An apple that Shines

It is the time of year that a bowl of apples is displayed on the counter.  Walking past it today an old memory jumped right at me.  Smiling and heading to the butter bowl I knew exactly what was wrong with all those apples.  No shine!  Been a long time since I had thought about the bowl of apples my mom always had out in the fall.  It all came back the day I asked her why she rubs butter on the apples.  Her answer was just as smooth as silk, or maybe butter.  They should look pretty with a nice shine, not a lot of butter, just enough to make the shine.  So my apples now look pretty and have that shine.  Remember, it is always in the presentation.
Which bowl would be your pick for a tasty apple?

Fresh off the trees and dull......

A little butter with the apple! 

Another day, another rain drop or kazillions!   I never thought I would not be able to put the lawn to bed for winter but this year it happened.  The husband took out the mower batteries, conditioned the gas and tucked them away until the end of April of 2019.  The grass really needs to be cut back before the snow falls.  Now this is my theory, so come spring we will see if the lawn looks any different than other years.  Did I say 2019?  Good God Almighty, it just does not seem possible.  Age has a way of putting the BAM on us.  Can you imagine back in 1967 if someone would have told me how the years would change so many things that I do?  Why I am sure I never even dreamed I would be this old because back then  30 was ancient in my mind.  So on life goes with all the new ways of doing things.  Maybe that is why I like looking back, learning to do things as was a long long time ago.  Or it could be I like to bring the memories of those innocent (and sometimes not so innocent) years of growing up.  One thing for sure I have never forgotten the not so innocent times.  None that I am ashamed of, some that I would like to have done differently and some that I would do exactly the same way if given the choice.  Never forget where you come from, who you are and who you want to be.  Every day is a day of learning.  The good, the bad and the in between. 

Speaking of learning..............sour dough starter for sour dough bread.  Today was day 6 of feeding it.  Yep, it is alive!  Some days I think it is not working and then a day comes along that holy let it raise.  I am hoping it will be ready before the 10 days, it says 7-10 days and it will be ready to make bread.  Everyone is excited around here for the big day.  I keep saying, it is a learning thing.  It will be terrific if my first time is a go but not going to give up if it flops.  Like my husband says, I am too stubborn and mean to give up or sometimes when he talks nice he says, you have more patience than I would.  Either way sour dough started and the finished bread will be a challenge.  Am I up to it?   Time will tell, again!  By the way, do you know how many times I look at the jar of starter a day......too often for sure.

Boiled Cider?

Have you ever heard or tried boiled cider?  Never have I, but that is soon to change as far as the tasting goes it will be soon.  One of my favorite cooking channels on You Tube was making an apple skillet cake using boiled apple cider.  He is a pretty interesting old guy....probably a few years older than me.  I told ya he was old!  He lives in Canada, built a tiny cabin on his property and films some of his vlogs on cold winter days from the cabin.  He  has a great garden, many varieties of fruit trees and fruit bushes.  Oh, he has chickens.  Has to be a nice guy if he likes chickens.  Ok, back to the boiled cider.  It got my attention when I read his notification for a new vlog using boiled apple cider.  He told about it and how it is made.  I even googled boiled cider to get the full "how to".  Apparently the only ingredient I need is fresh cider and 5 hours to watch it simmer away.  What else do I have to do when the cold wind and rain continues to keep me inside?  Knit, read, try new recipes and old faithful ones, keep up with my You Tube cooks and watch a pot simmer.  Sounds good to me.  Now, I could take the easy way (which I never do) and order a pint from Amazon at $14.95.  Instead I will get a qt from a gallon of cider, at least that is what the directions say.  Either way I am excited to try something new.  It might even be tasty on that sour dough bread that will be hopefully in my oven in 8 days. Tis the season to try new foods.  The starter is doing its thing, all bubbly, raising and falling just like Joshua said.  You Tube is my new how to source.   Just another outlet to learn new things.

Speaking of new things :)  I ordered fingerling yarn from Latvia, way over across the Atlantic, a small country in Europe.  Made me a little nervous but I was looking for a certain color and weight.  This gal has a shop on Etsy.  It said for delivery to the USA it could take from 10 to 30 days.  No problem, I still have another month on the Snowfire, double knit throw I am knitting.  How about 5 days from order to delivery with a tracking number!!!!  Can I say excited beyond words.  When Dick brought in the mail there it was.  Nervous to see if I would be happy with the quality was my main hand shaking reason.  The reviews on her store and yarn were all 5 star and many of them.  The yarn is better than I ever thought it could be.  This gal packaged it in a beautiful bag and added a hand written thank you card.  She won me over by going above and beyond.  I buy yarn at a shop in Alfred, NY and Southern Pines, NC.  I really like to look and feel the yarn before I buy it.  But $ are a priority so comes ordering on line from Knit Picks here in the USA.  They did not have what was planted in my mind as to what I wanted for my next double knit project.  The yarn I bought from Latvia is actually spun in Germany which is fine with me.  The price was amazing compared to buying local even including $10 in shipping.  Some will say, why?  Buy local or made in the USA.  Seriously,  I do try but there are times it just isn't meant to be.  Plus, I really believe in fair trade.  I do mean fair trade as in export and import.  By the way, it is all in the presentation when trying to sell or promote something.  That first impression be it a thing or person is the most important second of like or not.

Now you see why I am hooked on this Latvia shop.

A few of my favorite things :)

A little tip.  If you like fresh seafood try Toads, in Olean, NY.  It is across from Dunkin Donut.  I like their sign inside the seafood and meat market.  It says, try our seafood, it was swimming 48 hours ago, or was that 24 hours?  Either one, that is fresh.  This is our 2nd time for fresh peeled shrimp and both times it was amazing with no old fishy smell!  The scallops are good too.  They also have fresh smoked beef sticks and hot dogs.  Different flavors, such as garlic, cheese, cheese and jalapeno and others but we have only tried the ones I mentioned.  They are open Thursday through Sunday.  Great place!

Tuesday and the sun is shining........now that is unusual in our neck of the woods.  At least this fall for sure.  Will it be snowing all winter?  Time will tell!

Time will Tell

After a few months of taking a break which doesn't mean I really took a break and totally relaxed.  It is simply the point of thinking, going through old memories, creating a few new ones and  hanging out at Cook'n by the Creek.  It has been a busy summer as usual with the garden, canning, lawn work and also doing a few things at the cabin.  There was also time for family and friends, old and new.  We were lucky to meet quite a few new people this year and all were just our style.  That is a good thing.  I always told the boys when the left for college or the military, you will find your own.  They did!  That makes me happy.

So where to begin on the happenings around here?  It will take a while to sort out what goes in what blog.  I am not sure where to start so this old mind will start recent and works it way backwards.  As I set here looking out over Clara Valley with the hills almost bare from the leaves it reminds me of days gone by.  Twenty years we have lived here and it just keeps getting better.  By the way, no beautiful fall colors in our valley and surrounding areas.  It is just one of those years.  No complaints, just take a look around and find something to make you smile and put the awe in your mind.  It sure is green and that is another good thing.  Wild Boy Smokey is enjoying the fresh green grass and has not had hay from his winter stash, thanks to Dan and Merle Austin we have some nice hay.  Now is this a sign of the winter to come?  Seems like that is on many local minds.  How hard a winter?  More snow than usual, more frigid temps or the opposite?  Again, time will tell and only time.  For me, I will take lots of snow...........it is so beautiful, clean and fresh enjoy. 

Friends took us to an old cider mill near Canisteo, NY.  Lain's and it was just our style.  An old barn with the grinders and press.  A little outside stand to buy cider, apples, homemade vinegar, baked goods, cheese and cheese curds.  Dang, I had to try the vinegar.  It had the "mother" in it.  My sister-in-law told me about the vinegar with the "mother" maybe 50 years ago.  Now I had the chance to see it and try it for myself.  That will be another blog!  Told ya I was gathering and thinking on all these mind boggling thoughts of mine.

So what have I been doing recently out of the ordinary routine?  Yesterday I mixed rye flour and water to get a sour dough starter going.  It will take 7-10 days of playing chemist, feeding and dividing the mixture.  Then with some luck I will be making crusty sour dough bread, pancakes and what ever else I find recipes for.  I have been on you tube looking for the recipe that suits me.  I found a young man that is the best to explain and what a humor he has.  He does many things from all kinds of breads to smoking bacon, etc.  Not sure of his age but I am thinking 20 something and I trust his advice.  Even old seasoned cooks and bakers can learn from the young.  His name is Joshua Weissman and worth the watch.  He carries a great sense of humor and just the right amount along with his knowledge.  Check him out if your looking for a little entertainment and great tips in the kitchen for cooking and baking.  

This is the starter, tonight at 4pm it will have set 24 hrs then I get to divide and feed.  

Hoping for some good sour dough bread.  Time will tell!

From our visit to Lain's Cider Mill I bought a half bushel of apples, all different kinds. $8.00 a half bushel, $14 a bushel.  On Wednesday they turned into apple butter, apple jelly and sliced apples for the freezer for winter pies.  After peeling and coring the apples for the apple butter I looked at the peels and cores........what a waste.  They would be put out for the deer but for some reason I thought.......what if I boil them with some water and make apple jelly?  It worked!   Some of the apples had red skin so the jelly is a beautiful light pink.  Sometimes I can think out of the box.......not often but it does happen occasionally.  Then I surprise myself.  

apple butter..............apple jelly =  homemade butter milk biscuits!

That pretty pink apple jelly on the bottom and apple butter on the top.

The Rainbow

Rainbow Swiss Chard that is.  Today was the pick day from our garden and honestly it is the best crop of Swiss Chard we have ever grown.  Even the larger leaves are so tender.  I noticed that while cutting it, every once in a while my finger would pierce a leaf.  Now that is tender and lush.  Probably the cooler temps and only a couple of those............it is too hot days have helped.  I know certain veggies like cooler temperatures and pretty sure Swiss Chard must be one of them.

Fresh from the garden.

What to do with all the Swiss Chard?  Since we just passed the asparagus season and ate it and pickled it until I don't want to see it until next year for the next few weeks we will welcome eating Swiss Chard.  Tonight it will be cut into strips for an Asian soup.  Very light chicken stock base with Teriyaki  flavored chicken cut up into bite size pieces on top, shaved ginger, green onions and a dab of Hoisin  Sauce  poured over Rice Noodles.  I saw the recipe on a You Tube Vlog.  It is delicious and so satisfying even  during the warm weather. 

Our days have been busy around "Cook'n by the Creek".  From brush hogging, lawn mowing, garden and working at the "Summer Place" we really haven't had much time for anything else.  If it rains there is plenty to do inside, especially the basement.  Time to sort what is needed and get rid of all else.  Something I haven't done in 20 plus years........have a lawn sale.  That is how much "stuff" we are both getting rid of.  Once the little stuff is gone then we will move on to the bigger "stuff".  As of now that is the plan.  Plans can change in a heartbeat with us so nothing is etched in gold.  We have made the decision to sell "Cook'n by the Creek".  If the right person comes along it will mean the stars have aligned and it is meant to be.  We are embracing this decision with open arms and both have always been ready for the next phase of our life.  As much as we love our little place and acreage it does not sadden us to move on.  Oh, move on?  Actually not far...........just across the road to our "Summer Place".  Big plans and dreams have been happening as we set on the porch over there.  For over a year we have said every now and again, I could live here and the other would say me too!  From there the plans kept rolling on, what we would do and what if.  We have always thought of ourselves as the type that takes forever to make a decision, in this case a year of dreaming plans and a second about a month ago to say, "Let's Do It"................so if all falls into place......we will do it.

I guess needing more thoughts and things to blog about has been answered.  Each step of the way from down sizing, moving and living in a "little house" will be put into my blog.  Unlike a "tiny house" the "Summer Place" will be more like little.  34'X20', two bedrooms, bath, kitchen and living room with of course two porches.  One will be a view of the hill and attached to our bedroom.  The other will be facing the side yard and garage.  A small lawn with plenty of room for flowers and a few veggies.  There will be a patio area with...........an outdoor pizza oven!  Yep, we have it all planned and pictured in our dreams.  If it happens.  Time will tell.  "The Rainbow"

Lunch in the Woods

Out to lunch was on today's happenings.  Dick was busy this morning hanging the bird houses he has been building all winter and I cleaned the frig, which was not by choice but necessity.  Bringing groceries home yesterday I realized to do a little reorganization skills would have to happen.  Hard to believe that cleaning and arranging the refrigerator could give me so much satisfaction.  How boring am I?   The reward was a little knitting until it was time to get ready for our lunch out. 

The knitting has been a work in progress, actually back to lessons for me.  I have been watching a gal from Nova Scotia to learn the fine art of double knitting in the round.  It has been a week plugged in with the ear buds and by golly I think it is a passing grade.  It looked so difficult when I started reading the directions and watching the videos but it is all coming together and making sense.  The practice swath has a couple mistakes and lucky I can recognize them and know what I did wrong.  The mistakes were in the first 15 rows, I am on row 33 with no more mistakes.  Or screw ups might be a better label instead of mistakes.  Either one I hope it is the end of them.  Tomorrow the yarn arrives and the Snowfire blanket will be started.  By my estimation it should take a few months to complete depending on how busy garden, mowing and finishing the cabin is.  It will be a warm summers night to relax and work on the Snowfire. 

Still practicing the SnowFire.

Lunch in the woods, dried salami, ham, cheese sticks, marbled rye and pumpernickel bread with German mustard, crackers and dessert is apple slices with peanut butter and honey!

Sun shines on the right side, no snow.  No sun on the left side, snow.

Our view while eating lunch.

He heard something way down there!

 Lunch was great, fresh air, a beautiful spot to sit on the ground and spread out the goodies.  Our favorite place to go out to lunch is the woods!   Where else to you have the place to yourself, peaceful, quiet and beautiful scenery to view.  A lot of deep breathing and relaxing goes on.  There is still quite a bit of snow on the hills.  It was windy but plenty of sun to keep us warm when we started up the valley.  We could hear the wind howling from way up top.  The farther up we went the calmer the wind was until it sounded like a little whisper blowing through the trees.  Mother nature has a way of letting the sun take hold of winter and push it ever so gently aside.  The first real sign I saw was the snow melting away from the base of trees.  The sun warms the bark and pushes the snow away.  The snow is deep enough that Quincy did not want to leave the path to run in the woods.  Usually he is all over running but today it was just too much work to jump through the 8+ inches of snow.

After lunch we walked  some more.  Hard to believe  when we are woods walking  we don't say 2 sentences to each other unless one of us sees something to comment on.  The quiet is like a non spoken rule, walk, take in the beauty and quiet of the woods and don't talk.  Fine with me, it is a time to reflect. 

A Cup of Tea

A cup of tea, warm fire, good book and a snow storm.  All have made my day quiet, peaceful and yes take a deep breath and relax.  For two days we took advantage of the warm almost 70 degree temperatures.  Haul more wood for another project, clean the scraps of wood off the back deck since that is where the saws were set up to redo the bathroom vanity.  Hall the scraps to the burn barrel and then take more deep breaths of the clean  air at Cook'n by the Creek.  The older I get the more simple my pleasures.  What ever makes me relax seems to be my key to contentment.  Nice to know that one can reach the point of simple pleasures.  No competition on what is needed, wanted or can't have.  Snowflakes, sunshine, a cool breeze, warm breeze, birds singing, flowers blooming, garden growing, chickens clucking, rooster crowing, the first dig of leeks, trout season and any other simple pleasure just lights my candle, floats my boat.................

Once the wood sink is installed with the faucets the projet is done.

Speaking of chickens I have been thrashing around the thought of not getting young bitties this spring.  Hard to believe, we love our hens and their eggs.  Unfortunately this has been the worst year for their survival of the fittest.  Fox, coyotes, skunk, mink and maybe even a fisher has taken their toll on the flock.  Night time is safe since they go to roost in their coop and shut in.  It is the daytime that has proved to be the problem.  I am also the problem of their demise.  Never have we kept them in a pen for daytime.  Free range has always been my choice for them and always will be.  They have been our entertainment for many years scratching around, dusting in the dry summer dirt and of course chasing them out of our freshly planted garden.  Their beautiful dark orange yolks to prove they love being free.  As of this week we are down to 3 hens and 1 guinea hen.  Last spring we had 20 hens and 5 guineas.  We are getting 2-3 eggs a day and we have been buying 3 dozen from a couple in Wellsville.  Their eggs are beautiful and he was getting plenty to sell all winter.  With that thought I have decided (sorta) to buy my eggs from him.  They are farm fresh and delicious, just not my own hen eggs but I can handle that.  Until spring has come and gone will be the test.......can Cheryl give up having chickens?  Dick has trapped raccoons and possums all year and kindly relocated them away from our place.  It is relentless  to how many keep showing up.  They deserve to live so the plan for no more hens.

After an afternoon tea I finished making a baguette bread that was started last night.  Actually the starter was made last night.  It said to make it at least 14 hours prior to making the bread.  It is an easy recipe and yes it tastes like a fresh baguette from a bakery.  First time I have tried it (I have been trying many European bread recipes lately)  We never buy the standard sandwich bread, too soft and a little lesson we learned when buying from the discount store for bread to feed the chickens.  It never gets moldy!  Weeks it has been in the barn tack room without a mold spot.  That tells me the bread is full of preservatives!  The bread we buy is from Wegman's bakery or from Cheryl's oven.  Ah, the chewy crust and tender inside of a good fresh baked bread...........worth the time.  Today's bread turned out just like I had desired.  Since the husband was taking a snooze I had to be the test taster!
Considering the European bread recipes I have been trying are just water, yeast, salt and flour they are delicious.  My farm bread calls for milk and definitely a completely different texture, crust and taste.  With the European bread recipes all using the same 4 ingredients it is all in how the dough is prepared or started.  The Baguette is with a starter of 1 cup of flour, 1/16 tsp of yeast and 1/2 cup of flour.  Let stand covered with saran wrap and a towel over night.  Then the final 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp of yeast and 1 cup of water to make the dough.  let is raise 3 hours, make the baguette shaped loaves, cut slits 2 inches apart on top and bake at 450 degrees.  When dark golden brown turn off the oven, crack the door 2 inches and let cool.  Tonight will be rustic supper of beef roast (done in the pressure cooker) green beans(from our garden) and bread. 

My little buttered sample....oh so tempting to eat the loaf!

The beautiful snow as passed and now a few clouds and blue sky have taken place in the view from my windows.  My windows, my friends that just keep giving me the view of peace and comfort.  Time for another cup of tea.

Hank Winding

My knitting friends near and far will know what this blog title means.  It is not one of my favorite things to do when preparing to knit but like always I seem to take the less easy way to do things.  Especially when it involves spending money on something that I can do with out.  I have no idea how much a hank winder costs and no desire to check.  Most of the yarn I knit socks with comes in what is called a hank.  That means before using I have to roll it into balls, two actually because I like to knit both socks at the same time.  Many have learned to knit socks on a long circular needle...............not Cheryl.  I love to learn new ways or a new hobby but there is always the few that I have no desire to learn and knitting both socks on a circular needle is one of them.   My type A personality, show me it's easier and I will swear my way is better......even if it's not.  I have two sets of double pointed needles the same size.  Ummm, maybe two sets of several sizes.  I cast on to both sets, knit the cuff on each set, move onto the heel for both and then on to the foot.  For some reason the pair of socks get done much quicker and both are exact length in each step of the way.  No writing down by knitting this way.  One important thing with knitting or crocheting, COUNT, always count how many stitches as you knit or crochet.  That way you will know if you dropped a stitch and it will only be back one row.  It took me a while to do this but by 68 years old..........counting is the key.  Not as in counting my age, that is not necessary, age is only a number!

The hank as it is untied and ready to wind.

Above is the 100grams of washable hand dyed wool from Peru.  As I was getting ready to start winding I thought to myself, please let the guy or gal that hand wound this hank take pride in their work and not have a "rats nest" somewhere in it.  Rats nest?........that just popped into my mind because that is what my mom use to say when she combed my long hair.  I would jump and ouch and complain and she would say, Cheryle Anne, I don't know how you get some many "rats nests" in your hair when you sleep.  Darn they hurt!   Get to hank winding........

RATS NEST

Well there is a rats nest!  Almost finished winding the yarn and BAM it started.  I can say it is almost as painful for me as the rats nest  werein my hair.  It took one hour to work through it and save every inch of yarn without giving up and cutting it.  I know why they are called rats nests.....a mouse nest would be small and no big problem.  This afternoon I will be winding another hank.

Ends are already to finish off with the Kitchener Stitch.

January and February bring knitting and quilting to my hands.  I love hand stitching a quilt this time of year, all warm and cozy setting with the quilt on my lap.  Just before Christmas I finished the #10 quilt for the #10 grandchild.  Sloan's quilt is all lavenders, white and silver.  Yes, silver!  I have no idea how I decided to use silver binding but it is a favorite of mine.  I even found a lavender, purple and silver throw pillow to match. 

Sloan's quilt, doily and pillow.

 Next I will be cutting all of my leftover material from quilts that I have made in the last 5 years.  I don't care if they  match and would rather they don't.  There is a plan floating around in this strange mind of mine and it is not going to be the traditional patterned quilt.  My mind will be flying free and maybe beads and embroidery will be used too!  No matter the project from one to the next I get just as excited to start a new one.  Free and out of the norm is the next quilt. 

By the time March comes the indoor hobbies will be put to rest and we will be back at the cabin with a list of projects to do and some to finish up.  The cabin looks so cute all nestled in the snow with the greenery and red poinsettia flowers tucked in the flower boxes.  It looks cute but it also looks lonesome or maybe I am lonesome for cabin time.  Soon.............

Not Always the Equipment

A couple months ago I bought a small kitchen appliance.  It was love at first use.  Oil and greasy foods have never been a friend of my "ecosystem".  This air fryer offers the crispness like grease fried foods without the grease.  My main concern was to convince the guy that lives here to be as accepting.  He was!  Of course the first thing I tried was fresh cut french fries.  Seriously so simple,  cut them the thickness we like, soaked them in ice cold water for about an hour but it really doesn't matter if it is been 24 hours.  Then I drained and patted dry as much as possible, I am not one to dwell on completely because then it seems tedious.  Next I put them in the inner bowl of the air fryer, sprinkled two TBSP of oil and shake them around. They can be piled high.  I used olive oil the first time and after that canola oil and grape seed oil.  They all turned out crispy and tasty.  I put them in for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, shook them around and 10 more minutes.  It depends on how you like your fries.  Once they were done to our liking I sprinkled with salt.  A tip, once they are done remove from the air fryer.  Leaving them in will take the crispiness from them.  They need to be put to the open air rather than closed up in the fryer.  Another great feature.........clean up is a snap!  No grease spatters and so far nothing has stuck to the fryer.....I really like this thing.

Not one of the expensive ones but it works great!

Tonight we are having chicken tenders.  For tenders I buy fresh chicken tenders from the meat department.  You can buy whole chicken breasts but they tend to be less tender and dryer than a true chicken tender.  Yes, there really is a part of the breast called the tenderloin.  Even though when I asked once at Tops if they had fresh chicken tenders the gal said........no such thing, they are just cut up chicken breasts.  Who am I to argue with the meat department at the grocery store?  Oh wait, I am the chicken lady after all from the egg layers, to the meat hens (which I will NEVER raise again) to just loving to watch the chickens peck around.  Back to the fried chicken tenders.  I cleaned the little white tendon that runs down the middle out and soaked them in a bowl of buttermilk (because buttermilk makes everything crispier) with one large egg whisked in, salt and pepper.  This will soak for about an hour.  To a cup of flour I add what ever seasonings I feel like.  Tonight it is pepper, salt, garlic powder, smokey paprika and a mixture of seasoning that I buy for grilled steaks and meat.  I spray the bottom of the pan from the air fryer (it looks like a colander).  Shake off as much of the buttermilk and egg from the tenders and then roll in the flour mixture.  Place them in the fryer pan so they are not touching and spray the top lightly with Pam (I use the cheaper Aldis brand).  I set the fryer for 375 and the timer for 15 minutes, checking then to see if they are ready to be turned.  If so I turn them and fry for another 10 minutes.  Sometimes it is time enough but it might take 5 more minutes.  Take them out, place on a rack to let air circulate to keep them crispy and finish frying the rest of the tenders. I had two batches, when the second one was done I put the first batch on top and turned the timer on for 1 minute to heat them.  Worked great and 1 minute was all it took!

Almost ready to air fry!

The finished chicken tenders.  More comments below.

So here is what the title of this blog refers to.  It is not the equipment that matters but the person using it.  We built the cabin across the road with minimal tools and not the most expensive.  We tend to go middle of the road and always since the internet and reviews have come to be rely on helping to make our choice on what to buy.  So, the air fryer was middle of the road in price.  If I didn't like it and couldn't return it I wouldn't feel so bad about the money spent.  Well, maybe I would because I hate wasting $$.  I ordered it from Amazon with being quite confident they would take it back.  So far there has been NO complaints with their customer service.  Happy to say the air fryer is at Cook'n by the Creek to stay. 

When young, married and with children I would sew outfits for my kids.  I used my grandmothers/mothers treadle sewing machine (I still have it) until I could come up with $40. for an electric one.  One thing for sure, the treadle could sew just as nice as the electric one.  Convenience with the electric was the only thing better.  We lived two houses up from Marie Brown Stout.  She was a master seamstress and yes with an old sewing machine.  She made so many beautiful outfits and coats just as my mom had with her old treadle machine.  Another thought,  Bill Stavisky had a beautiful garden every year.  I would marvel at the "OLD" rototiller he used.  I think it could possibly have been the first one built!  It was a heavy old thing that you had to wrestle with to keep going straight and not dig its way to China.  It worked and in all the 20+ years I watched him every summer he never bought a new one.  So now do you understand what I mean when I say it is not the equipment but the person running it?  Sometimes out with the old and in with the new isn't really worth the money or effort if you are getting good results with what you have.  Something to think about.

Back to the tenders......Now let me be honest.  When I say the tenders are good, they are.  Do they taste like deep fried in oil tenders, no.  But it is a great alternative to healthier eating that really does satisfy the crunch.  Remember, nothing can take the place of the "real deal" and what we all grew up eating.  My digestive system is happy with air fry and that is all that matters to me.  I don't have to say no to fried now.  Had we never tasted grease fried food we probably wouldn't like it introduced in our later years.  Next week I will be trying Walleye fish that our Canadian friends gave us.  Researching recipes and maybe more to be told in the future on the blog.  

* The second batch I mixed a couple TBSP of maple sugar granules I had made last week.  That was my favorite!