Comfort Me With {caramel} Apples

It’s supposed to be Fall after all. But Summer hasn’t collapsed yet. It is hot and humid and happy to stay that way. While I’m waiting, I’m comforting myself with apples. Apples dipped in creamy caramel. Caramel cooked so lazily that you don’t even have to open the can of sweetened condensed milk before you cook it. I used my Instant Pot and followed these simple instructions. You should too. Then be like me and eat an apple a day to keep Summer away, each tart bite of crispy Pink Lady dunked in sweet, molten lava the color of the golden leaves that we are waiting ever so patiently to see. You can also spread this tawny sauce on toast, or dribble it deliberately over salted popcorn. Maybe, just maybe if we comfort ourselves with enough apples and copious amounts of caramel, Fall will come. 

*Meet Me for Lunch* at Xian

"Let's meet for lunch!"

Fellow foodie and friend, Shirley Unruh and I have said these words to each other for months now! Yesterday we finally made it happen at Xian Noodle Place. 

(pic from their fb page)

Shirley arrived before I did, (believe or not lol) and was animatedly conversing with the patrons in the booth next to ours. They were diehard foodies too also dining at Xian for the first time. The restaurant was spacious and clean with quiet background music playing; not many people dining. More arrived while we were there. We chose steamed pork dumplings and pot stickers for starters. Both equally delicious. For our main, I chose Braised Beef with Noodles and Shirley selected Soy Sauce Chicken with Noodles. Both bowls were savory and satisfying, but not nearly as gratifying as pho. Even though this wasn't trying to be pho, it was hard not to compare. But the star of the lunch to me was my Grapefruit Fresh Tea with Popping Peach Boba! It put the capital D in Delightful!! Both of us rated it higher than Shirley's Peach Oolong Milk Tea. 

Although I don't feel like I'll be clouted with a craving to slurp up their noodles again, I totally know I want to go back to Xian for another tea!

Outside my Window on the Thirteenth of September

 

Outside my window....the barren branches of my porch pot tomato plant that was devoured (twice) by squishy fat green tomato worms taunts me with failure.

I am thinking....that I should aspire to step 12,000 steps per day!

I am thankful...that I was able to go to work at "My Real Job" aka Secretary for Faircloth Land Services today. Although spending the last two days mostly working on Comforter Committee Sewing duties was also a blessing!

In the kitchen...sits the copper cookie tin from WeCare that I use for my slop bucket. I love it as much as one can love a slop bucket.

I am wearing...an Old Navy terra cotta colored t-shirt dress.

I am creating...another batch of Brown Sugar Cinnamon Simple Syrup.

I am going...to give myself and others more grace than usual because it's Simple September. Simply love, simply give.

I am reading.... Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. 

I am hoping...to keep on track with my Cleaning Schedule this week. I now identify as a person who cleans her house weekly!

I am looking forward to...finalizing Tax Season 2022.

I am learning...that if you want others to respect something, you first have to respect it yourself.

Around the house....real life is being lived. A Lego set half-built on the table, miscellaneous stuff from Danl's truck spread out on the couch being sorted, piles of papers on my desk.

One of my favorite things.... is hearing about Danielle's school day on the drive home. 

Life in Five Senses

Here’s a book club book review for you! 

Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin was my pick for August. It was an interesting and delightful book to read! I had the hardcover copy which was a birthday gift from Rhonda, so I invited her as my guest for the evening. The print copy contains a good many fascinating photos which really makes the content come alive. Gretchen goes through each of the five senses in a memoir-like way as she finds ways to engage more thoroughly in the world around her. In the “Sight” chapter, she writes about attending Beyond Van Gogh, the Immersive Experience. Serendipitously, this pop-up museum was in Pensacola right over the date of book club! Most of us were able to attend this enthralling event before coming back to my house for a Sight & Sound Supper where the rest joined. I welcomed everyone inside by asking, “How is your nose?” which is a greeting that Gretchen mentions in her book while the 

Infinite Fractal and Falling Shepard Tone played on my Bluetooth speaker in the background. Then we discussed the infamous dress and discovered we were about half and half on team Blue & Black versus team White & Gold! Wow. On to Laurel or Yanny? Some heard both, most heard Laurel. Meanwhile, Heidi provided us with thee most pleasurable boba tea drinks! I for one, found the slurping most satisfying. A row of ketchups which is a splendid example of the flavor umami, even included a homemade version provided by Gloria! We dipped fries and chickens tenders and ate salad with toppings that completed all the colors of the color wheel. Blind taste tests on popular soda flavors were going down as well; poor Mr. Mt. Dew got confidently falsely confirmed as Coke! It’s harder than you think to get them right! Stacia even flubbed on her dear Dr. Pepper! We shared Sensory Memories, sampled jelly beans with our noses plugged, sniffed favorite scents, and ended up with ice cream. Four kinds, all marketed as “homemade or homestyle” iconic, wide world over loved and lauded - Vanilla. With scratch & sniff stickers and Pop-Rocks for party favors, the sensory night came too quickly to a close; senses stimulated in the best way! It all began with a book! 

Simple September

I love an artful alliteration, so I’ve been pondering if this September should be Reset September or Simple September or Say No September or even Surprise Me September?? September is a delightful month which has always been “The Other New Year” to me. I adore the fresh start feel of Back to School, falling into Fall which is mostly a state of mind in the South, and the renewing of resolutions to be DILIGENT and do all the things I know and want to do. (I’ve even decided to choose a WOTY for the 2023-2024 school year! #diligent. Thanks for the idea, Karma!) Anyway, September hath arrived along with some gratifyingly rainy weather. As I’ve been ruminating while watching the raindrops spatter, what settles the most alluringly on my heart is SIMPLE SEPTEMBER. I long for empty day blocks on my calendar, No Sweat Suppers with scant dishes to do, and time to sit on my front porch (the beauty of the back porch has dissolved due to chickens and a large black dog; life is real over here!) sipping a mock Starbucks Shaken Oatmilk Espresso sweetened with homemade brown sugar cinnamon syrup while reading a book (but NOT a self-help book!) The summer was sweet; I really did feel like a tourist in my own home town! But now I’m tired, and want to stay home. This means I will have to say no, which will surprise myself and others, but will result in life feeling like it has been reset. Welcome, Simple September!