Cinnamon, Apples & Cream & Observing Taz...

Taz

For the past couple of days the weather has seemed more wintry than spring like.  I find myself not wanting to leave the warmth of the house and would prefer instead to stay home and dream up warming, hearty recipes to feed the family... (I think my internal weather monitor is slightly confused by the 50 mile per hours winds and 30 degree weather in the high desert of Oregon that we experienced last weekend and now the grey skies and blustery rain of Western Washington...)

Actually its not just the weather,  I know this feeling, its impatience about springtime, its impatience about moving.. Its being in that place I call the squirmy place, where I just have to wait some things out, and acknowledge that I've done what I can, and admit some things are just out of my control... (like the weather!)

 With the big change of selling our house (and wanting it to be complete and over and done with,) and trying to find a rental house to move to but no house has been settled on yet, though we're hopeful that we might have found one - (however, the owners had so many applicants vying for the property, they've had to hire a company to act as middle man to help them sift through the candidates!)  ....More squirming (waiting.)

I'm reminded of my little Cairn Terrier Taz, she seems to squirm on a fairly regular basis when her life is just not right, and she gets a bit upset (perhaps she caught sight of a squirrel that she couldn't get access to, or she didn't get the chicken scraps she felt she should after dinner... you know.. something on those lines..)  Anyway, on these squirm inducing occasions, she goes to her bed and circles and circles sniffs and circles some more, then finally settles and then proceeds to nibble the beds edge whilst furtively looking sideways at anyone who might be taking in the show...  Its like this is what she does to help herself, and its what she has to do to makes her world right again... I understand,... I really do...

So to make my world right again, (when the weather is cold and wet, otherwise I'd be out in the garden.) I cook or make something beautiful...

This evening I cooked a hearty stew, roasted vegetables, roasted garlic potatoes, followed by a delicious bowl of honey sweetened cinnamon apples with walnuts and fresh whipped vanilla creammmmmm...

Here's the very simple recipe...

5 good sized granny smith apples (or other tart variety.)

1 Tablespoon of butter (or vegan alternative.)

cinnamon powder (approx 1 Tspn.)

1/3rd cup of honey or agave syrup.

1 Tspn of vanilla essence.

Peel, core and chop apples into walnut sized pieces.

Melt butter, honey, vanilla and cinnamon in a pan.

Add chopped apples and mix well.

Put the lid on the pan and turn down the heat to medium/low and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir frequently to prevent sticking (apple will cook in its own juice.)

Serve warm with  Chopped Walnuts, Whipped Cream sprinkled with a little Cinnamon Powder...

Enjoy:)