The kids and I went into a cute little shop somewhere on Lake Minnetonka yesterday and bought the cutest little Cherry Pitter.

The kids wanted it because they love cherries and it looks like a robot. I wanted it because I am sucker for good package design and always worry about Chloe spitting out the pits vs swallowing them or worse.

You put the cherry in, stem side down but without the stem obviously.

The pit is pushed into the robots tummy to be emptied later. It’s very safe and fun to use. I thought it was definitely worth $10 just to have something cute in the kitchen the kids can appreciate as well. It’s very sturdy for that price too which I didn’t really expect.

This is how the cherry looks after it has been pitted.

We made a cherry pie with our fresh cherries. I decided on a recipe that called for tapioca as a thickener. I’m not sure if I will again. I think cornstarch would have been cheaper and easier and may even have produced better results. My pie didn’t set up very well. But that could be because I didn’t let the tapioca dissolve into the sugar enough.

Although the pie didn’t set up the way I would have liked it to, the taste was still amazing.

Although this looks like a lot of sugar, I’m convinced that there is far less sugar in a fresh cherry pie than if you use a can of cherry pie filling. You can always lessen  the amount of sugar you use as well.

Classic Cherry Pie

We were up on the North Shore again last week and even though it rained a majority of the time I still really enjoyed myself. I didn’t mind the light mist while walking through the woods of the Superior National Forest at all actually. In fact, it kind of added to that almost mystical-feeling element that I can only describe as “Lord of the Rings-esque” one might feel while hiking on such lush, mountainous , lake-scented terrain. I wouldn’t have minded getting a nice sunrise photo out of the deal, but came close enough on our last day.

I still want to live in this area someday but my husband says we need to visit the area in the winter first before even really discussing it further. I don’t think I would mind the cold too much. It is 97 degrees here today in the Twin Cities and when I looked on the map to check Grand Marais it said it was only to reach 68 degrees. I’d be fine with that in the summer. In the winter it just gives me an excuse to do more sewing, crafting, reading and baking. All of my favorite things anyway.

I was lucky enough to catch the lupines in full bloom. I just love these ethereal flowers and they were scattered all along the roadside on our drive up between Duluth and Lutsen. These were shot on the grounds of Lutsen Resort, where we stayed in a log cabin. The resort was great, I will definitely go back.

This gigantic poppy was also on the grounds there:

Probably one of the most fun things to do was also one of the most simple: Sit and watch the waves!

The overcast also made it ideal for shooting waterfalls:

We were able to find many locations of “hidden away” waterfalls by borrowing this book from my mom: Gentle Hikes: Minnesota’s Most Scenic North Shore Hikes Under 3 Miles since we had the kids with us we weren’t able to do any “serious” hiking but that’s okay- even the gentle hikes were more than we bargained for and my brother actually fell a few times LOL but he’s tall and lanky and I’m sure the fact that he was usually carrying two cameras and a tripod didn’t help him with his balance at all.

Visiting Grand Marais was definitely a highlight of the trip. It’s a somewhat spendy little town for trinkets but stick to the Ben Franklin (which actually sells Carhartt and Uggs) and The World’s Best Donuts (they are) and you’ll do just fine. Sven and Ole’s Pizza was spendy too but worth it. The highlight for food in Grand Marais however was the Angry Trout Cafe. I don’t normally eat a lot of fish but something about being on that big lake was making me crave fish n’ chips so I ordered it at the Angry Trout. It’s sustainable, organic, incredibly delicious and they use wind-powered electricity. Our table of 5 all agreed it was some of the best food any of us have eaten and my husband was really happy with his maple vanilla soda. Embarrassingly enough my brother ordered a Pepsi when we sat down but the server was so kind in explaining they make their own organic soda on-site and wasn’t the least bit condescending like some of the servers at places like that can be. Big fat tip for him! Also, the picture at the top of this post is the Angry Trout’s delivery bike.

I could barely finish my giant pieces of perfectly fried cod or waffle “chips” but packing it up to go wasn’t an option as we had more exploring to do. Next stop was Cutface Creek Wayside Park for a little rock hunting. with a name like that, who can resist stopping?

The amount of rocks on these shores is amazing. Some people collect them, some people just look at them, and some people stack them:

This is a very small scale example, there are much larger ones you can see on the sides of the road from your car.

We also really enjoyed going to this kinda dive of a place on the Canadian Border called Ryden’s. Pick up whatever trinkets you need up there and exchange some money for the kiddies. The staff there were really nice  and friendly too, especially the man I asked about The Witch Tree. A tree that grows out of bare rock is just amazing to me and you see a lot of that on the North Shore- scenes that seems to defy nature.

On our way back down the shore to Lutsen, I stopped in the middle of the road (traffic is very sparse up there) for this shot of a fox running down the side of the highway of all places. From a distance we weren’t exactly sure what it was.

Back to the cabin for toasting marshmallows and sitting by the fire:

Of course on the day we left the sun was out and it was pretty as can be for the boats to come out.

But really, on the North Shore it can be sunny, overcast, rainy or downright blizzard-like, it’s still always beautiful here.

The Arboretum was free for its last Thursday of the cold season so we decided to take advantage of that and get out of the house for a bit. The temperature was about 49 degrees and actually felt pretty nice as we walked around the grounds. We started out indoors though and hit up my favorite room, the conservatory, first. These pictures were taken there:

And these were found outside. . . The first bit of natural “vibrant” color I have seen since the leaves changed colors last fall:

Inside there was a great collection of seed catalog cover art. A treasure trove of historical art any creative person would enjoy stumbling upon. Here is a great piece:

The rest of the images were taken while wandering the grounds outside like this creepy sculpture:

These Honey Crisp Apple trees are protected by little packages of Irish Spring soap. Apparently deer are like me and don’t like anything that smells too strong.

The kids and I were trying to figure out why there were a bunch of blue bags nailed to a bunch of trees. Then we came upon this sign:

These kids were all actually from our hometown of Hutchinson (45 miles down the road). They are learning how maple syrup is made:

Andrew had to make another trip into the twig house:

One of the best things about having kids is getting to experience all the holidays as a child again. I used to love Valentine’s Day. Packing up a little card and treat for all your classmates, maybe slipping an extra few hearts to the one you REALLY wanted to be your Valentine. Opening yours up to see if they did the same. . .

I was really pleased when Andrew came home from school with a note from the teacher requesting that kids try to make their own Valentine’s for their classmates. He has been working on this project for about two weeks now and out of 18 he still has 9 to go. But it’s been keeping him busy and he’s learning how to write.

We also decided that instead of putting candy in each envelope, we would make each kid a sugar cookie decorated with their name. Andrew really enjoyed baking them as usual, but more so knowing that he would get to pass out his hard work to each of his friends.

We went to our local scrapbook store and bought some pretty paper. Luckily we already had a heart-shaped paper puncher. That was Andrew’s favorite part.

I also made a few of my own to pop in the mail next week.

My kids made gingerbread cookies with their grandmother today. It was a pretty big production.

The kitchen got a little messy.

But the kids didn’t get too crabby.

Chloe just had to roll out her own dough.

I will cherish these pictures for years to come.

We let Andrew decorate the burnt ones. He didn’t mind.

I tried frosting mine to look like Hermey- the dentist elf from Rudolph. I didn’t do too bad from memory, but his bangs are actually supposed to flip the other way. . .

Here’s a collection of them:

Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon ground ginger

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

4 cups flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add molasses. Add dry ingredients. I added about a tablespoon of water as well so that the dough was easier to manage.  Form into 2 discs and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours. Bake cookies for 8 minutes at 375°

I used royal icing to frost- 2 lbs powdered sugar, 2 TB meringue powder and 6-10 TB water.

I’m not sure how many cities have a parade in the middle of winter, but Minneapolis does!

Andrew was very excited to go downtown and watch the Holidazzle parade which runs for several days in November and December.

Look at those Minnesota kids lining up to see the parade!

This was our view from the skyway before the parade started.

And an anxious kid waiting around for the parade to start. But once it started he insisted we go outside and watch it from the street!

So here he is in 15 degree weather and snow coming down all around us. You’d think we were crazy. But it was actually a lot of fun.

Andrew’s favorite were the Twinklebus and the pirate ship.

We stayed at the Westin which, like many downtown hotels, are connected to everything via skyway.

This was the view from the 8th floor. The kids had just as much fun looking out the window as they did anything else.

And here’s proof for later that my kids had a pretty comfortable life despite what they might say later as teenagers . . .

Donuts are one of my favorite foods. I like to make these about once a year but since it was chosen as a Daring Bakers challenge I got to make them twice this year. Previously, I used Beatrice Ojakangas’ recipe. The Daring Bakers used Alton Brown’s. The recipes are somewhat similar but for Alton’s you do not need heavy whipping cream which I hate driving to the store for and paying an arm and a leg for. Call me cheap and lazy. No, nevermind— don’t call me that.

Making donuts at home isn’t for the lazy. It’s much easier driving to the store. But it’s a creative project and loads of fun coming up with the perfect concoction. I attempted to re-create my childhood favorite here: The Bear Claw!

And in case your Thanksgiving meal isn’t going to meet your caloric needs, you could add these Turkey Leg Donuts to your menu:

Who doesn’t love sprinkles? In my opinion, sprinkles taste best on a donut.

My husband requested plain old Cinnamon & Sugar Donut Holes:

I like them with sprinkles though.

These only keep for a day though. They should be eaten soon after frying. If it’s just you in the house, best to make only a quarter of a recipe otherwise one of two things will happen: A) You eat too many donuts and have much regret B) You end up wasting donuts when you throw them out the next day because the dough is tough and chewy.

Yeast Donuts

Ingredients
Milk 1.5 cup / 360 ml
Vegetable Shortening 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 70 gm / 2.5 oz (can substitute butter, margarine or lard)
Active Dry Yeast 4.5 teaspoon (2 pkgs.) / 22.5 ml / 14 gm / ½ oz
Warm Water 1/3 cup / 80 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C)
Eggs, Large, beaten 2
White Granulated Sugar ¼ cup / 60 ml / 55 gm / 2 oz
Table Salt 1.5 teaspoon / 7.5 ml / 9 gm / 1/3 oz
Nutmeg, grated 1 tsp. / 5 ml / 6 gm / ¼ oz
All Purpose Flour 4 2/3 cup / 1,120 ml / 650 gm / 23 oz + extra for dusting surface
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Directions:

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.
11. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).
12. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

I think Halloween is the best holiday for crafting. The colors are vibrant, the options are endless, you can make things spooky or cute, etc. I saw these enamel painted pumpkin jars in the Martha Stewart special Halloween magazine and wanted to make them immediately. I also found that they are featured here on the cover of this DVD if you wanted to see how perfect hers turned out:
The Martha Stewart Holiday Collection – Martha’s Halloween Ideas

Mine didn’t turn out too bad, although I see now I should have used a thinner coat of paint on top of my stencil for the “faces”. Oh well, I’ll just call it “rustic” which is what I do whenever something doesn’t turn out perfect.

Andrew filled his up with candy and then waited out on the deck to surprise Grandpa and Grandma when they stopped by.

They are fairly easy to make. You coat the inside of a jar with enamel paint. Make a stencil for the outside and paint on a “face”. Use metal wire to fancy a handle. Fill with candy but I recommend wrapped candy.

We also filled a jar partially full with black sand and stuck our ghost sucker pops in them. Andrew and I cut white felt into ghost shapes, drew a face on the front and attached a black strip of ribbon to the back with Elmer’s glue to hold the sucker.

I also made some mini brownies with chopped Ghiradelli caramel chocolate pieces, piped a little peanut butter frosting on the top and stuck a candy corn to the top.

All in all, they made for a nice Halloween display which I of course forgot to get a snapshot of!

Josh and I took the kids to Lake Maria State Park yesterday. We reserved a remote camper cabin since we still don’t have a tent. Some of the state parks in Minnesota provide you with a cart and call it “cart-in” camping for sites that are away from vehicular traffic but we had to provide our own cart. Lucky for us we own a bike trailer that functions as many other things. The cabin was a little over a half a mile into an old growth forest.

We were all pleasantly surprised with the cabin. Especially Andrew who gasped with delight when he first saw it.

The people who stayed before us kindly left a bunch of firewood so Josh chopped some and I grilled a steak. Easily one of the best meals I’ve had in a while.  Andrew collected “Squirrel food” (acorns) for the next hour and I took pictures of forest life.

We had to hurry down to the main lake to get our rented canoe into the water before sunset. Chloe was adamant about walking the entire way herself. Worried about the baby being able to fall asleep in a strange location, I let her.

She looked happy enough for her first canoe ride. It is definitely getting chillier at night though! I was worried she was too cold.

Andrew is always so proud when he gets to do something that “big boys” do.

Back at the cabin, we needed to heat up the wood burning stove. No electricity and no water. . . but we got it up to 90 degrees in there and that was all that really mattered.

In the morning the boys were serious at the table having their breakfasts.

Back outside for me to hunt up some more pictures.

I found this cobweb:

The boys went to do some more canoeing and the girls went to check out some fall colors. There isn’t a lot going on yet, but the little splashes of color here and there are exciting enough.

I can’t wait to go back to Sibley State Park in a few weeks to see how it looks out there!

We are going to have Andrew’s 4th birthday party at Sibley State Park since it is close to where a lot of family live and he loves the outdoors. We are hoping it isn’t too cold yet, but we went ahead and checked it out last night to make sure there were fireplaces in the shelter so we can burn wood if needed.

While we were there we climbed up to Mt Tom which was really cool. We missed the sunset but the moon was full and up high in the sky even though it was still pretty light out.

Josh’s mom came with us and helped me chase Chloe around on the beach while Josh and Andrew went canoeing.

The pictures show that fall is just around the corner although it was really hot outside.

I’ve been wanting to do some in black and white all summer:

Josh taking Andrew on his first canoe ride. They were out for 2 hours and Andrew loved it!

Josh, his mom, and Andrew

Josh and our 2 peanuts

Josh, the kids and I

I can’t wait to go back for Andrew’s birthday and see some fall colors from Mt. Tom! For better pictures of the view from up there and more about camping at the park, you can check out this blog.