Apple Cider Donuts

As requested:

APPLE CIDER DONUTS

Ingredients

• 2 red apples, such as Cortland or McIntosh
• 2 1/2 cups apple cider
• 3 1/2 cups all-pourpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Core and coarsely chop the apples (do not peel). Combine with 1 1/2 cups cider in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cover and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until the apples are tender and the cider is almost completely reduced, about 5 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor until smooth. Measure the sauce; you should have 1 cup. (Boil to reduce further, if necessary.) Let cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

Beat 2/3 cup granulated sugar and the shortening in another bowl with a mixer on medium speed until sandy. Beat in the egg and yolk, then gradually mix in the applesauce, scraping the bowl. Beat in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk and vanilla, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix to make a sticky dough; do not overmix.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and pat into a 7-by-11-inch rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: Simmer the remaining 1 cup cider in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until smooth and glossy, then set aside. Mix the remaining 1 cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a shallow bowl; set aside for the topping.

Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Cut the chilled dough into 12 rounds, using a floured 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter, then cut out the middles with a 1-inch cutter (or use a doughnut cutter). Slip 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as needed. Transfer to the paper towels to drain.

Dip one side of each doughnut in the cider glaze, letting the excess drip off; dip just the glazed side in the cinnamon-sugar or roll all over in cinnamon-sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Photograph by Kate Mathis
Recipe by Food Network Magazine

As Promised...

Whether you wanted me to follow up on this, or not, here are some more fabulous photos from my Thanksgiving, and the day after, and the day after that.

I apologize to those of you who were eagerly awaiting their posting, it's been a long few days of packing.

Here's Phil grilling the bird. It goes on like this; bloody mary's, grill smoke, and man banter for quite some time.

Isn't she a 'bute?

Despite dinner being ready at a resonable hour, we were all pretty hungry.

Thanks to Laura's remote control these shots were a breeze :)

The next day we were back to work in the kitchen. This time it was turkey broth... and Hand Pies!

Gimlet anyone?

No, not "giblet", "gimlet."

No recipe needed here. Just get (or make) some dough; pizza, pie, pastry, whatever. Fill it with your leftovers and heat it in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Top it with gravy and BLAMO! A Thanksgiving Feast all over again!

Party on Wayne!

I didn't want to leave you hanging on the outcome of the broth. Here's Phil's turkey tortellini soup.

Well, I hope by now you're satisfied. That was turkey to the third power.

Have you had your fill of pre holiday shopping yet too?

No?

Fear not. I just found out that today is Green Tuesday. A holiday shopping event hosted by Nonprofit Green America. They are encouraging us to buy gifts with the environment and community in mind.

Interested?

How about jewelry made from recycled nuclear bomb equipment?

www.fromwartopeace.com

Not interested?

Nevermind then.

And to my friend GoHeyJudy... I'll get you that donut recipe in a minute :)

The Day In Review

I am happy to report that this is how my Thanksgiving started, with homemade donuts and great friends. How awesome is that? No, I did not make this gem of a brunch dish, our friends the Jackson's did. I told Sarah I was going to post this picture this morning and she laughed. I was obviously serious. In a world when it is easier to go to the store and buy them, making your own donuts seems so archaic. Dare I even suggest impossible? But when you put a lot of time and effort into something, it tastes better. These donuts were full of love and sincerity. (Sarah and Max would probably want me to stop here, so I will) Let me just say that they were the best donuts I ever had.

These apple cider donuts set the bar for the rest of the day. The food from there out got progressively more delicious, as we proceeded to have increasing amounts of fun. Look at lunch.

It is no coincidence that this looks equally as gorgeous as breakfast. Lunch was Sarah's department as well.

Our friends came over at 10:30 for brunch and stayed until 10:00 pm. Let me do the math for you. That's almost 12 hours, a sure sign of a good holiday. When you can't be with your family for the holidays...love the ones you're with. Just kidding, we don't just love our friends by default. I am very thankful for them. I will miss them dearly when we part ways in a week. We had such a great time in fact, that they are all coming back over for leftovers. The party will continue tonight with Hand Pies! Yay! For those of you unfamiliar, the hand pie is the best idea (with the most awkward name) for leftovers. I can't wait.

Laura documented the entire day yesterday, as you can see by the above photo. There is a good chance she will be assuming the same position tonight. Stay tuned if you love to hate, but really love, photographs of other people's food.

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a great day everyone.

And if you are interested in these pumpkins, click on them.

And if you are interested in shopping Florida Scarf this weekend, you'll get free shipping. The coupon code is SHIPFREE.

FREE SHIPPING

In honor of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, Florida Scarf will be offering FREE SHIPPING on all domestic orders through 11/28. The coupon code, SHIPFREE, is to be entered at checkout in the Etsy Shop.

www.floridascarf.etsy.com

I wish everyone a fabulous start to their holiday season.

I hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful; full of food, friends, and festivities.

Mine will definitely be. It's my husband's favorite holiday. He always grills our turkey, and it's amazing. This year he's got a new recipe, Malt-Beer Brined Turkey with Malt Glaze. Doesn't that sound awesome? He's already started to brine. That probably means I gotta get off this computer and start my own prep work :)

Anyway, I know most of us start our holiday shopping after tomorrow. And it is with much enthusiasm that I encourage you to shop small. Keep it special and simple. Stay balanced. Shop a little bit on Etsy, Online, and at your local shops and boutiques. Handmake a gift or two even :)

Please visit my etsy shop now through Monday to take advantage of my offering. While your there sign up for Etsy's Seasonal Gift Email. They have really done a great job at making their site more shoppable. Wanna see what I like on Etsy? Go here.

If you are in Philadelphia, Hello World is a great place to shop. And if you are in Reading I recommend Hello Bluebird. St. Augustine? How about Simple Gestures, Mullet Beach Gallery, or The Closet? If you would like to give any other small businesses a shout go to my FB page and put them on the wall. Make sure they are open on Saturday :)

Thanks for checking in with Florida Scarf, you make me one happy turkey.

Extreme Holiday Cravings



Click the scarf to see it on Etsy.

Sorry if I got carried away with the pies.

Look Who's Packin'

I'm packing.
I'm packing for the eighth time since Phil and I have been together. That sounds crazy. I'm getting pretty good at it. I can't move and not get rid of anything. I reach a limit where I just can't pack the same item more than twice if I don't use it a lot. I just have to get rid of it.
Germany is different. I'm quite indecisive on many of our belongings. I'm not going to over think it though, except on maybe a few levels. Like last night...
To begin the packing process I started at the most insignificant level. The Florida Scarf fabric.
I can use the smallest piece of fabric on a scarf. Normally, I refuse to throw anything away, but I promised Phil I would get rid of some of what he deems useless. For me throwing anything away is like admitting that it doesn't have a purpose. I can't turn my back on the potential to be found in a chunk of fabric. I think this sounds really crazy, but each piece (or scrap) of fabric is like a puzzle piece. The puzzle for which the piece is appropriate may be yet to be crafted. I want to make it and give that fabric a home. It could end up on the coolest scarf I ever made. It's destiny could be to end up in your wardrobe, around your neck.
So here I sit, late at night, debating over a swatch of 1" x 3" of fabric. It's tiny and wrinkly but it still has a great image of a flower on it. I want it. It's going to be great on something. That one makes the cut, but there are hundreds more that won't. Much to the satisfaction of Phil, I will fill two garbage bags by the end of the night. Florida scarf will lose 10 lbs. in less than 3 hours. I actually feel much better by the end. More free. I'm sure there are many fine fabrics in Europe to be had.
As I was sitting on the ground in my sewing room, going through the fabrics, it was very much like reminiscing over an old photo album; like when you need to get a baby picture of your little sister to embarrass her at her next birthday party. In looking for the best photo you go through your entire collection recounting your entire childhood. I did that with my fabric. It's hard to believe that I'm still making scarves after four years. No one seems to be sick of me yet. And in the corners of those boxes I actually found a decent amount of fabric from the early days. I think I may start a scrap book. (wouldn't that be funny?) You remember different parts of your life, places you've been, customers you've had. They're good feelings. I can only hope that in closing this chapter of my life I am leaving plenty of space to build a great new chapter on the other side of the world.
I think this move is going to be great for Flo Sca. I can only dream about the new supplies I'm going to find and people I'm going to meet.
  

Hot Fairy on Fairy

It isn't every day you get to start out a blog post like that.

I know you're thinking, "what the heck?"

Without forcing you to read any further I'll tell you. It's shower art. If you click it, the link will send you to the Ugly Baby Etsy Shop, where you can peruse this fabulous shower art.

If you want to know why I'm posting it, read on.

This season, with Florida Scarf, I have begun to develope more of an internet presence. I have found that this is going to be neccessary since I will continue to be moving. constantly. I don't know if you're familiar, but when you spend a lot of time around here you begin to make friends. It's the strangest thing to me. I have a few people, that I know only through emails, convos, and reading their blog. These people all seem quite familiar to me however and I have no problem in reffering to them as "my friend" much as I would any of my real life friends. That being said I want to introduce you to my friend Rosalie...

She might be the oddest person I know. (without actually knowing)

I met Rosalie on the internet. She hosts a great website.

Unanimous Craft is a directory of resources for crafters, artists and indie business owners. Rosalie submits her favorite resources and encourages the rest of us to do the same. It's kind of like Yelp for the crafty community.
I encourage you to become a member. It's free!

Being a part of Unanimous Craft has been great for my small crafty business. It's been a lot of Bang-For-The-Buck. Even if you don't make stuff, there's plenty for you to get involved in on the site.

Why She Did It
Rosalie was inspired to build Unanimous Craft after seeing a huge list of links to different resources that The House of Mouse posted in the Etsy forums. She wanted to make a tool that our community could use to get organized and share information. The site launched in March, 2010 with about 100 resources that were featured in Handmade Nation by Faythe Levine and Courtney Heimerl. The rest of the resources have been created by our community.
this friend of mine is a waterproof Shower Art maker, stand-up comedian and blogger who is currently obsessed with German board games, Bikram yoga and embroidery.

Rosalie is also the brains behind bARTer Sauce, an experiment in trading for art and odd objects. I'm making it mandatory for you to hang around this site.

I hope you enjoyed meeting Rosalie. She's pretty neat, huh? I thought you two would have a bit in common. Check her out on the FB too, if you want, since, that's what friends do these days, especially internet friends.

Happy Birthday Heidelberg

This is Heidelberg Street in Detroit. It is the home of the Heidelberg Project, which is celebrating its 25th birthday. It is a living art installation (I say living because it continues to grow) started and maintained by Tyree Guyton.

As the story goes, Mr. Guyton came home from the war to find the street he grew up on abandoned. He couldn't stand to see it go to waste and become filled with crime. He decided to fight this grim destiny with decoration. It hasn't been easy, and he faced defeat many times, but it has been an artistic institution ever since. This one site draws over 270,000 visitors annually. It has also been an inspiration to the community, learning tool for the children, and a source of pride for Detroit.

You can read the story of the anniversary here.

I love this project. I think it is another example of the importance of art. It's not about one person's need to express themself. It's about art as a multipurpose tool; art as lifesupport.

I think Mr. Guyton is amazing. I think he takes art and does exactly what you are supposed to do with it. I am so happy for all the people whose lives he has affected in a positive way.

You can also learn more by visiting www.heidelberg.org

Interact with Florida Scarf

Who wouldn't want to interact with that face? I mean mine, not my brother's. Although, he is way cuter. Maybe he should be the new face of Florida Scarf.

Ladies?

Anyway, I've recently caught wind that there have been changes in the workings of the FB Fan Pages. If you are a Fan of Flo Sca on the FB, good for you. If not go here.

If you are a fan and you want the Flo Sca posts to come up in your news feed, then you must interact with me. It is no longer enough that you have just clicked the "LIKE" button. Not to mention, I want to hear from you, we all do. I want to see pictures of you wearing your scarf, or hood. I want to hear how your day was. I am not friends with all of the Flo Sca Likers on my personal page. If you chime in on the fan page I can chat with you too...BONUS!

Suggest Flo Sca to your friends if you haven't already. What a party that would be.

Not that social? No problem. All you have to do is "LIKE" a comment/post or two.

Thanks for checking in today. I give you the "thumbs up."

Stay Warm.

Holiday Shopping....Take 1

The Fort Rucker Spouse's Club Hollyday Mart was yesterday and I had a blast. Holiday shoppers were out in full support of the independant vendors who participated. I was fortunate enough to set up next to my good buddy, Katy, from The Knackatorium.

It was an incredibly busy day. I saw many of friends and neighbors, a few return customers from last year, and (most importantly) made some new frineds too. This was my only holiday bazaar this season (unfortunately) and it couldn't have gone better.

I don't normally post on Sundays, but I am just pumped about what a great day yesterday was. So let me take this second to personally thank everyone who bought a scarf, or tried a scarf on, or walked by in admiration. I appreciate all of it. I pour myself into this work, and I really strive to craft a lot of different scarves, for a lot of differnet people. The amount of sales I had yesterday was a confirmation that I'm going in the right direction.  

I made a couple of Army Aviation Florida Scarves...and they're gone...I guess that was a good idea.

I met a couple of other chica's going to Germany...Bonus.

The Fort Rucker Elementary School Band performed. They were adorable. I love when little kids are playing instruments bigger than they are.

I met the coolest older woman who was a theater performer...and clown! She actually teaches clowning....Double Bonus. I could have talked to her all day.

I think I am going to need a nap today.

If you missed the Hollyday Mart, have no fear. I'm in town until 12/12.

You can also purchase items online at www.floridascarf.etsy.com

How Your Scarf Gets Shipped

Are you thinking of buying a Florida Scarf this season?
Are you thinking about sending one as a gift?
That's great!
Allow me to share a couple of photos with you that demonstrate how that scarf will be wrapped and shipped.

Each individual item is wrapped in two pieces of colorful tissue paper. I also hand write a personal thank-you on these cool postcards my friend Laura made for the company. I also include a couple of business cards (designed by Laura) in the likely event that you are going to love your scarf and want to share Flo Sca with others.

Then I put the merchandise in a large padded envelope and give it some flair.

I ship USPS, and it takes 2-4 days to arrive in the continental US.

I do ship internationally. It is priced on a per-case basis.

I will expedite shipping at the buyer's request, and at the buyer's expense. 

Thanks for doing your Florida Scarf research.

I look forward to packaging your scarves today!