Back Off, Would You??

Ok, Ok, I've only gotten like a ton of requests to update my blog in the past few days (ok, only 2, but in my blog world that's A LOT!!). The truth is, I did get an entire (and very lengthy) blog written the other day and just as I was about to post it, something happened. I don't know what, but my computer just started to go crazy and then kicked me offline and didn't save ANYTHING. So, I was mad. Really mad. But I'm over it now and so here I am.

I won't reject these apples:



I have been wanting to go to this farmer's market on my drive to work for some time now. It is always packed and very difficult to find a parking spot. I decided to find out what all the rage was (you know, all the rage that a farmer's market could generate). It was so well organized and clean and cheap that I soon understood why it was always so crowded. I bought some red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers and sitting all alone under a sign that read, "Reject Apples $2.50" was this box of assorted apples that looked perfectly fine to me. All these apples for $2.50!! Wow, that's a deal. I knew that I could turn this into something tasty! I was so thrilled that I got to keep this little box that they came in that I never even told the cashier that she ripped me off a quarter (hey, I'm cheap) but I thought it was a fair trade. I decided to make some homemade applesauce:



It was a lot easier that I thought it was going to be. I sliced them up and cooked them down, I added a couple of pears (ha ha a pair of pears!!) and then added some Cinnamon and sweetened it with splenda. Delicious! It was best warm, but it is still really good cold.

Then, I got this really amazing recipe off of a new Food Network show and decided to try it, with a few substitutions. It called for a homemade pie crust, but honestly, I don't have the time (or ambition) to make a from-scratch pie crust. It was a Potato-Bacon Torte. You just layer sliced potatoes, crumbled bacon (I used fakeon) and Parmesan cheese and then pour heavy cream scented with thyme on top (I used light cream because I thought it would really cut down on the calories and fat because, you know, the potatoes, parm cheese and pie crust are SO healthy!). But anyway, it was delicious. I paired it up with some scrambled eggs and some of the applesauce that I made. Yummy!



Look at the delicious flaky layers:



I pass this look-out point on my route to State College and wanted to get some pictures. I pulled over and got out only to be met with two Penn State buses full of college kids, perhaps studying the potential effect of global warming on this cigarette-littered piece of history?? I don't know but nothing makes you feel old like a bunch of 18-22 year old's discussing the effect of not having health-care reform while sitting right next to you on the only available bench to enjoy the view. So anyway, I snapped a few pics before I felt like I was going to be pressured into voting for Obama in '12. Here it is:



It was pretty anyway!
Well, I've got a lot more to say and pictures I want to post, but right now I am scrambling around to get some things done for football and I really want to go walking. So, I will post again, soon!!