Applesauce

As mentioned, we had a ton of apples from our orchard ready for picking and eating!  I froze a lot for the holidays but also decided to make my own applesauce.  This was a test recipe that I tried at home in Raleigh before I go to the farm this week and really make use of all the delicious apples!
   

We like to add this to cake batter for a really moist & rich cake and we also serve it with pork and potato cakes.    I am thinking I will freeze some for a treat for Cutty when he comes at Christmas!  


The secret is the sweetness of the apples - do not use tart ones!


Here is the recipe: 
Peel & cut apples
Simmer with only a tiny bit of water until soft 
Add one teaspoon of cinnamon
Stir and then mash with a potato masher
Allow to cool then freeze!  

Homemade Applesauce - YUM!  

Cold Comfort Hall

When we built Cold Comfort Cottage in 2000, we just needed a little place that was not too hard to mange for our dogs and ourselves. The farm was to be a getaway and a rest from work and on our time off, we just wanted a small place where we could relax!  Well, as you have heard me say before in this blog - WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

We realized quite quickly that we were going to need a bigger house as we were having many guests and guest dogs and the cottage only had a table for two.

Because of our configuration up on the bluff, I knew we would have to add on from the front of the house vs. the back as most people do.  Looking through many architectural books of our area in VA, I finally came across a great house. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson and located not far from our farm. It was one of the few clapboard houses he designed; it is privately owned and its name is Edgemount.  We are also down the road from Jefferson’s Monticello and next door to another Jefferson jewel, Bremo, our wonderful neighbors.

The inspiration - Edgemount

The existing dimensions and elevation fit our site perfectly so we have proceeded over the last 2 years to create our own Edgemount at Lowfields - minus the dome!

Cold Comfort Hall

Front Porch at Cold Comfort Hall

Cold Comfort Hall through the Gate House on a misty morning

Inside the Hall

Here's a peak inside of Cold Comfort Hall...  With the addition of space, we now have a new master bedroom, a bigger kitchen and a dining room that can seat up to 10 people.  There is also an office for Charlie downstairs with two addition sleeping quarters (stay tuned for post for that!).

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom w/ Guest Dog

Dining Room - with entries into kitchen and living room

Dining Room

Kitchen - view from Dining Room

Kitchen

Kitchen - breakfast table

Living Room

Living Room

We turned the previous kitchen at the Cottage into a huge mud room which helps with the all the comings and goings of the dogs.

Mud room

The Art of Lazy Gardening

Fall is a busy time in the garden, even for the lazy gardener. Last week I cut down a bed full of cosmos as part of my annual fall gardening ritual. 

Cosmos

Cutty in the cosmos this summer

I then laid the pulled up plants on a newly dug bed and then in a couple of weeks you have seeds . They will also come up next spring.

Dead plants pulled up from another bed put down to seed

One week later after the rain from Irene - seedlings!