No "Apple-oligizing" for this one!

We had a pretty good crop of apples this year, but most of the varieties we have don't seem to keep. That means we have to make lots of apple juice, wine, vinegar, and sparkling wine!
We made about 30 gallons this year and our friends (Zalar family) came over and made several more!
We also made several gallons of grape juice, which is much harder to press.
Mary is hard at work grinding apples in this photo. We mount the whole operation on the back deck because the hornets don't seem to visit this area as much.

Mary the Woods Elf!

We were visiting Anders in California were walking in a redwoods reserve. A volunteer showed us this small opening in the bottom of a huge redwood and Mary was able to wiggle inside. This is a tight fit and given Mary's dislike for small spaces... it is amazing she is smiling!

WOW! My 3x9 ft cranberry "bog" yielded 9 cups of fresh cranberries. That should almost be enough for Christmas dinner, even when Geneva is there. To make easy cranberry sauce mix in a bowl: 3 parts cranberries with 1 part sugar, add 1/2 cup water or grape juice. Then put either in microwave on high or in saucepan on medium and cook until the berries start to pop. Cranberry sauce keeps for at least three months in the refrigerator if no one eats it up first.

October 17th is Charles Finn's birthday!

German Chocolate Cake (Chuck’s Birthday cake)
Grease and wax paper 3-9” cake pans oven 350°F

1) Sift together:
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt

2) Separate 4 eggs.

3) Beat the egg white until stiff.

4) Melt ¼ # German sweet Chocolate in ½ cup boiling water

5) Cream 1 cup butter with 2 cups brown sugar
add egg yolks+ 1 tsp vanilla and beat some more.

5) Add chocolate/water mixture to butter/sugar mixture and beat.

6) Add flour mixture to chocolate butter mixture alternately with 1 cup buttermilk.

7) Fold in stiffly beater egg whites.

8) Put into pans and bake.

Filling and topping for German Chocolate Cake:
Cook the following together in a double boiler or in microwave until thick:
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 stick butter
3 beaten egg yolks
Add:
1 cup shredded coconut
½ to 1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla


I use the filling between layers and on top, then I spread the sides with a chocolate buttercream frosting. This cake is expensive, but very tasty.

View of Superior Pond from the deck of Killburne House in October.