Homemade Nutella for Paul

You know you are 9 months pregnant when...

1) You feel tired all the gosh darn time. You wake up in the morning and feel more exhausted than you did when you went to bed the night before only now a delightful cocktail of dizziness and disorientation has been thrown in for good measure. And no amount of coffee will make you snap out of it! When your toddler comes to you asking for something, what you hear is about as intelligible as the adult voices on an episode of The Charlie Brown Show ("Wah wah wa waaaa!"). And you probably took about 15 prenatal vitamins because you can't remember if you already took one and thus end up popping pill after pill just to make sure your nutritional bases are covered.

2) The only thing you can squeeze your massive frame into are yoga pants, your husbands sweaters, and the couple XXL t-shirts that you got for free at a charity bowling event. You are one stylish blimp.

3) Everything makes you cry. Everything. Including discovering that the grocery store is out of Pink Lady apples and you literally made the trip just to pick up a couple.

4) Everything also makes you mad. Your poor hubby stays at work a bit longer just to hide from your Jekyll and Hyde behavior. He's hoping it will all go away in a couple weeks.

5) You fall down the stairs because your bulging belly is so swollen that you are unable to see your feet and you totally miss one of the steps. And you can't get back up after the fall because your abs are pretty much nonexistent. This brings to mind the image of a pill bug that has flipped onto its back and now is helplessly/frantically moving all its legs in a sad attempt to flip upright once more. Husband comes to the rescue. Instead of thanking him, you chastise him for choosing to buy a house with a steep, slippery staircase (see #4 above).

6) You pull on your pants and tie your shoes while laying flat on your back. It's just more comfortable that way.

7) You get stopped by random women at the gym, the mall, or the grocery store who find it necessary to traumatize you with their horrific birth stories.

8) You are baking/cooking/nesting like there is no tomorrow. Every day brings a new opportunity to make another sweet indulgence, fold another tiny onesie, or bake some artisan bread because you have no idea what your schedule will be like once the new baby arrives!

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Needless to say, I feel very, very sorry for my poor hubby and the emotional mess for a wife he has had to put up with as of late. He has been doing his best to not get upset when I lash out of him for no reason whatsoever and has been great with helping pull out the baby gear, make meal plans, and clean the house in preparation for the new baby.

To show my appreciation for all that he does, I decided to make a batch of Nutella for Paul. His favorite snack is Nutella straight from the jar, but we have not been buying it recently because it is so pricey. However, we can get hazelnuts in bulk from our grocery store for fairly cheap, so I decided to surprise him with a homemade batch. He likes homemade peanut butter so much better than the store-bought stuff, that I hoped homemade Nutella would be just as well received.

The recipe was a breeze to put together, mainly because the food processor does all the work. First, the nuts are roasted, allowed to cool, and then removed from their skins. Then, the nuts are ground in a food processor until their oils are released. Finally, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, oil, and a touch of salt are added to create a perfectly smooth, ethereal chocolate spread. Delicious.

Homemade Nutella

from The America's Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook

2 cups (8 ounces) hazelnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
⅓ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional - but amazing)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts out on a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until dark brown and fragrant, 12-15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Keep a close eye on them, as they can go from perfect roasted to burnt in a short amount of time. Transfer the hazelnuts to a medium-sized bowl.

Once the hazelnuts are cool enough to handle, place a second bowl upside-down on top of the bowl with the hazelnuts. Shake vigorously for about 30 seconds to remove the skins of the hazelnuts. It may take a few times to get all of the skins off. Each time, remove the hazelnuts that have lost their skin to the bowl of a food processor, then continue shaking.

Process the hazelnuts in a food processor until their oil is released and they form a smooth, loose paste, 2-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl often.

Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract and salt and process until fully incorporated, scraping the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. The mixture will loosen and become glossy. It will continue to thicken as it rests. Transfer the spread to a jar with a tight-fitting lid or an airtight container. You can store it in the refrigerator or at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Apples, Apples, Apples

Last weekend, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Temperatures were in the upper 70s and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect weather to take advantage of all the fall festivals taking place all over the state this month. First, we headed up to Franklin, PA for the annual apple festival. The drive through the countryside was simply breathtaking - the colors of fall are finally being fully displayed by the various trees and shrubs. The Apple Fest itself was a little too crowded for our tastes. We could barely shuffle among the various vendors, booths, and activities without having cider spilled on us or a cigarette being accidentally shoved in our faces. Not to mention, we had Matthew in the stroller which made it extra difficult to maneuver through the crowds. We spent a minimal amount of time there and bought only a gallon of apple cider (mainly because Matthew was thirsty and we had failed to bring more water - the thirsty kid ended up drinking half the gallon while we were there!).

On Sunday, we headed north into New York to attend a Fall Festival held at a nearby ski resort. Attending this particular festival has become an annual tradition for Paul and I. We enjoy wandering around looking at different craft vendors, sampling some local jams and jellies, petting llamas, pigs, and yaks, purchasing a bag of kettle corn, and parking ourselves on a nearby hill to munch on it. We look forward to it all year long!

Here are a couple photos of Matthew sitting in the same pumpkin patch this year and last year at the Fall Festival. Talk about pulling at this mommy's heart strings. He has gotten so big! Same annoyed expression on his face though. And no, we did not plan on him wearing almost the exact same outfit both years. Funny how things like that just happen.

Later that same afternoon, we headed over to Girard to an apple orchard. We had intended to swing by for only a few pounds of apples. But the apples were so beautiful, big, and inviting that before long we had closer to 30 pounds. It took a lot of restraint even then to not continue picking. And the whole lot only cost six bucks!

Matthew missed the whole concept of picking apples. Paul and I took turns hoisting him into the air to pick an apple or two off the tree. He successfully managed to pick a few, but then lost interest, choosing instead to take the apples we had already placed into our basket and trying to put them back on the tree (there is a video at the end of this post). It took Paul and I a couple of minutes to notice - basically, we realized that we kept picking apples off the tree, but our basket was not getting any more full. He finally bored of this activity and sat himself down under one of the trees and noshed on a couple apples (taking a large bite out of one before moving on to the next).

With so many apples, Paul and I immediately set to work making a delicious apple pie. We ended up eating a quarter of the pie for dinner. Paul ate the rest for his lunch the next day (and he wonders why his waistline continues to expand). Next, we made some apple butter, applesauce, apple challah, and apple cake. All of these goodies headed to the freezer to be saved for enjoyment during the winter months. I love this time of year!

This apple butter is a merge of many many different sources. I choose to use my slow cooker to make apple butter because it produces a wonderful aroma that fills your entire home. Homemade potpourri! Apple butter is delicious mixed into oatmeal, spread on toast, dolloped on pancakes, and blended with yogurt. It freezes well and makes a wonderful gift for the holidays.

And thanks to this recipe, Matthew discovered the CrockPot. It was love at first sight. Notice how he holds the paddle attachment to my KitchenAid hostage in his grubby little fist.

Oh, and running around sans pants is his new thing. Whatever.

Apple Butter

12 medium-sized apples (I used Northern Spy, Rome, McIntosh, and Mutsu)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Peel, core, and finely dice the apples. Pile them into your slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.

Cover and set the cooker to high. Let cook for one hour. Reduce to the lowest setting and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until dark and very thick. This will take anywhere from 8-11 hours, depending on the type of apples being used. When ready, it should look like this.

Uncover and continue to cook for about 1 hour, whisking vigorously every 10 minutes. Spoon into sterile containers.

And here is a short video we took on my camera of Matthew at the Apple Orchard. I tried to upload this three times before I finally was able to get it to work!

Matthew Picking Apples - October 8, 2011