Can we just talk here for a minute?
I feel like my brain cannot work anymore.  It's like it get's stuck or something.  I wake up in the morning and everything's cool (aside from being ridiculously lazy at that early hour).  I'm focussed.  I'm alert(ish).  My mind is clear.  I bike or run to work... I'm still good.  I'm a fully brain functional human.  I work with boys ranging in age from 9 - 18 for 6 hours straight.
I'm off the rails.  I can't think.  I have trouble forming a sentence.  I can't remember my great ideas from earlier in the day.  I don't even know if I had any ideas.  All I can think about is what I did at work, the blur of boys that sang for me that day, the running from room to room that I did.  Then I get home.  I know that I said I was done with canning but then I got this huge bag of plums in the food box.  I don't even remember ordering them but they're gorgeous and local and I'm going to do something great with them.  I got some more tomatillo's because the salsa turned out so beautifully that I decided (in the lucid moments of the weekend) that I should make another couple of jars.  Then I saw the ground cherries (gooseberries) at the bottom of the food box and they need to be taken care of as well.   Oh yeah, and I almost forgot the beets.  So it's gonna be game on with the canner again this weekend.  And if anything, that's where my brain is.


So while I'm blurring through another whirlwind day with more boys than I can count and thinking about when I can get started with my new canning projects, I'm forgetting all about dinner... now.  We have nothing to eat... except beets, tomatillo's, ground cherries and plums.  You can't live on that.  However, my brain can't do much beyond dealing with a toaster at this rate.  Listen very little can go wrong with life when you roast vegetables before you use them.  So...
It was sheer necessity.
We needed it.
The fridge needed it.
The vegetables needed it.
So, I roasted two vegetables:  Eggplant and Red Pepper.  Nothing more.  I wouldn't have been able to function with more than that.    I boiled some pasta.  I made a quick sauce.  I tossed it all together.  I didn't think too hard.  I grated some parmesan on top.  I served it... and then my kids asked for mashed potatoes.  My head hurts.  I need help.


Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Pasta
serves 6

1.

3/4 of a medium eggplant, partially peeled cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 med red pepper, sliced
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Toss all of the ingredients together.  Place on a baking sheet (in a single layer if possible) and bake for 20 minutes (veg should be cooked through and golden) - my addled brain didn't even sprinkle with a little salt but you will totally remember to do that).  Remove from oven and set aside.

2.

2 cups uncooked pasta (I used penne noodles)
water

Add pasta to boiling, salted water.  Cook until al dente (check the package).  Drain and set aside (keep a little of the pasta water)

3.

1 cup goat cheese or cream cheese
1 1/2 cup ricotta or yogurt cheese (I used yogurt cheese and that's a whole other story)
1/2 cup (or so) reserved pasta water or cream
1 veggie bouillion cube
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup basil and parsley coarsely chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
dash pepper sauce and nutmeg

Heat the goat cheese, ricotta and pasta water or cream over low heat.  Stir until the sauce is well combined and thickening just a bit.  Add in the veggie bouillon cube and 1/2 cup parmesan.  Stir until the bouillion cube is mixed in.  Add the herbs, salt, honey, pepper sauce and nutmeg.
Cook together for about 7 minutes.  Check tastes and adjust if necessary.
Toss the pasta together with the sauce.
Pour into a big bowl.
Add in the roasted veg on top and toss gently (if you want).  Sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top.
Serve.

It feels to me like it all happened at the same time.  You know, we had this long weekend and then school started.  Everything fun stopped.  The weather changed.  People became just a little bit insane again.  I'm wearing jackets to run to work in the morning.  And it's Fall.  I haven't adjusted yet.
Just like that.
I'm not a fall hater or anything.  It's just that I'm a summer lover.  Now that I'm thinking about it, I would probably like fall well enough if I didn't know that it was the predecessor to winter.  I'm not a fan.
Admittedly, with my pantry more stocked than it's ever been in my entire life, I guess that I feel ready.  Do we ever feel truly ready for all the craziness of fall.  It's not the season it's the getting back to everything'ness' about it.  I wrote a post back in July or August or something about not getting a chance to eat lunch because... I was sitting outside reading all afternoon.  Yeah, crazy.  I wonder if I would get sick of doing that if I could just do it anytime.  It wouldn't be a novelty (this is me wondering still).  Nah.  That's dumb.  I bet it would still feel great 6 months, 2 years... hell, 5 years in.  I don't think that I would ever miss the hustle of the morning rush.
So, fall is apples right.  Partly.  Somewhat... at least.
Yeah, we have this on/off thing with apples goin' on here.  Right now we're in the off phase.  So, these perfectly beautiful Paula Reds were slowly shrinking into those funny heads that we used to see in the eighties.  You know, the ones with cloves for eyes and these weird mouth and nose things.  So, I decided to make some apple cake.



I saw this recipe in the Baked book and for some reason it just made sense to me.  I figured that if I left out the chocolate chips, added in some nutmeg and ginger, subbed out the cream cheese icing for apples slices and streusel that the whole thing would be amazing.  It never really occurred to me that I could just try for another recipe.  That seems weird to me now.  Here it is though, all made and with all those bizarre inclusions and exclusions.  I'm not missing the icing at all.  Mine burnt a little on the bottom FYI and on the sides too.  Voila... le proof.


I'm not all freaked about it, I just cut the crap off and moved on.  Black crunchy edges aside it came out quite nicely.


Apple Oatmeal Cake adapted from Baked Explorations
1 9x13 inch cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature and cubed
2 eggs slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 dashes each of nutmeg and ground ginger
3 med. apples (I used Paula Reds) cored and sliced thin
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp streusel

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter a 9x13 inch cake pan (glass or light metal)
Heat 1 1/4 cups water to boiling.
Combine the oats and butter together in a bowl and pour the boiling water over.   Mix well and set aside for about 25 - 30 minutes.
In another bowl whisk together the eggs, sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Mix well.
Add the cooled oatmeal mixture and mix well.
Fold in the flour and mix just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Place the apple slices on top of the batter in one layer.
Top with the streusel topping.
Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool for about 30 minutes before eating.