11 January 2012

many things

Cranberry Streusel Muffins, Salted Caramel Apple Pie and finally the second half of the Michigan trip photos.

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I am very late on this post. It seems like ages ago that I was in Michigan, but it has been a very busy last few months. 

Cranberry muffins with fresh cranberries. A big clustery streusel topping that you just need to pile on. Michigan lighting in the photos, deep shadows, high window light, oh how I miss you. Maybe it was just because it was a vacation and at home I am always frantically doing a million things.
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A great old glass I found in my Great Grandpa's cupboard. It had little measuring units on the side, words written all over it, like nothing you can find at store today. I was so happy when he saw me swooning over it and said 'Oh, just take it. It's just a cup.'

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My dad made this pie with the last of the many apples. Their isn't a recipe to go along with it, because simply he didn't use one. He just made his normal shortening based pie crust from memory then worked on the filling. Apples were peeled and sliced into thin strips. Toss in a bit of sugar, probably some tapioca to make it come together. Piled up in the crust till they were just about to fall down, I got working on the caramel. A quick salted caramel recipe, the same one at work that I use to make a salty buttercream. Drizzled all over the apples then adored with Michigan and Upper Peninsula shaped dough. Brushed with a bit of cream, a generous sprinkling of sugar. Patiently waiting at least half an hour before the crust was the perfect gold brown. Cool down just a little, the voila!  
Dessert.
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A side trip to Toronto.
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A great little bakery and cafe in their Distillery District. Tons of bread, pastries, it was a great place. 
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A little gardening shop a few doors down from the bakery. The outside was filled with lavender and the inside had great new and vintage finds. I found a great pair of little gardening shears that are my new kitchen scissors. 
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A free farm that you could walk through.
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The horse was nuzzling everything. Adorable.
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Across the street. 
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Loafers. Mine.
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On the drive back to Michigan we made a stop at Niagara Falls. It was the perfect time to go their. The weather was the best of the whole trip and the Falls was pretty much deserted. 
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A double rainbow going into the water.
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A bavarian town about two hours from where we were staying. Had a great little old simple cheese shop. Lots of cheese curds! It was amazing, I'm pretty sure I bought every single kid. It started to hail the minute they were taking this photo of me.
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My Great Grandpa's old camera.
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Goodbye Michigan, you were fun while you lasted. Family drama as you would expect on any trip involving my sister and I, but a nice little break nonetheless. 

Muffin recipe from a long ago google search.

25 comments:

Athena said...

Such a perfect post. Love the cup and scissors and the light! Pretty much everything!

athena said...

ok, I'm thinking of the scissors in your pomegranate post... is that the pair you got in Michigan? if so, they're awesome. forgive my rambling...

Julie Marie said...

Yup those are the scissors!

Hannah said...

your shoes are awesome! pray tell where does one find shoes like that?

Angela @ thefairybreadchronicles said...

wow. i adore these photos! and i know how you feel with your great grandpa's cup. i covet all my nan's old kitchen utensils. they just don't come like that these days!

Madeleine said...

ohh such beautiful photos, as always. i'm a sucker for streusel anything, and salted caramel to go with the apple pie sounds delicious.

Sue/the view from great island said...

It was worth the wait===the photos are so evocative, love them. And the streusel muffins are calling to me...I've got one more bag of cranberries in the deep freeze, now I know what to do with them.

Anonymous said...

My one trip to Toronto, years ago, did not impress me - but I've always thought I would like to go back and give it a second chance someday. Seeing your pictures convinced me even more that I was simply in the wrong part of the city (and unfairly comparing it to Ottawa). Must plan a trip sometime in the near future!

My husband and youngest daughter have discovered a new love for cranberries this season; I just might have to make these muffins for them sometime soon!

NIM said...

OMG your pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!! And extremely inspiring for me to do more photography.

the vanilla bean blog said...

Lovely! And I love when my Grandma gives me treasures. That glass is great.

Cindy said...

so, so lovely! I love that mitten and upper peninsula shaped pie dough too! I'm new to Michigan and my neighbors keep telling me I need to visit Frankenmuth...now that I know about those cheese curds, it needs to happen!

Julie Marie said...

Cindy: thanks! Yeah it is a cute little town, and the cheese shop has chocolate cheese fudge, so weird but so addictive

Anonymous said...

I've been following your blog for a while and you take really amazing photos! I also love how personal your posts can be, it's like talking to a friend :) If I may offer a word of advice, some proofreading before posting would take your blog to the next level. I love your stories but the small grammatical and spelling errors can be distracting. I hope you don't take what I'm saying in the wrong way! You have a wonderful blog!

Julie Marie said...

Anon: don't worry, I don't take offense. There are probably lots of spelling errors and such. I did write it while falling asleep, but like you said its a somewhat personal blog. So it's like talking to me and me telling you a story. And I personally am always stumbling with words and can't keep a train of thought. So that's why I don't really mind it on my blog.

Nelle Somerville said...

Be still my heart! Your Michigan pie speaks to me and I have that cookie cutter! Thanks so much for the inspiration from this gal from Kalamazoo!!!

Ivy said...

what brand are your shoes? very unique!

Anonymous said...

Love this! Love the old camera the most!

Heather said...

I think I've said this before on another one of your posts, but your photos are just ridiculously gorgeous. They make me want to take better photos, which is awesome. Thanks. :)

Lauren from Baklust said...

Oh yay! You stopped in Toronto! The distillery district is a lovely spot. I never seem to make it out there, though. I've only been there a couple times since I've lived here, unfortunately.

Also, I was hoping you would explain what your dad did with that pie crust there. Are those cookie cutter cutouts?

Julie Marie said...

Lauren: the recipe for the pie crust should be the same as this one http://alwayswithbutter.blogspot.com/2011/07/blueberry-pie-by-dad.html
Yes this are cookie cutter cut outs on top

Mo @ Howl Madly said...

Your photo's are so beautiful! I love the top on the pie, very creative :)

Anonymous said...

LOVE the photos! You're recipes are awesome and everything looks delicious! Your loafers where did you get them? I love love them.

Anonymous said...

I love the salted apple pie even though the muffins are not bad idea as well with a glass of milk especially.
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Tess said...

Beautiful photo of your grandpa. He seems like a wonderful person :)

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