Craving Heat

Life feels bland sometimes.

Grey. Tasteless.

So many "jalapenos", with so little heat that they literally made me cry from boredom. We needed to do something to shake me from this drab heatless life.

So we canned, we pickled in fact. Spicy pickles, carrots and onions. The house smelled like cider vinegar (These days I use so many apple byproducts one would think I run an orchard. I don't. But I would if you asked me to.) and chiles for hours. I fell hopeful that the result in one month will be a mouth smacking sour heat that causes tears to purge from my eyes and snot to run from my nose.

Here is what I HOPE they taste like - in full color:

Here is the most adorable pair of pickle partners a lady could ask for:

SUMMER... I SUMMON YOU HERE MY LOVE

Damn Fine Donuts

I may or may not have been seduced by donuts. I may or may not be working on a secret donut project.


Rumors aside - I have made several batches of delicious old timey donuts since my birthday. I fry up as many as I can and then literally force them on people to get them OUT of my house. No leftover donuts for me, no donut snacking. 


The fried dough above is a cider donut, its made with a reduction of apple cider (alcoholic), molasses and apple sauce. Its lightly sweet and oh so tender and tasty. The caramel on the top is an apple cider caramel and it has a touch of fruitiness. The handsome chaps are my birthday donut testers, and my dog. 


More donuts have been devised, all of them eaten, none of them photographed. The truth is, I need a photographer to come around and hang out with me while I make these things, I cannot safely handle a camera while frying donuts, its just not right.


These go great with this: