Apple Dumplin' Gang

I have AAA to thank for many things, but the latest is for introducing me to our new family tradition, a fall visit to Oak Glen, CA, about two hours away, near Redlands. Some people think we don't have seasons here in So Cal. We do, we just have to travel a little to visit them. We enjoyed apple and cider tastings, and hot mini apple-cider doughnuts at Snow-Line Orchard.

Pumpkins, a petting zoo, and more apple tasting at Los Rios Rancho.

But my absolute favorite was lunch at Hawk's Head Public House, a colonial tavern.

It was like stepping back in time (or visiting Williamsburg again).

The employees were all in colonial dress. There was live colonial music from a quartet. The food was incredible--pumpkin soup, homemade rustic bread, veggie pot pie that put Marie Callendar to shame, green beans that really tasted like they came straight from the garden and applesauce that was by far the best I've ever had. I'm drooling all over again. I was grinning from ear to ear, and that was even before reading the sign at the door.

While we were waiting for our food, some school groups were outside reinacting the Revolutionary War with stick guns and flags and "Huzzahs". The docent played America the Beautiful on the fife, and I had tears in my eyes, because I'm just a sap like that. How had I not heard about this place before?
As if we hadn't eaten enough, we stopped at Apple Annie's Bakery for their five-pound Mile-High Apple pie. You can kind of see it in the picture below. One not-so-pleasant thing about Oak Glen is that it is full of bees--good for growing apples, not good for trying to eat yummy sweet things.
So we brought out pie down the hill and ate at a beautiful park in Yucaipa.
And when I asked Aurora what her favorite part of the day was, she said, "Riding the dinosaur".I guess she would be just as happy if we had stayed home and went to the park. At least I enjoyed the apples!

Distraught

I went to drop off a gift to a friend who had a baby a couple weeks ago. She opened the door and pulled me inside, "You've got to come try this." She made a fantastic pumpkin cake from Bon Appetit magazine. She just had a baby and she's making a gourmet cake! She's obviously SuperMom! So I thought, "I don't even have a newborn. Why am I reading all these foodie books, but not cooking? So I went through a pile of recipes ripped from magazines that I would *someday* try and found Squash Ravioli with Herbed Butter Sauce from Family Fun magazine. This just happens to be similar to my absolute favorite dish from my absolute favorite Italian restaurant. And if it's in Family Fun, it must be kid friendly, right? So after two extra trips to grocery stores to find butternut squash that I thought I already had in the freezer, I put Allegra down for a nap and enlisted Aurora's help, because the kid in the picture looked around Aurora's age. Ha Ha. After four hours I was ready to throw out Family-Not-So-Fun.

It made barely enough to feed the four of us. Thank goodness the family I invited over for dinner never called back. Aurora and Allegra wouldn't touch it, and they eat just about anything. I liked it, but was so tired that I couldn't like it that much. I told Mark he'd better eat it, or else. When I talked to my sister later about it, she was surprised it took so long. She said she just used canned pumpkin and wonton wrappers. AHHHHHHH! I think I'll just eat out next time.