Winter Blooms

Monday turned into a balmy 60 degree day, so I took advantage and headed out to the potting bench to pot up the amaryllis. This little puppies are all but neglected by me during the summer. If I really wanted to give them a healthy summer field experience, I would be more attentive to weekly fertilizer. But, alas, I toss them in a trench along the fence of the vegetable garden with a little composted manure and leave them to fend for themselves.I put five of the smallest in one pot.Meanwhile, my Christmas cactus is ablaze in pink flowers.And the tree awaits its turn

Goodbye for the winter

the deck furniture has been taken to the shedthe outdoor grill is wearing its winter coat

the apple trees have a deer fence around them

the mothballs are under the shed to ward off the skunks
the shed has been locked

the brush pile is over flowing
and the garden is resting peacefully

Cape Cod October Pie

I cannot remember where I found this recipe. I THOUGHT it had been on the inside lid of an oatmeal box, but since there is no oatmeal in the recipe , I doubt that was true. It melds tart and sweet in the form of apples, cranberries and raisins. But the fun part of this pie is that I use little leaf shaped cookie cutters to cut out the top crust.CAPE COD OCTOBER PIE

Preheat oven to 425

Pastry for a two crust pie
1 1/2 cups cranberries coarsely chopped
1 cup peeled cored and diced apples
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp butter cut in chunks for dotting the pie

Prepare pie crusts. Combine the apple, raisin and cranberries. Sprinkle with sugar flour and cinnamon and shake. Add cranberry juice and vanilla and stir but not too much. Spoon lightly into unbaked pie shell and dot with butter. The second crust CAN be cut into strips for a lattice crust, OR you can use over lapped cut out fall leaves as I did. Sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar and bake at 425 for 40 minutes until fruits are tender and pastry is brown.

Pie and squash ready to go to T-giving dinner