There is nothing that says autumn quite like apple pie.  It reminds me of home; gathering apples with my mother, standing on a chair over a bucket in the sink learning to peel, core and cut as she told stories of her childhood.   How she and her siblings would help spilt and stack the wood for my Grandmother’s stove; then being the eldest girl, she would stand on a chair beside her mother and help peel, core and cut.

The stories my mother told about growing up on a farm income, her father ill from Black Lung disease (before government health care and workman’s compensation), never failed to impress upon me the good fortune of my life.

Somehow apple pie has become a symbol of appreciation; for friends and family, far and near, for the roof over my head, the clothes on my back and the fact that tonight I will enjoy more than this pie.  The simple act of being grateful for what you DO have brings forward more to be grateful for.

There have been lean times.  I have known hunger (the pangs of which are still familiar) but like many things, this too did pass.  This is the reason I buy food for street people, support orphanages as I travel and food banks at home.  This is why I feed people, mind body and soul --- I am grateful to be able to do so.

I can't think of a better way to amplify the power of gratitude, that is apple pie, than to add one of nature's most nutrient rich fruits to the mix.  The Gojo (pronounced: go-GEE) berry contains more vitamin C than oranges, more beta-carotene than carrots, and more iron than steak.   Goji is called the “longevity fruit” and claims say it's good for everything from weight loss to fighting cancer; perfect for my "Attitude of Gratitude Apple Pie".

May you live long and be grateful.

Apple Goji Berry Pie - Recipe

Prep time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 50  minutes - 1 hour

Ingredients:

Pate Brisee – Butter Pastry

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup cold, lard, cubed
1/4 cup ice water
flour, as needed
2 tablespoons cream, for glazing

Apple Filling

1 ½ - 2 pounds (approximately 6) baking apples, peeled, cored & sliced
½ cup dried goji berries
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground, fresh nutmeg

Method:

Dough: Place 1 cup flour in salt in standing mixer with dough hook attachment, turn on low and add the butter in a handful at a time, in about 4 batches. Increase to medium speed and when butter is incorporated, stop machine, scrape down sides or dislodge dough from mixing arm. Turn on to low again and slowly add remaining flour, followed by the water, mix until just incorporated. Remove and wrap in plastic wrap refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Apple filling: Mix apples, goji berries, honey and spices in a bowl and allow to stand, at room temperature for 10 - 15 minutes while you prepare the pastry.

Preheat oven to 425*

Rub a thin coat of butter over the inside of a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out approximately two-thirds of the dough and line the inside of your plate. Pack apple, goji berry filling into the pie shell, heaping to the center.  Roll out the remainder of the dough to from the lid. Dampen the edges of the pastry with water and then gently transfer pasty to top of pie, pressing the edges firmly to crimp.

Use remaining dough to decorate top if you wish; cut, dampen the back with water and gently apply.  Use paring knife to cut one or two small steam holes on the top then brush with cream.  The cream glaze gives the pie a light sheen and helps it to brown.   Before baking, be sure to place your pie on a baking sheet, just in case juices bubble over.

Bake in a pre-heated 425* oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350* and bake for a 20 minutes.   Immediately turn the oven off and let the pie stand in the warm oven, door closed, for another 10 -15 minutes.

This method of cooking helps the pastry to brown, the apples to cook through and then allows the juices to settle - without burning.

Gypsy note:  A tough day with pastry.  Oh well.  Still grateful, I have PIE!

Happy THANKS-GIVING.

Brushed with cream, about to go into the oven, with great thanks...

 As July wanes and August takes hold I begin to crave a taste of the south.  

Fried chicken and biscuits & gravy and collard greens.  Perhaps it is a throw back to childhood and a summer vacation in the early 70's though the midwest and southern states where I first saw lightning bugs and cotton fields and bright white baptist churchs.  

That was a very long time ago, but I still remember watching the landscape whiz by as we traveled from Vancouver, Canada  in our 1964 El Camino, which my Father still owns (in mint condition) with the canopy on the back and all our camping gear safely stowed - mile after mile.  

The big, stately plantation houses, the small clapboard shacks, dogs panting in the shade and everywhere the big, welcoming smiles of southern hospitality.  

How I longed to be a southern belle.  

Since then I have retuned to the south a couple of times, grazing my way though chicken-fried steaks, pies and barbecue.  There is a quality to the food that is so unmistakably comforting and homespun.  

As temperatures climb, cicadas hum in the trees and green grass turns pale and course -  those southern recipes roll out and I don my (slightly affected) Georgian accent and complain about the heat...

"I'm a puddle ova' here!" 

It's all very Scarlett O'Hara.  

This is my version of Southern Cornbread.  In my days as Innkeeper (chief cook & bottle washer) at the Dragonfly Inn, this was a popular late summer muffin enjoyed by many a guest.  

Nothing goes so well with cornbread as cream cheese and a dash of red pepper jelly - creamy and tangy.  

Red pepper jelly, 'imported' from Nova Scotia...

Dubbed by a gentelwoman from South Carolina as my "Chili Cheese Cornbread Muffins" these hold a few surprises - fresh corn sliced right off the cob as part of the batter, adds texture & flavour, the cream cheese baked into the center so it's gooey and smooth and easy to spread and the red pepper jelly baked on top adds just a hint of sweet spice.   

They are a meal unto themselves.  

Planned on serving these gems this morning with a chive scrambled eggs but --- turns out I'm out of eggs.  Note to self: if making scrambled eggs, be sure you have eggs as they are a key ingredient in said dish.  

"Fiddle-dee-dee!" ~ Gypsy O'Hara  

Chili Cheese Cornbread Muffins - Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 ear of fresh corn, kernels removed
• 1/4 cup cream cheese spread - rolled into 1 teaspoon balls, reserved for centre
• 1/4 cup red pepper jelly, reserved for top

Preheat oven to 400° F (200°C)
Prep 12 - cup muffin tin, greased or lined with paper
* In this instance, we are using a large, silicone muffin pan the yield will be 7 - 8 muffins.*  

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together; form a well in the center, add milk, eggs & butter. Mix wet ingredients together then lightly fold (3 or 4 times) with dry ingredients, then add kernel corn.  Mix lightly to combine until just moist.
2. Muffins like a light hand, mix ONLY until moist and handle very littel, this will ensure a tender, moist result.
3. Fill muffin tins/cups 1/3 full; with spoon form a slight well in the center of each muffin, roll approximately 1 teaspoon of cream cheese between the palms of your hands to from a loose ball, then place in divot of batter.
4. Spoon batter to cover cream cheese filling; be sure that the batter seals around the cheese, then make another small divot on the top of the muffin.  Spoon approximately 1 teaspoon of red-pepper jelly into that hallow.

Be sure your rack is in the center of the oven.
Bake in a preheated 400* oven for 15 - 20 minutes (depending on the size of your muffin tray).
To brown evenly, set timer for 12 minutes, then turn tray front to back and finish baking time.  Works every time.  

Pair with a chive scrambled eggs cooked low & slow or a leg of barbecued chicken or a rack of ribs... or a nice tall glass of iced coffee (if you're out of eggs).  

"Come and git it y'all... while it's still hot."  

The dogs lie panting in the shade and I have on my very best smile. 

Spent much of my week  horizontal, in the care of the medical professionals at the Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus.  Turns out my self-diagnosis; first of stomach flu, with resulting pulled muscle, then revised to gallbladder attack (via Internet/Grey's Anatomy) though excellent, was not accurate.  Hello burst appendix.  

Should you or a loved one ever experience a "stomach flu" (vomiting, nausea, fever) with pain that starts in the center then moves and intensifies on the lower right of the abdomen, get thee post haste to a physician, you may have appendicitis.  DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT wait a week. --- this has been a public service announcement. 

The resulting infection could have killed a mere mortal.  Of course, for a Jedi like myself it is simply a matter of realigning with wellness - body, mind & soul.   It will take a while but robust individual that I am, having taken extraordinary care of my health for many years, I bounce better than many. 

My medical care was truly excellent, the nursing staff was kind and attentive.  Where the medical system failed however was in providing one of the basic components of life:  FOOD.

The tray that sent me sputtering, spitting and looking for my soap box.

First there was the tiny matter of attempting to kill me with aspartame.  

When a person is battling infection, why would one tax the liver further by making it filter a chemical sweetener?  The liver is a superstar organ; metabolizing fat, aiding in detoxification, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion.  Add that to glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, hormone and bile production; quite frankly; my liver is busy enough already.  

Next they fed me a gelatin dessert.  Now, I have nothing against a good gelatin dessert but again, how many chemicals is one overtaxed system supposed to handle?  I'm in the hospital already.  "Are you trying to keep me here?  Who do you work for?!  WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!"  (It's a conspiracy, they were trying to get me hooked on chemicals.) 

All this after I made it a point to tell staff that I react to "food additives & preservatives", I even had a red bracelet that informed staff of same.  On my tray, again and again processed, chemically coloured, artificially favored items appeared.  How can I digest this plastic you call margarine and why is there no 'natural' option?   How is one to heal fed by adipic acid, artificial flavor, disodium phosphate sodium citrate, fumaric acid, and the colorant red 40?    

On admission I was asked what religion I practice ("Jedi") but never once did someone talk to me about food.  Why? 

In this flesh cocoon, that we call the human body we require three things for life  & vitality on this planet - air, food and water.  By not attending to my needs nutritionally, in my mind the system failed to deliver one of the basic human needs.  Simple.  

Now, before medical professionals and dietary hospital workers get all up in arms saying that large hospitals cannot possibly customize each plate to each patient - I would like to point out that I never once received someone else's medication, IV drip or diagnosis.   

There is chasm of difference between can't and won't.  All I want is healthy, natural food.   

That being said... where the dietitians, prep cooks & delivery personal did go right was in the last tray of hospital food set before me.  Breakfast consisted of coffee (watery, but still coffee), grape juice (chemicals, no thanks) 2% milk, cooked oatmeal (can't go wrong with oatmeal), dry brown toast and a boiled egg (perfectly cooked).  (Condiment options included margarine, artificial sweetener, pepper and diet jam.  Diet jam?!)   

This tray was the key to my being released to recuperate at home until surgery in several weeks time as opposed to further 'incarceration'.  The conditions were:  a fever-free night, clean blood work and keeping down solid (hospital) food.  

A food challenge.  I simply smiled... "Obviously you do not know who you're dealing with.  Bring it."  

Home.  At last.  There is no aspartame here.  I am safe.  I see a cause in my future.

GYPSY NOTE:  In light of current health, the blog may be a bit spotty from time to time, we thank you for your patience.  The good news is, I'm on a holistic health mission so dishes delivered promise to be tasty and good for you!  More soon, but first we nap.  

Your challenge should you choose to accept it.

Welcome...

From the expanse of a 5,000 square foot country inn to the tight confines of a 600 square feet one bedroom apartment... there’s no place like home. Not surprisingly, one must manage one’s personal belongings very differently in these two spaces.   

It was a very rapid move... that took five months. First there was the move - out.  A period of rest and much napping, some sun and the doing of lots of... absolutely nothing!   

Followed by recreation and adventure; learning to leap, to float, to paddle, to breathe under the water.  And last but not least... a time to reconnect... to those you love who love you right back.   

I know from past experience, this is how I re-create. It’s not my first rodeo. But this time, it’s a much BIGGER thing I’m creating. MY WHOLE LIFE. Did a little life shopping... I may do more. Changed... EVERYTHING.   

Location. Vocation. Relation.   

There is nothing that remains... except what I choose to bring with me as I start... from scratch.   

New city. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Never lived in Ontario before. First impression? It’s big. Flatter than I’m used to and highways seem to go in several directions at the same juncture. North, East and... West. This may be a trick.  What a lovely drive that was halfway to Montreal!   

Gypsy confession: been extraordinarily hard on myself as I’ve been “off my blog” and off my game.  Stalled creatively, unable to settle – or so I thought until I looked around and saw the wonderful space I’ve created and I realize that I’ve been very, very creative indeed.   

From boxed chaos to complete pandemonium it took some time to find the calm, serene quirkiness, the quite elegance, the sensual beauty and organized chaos... that became... “Chez Gypsy”.      

Don't laugh... it's not funny! (hahahahaha...Oh my GOD!)

Surrounded by my favourite things, it’s a very ‘storied’ atmosphere...      

Rode a camel for two days to get that rug. The brass bells off that very camel live on the window sill.The   bronze Thai Buddha (lovingly called “Super Buddha” a tribute to his thighs and his cape) now comes with luggage, the worn, travelled steamer trunk, that doubles as a coffee table. A surprise acquisition in this move that just screamed “Gypsy” to me.             

The kitchen is jammed to the rafters with tools and toys, so much so that there’s no room for food. Italian plates, Chinese tea pots, Japanese noodle bowls, a vase that holds chopsticks. The kitchen Aid mixer that I call “Gorgeous” the new Espresso maker, dubbed “Bruce”, fawned over every morning.      

The beautiful salad bowl dragged back from Belize, another beautiful salad bowl now making its way back from Honduras to join it. Mexican pottery in the corner. The cake stand on the top shelf, liberated from my mother’s kitchen. Cards and notes from friends on the fridge, along with a beloved (and belated) 'un-birthday' present from this year’s 'un-birthday'.      

And my bike... tucked under the counter.      

It's a mishmash of everything personal and wonderful.  A place to work and play.   A place to rest and re-create. Filled it to the brim with love.  In these walls I feel completely safe and decidedly brave.  I feel... the desire to COOK again, to feed and nurture. In it there is a kind of ‘magic’.      

You'll be seeing MUCH more of this kitchen.  Get ready to RUMBEL!      

So here’s to life, to joyful new beginnings... to... letting all the good stuff in.       

Welcome to home Gypsy.

See you soon!

... feeling the freedom...

 The return “home” to the Canadian West – the flat fields of the prairies, the mountain valleys of the west coast - an exercise in ‘filling the loving cup’ through the therapeutic intervention of hairstylists, aestheticians, retail, friends, family and pure, sweet laughter. 

Time to make the outsides match the insides. 

When I began the “Life from Scratch” tour there was a weariness in my soul that just would not leave me without my standing to face it. It was time to own who I have become. 

The face I see in the mirror is different somehow. Clearer. The load has been lifted and there is a new found freedom that is as penetrating as a fine, spring rain; soaking you to the skin, reaching into your bones. 

I’ve been on the run. Running from past mistakes, running from past hurt, running from a life that no longer fit, running... to nowhere... to no one. Perhaps it is time to stop running and let myself be loved. 

Time to stop making demands and placing conditions on how that might come to be and LET IT BE. 

This part of the journey takes me down roads I have walked before, seeing faces I’ve seen a thousand times and yet... it’s completely new. Seen through new eyes. 

“Be the change you want to see in the world” – Gandhi was a wise, wise man. When we change on the inside, our world cannot help but change around us. 

In looking back we find new information... a new confidant where once there was a competitor... a new vocation where once there was doubt... a new gift where once there was emptiness... a new avenue to self-discovery where once there was insecurity and pain. 

You can run... but you can't hide. In life, we must come to find being alone, joyful. We must learn to forgive others as well as ourselves it is the only way we will ever be free. One must learn to receive – greatly. 

I’m far from perfect. Finding perfection, within that imperfection is the best I can do. Making peace with the past so that one can embrace the PRESENT is as essential as water or bread (“or BACON” says Gypsy...) . 

The objects in the rear-view mirror may be closer than they appear and they may just be way more wonderful than you ever imagined. 

To this moment... may it be breathtaking.