Potentially there will be no Saturday Surfing this week. It may actually end up being Sunday Surfing or no surfing at all.  You see, I am busily catering a sit down dinner for 50….or 40….or 35. We aren’t sure.
I wanted to really bless a close friend and she was heading up a luncheon….so I offered to create magic if at all possible. I chose a Southwestern – New England Fusion menu and I will be blogging it over the next week or so.
This is Kyrie creating magic. My daughter Erin took the picture. One of my favorites…

Anyway….
The menu looks like …read more

 
I don’t know how many of you know about the cool rise method of yeast baking.  It was, as far as I know, one of those things that was developed in the 1950s or so to help the homemaker get her bread made more conveniently.  It is a process of using a little more yeast and sugar and then allowing the dough to rise in the fridge overnight.  I wanted to see if it would work for my maple pecan rolls so I made a batch of dough last night and stuck them in the fridge.

 
That is a mouthful…Saying it and eating it.
I was grocery shopping on Friday and at the small, organic grocery that I  like I found several bags of ripe bananas on sale for 1.25 a bag.
SCORE!

 
Maple is one of everyone’s favorite flavors around here.  I can’t use the syrup straight because we go through literally a quart of syrup for pancakes, yeah…we do…but I add it to my homemade syrups for more flavor.
I like it in cookies and cakes, and lately I have been thinking of a maple glazed grilled chicken dish..but it hasn’t come together in my head yet…I promise..you will be the first to know..

 
These cookies are a fantastic addition to tea, or coffee in the afternoon.  In fact, they are great for an after school snack. They are light, buttery, crumbly and everything I think shortbread should be.  I like them better than Lorna Doones and trust me, that is BIG.

Some people love summer. To me autumn is the best because the pace slows down, in my mind anyway, and it seems a time to savor the moments spent with loved ones. I always imagine myself and my husband seated in a romantic New England Inn, this time of year. I know that it is unrealistic with our lives to expect it to happen, but the imagining is wonderful. I imagine we have been strolling through crimson woods, talking and at last, when the purple dusk just starts to envelope the world we go in to sit in …read more

Before I give you my thoughts on this incredible Maple Apple Streusel Muffin, let me say that I have no clue what is up with my lighting for my photographs. Combination of cheap, old camera and the new type of light bulbs (green but yellow if you know what I mean)..or maybe it is just my monitor.
I think I have mentioned that Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the chilly walks down leaf strewn lanes, the smell of apples and leaves burning, and the golden hues that announce that the season is changing.
WAIT! I live in …read more