Of Bikes, Black Ice, Caramel Apples, Roller Derby, Greece and a Few Good Recipes

Wow, you know my weeks are busy when I only post once or twice in a week. This was once such week. On Wednesday I had a meeting that got out early. That allowed me to go home and clean a bit. I also pulled out the Halloween decorations and linens. That simple act made me feel more settled into fall. I even spent the evening making soups. I'll post a recipe at the end of this post. The weekend was a lot of fun. We raced, we went to a movie and dinner and we made stuff.

We knew it would be cold on Saturday morning, but when we awoke to find snow on the ground we were a little surprised. Ethan was happy for it since it is part of true cyclocross weather. Even before we left the house we got a call from a friend coming up from down south. Her family, who had intended to race with us and spend some time together, had been in a huge pile up on the highway. Black ice had caused a 30 car crash. Tom and the kids were the last car in the accident. It seems like a demolition derby kind of even. Amazingly, everyone seems to have come out of it just fine, though the vehicle is most likely totaled. We wish there was something we could do to help, but there was not. The highway was closed and the kids road their bikes to a nearby restaurant while Tom waited for help. That gave us a heads up so we left our house early so that we could slip, slide and fishtail our way to the race location at Bear Creek Lake Park. I think we say six crashes on the way, including one where a bus his a tiny car. Ethan was happy to get Coach Bill's help swapping out the brake pads, but the process took much longer than expected so he missed his start by about 20 minutes but managed to come in second place anyway.Ellie's thumb was still healing so she opted to do race support instead of racing.

We had a cozy afternoon where the girl and I watched "My Life in Ruins." It was a fun film.

Then the family went to see "Whip It." It stars the girl from "Juno". She was excellent in the film. The film was much more than I expected it to be. It was about a girl who joins a roller derby team. It was also about a teenage girl who alternately loves her family and thinks they are idiots. If you have a teenager you can probably relate.
After the movie we went to dinner with Don. It was really lovely to have a mostly relaxing day.

Sunday was another cold day, but not as bitter as the day before. We headed up to Interlocken near Boulder to race. Ellie joined in the fun and was happy for it. She placed second and Ethan was the only person in his catagory. The course is very grassy, which is difficult since it absorbs so much of the wattage you put out pedaling. Our friend Greg came out to cheer the kids on and hand them water while I took photos.


That afternoon the kids and I made caramel apples from scratch. I have been inspired by the post over on the King Arthur Flour blog:


I also fell in love with the posting from Savoring Time in the Kitchen's caramel apple blog posting:

We decided to give it a go. We used the recipe from Savoring's blog and took turns stirring the caramel.


Ethan also chopped up some sugar glazed walnuts and Ellie got out the multicolored sprinkles. I pulled out the chocolate. We also buttered up my silicon sheets. They worked like a charm. No one bit of caramel stuck to anything is was not supposed to.



Each of us were thrilled with the finished product. Ellie ate two of hers the very first evening.

Ethan's are a hefty bunch since they have so much topping.

I made enough for everyone in my department. My turn to bring birthday treats was over due. Satisfied with our afternoon's project, we cleaned our selves up and had dinner with the Grossman family. What a wonderful weekend it was!

Here is the Caramel Recipe from Savoring Time in the Kitchen:


Fleur de Sel Caramel Apples

Makes enough for 8-10 apples

1 cup butter (do not substitute margarine)
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8-10 wooden sticks
8-10 medium tart apples (I used Honey Crisp)
Fleur de Sel (I used Brittany Grey Sea Salt, but any good Sea Salt will do)

Optional extras: Chopped, toasted nuts (I used toasted pecans) , melted chocolate or mini chocolate pieces, mini marshmallows anything else you'd like to apply to your caramel apples, placed in small bowls.

Candy or Instant Thermometer

Have everything you need prepped and handy before you begin as you don't want to scorch the caramel. Be very careful, hot caramel can give you a nasty burn.

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly butter the parchment.

Wash apples thoroughly to remove as much wax as possible. Insert a wooden stick into each apple.(We used paper sticks.Some of them softened once they sat in the apples for a while.)

In a heavy saucepan with candy thermometer, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring slowly and constantly until the candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) - about 30 minutes. Do not let the caramel cook any longer or it will get too hard.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the vanilla extract

Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture, tipping and turning to coat.

Sprinkle with a pinch of fleur de sel.

Dip the apples into the other toppings you've chosen while the caramel is still warm. Melted chocolate can be drizzled over after all the other toppings have been applied.

Place on the buttered parchment or silicon sheet to cool.
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Here's a great recipe we had on Friday:

Spinach, Bacon and Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Serves 6

1 cup dried white beans (I use 1 can of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small bunch spinach (or bagged – about a cup, cut into thin julienne)
6 cups chicken stock or broth
8 strips Bacon, cooked and chopped into 1" pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped, or 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes, well-drained.
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried
¾ cup dry pasta
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Parmesan Cheese

1. If using dry beans, soak overnight in enough cold water to cover generously or do a quick soak by bringing them to a boil in just enough water to cover, boiling for 2 minutes, then covering and letting stand for 1 hour. Drain. I used a can of beans.

2. In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat the oil, add the onions, and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and sauté for 3 minutes. Add garlic, stock, beans (only if using dried), bacon,tomatoes and basil and simmer for about 30 minutes, partially covered.

3. Add the beans now if using canned cannelini beans and bring the soup to a boil.

4. Add the spinach and pasta. Cook until the pasta is done. Season as it pleases you.

6. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with parmesan.

This soup can be prepared up to 3 days ahead through step 5 and then refrigerated. You can also freeze the soup. Adjust seasonings and add fresh herbs after reheating frozen soup.