Every year at this time our family heads out for some apple picking because the girls love picking and I love making applesauce. My favorite apples to use are sweet tango. They have the perfect balance of sweet and sour so they can be used in applesauce recipes that contain sugar or no sugar. For myself I always make it without sugar and for the girls I make it with brown sugar.
Here are two of my favorite recipes:
My husband has been after me for a while now to feed the hummingbirds but I refused. We use to feed them in years past but I'd often forget to clean and change out their sugar water every 3 days which can be unhealthy for them so I just gave up. A few days ago I was sitting on the deck watching a single hummingbird investigate the flowers and not finding what they wanted. Suddenly the hummingbird came to within 2 inches of my head and stood there for what felt like a couple minutes just fluttering to keep itself stationary while he looked at me and then he flew off. It was such a magical moment to be that close. I took it at a sign I needed to put feeders out again. I rushed inside and made some sugar water and put out two feeders, one on the deck and one in the garden, and within seconds half a dozen hummingbirds appeared. We've never had so many at once. It's difficult to capture them in motion without the photo being blurry but I was able to snap a couple shots of two birds.
In June I brought mini soapy cupcakes to sell at the Riverwalk Market in Northfield and they were a huge hit. Little kids love little soaps, especially when they are in the shape of yummy foods like cupcakes and donuts. For me they are really fun to make, though I do need some work on my piping skills. 🤣
Here are the soapy cupcakes I made for September. They are scented with Berry Bliss fragrance oil. So delicious! Not really... don't eat them 😜
Fall is just around the corner. In our home we follow meteorological fall which is September 1st so everything orange, yellow, red and pumpkin starts on that date. Halloween decorations go up, bonfires get lit, pumpkin scented candles start to burn... and Fall soaps go on the website to be sold.
Here are a few I've made for the upcoming season. I'll have these on the website and for sale at the Northfield Riverwalk Market on September 2nd, September 16th, and October 14th. If you are in town please come out to visit our booth and take a whiff of the lovely new scents we have. 🍁
When I first got sick in 2018 one of the things that helped me get through the mental challenge of my illness were the birds. I've always enjoyed birds but there was a point where I couldn't even walk so I would sit out on the deck and just listen and watch them flitter around the yard. I was content in those moments. They got me through some very difficult times. The following are some photos I took of my wild bird neighbors visiting recently.
To start off I'll talk about Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americium). The first time I tried prickly ash was quite the experience. My daughter nibbled on a berry first and said her lips tingled, her tongue was a little numb and she couldn't stop drooling. She handed me a berry and I nibbled and nothing happened so I nibbled on a second and again, nothing happened. I told her to give me a third so I nibbled on a third. Suddenly it hit!! I was drooling like a Basset Hound, my whole mouth was tingling, and then my lips and tip of tongue were numb for 30 minutes.
Prickly Ash is not related to the ash species of trees, it's actually part of the olive family. It's great for wildlife since butterflies are attracted to the flowers and birds use the tree for shelter. Native Americans would use the tree for medicinal purposes. They'd chew on the fruit and bark because it produces a numbing effect so it helped relieve tooth pain. Modern herbalists use prickly ash to treat arthritis and digestive issues. I love it because the crushed leaves and berries smell like a lemon and nibbling on the berries produces a fun sensory experience. I haven't tried it in any recipes yet but I know others have and love it. I may try it with tea sometime.
