fall favorites {apple cider doughnuts}

One of my favorite things about fall is apple picking. I love going to an orchard, running through the rows of apple trees, climbing a few and walking away with a big wooden basket filled with beautiful red apples. I also love visiting the gift shop and buying a big jug of apple cider and apple cider doughnuts to go with. Unfortunately, the low country is not known for it's abundance in apple orchards so sometimes one must create fall for themselves.

And so we did. I bought some apple cider at the Fresh Market, not quite as potent as I had hoped, printed off a recipe, convinced Jacob that this was essential to our enjoyment of fall and was good to go.

Vermont Cider Apple Doughnuts

1 cup Apple cider
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Solid vegetable shortening
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Buttermilk
3 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp.Baking soda
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
Vegetable oil or shortening -for frying

1 cup cinnamon-sugar mixed

Boil apple cider in small saucepan until it is reduced to 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes; cool. Beat sugar with shortening until smooth. Add eggs and mix well, then add buttermilk and reduced cider. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in another bowl. Add to liquid ingredients; mix just enough to combine. Transfer dough to lightly floured board and pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2- to 3-inch doughnut cutter; reserve doughnut holes and reroll and cut scraps. Add enough oil or shortening to fill a deep pan 3 inches; heat to 375'F. Fry several doughnuts at a time, turning once or twice, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon. While still warm, shake a few at a time in a paper bag containing cinnamon sugar. Cool on a rack.

Creative, Inc. {i need this}

Meg Mateo Ilasco {Craft, Inc.} and Joy Deangdeelert Cho {ohjoy!} co-wrote Creative, Inc. all about running your freelance business. The video alone is cute enough to make me want the book.

{photo by Charley Star}

baked goods {friendship bread}

This recipe is a test of serious patience. It takes 10 days to make and cannot be rushed. The good news is it's absolutely delicious when finished and well worth the wait. Today was my tenth day and i made two loaves this morning. The whole house smells like cinnamon bread, it's amazing.

Now, generally you have to receive a starter for this to work but i was able to find a recipe for the starter here. Once you have your starter, keep it in a well covered bowl or plastic bag on the counter, stirring it everyday. If you keep it in a plastic bag, it may fill up with air sometimes and appear as though it's going to pop, do not be alarmed. Simply let the air out.

On the sixth day add one cup milk, one cup sugar and one cup flour to the mix and stir.

On the tenth day you're ready to go. Make sure you have all your ingredients though. Sometimes I get to the baking day and start mixing only to realize i'm missing eggs and have to find a substitute. I'm sure you can imagine my anger.

So to begin add another cup of sugar, cup of milk and cup of flour to the mix. Portion out 3 cups from the mixture and put them into plastic bags for friends {or if you're like me, keep some in your freezer so you can make the bread whenever you like}. These will become their {your} new starters. What's left is a little more than a cup of mixture for you.

Add to the mixture:

1 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Stir. I put it in my KitchenAide mixer but you don't need that at all. I just love it so much that I've become lazy just so I can use it all time.

In a separate bowl combine:

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 tsp. backing powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 large box instant vanilla pudding

1 cup nuts (optional, you can also use chocolate chips)

Add the dry mixture to the batter and mix until combined. Pour into 2 well greased sugar loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

When you're finished, not only will your whole house smell amazing, but you'll have two delicious loaves to pig out on. Oh I'm sorry, I meant you'll have to delicious loaves to eat for breakfast for the next week or so... yeah right.

yeasayer

(poster by paul rice)

last night we saw yeasayer. it was pretty awesome. a little animal collective mixed with a little spoon, but definitely an exciting concert. the lighting was awesome, and i dare say they're better live than studio recorded.

picnic in the park

fall is the absolute BEST time in savannah. there seems to be 3 different events or festivals every weekend. i think they cram all of their activities into one month of the year, that being october. so this weekend was the afore mentioned junior league thrift sale, oktoberfest, and picnic in the park. last year we attended oktoberfest and it was pathetic. miller light, hip hop... not exactly what you think of when you think german oktoberfest. so this year we sat that one out, but for the first time decided to attend the picnic.

the weather was amazing. 80 and sunny with a cool breeze. this, for people in savannah, is fall weather and warrants flannel shirts. no joke. the picnic was great, jazz music and enough people watching to last a until the next festival at least. many people came decked out in hot pink costumes and decorated their picnic set ups with pink feathers, viking ensembles and even pink couches. there was a contest for the best set up and all the proceeds benefit breast cancer. it being our first year, decided to focus on bringing a smorgasbord of food instead of decorations, but it was certainly fun to watch.

of course the boys brought growlers of beer, i believe they were the people's porter and barrel aged blackbeard from coast brewing for all you beer geeks out there. i enjoyed terrapin pumpkin fest and then apple cider.

earlier in the week we used a little recipe from martha stewart living (oh that martha!) for braised pork butt. some onions, apple cider, beer, salt and pepper for about 5 hours in the dutch oven and it was good to go. for the picnic we picked some of the tender pork out and made a pasta salad. mmm it seriously was delicious, perhaps i'll post a recipe of this later so you all can enjoy!

and, for me, no picnic, or meal for that matter, is complete without a smorgasbord of cheese and spreadable meat. oh yes. i probably don't need to say anymore about that, we can all agree that the mere mention of cheese is enough to get everyone's taste buds going.

mmm, we visited a european grocer to purchase liverwurst, dried and cured sausage, and duck liver for the picnic (and let's face it, mostly for our own late night snacks). so delicious.

it was such a lovely day and a wonderful excuse to sit in the park. :)

day dreams {san francisco}

i often find myself slipping into a day dream about san francisco. we visited for the first time last september and i instantly fell in love. the crisp, cool air, the surroundings, the food! i mean, it's just one of the most amazing places i've ever been.

i would kill to be a guest at this bridge-side dinner party. totally swoon worthy.

thrifting {junior league}

every fall the junior league of savannah holds a grand sale. they fill the civic center to the brim with used furniture, clothes, decorations and other trinkets for us to vigorously scavenge through. last year i came out victorious, with 6 dining room chairs and small odds and ends. this year, well, i was slightly disappointed. i went in ready to fight for side tables and a console table for our hallway, but i came out with a couple of a great old books and a silver platter. both items are awesome, don't get me wrong, but i do love the thrill of a good thrifted piece of furniture. oh the possibilities!

that said, the junior league sale is really for a wonderful cause and i am happy to be able to find anything to buy and contribute. i am quite pleased with this silver platter, i think once i shine it up it will be quite lovely.