Homemade applesauce

After making Martha's basic apple pie, I had an outrageous amount of apple filling stuff left over. Apparently, I got a bit carried away when peeling the apples.

It's probably because I use this:

It's an apple peeler/corer/slicer. I'm not sure what I did before it came into my life.

Anyways, I made homemade applesauce. I started by simmering the entire mixture for over an hour.

When the apples were nice and soft, I ran them through my food mill.

Strangely, what would have been enough filling for another entire apple pie made only 3 or so cups of applesauce.

I had a taste and it was extremely sweet. So sweet that I may use it for apple cookies or muffins or scones.

Or I might eat it straight out of the container. I like to have options here at TMI, you know?

Martha Monday!

Pie. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Especially apple pie. More mmmmmmmmm.

Martha's basic apple pie recipe is no different from any other basic apple pie recipe: sliced apples, cinnamon, sugar, a bit of lemon juice and a pat of butter, all piled together in a pie crust and baked until bubbly.

What does set Martha's pie recipes apart from others is the crust. Her basic pie dough is simple and easy. The more I make it, the more I like it. I'm still tweaking the amount of water I put in, but overall, I always have great results when I use this recipe.

One reason why I really like this recipe is that it's made in the food processor. Which goes right into my dishwasher.

Pulse the flour and sugar together, then add 2 sticks of butter. Pulse until the dough resembles small-to-medium size clumps. Then add the water. FYI: My dough looks dark because it is half white flour, half whole wheat flour. This did make it a bit tougher to work with, but the end result was still very tasty.

Isn't this a beautiful pie dish? I like to use this for all of my pies. Unless I'm making 10, and then I'm scrambling for foil pie plates. Anyways, this is from Ayers Pottery in Hannibal, Missouri. And shout out to Aunt Linda! It was a gift from her.

Finally, in true Martha Initiative fashion, I put my own spin on things:

Seriously, try this pie dough recipe today! Or, whenever you next need a pie crust. Whatever is convenient for you. Just try it!

Hey reader!

Hey, you.

Yeah, you! I know you're there. I know this blog has readers. Besides my parents, that is. And thanks to Google Analytics, I know generally where you're located (shout out to my readers in Spain! Gracias for reading!), how much time you spend on my blog, and how you get here (via another blog, search engine, etc.).

And most of all, I know that many of you are return visitors, meaning that there's something here you find interesting enough to keep you coming back for more.

If that last bit applies to you, dear reader, please sign up to follow my blog. It's fairly easy and relatively painless, and it would be a like getting a huge Internet hug from you. And a huge self-esteem boost for me. Thank you!

In related self-promotion, you can also follow me on Twitter.

Months ago, I thought that all this blogging and tweeting would be a great way to communicate with the world and meet great people. It is and I have. What I didn't realize is that it would create a whole new area in my life where I need to be validated. Validate me! Please!

This has been a public service announcement from The Martha Initiative. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Identify these shrubs

Martha is a master gardener.


I am not.



I have no idea what these shrubs are in my front yard. They seem nice, but it's too soon to tell. It could go either way, you know? Some plants are just like that.


Specimen #1





Close up, it has many buds that are about to open. The buds are pinkish-white.





Specimen #2




This bush reminds me of a lilac (and even smells like lilac!) with the tiny purple buds, but the leaves and structure don't seem like a lilac at all.








What are these things?

Bathroom linen closet

Okay. Deep breath. Here is it, in complete honesty, for my readers: I have teeny tiny issue with stuff.



Okay. Honesty, Amanda, honesty.



I love stuff. Especially the essential kind of stuff that goes in a house. I don't care if it's shampoo, toilet paper, aluminum foil, pasta, whatever--I love it and I want 12 of it in my house at all times. Which helps to explain why I shop so much. It's to get stuff. Household stuff. For the house.


Did I mention I love stuff?

Now that that's out in the open (I feel so much better!), let's take a look at my bathroom linen closet before I decided to crack down on the disorganization.





You can see a semblance of organization. But then the shave gel was free at Walgreens. And then came the Pantene and Aveeno shampoo/conditioners from CVS. And then double coupon week at KMart. Things quickly spiraled out of control.




My solution? No, not to stop shopping, you silly goose! It was to get organized. And get some plastic bins to organize and store all of these personal hygiene products.




I did come to my senses a bit: my goal is to not outgrow this space. Currently, I estimate that I have at least a two year supply of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash, shave gel, shampoo-conditioner-in-one, toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste. Anything more than that is probably unnecessary.



Which brings me to the bin on the floor of the linen closet. That is my donation bin. If I have too much of something, it goes in there for someone else. When the bin gets full (which should be in another week or two), stuff will get bundled up and shipped off.





Oooohhh! Giving to others and organization! I'm overcome with warm fuzzies and giddiness. I wonder if Martha feels like after she organizes her linen closet?