I Pulled Out the Turtlenecks

First - no word on the job front.  Very frustrating.  For the life of me, I can't understand why a company would go to the expense to bring me in for less than 24 hours (over $1k) and then not call!  On the flip side, they haven't called to say take a hike either :)

This morning was the first chilly morning we've had.  I think it was around 42 when we got up and it never got warmer than the mid 60s today.  A really beautiful fall day!  And what do you do on a beautiful fall day?  Well, you convince your UHM to drive to the local apple cider brewery for a tasting!  We drove about 45 minutes south to Albemarle Cider Works and tasted the four varieties of apple cider they produced in 2010.  These ciders remind me a lot of sparkling white wines - not really my thing - but were all very good.  My favorite was the Ragged Mountain Cider which was the sweetest of the group.  They also had apples picked in their orchards available for sale.  We bought 20 pounds; a mixture of Suncrisp, Grimes Golden, Jonathan and King David.  The apples are actually grown by Vintage Virginia Apples.  They grow over 250 varieties of apples, many of them heirloom varieties.  Guess what I plan to do for the rest of the weekend?  Can applesauce and apple pie filling, that's what.  The pie filling recipe I have uses butterscotch schnapps!

Also in honor of the cooler temps, I made my favorite chicken pot pies; the filling includes artichoke hearts.  The recipe makes enough for 6 pot pies so I end up freezing 5 of them for future meals.  This recipe also happens to have one of my favorite pie crusts.  When I was a kid, my mom always made 'pie crust cookies' with the trimmings and excess dough.  We usually had sweet pies so the cookies would be sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.  Tonight I tried something a little different, since I was in a savory mood.  I brushed the cookies with an egg wash and then sprinkled them with garlic salt before baking them off in a 350 oven until golden brown.  YUM!  A lot like home made crackers, only better!

Now that the cold weather is getting nearer, I'm looking for projects to keep me busy inside.  I'll probably can some more apples before the end of November and there will be pumpkins to bake off, puree and freeze too.  I also have a few ideas for inexpensive craft projects.  If you all have any favorite cold weather crafts (besides knitting or crocheting), please share.

If you'd like my recipes for canned apple pie filling or chicken pot pie, let me know.  I'm happy to share.  Time to dig into the pot pie.