Bake, baby, bake!

I couldn't pass up the opportunity yesterday to skip church, pawn the munch off on his daddy & bake my day away.

The German girl gave me her bread machine a few years back, when she moved on to the Netherlands. She brought her adorable baby daughter to visit last weekend, and mentioned that, "By the way," when she sets up house here in the USA again, she'll want the old crust-cooker back... So, I figured you never know which loaf will be your last and I mixed up an egg bread to go with our morning beverages.

After a slice or two with peanut butter & homemade Peach Preserves (locally picked), I moved onto the baby sauce.

By the time the baby sauce had the house smelling sweet, I had already pulled out the crusty Betty Crocker & sliced up some apples for Apple Crisp (www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/apple-crisp).

It was at this point that I realized that my trusty red Betty has seen better days. If you want to cook something spectacular, you have to consult with Maid Martha. So I ran Betty's apple crisp over to the neighbors & started fresh under Martha's direction (www.marthastewart.com/recipe/apple-crisp).

Great Success. Papa said that it was so much better than Bettys. This makes mama happy!

After one Martha-induced complement, who wouldn't go for a second? Pumpkin Pie it is.

Again I turned to Martha, who suggested I make Pate Brisee; the french version of the classic American pie dough (www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pate-brisee-pie-dough?). This dough is super-easy to make. However, I do not suggest using a hand mixer, in lieu of the suggested food processor. This substitution may increase your cleanup time...

Although Martha suggested sweet local pumpkins, I had a can of pumpkin pie mix that I substituted, and Papa thought this turned out scrumdiddilyumpcious. Martha's pie filling recipe was also a cinch! (http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=6ea8759a3ac0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=true)