My affair

I'm in love.  I'm in love with a book that I've never met.  But I will.  Oh, yes.  I have no doubt that Rustic Fruit Desserts and I will soon begin a passionate affair.  I dare you to take a peek at this book without falling in love.  The photography alone is simply mouthwatering and will have you drooling in no time.  Each picture conjures up its own story: warm crisps, golden pandowdies, colourful compotes...

I'll be shameless and say that this is the first item on my Christmas wish list.  (As of five minutes ago, I didn't even have a Christmas wish list...)

Today we tidied up our home.  It sounds obvious, but it rarely happens where we have a tidy place for more than a few minutes.  Clean, yes.  Tidy, no.  This is not my fault.  I am a neat freak - borderline obsessive-compulsive even.  This is not my husband's fault as he is away most hours of the day, and J. is too young to make a real mess.  It's my dear son. 

I am trying to get M. into a more orderly frame of mind, because he drives me crazy!  The little guy wanders into his room (or any other for that matter!), trashes it and waltzes out again a happy man.  He doesn't play with the toys, he just strews them around.  I wish I could understand the mind of a two year old who insists that he's only happy when his kingdom is littered with toys.  Therefore, today we tidied. 

It feels good to sit in an orderly home... for a few more minutes.

Here is the recipe for a lovely apple cake that was given to me by a dear friend (with some minor modifications).  M. and I baked it this morning to have as an after-dinner treat.  This is one of those cakes that you think of during the autumn months.  The brown sugar, the tart Granny Smith apples, the sprinkling of cinnamon, the hint of vanilla, all baked into a comforting cake.  Not too sweet, just the right kind of comfort food.  Now that I think of it, it's a perfect addition for that Rustic Fruit Desserts book!  Perhaps my new love and I will have a chat about that when we finally meet...

RUSTIC APPLE SPICE CAKE

Cake:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup oil

2/3 cup applesauce

5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

Cinnamon sugar mix:

4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup brown sugar

To make the cinnamon sugar, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.  To make the cake, mix all the ingredients together except the apples.  Pour half of the batter into a well-greased tube pan.  Arrange a layer of apples on top and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar.  Add the remaining batter on top and arrange another layer of apples on top.  Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.  Bake at 350 F for about 1 1/2 hours until done. 

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.  For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."  Edwin Way Teale