Care package

I want to start off by saying that I love getting mail. Post cards, letters, care packages, anything. Well, except for bills.

This past week I received a package from a lovely woman named Bev who came to one of my whoopie pie workshops at The Kitchen in Amsterdam. She's American and she lives in Oregon and her sister-in-law lives her in The Netherlands, so she visits a few times a year. She knows that there are some things that you can't get easily here in Holland, and if you're lucky enough to find it, it's going to cost you 4 or 5 times the price it would in the U.S.

On Friday this package arrived on my doorstep. I opened it up and I could immediately smell the sweet aromas of light brown cane sugar and coconut. There were also butterscotch chips, boxes of baking soda and really cute baking cups. It was also packed with military caliber efficiency, which was so awesome that I just had to mention it. Sometimes when my father sends me packages things are haphazardly thrown in. It wouldn't surprise me to find an anvil resting on top of a Faberge egg in a package from him. I'm not complaining, I find it funny and endearing but I have to say that receiving such a well packed box was quite refreshing.

Friends and relatives have sent me some wonderful packages since I moved here in 2009. I've gotten boxes with my favorite magazines, Easter candy, hard to get baking ingredients, my favorite cereals, baby gifts and candies that I love.

Oh fudge

Like I mentioned in my last blog post, the weather here has me waxing nostalgic about Autumn in New England. Well, since that post we've had no shortage of fall-like weather here in The Netherlands. For instance, the other day I was wearing a sweatshirt and a jacket. In July. The end of July.

My lust for certain confections hasn't waned so I decided to do something about it. Today I made fudge for the first time. Now, a couple of years ago I was at a candy counter here in Holland and ran across something that looked like fudge. It was even labeled "fudge." My heart began to race and I began to salivate a bit as I ordered a piece. Sadly, it wasn't even close to the fudge I've enjoyed my entire life. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but the taste was vile. For the past few years I've had to settle for annual trips to the Old Country Store in Mansfield, MA for my fudge fix. The OCS has the best fudge I've ever had, and, according to my late grandmother (who worked there as a teenager), my very first piece of fudge came from there.
http://www.oldcountrystoreonline.com/

Making perfect fudge the old fashioned way requires a candy thermometer. I don't have one so I figured I could make do with a regular meat thermometer. That was a mistake. Fudge needs to be heated up to 242 degrees F in order for the sugar to properly dissolve.
My fudge, while actually very delicious, came out slightly grainy because it wasn't heated up to the proper temperature. All in all, I'm pleased with the results and I'm going to continue to experiment with different kinds of fudge. Rocky road, penuche, vanilla, maple, cookies and cream, dark chocolate with M&Ms, peanut butter with chocolate ganache. Oh yes. I know what people are getting from me for Christmas this year.

Autumn in New England

I chose the title for this post based on the weather we've been having here in The Netherlands. It's the kind of weather that elicits the warm and fuzzy feelings I have for Autumn. In New England, Autumn is a special time of the year when the hillsides burst with kaleidoscopic colors, children eagerly anticipate Halloween and families carve pumpkins and go apple picking. It's a time for new beginnings, a time when we start a new school year, and the cooler air comes with the promise of a a wonderful upcoming holiday season. I have never seen anything more beautiful than Massachusetts in the fall and I don't think that I ever will, as long as I live. No matter where in the world I am, I will always go back.

I find myself getting nostalgic during walks through the city when I'm breathing clean, cool and crisp air and basking in the beautiful sunshine that we've had here on most days this summer. I've been craving all the delicious foods that go along with Autumn, like hearty soups, sweet banana bread, candy apples, pumpkin pie and most of all, apple crisp. Apple crisp is a classic New England dessert and you'll find it on the menu of most restaurants and diners, served with a heaping side of vanilla ice cream. The only way to eat it is warm and preferably snuggled up on the couch on a brisk Fall evening with your best friend reminiscing about times past...

This is a recipe that was given to me by my beloved friend Heather Burns.

Apple Crisp

5 cups sliced tart apples
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 tbs. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Peel, core and slice the apples; toss in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon; add to the apples and toss to combine.

In another bowl combine flour, sugar and oats and soft butter.

Butter a 9-inch square baking dish. Spread apple mixture in bottom of baking dish then sprinkle with flour mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, or until apples are tender and topping is lightly browned.