pounds of fresh, organic berries. We were in the middle of a heat wave in the mid-Atlantic but my seven-plus pounds of berries were worth the sun and sweat. One of the many blueberry recipes I had lined up for the coming weeks and months is this maple blueberry coffee cake.

Here's what I like about this cake: 

1. Maple syrup -- Sweeten your baked goods with maple syrup. Period.

2. Whole wheat flour and flax meal -- Both give the cake a tougher texture, placing this cake in the breakfast category instead of dessert. I know you love streusel. Butter, sugar, cinnamon. Seriously, there is nothing wrong about that trio. And although I love super sweet, cinnamon coffee cakes, the absence of streusel here makes it easier to justify eating this cake for breakfast.

Farm Fresh Eggs

Baking heaven.

The ladies have been going strong since January! We're hoping a new home and new nesting boxes will mean 2012 is a healthier and happier year than 2011 (knock on wood). Credit for the skinny whites goes to Tony Hawk, the speckled brown to a Golden Buff, pale brown to a Plymouth Rock, and the most beautiful green to the queen, Sylvia.