#i need to bite them like a crisp granny smith

[ashmp3]

Jeonghan has beautiful cheekbones and his buccal fat is non existent he is naturally snatched and chiseled and he is still considered the Face of seventeen even though the beauty standard in sk is like soooo anti sharp cheekbones he is just That good NONE of ur man with cheek filler compare

[vaspider]

Spider!! Hola :)

So I know I came back way too early this time but with this whole situation we lost sight that 2 of the affected family members will be having their bdays.

So, if you don't feel comfortable with us asking so soon for a boost I do come asking for a fool proof apple pie recipe.

We're short on money so gifts are out of the question, but I could make them something tasty, and they have always wanted to try apple pie.

There are many recipes on the internet but I need one even I, who have never baked a pie, can bake.

Hope it's not a weird petition, I just remembered you have valuable experience in the recipes department.

Thanks for taking time to read our ask, please stay safe!

If you're looking for foolproof, I would actually skip over Apple pie as a starting point & I would instead go for an apple crisp.

A crisp is much easier to make - pastry can be really finicky if you aren't familiar with how to make it, whereas a crisp you just mix together all the good stuff that makes a tasty topping and you are good to go.

Easy Apple Crisp

Ingredients

1/2c butter, cold (do not take out to soften like you would for cookies)

6 apples (Granny Smith, Fuji, Pink Lady, or similar. NOT RED DELICIOUS.)

2T granulated sugar

2t pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon, if that's what you've got, but I find that using pumpkin pie spice is just... better... if you can)

2t lemon juice

1c light brown sugar, lightly packed

1c old-fashioned rolled oats

1c all-purpose flour (if using gluten-free flour, that's fine - you don't need to add xanthan gum for this recipe)

1/2c chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2c craisins (technically optional, but don't skip)

Pinch kosher salt

Equipment

2 medium-sized mixing bowls

Sharp knife

Cutting board

2 large spoons for mixing

1 small bowl for butter

Method

Wash hands thoroughly before beginning. You should do this every time you cook or bake, but especially this time, bc we will be handling a lot of the ingredients directly.

Cut butter into small cubes. Put into small bowl and place back into refrigerator to keep cold until needed.

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 8" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter. Set aside.

Core and chop apples into large bite-sized pieces, about as big across as a nickel. Some people peel the apples. I don't. I think that's a lot of extra work to eliminate a great source of fiber & flavor. Place apples in one of the mixing bowls. Add lemon juice, granulated sugar, 1t of the pumpkin pie spice. Stir until combined, then pour into prepared baking dish.

If you prefer smaller bits, lightly chop the craisins. I like them full-sized, personally.

Put the rest of the ingredients except the butter - craisins, chopped nuts, brown sugar, flour, oats, 1t pie spice, salt - into the 2nd bowl and stir to combine.

Get the butter out of the fridge. Work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers until you have pea-sized crumbs. You can also use a fork or two knives for this or a pastry blender if you're very posh, but I really prefer using my hands. It's easier, and you get better texture, IMO.

Spread evenly over apple mix. Even it out a bit with the back of one of your mixing spoons. Don't leave any big gaps, but also don't press down on the mix at all.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the apple/sugar mix bubbles up at the corners of the dish.

Notes

This recipe is specifically written with round amounts to make it easy to size up or down! You can halve this or double it. Doubling it should make about enough to fill a 13 x 9 casserole dish.

Make sure to adjust your cooking time if you adjust the size!

If you have small oven-safe bowls or ramekins, you can divide this between those ramekins instead. If you do this, DON'T heap up the topping higher than the top of the dish. It gets very easy to spill.

Like technically you don't HAVE to use the nuts or craisins but ... why would you want to skip those? THE FLAVOR!!

If you really prefer raisins I guess you can use those. I hate raisins, and also craisins add a tart element which makes the dish really delightful and more complex IMO.

You can make a crisp like this with lots of different fruit! This recipe works pretty much exactly the same if you substitute in 4-5c of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or pears. You may want to fiddle with the amount of white sugar or the spices, but yeah. Once you know this recipe, it's a good basic dessert recipe that you can use for a lot of fruit!

If using berries, make sure to rinse them very well with cold water and inspect for any spots of mold. Supermarket berries get moldly REALLY fast. If possible, buy berries from chain supermarkets the day you're going to use them, and check berries in the store. Open the containers, don't be shy. Nothing sucks more than wasting money from your grocery budget and realizing when you get home that you bought moldy berries.

Enjoy!

[downtoearthmarkets]

Hearty roasts, stews and casseroles make the perfect warming comfort foods when temperatures dip and there’s snow and ice outside. But, even during the depths of winter, we also crave the raw crunch and quenching refreshment served up in a bowl of delicious, nutritious salad. Filled with fresh, flavorful veggies, winter salads are a great way to celebrate the bounty of seasonal produce available in the farmers market right now, while mixing up your cold weather meal routine and breaking you out of any dining ruts.

Fennel Salad with Apples & Radishes Noted for its frilly fronds, bulbous base and delicate licorice flavor, fennel is a cool weather crop that enters the farmers market in the fall and graces farmstalls throughout the spring. All parts of the fennel plant are edible and contain a range of important nutrients including significant amounts of dietary fiber. 

This fennel, apple and radish salad provides the perfect combination of in-season fruit and veggies that come together with a bright splash of piquant bite, juicy crispness, and hydrating crunch. You can serve it as a light, standalone dish or alongside white fish, pasta or roast chicken. It’s quick and simple to prepare and you can easily find the bulk of ingredients at the farmers market this weekend: 

1 small shallot from Sun Sprout Farm

2 tbsp. apple cider or white wine vinegar

2 tbsp. Kontoulis Family Olive Oil extra-virgin olive oil

3 fennel bulbs (1 to 1½ lbs) from Great Joy Family Farm

1 Granny Smith or other tart apple from Orchards of Concklin

3 to 4 radishes from Newgate Farms

½ cup walnuts

½ pomegranate seeds

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Kosher salt

½ tsp. fennel seeds

Kohlrabi and Pear Salad One of the more off-beat vegetables you’ll find in the farmers market this winter, kohlrabi is often compared to an alien spaceship thanks to its squat, cylindrical bulb sprouting skinny stalks. This sputnik-like vegetable’s tough, thick outer skin needs to be thoroughly peeled off and removed whether you’re cooking it or serving it raw. Kohlrabi’s interior flesh is very firm, sweetly crisp and vaguely peppery, making it the ideal addition for adding crunch, texture and taste to a range of winter salads.

More akin to a slaw than a salad, the julienned apple in this recipe can be easily swapped out with a ripe pear:

1 bulb kohlrabi from Newgate Farms One ripe pear or one Honeycrisp apple from Orchards of Concklin ½ red onion from Sun Sprout Farm Dressing (2 tbsp. Kontoulis Family Olive Oil extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp. apple cider, 1 tsp. mustard, 1 tsp. SOVA Farms honey, salt & pepper)  ½ cup hazelnuts  ½ cup parsley from Great Joy Family Farm

Massaged Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing I had you at massaged, didn’t I? If you haven’t jumped on the kale bandwagon yet, massaging it in olive oil before tossing it into this basic yet hearty winter salad will make all the difference! The process tenderizes the sturdy leaves, infuses them with a deep, glistening green and mellows their bitter taste. 

I prefer using curly kale in this recipe, but Tuscan kale works just as well. To effectively massage your kale-of-choice, strip leaves from the fibrous stalks and cut them into large pieces. Place chopped kale in a spacious bowl and drizzle with Kontoulis Family Olive Oil extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Now comes the fun part! Wash hands, roll up your sleeves and gently work the individual pieces of kale by rubbing them together between your fingers. Work the pieces for no more than 2-3 minutes until their texture becomes tender but firm and not mushy.

Once kale is massaged, spritz with fresh lemon juice, sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes, grated parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs and toss in some minced garlic. You can enjoy this simple salad as a side or main dish or top it with protein like grilled American Pride Seafood shrimp or Stone & Thistle Farm chicken to round it out as a flavorful, healthy and satiating winter meal. 

Of course, you can tailor make your very own winter salad by throwing together whatever farmers market fare catches your fancy! With a cornucopia of freshly grown produce available at the farmstalls all season long, just let creativity and taste be your guide. And don’t forget to tag us in any social media photos so we can share your creations on our Facebook and Instagram!

[kuvvydraws]

I know I'm not a mutual or anything so I don't want to jump on your thread but,

Green apples are better for baking /granny Smith that is/

But if you want a sweet apple then I'd suggest honey crisp apples or gala apples

Though maybe you're talking about "Golden Delicious" the more yellow-green apple.

Plus I find all apples to be soft if not in season and fresh.

No need to be a mutual to partake in WAR!

Unfortunately I don't like a lot of baked stuff with fruit - the texture is so wrooooooong and soft and 😫

Nor do I have any real knowledge on types of apples - I just like sour stuff and arguing with people for the sake of it.

On a different note but not so different that it's irrelevant, my favorite apples are very bright green! I don't know what kind of apple it is outside of fucking delicious

I gotta agree, apples need to give a satisfying cronch when you bite them!

[heroes-feasting]

Heartlands Rose Apple and Blackberry Pie

“As the story goes, a hungry halfling returned from her hillside stroll with a heavy basket of crisp rose apples and plump blackberries. In typical indecisive halfling fashion, she couldn’t decide which to fill her pie with… so she chose both, and thus this legendary dessert was born.” - Heroes’ Feast, p. 139

As mentioned in a previous post, pie, the better version of cake, can take on many forms. With fall having wrapped up and given way to winter, it’s time to start scheduling Christmas parties and spending time with each other during the Holidays. So, why not dazzle partygoers by bringing in a slice (pun intended) of autumn with this apple and blackberry pie from Heroes’ Feast!

Although the original recipe is a little rough in construction, after some discussion for suggested changes, it holds together amazingly and makes sure that each bite, from the sweetness of the apples to the tartness of the blackberries, is worth the effort. This pie is also super great because it’s not overly sugary like most you’ll find at the store; using just enough while allowing the fruitiness of the filling to shine!

In this post, I’ll be breaking down the steps that were taken, for filling and crust, that help ensure that you end up with a stable pie instead of pie soup. In a rush? No worries, all changes are also summarized in the results section.

See below for my notes on the results and for some helpful tips and tricks when making this yourself! Get Heroes’ Feast here: https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast

Prep: 15 mins*               Cook: 5 hours**               Overall: 5 hours 15 mins

* Can take longer if making your own crust.

** Can vary based on your experience making pie, this is the high-end estimate with plenty of leeway time. To save time on the day of, make the apples and pie crust a day ahead and store them in the fridge. If not possible, try to make the pie crust a day ahead and cook the apples while the crust chills in the fridge in the pie plate (see recipe steps).

Ingredients*:

⅔ cup + 1 tbsp. (155 g) sugar

½ tsp. (3 g) cinnamon

3 tbsp. + 2 tsp. (23 g + 5 g) cornstarch**

kosher salt

3 ½ pounds (1,575 g) [about 6] baking apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and cut lengthwise into ¼-inch slices***

Pastry for 2 double-crust pies

12 ounces (340 g) blackberries, rinsed

1 tbsp. (5 ml) fresh lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp. (21 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 egg

Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving (optional)

* Makes one 9-inch deep-dish pie. Here’s the pie dish I use.

** Because there’s a lot of liquid in the filling, I took A Finnicky Guide’s suggestion and added a little more cornstarch. I split the extra 2 tsps. (5 g) between the apples and blackberries.

*** For pies, you need to be careful with the apples you select. When choosing your apples, especially for a liquidy pie, it’s important to consider the amount of pectin (a natural “glue”) present in the apple. For the reasons listed in the linked article, I chose Granny Smith apples instead of those listed in Heroes’ Feast.

The first change to make is with how the apple filling is prepared. Cooking the apples on the stove, instead of in the microwave, will allow the juices released from the apples to have a caramel-like consistency instead of staying super watery. I adapted the method from King Arthur.

First, in a large pot, whisk together 1⁄3 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon, 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. cornstarch, and ¼ tsp. salt. Add the apples and gently mix to combine.

Turn the heat to medium-low and allow the apples to warm up, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, allow them to cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (top-left picture).

You’ll know they’re done when you can bend the slices without them breaking (top-right).

TIP: To get the apples all to a uniform size, I recommend using an apple corer. Here’s the one I use.

The second change to construction is with the pie crust. In order to prevent the liquid in the pie from infusing with the uncooked dough and turning it mushy, we’re going to firm up the bottom crust by blind-baking (partially cooking) it before adding the filling. To blind-bake, I’ve condensed the method from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

On a floured work surface, roll out the pie dough into a 12-inch (~30 cm) circle. Transfer it to a deep-dish pie plate and fit it in gently by lifting the edges of the dough as you gently press it into the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Leave ~1-inch overhang around the rim and trim the extra (picture 1) ). Do not dock (prick holes in) the bottom crust yet. Set it in the fridge to chill for 30 mins. Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃).

Next, crinkle up a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the pie dough. Place it in the baking dish and weigh it down using ceramic pie beads, dried lentils, or dried beans. I used pinto beans. This will allow the crust to cook without bubbling at the bottom or shrinking too much away from the edges (picture 2) ).

Place the pie plate onto a baking sheet and put it in the preheated oven to cook for 15-16 minutes. Take it out and carefully remove the parchment paper with the weights. Dock the bottom crust with a fork and return it to the preheated oven, without the weights, until the crust begins to turn a golden brown, another 7-8 minutes. Remove again from oven and set aside (picture 3) ). Preheat the oven again - this time to 425℉ (218℃).

TIP: You can reuse your blind-baked beans/lentils for future pies! So feel free to store them in their own labeled container for use at another time.

While the bottom crust chills, whisk together ⅓ cup of the sugar, the remaining cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a medium-sized bowl.

Add the blackberries and gently toss to coat. Then, add the lemon juice and gently fold until the sugar mixture is moistened and syrupy.

Since the blackberries will release their juice as they break down, to reduce the liquid content, remove 1 tbsp. of the syrup and discard.

For attaching the top crust to the partially-baked bottom crust, I followed Food52’s method.

To assemble the pie, start by spreading the blackberry mixture evenly over the bottom crust and scatter the butter pieces overtop (picture 1) ).

Strain the apples through a colander, catching the liquid in a bowl, and spoon them on top of the blackberries. Pour half of the reserved apple syrup over the apples (picture 2) - I added the apple syrup, I just took the picture too soon rip)

On a floured work surface, roll out dough into a 12-inch (~30 cm) circle and place it over the apple mixture. To seal the edges, start by folding the top crust under the overhanging bottom crust as much as possible without breaking the bottom crust. Then, use a fork to crimp the top and bottom layers together (picture 3) ).

Beat the egg with 1 tbsp. water and brush it over the top of the pie crust - including the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp. sugar evenly over the top. Place the pie into the oven preheated to 425℉ (218℃) (picture 4) ).

Bake the pie at 425℉ (218℃) until the top is light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Then adjust the heat to 375℉ (190℃), rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees, and continue baking until the crust is golden brown 25 to 30 minutes.

NOTE: I found my crust turned golden brown after 25 mins at 425℉ (218℃). I still adjusted the heat to 375℉ (190℃) and let it cook for the remaining time. However, I kept an eye on it to make sure it didn’t burn (it didn’t).

Remove pie from oven and baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack, about 2 hours.

From the pictures above, you can see how changing up the steps in the construction helped with the structural integrity of the pie:

Using extra cornstarch allowed both fillings to thicken more while cooking, helping to create a distinct layer for the blackberry mixture (top-right);

Using Granny Smith apples allowed for the extra pectin in the apples to thicken the liquid on the stove and keep additional juices trapped inside the slices as they baked in the oven (also keeping the apples from drying out in the oven);

Cooking the apples on the stove gave the apple syrup a more caramel-consistency instead of staying watery;

Not only did blind-baking the bottom crust keep the vast majority of the liquid inside the pie as it cooked (top-left), but having an extra-crispy bottom crust allowed any pie kept as leftovers to have a distinct bottom crust instead of it becoming soggy;

Removing a little bit of the syrup from the blackberry mixture allowed the blackberry syrup to become less soupy and thicken into its own distinct layer (top-right).

Tl;dr: to recap what improved the construction of the pie:

Use a little extra cornstarch. Not much, just an extra tsp. (3 g) per filling will do.

Choose the right apples for the job. You want to make sure the ones you choose have enough pectin to keep in most of their juices. Solution: use Granny Smith.

Cook the apples on the stovetop. Using the stovetop allows for the juices released from the apples to have a caramel consistency instead of staying watery.

Blind bake the bottom crust. To keep the liquids from infusing with the bottom crust, partially bake the bottom crust using the listed method.

Remove 1 tbsp. of liquid from the blackberries. They have plenty of liquids to start and will produce more when they start to break down.

Overall, I would give this pie a 5/5 after the modifications to construction. The sweetness from the apples and the tartness from the blackberries really work to bring this together in the best way.

As mentioned in the intro, I really appreciate the fact that there is very little sugar added. Not only does it let the filling stand out on it’s own, but it also makes the pie enjoyable to those who don’t have as much of a sweet tooth.

[flockofdoves]

made mulligatawny earlier this week and that was gonna be my original attempt at recording how i ended up making food and what i learned from it so i could remember for the future but i just ended up being soooo frustrated with what i think ended up being an issue with one of my burners being way too hot even on the lowest setting (and i needed both of the stoves larger burners so there wasnt much i could do about it) so i just didnt feel like it that night so i forget most of it now tbh lol

combined some stuff from these three recipes but added mushrooms bc i like them and the first recipe i found that wasnt really that interesting otherwise but had mushrooms had them

uhhh from what i remember it was coconut milk based not cream but i put on sour cream anyway bc it seemed fun

i toasted the spices at first like the seriouseats one but also seasoned the chicken and cooked it like the africanbites version

there was a sweet potato and carrots as the bigger vegetables in it beyond the apples (used one granny smith one cortland)

lime added a lot to it! was scared to use too much bc made a lemon-y soup last month that ended up wayyyyy too lemony but with this i feel i had slightly too little actually

didnt put in celery beyond it being in the flavor of the stock bc i used frozen celery i had saved for a chicken stock (super gelatinous and turned out really good!!) that i used for the base of this and ran out of celery in doing that/wasnt sure if the texture would be ok. def could be good as a texture/more flavor in the future

i think it could be fun to try like one of them did in the future with tomato

i think i cooked the apple too long idve liked it better if it was a bit more crisp and tart it lost most of its flavor. i see a benefit in having some of it in from the beginning of simmering to infuse flavors but maybe in the future i’d put some in towards the end? maybe i should look into apple variety traits more? but both of the apples i used are apples i know are used bc they stay firm in baking so idk

i didnt put in enough rice! put in a heaping 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 bc i thought maybe it would be too much when i had the (smaller) liquid measurements of the african bites recipe but the added starchy vegetables taking up space and soaking up liquid of the seriouseats recipe which already used 1/4. but maybe bc of the lack of celery and stuff filling more space it was just comically little rice lol. like maybe one grain a spoonful. it was nice for having broth in leftovers tho so maybe i’d do something like that in the future and just add separately cooked rice whenever i eat it idk!

[desiraypark]

Apple Pie

Content: Sherri’s trying to bake...just a little domestic fluff. A few mentions of food.  Inspiration: Me sleeping nekkid last night with only a fleece blanket over me, then waking up to freakin’ AUTUMN. Also - me wanting some peach cobbler (but I changed it to apple pie for storytelling purposes lol)

Just as Sherri opened her eyes, her body jolted. The cold air hit her forehead and the thin summer blanket suddenly wasn't enough to keep her naked body warm.

“Shit,” she whispered. She pulled the blanket up over her face. She wanted to turn the heat on-- but she also didn't want to step out of the bed.

Clyde's throat clicked with every open-mouthed breath he took. His partially exposed chest moved up, then fell back down. Sherri tapped on his pec.

“Baby?” The muscle under his eye twitched. She rubbed his hair back. “Honeybunch?”

Clyde's eyes popped open and closed again. He instinctively lifted his arm, thinking Sherri wanted to cuddle. Then, he grunted.

“Mmph,” he grumbled. He pulled the blanket up over his chest.

“Baby, can you turn the heat on?” Sherri asked sweetly.

“Why you ain't turn it on?” he asked, voice deep and raspy with sleep. His eyes still closed, he scooted close to her.

“Because I'm naked.”

“You know good and well I'm naked, too, Babygirl.”

Sherri pouted and ran her finger over Clyde's nose. He opened his eyes again.

“We don't need to turn the heat on just yet,” he said. Sherri pouted again. “Don't give me that look. It's just a lil’ chill.”

Sherri sighed in agreement and threw her arm around Clyde's chest.

“Besides,” Clyde continued. “I want you to be my lil’ heater.”

Sherri chuckled and tossed a leg over Clyde's body. They sat in silence. Clyde nearly fell asleep again.

“You know what I want to make today?” Sherri asked.

“What?” 

“Apple pie.” Clyde's eyes popped open.

“I wonder if they're gonna have the farmers market out in town today…” ____________________

Sherri was excited to toss on a hoodie and some boots. Her and Clyde went out to Granby Street hoping that one of the Sunday farmer's market vendors would have apples--and plenty of them did! She grabbed Pink Lady and Honeycrisp. Then, they went to the grocery store to get some Granny Smiths and some ingredients for homemade pie crust.

“You found a recipe yet?” Clyde asked when they got back home. “For the filling?” He placed the brown paper bag of apples on the counter and Sherri placed the grocery store bag beside it.

“I'll find one.” 

She snapped her fingers. “We have bourbon, don't we?”

Clyde ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah.”

Sherri walked to him and placed her hand on his chest. “It'll be good, baby. I promise!”

“I believe you, Babygirl. But you’ve just gotta stick to the recipe darlin’...” he said. 

Sherri rolled her eyes. “I do stick to the recipe. But it’s okay to experiment, right?”

She kissed him on the lips and walked out of the kitchen. “I'm gonna get out of these clothes!”

Clyde went back out to a chicken spot while Sherri excitedly started her pie. He grabbed some a chicken meal with mashed potatoes and gravy, dirty rice, and biscuits. After dinner, Sherri returned to glancing at a pie recipe from Pinterest, then adding ingredients her own way. Clyde peeped into the kitchen every few minutes--at one point to get a beer. Then some water.

“Think I'm gonna add a little bit more cinnamon…” he heard Sherri say to herself as he grabbed a biscuit from the takeout box. His eyebrows crinkled and he went back into the living room. Finally, Sherri came into the living room and plopped on the sofa beside Clyde.

“I think it's gonna be good, Baby. I can feel it in my bones,” she said. Clyde nodded and smiled.

“Alright, Babygirl. And if it's bad, you won't get to huffin’ now, will you?”

Sherri forced a smile. “I won't.”

Clyde looked at her face--that fake smile. He rubbed her thigh and looked back at the television.

____________________

Sherri pulled the pie out of the oven. The crust looked nice and crisp. She let it cool. About twenty minutes later, her and Clyde stood over it like it was a science experiment. Sherri grabbed some utensils and cut into it. She pulled out a slice and placed it on a small plate. Then, she tasted it. 

Sherri's body got warm. A lump formed in her throat and her heart sank into her stomach. Too much cinnamon? Not enough sugar? She glanced up at Clyde with sad eyes and noticed him stick his fork back in.

“This is good, Babygirl,” he said nodding.

“...really?”

“Mmm-hmm,” he hummed.

He kissed her on the cheek. “I think you’ve got a winner, baby.”

“You sure it's not too...spicy? Is there enough sugar?”

Clyde shook his head “no”. “Mmp-mmm. It's perfect.” He got another bite. Sherri smiled and grabbed another bite for herself. “It just doesn’t taste as swee--” Clyde wrapped his arm around Sherri’s waist. “It’s delicious, Babygirl.” Sherri smiled and took another bite, nearing the buttery crust.  “You’re just so used inhaling Little Debbie snacks like it’s the air you breath and your sweet buds don’t work no more,” Clyde joked.

Sherri pursed her lips and poked him in the ribs. He jerked back and laughed. “This is real good, Baby...” Clyde repeated.

“Thank you, Baby,” Sherri said. She cut another slice. “Now, I’ve gotta remember how much of everything I put in it...”

[mcrollintherealworld]

Apples to Apples by Ilna

Grandma Ang and Catherine share a special activity and memory with DJ and Angie.

Fanfiction.net still has a technical issue so we’ve posted the story below and on our website.

Update: Fanfiction finally fixed the glitch.  Here is the story:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13738140/1/

Notes: Mari and Sammy - thank you for your always awesome feedback.  You’re the best!

Readers and REAL McRollers - thank you for your amazing support!  It is always appreciated.

Hope you enjoy!

….

Apples to Apples (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)

“That’s a lot of apples, Grandma Ang,” DJ said, eyes widening at the colorful array of fruit on the kitchen table as he and Angie climbed into their chairs.

Ang grinned.  “I may live in Hawaii now, but I’m from the Midwest, so eating lots of apples in the fall is in my blood.”

“All da apples aw he’we,” Angie said, reaching for a bright red one.  “I have dis one?”

“We’re going to try all of them, angel,” Ang told her. “All of them?” DJ asked in amazement.  “We’re gonna be very full.”

Ang chuckled.  “Someone special is coming to help us eat them.”  At the jingle of keys in the door, she smiled.  “And I think that might be her.”

“Hi, Smokey,” came Catherine’s voice as the door opened.

“Mommy!” Angie cried, sliding out of her chair and running to greet her.

“Hi, baby girl,” Catherine said, appearing in the kitchen a moment later with Angie in her arms.  She leaned over to kiss DJ and then rounded the table to greet her grandmother.  

“Mommy, you’re done with work early,” DJ said excitedly, always happy for more time with her.

“I didn’t want to miss Grandma Ang’s apple taste-testing lesson,” Catherine said, setting Angie back in her chair and then sitting between her and Ang who beamed.

“My star pupil.”

“Grandma Ang showed you different apples when you were a kid, Mommy?” DJ asked.

“She sure did.  When I was about your age.”

….

“Now this is a Gala apple,” Ang said, handing a slice to her young granddaughter.  She waited for Catherine to take a bite.

“Mmm,” Catherine said.  “I like that one.  It’s sweet.”

Ang nodded, eating a slice of her own.  “They’re good for making applesauce and cider, and of course just for eating straight out of the fruit bowl.”

“What’s this one?” Catherine asked, pointing to a yellowish apple.  

“That is a Golden Delicious.  It’s quite sweet as well and is one of the best apples for baking.”  She cut a slice for Catherine to try.

“Ohh, I like that one, too.  Wait!  I’m going to make a list.”

Ang smiled as Catherine jumped up out of her seat.  She dashed to the nook for a pencil and pad of paper and returned.  Putting her head down, she began to write.  

“Go-l-din De-li-shis.”  She looked at her words and frowned.  “That doesn’t look right.”  Quickly erasing, she replaced the i with an e in Golden.  “Grandma Ang, how do you spell ‘Delicious.’ “

“D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.”

Catherine smiled.  “Thank you.  At school we use stars to show how much we like something.  One star is only a little bit and five stars is a lot.”

“How much did you like the Golden Delicious?” Ang asked.

Catherine thought a moment, tapping the pencil on her chin.  “Hmm, three stars.”  She started to draw and then stopped.  “Oh!  I could draw apples instead!”

Ang smiled, watching as Catherine changed her partial star into a rudimentary apple shape and drew two more of them.  “And what about the Gala?”

“Ga-la,” Catherine said as she wrote.  She grinned at her grandmother.  “I think I need to try another slice to remember.”

Ang chuckled and passed over the slice.

“Mmm.  Gala is four apples.”

After Catherine had finished, Ang said, “Are you ready for another?”

Catherine nodded eagerly.

“These are Cortlands.  I like to use these in fruit salads because they don’t brown as quickly after they’re cut.”  She handed Catherine a slice.

“Like that one,” Catherine said, pointing to the Gala apple they’d tried first that was just starting to brown.  “But it’s okay to still eat it.”

“It is,” Ang acknowledged.  “It just doesn't look quite as appetizing.”

“Hmm … that one isn’t so sweet,” Catherine said, wiping a little juice from her chin.  “But I still like it.”

Ang nodded.  “Cortlands are little more tart.”  She leaned forward conspiratorially and took a bite.  “I like them, too.”

“They get three apples,” Catherine said, continuing her chart.

“I also like Cortland’s when I’m baking cobbler,” Ang said.

Catherine smile.  “Mmm, I really like when you bake cobbler.”

Ang laughed.  “I know you do.”

“Why do you use different apples for different recipes?” Catherine asked.

“Because different apples cook in different ways, especially in the oven.  If I’m making an an apple crisp or apple cobbler or apple pie,” Ang explained, grinning as Catherine’s eyes widened with each dessert mentioned, “I want an apple that is firmer and will hold its shape after it’s baked.  But if I’m making applesauce, a softer apple is better.”

“What apple do you use for apple pie?” Catherine asked excitedly.

“I usually use two different kinds of apples when I make apple pie, a sweet apple and a tart apple.  And the tart apple I use happens to be my favorite apple of all.”  She picked up a bright green apple.  “This is a Granny Smith apple.”

Catherine laughed.  “Is it really called ‘Granny Smith’ or are you teasing?”

Ang grinned.  “It really is, I promise.”  She cut the apple and passed over a slice.  “Now this one is even more tart than the Cortland,” she warned, watching for Catherine’s reaction as the little girl took a bite, knowing many kids did not like the taste.

Catherine straightened, surprised by the tartness, but smiled.  “That’s so good!”  She quickly ate the rest of the slice and picked up her pencil.  “Granny Smith gets five apples.  No!  Six!”

Ang beamed.  “That’s my girl.”

….

As they told the story, Grandma Ang produced a folded sheet of paper.  As she carefully unfolded it, Catherine said, “Is that …?  Did you really keep it?”

“Of course I did,” Ang said, proudly showing the apple chart Catherine had made all those years ago.  

“Ohhh, Gram,” Catherine said, blinking back tears.  Ang smiled softly, reaching over to pat her hand.  

“Can we see?” DJ asked.

Ang smiled.  “Of course.”  She passed the chart across the table to DJ and Angie.

“You really made this, Mommy?” DJ asked.

Catherine smiled.  “I really did.”

“De’we no colow, Mommy,” Angie said, stretching her neck for a better view.

“That’s true,” Catherine admitted.  “I was just using a pencil so no colors.  Good observation, baby girl.”

“We’ll have colors this time, though,” Ang said, presenting DJ, Catherine, and Angie their own charts based off of young Catherine’s.

DJ beamed excitedly.  “We get to make our own?”

“You sure do.”

“We’ colowing?” Angie asked.  She looked back at the apples in front of Grandma Ang.  “We’ not eating da apples?”

“Ohh, don’t you worry, angel,” Ang assured her as Catherine smiled.  “We’re going to eat plenty of apples.  We’re just also going to color.”

Satisfied, Angie settled back into her chair and nodded.  “I’m weady.”  She looked at her brother.  “You weady, DJ?”

He grinned and sat up straighter.  “I’m ready.”

….

Over the next half hour, they tried several different kinds of apples.  DJ happily colored in the apples on his chart from one to five based on how much he liked them.  Angie, meanwhile, consistently asserted she liked each apple and colored all five on her paper, not yet old enough to grasp a rating system but enjoying the opportunity to both eat and color.

The last apple to try was the bright green Granny Smith.  DJ beamed.  “We’re trying it last just like you did, Mommy.”

“That’s right,” Catherine said.

Grandma Ang grinned.  “Save the best for last.”

As Ang placed slices on everyone’s plates, Catherine said, “Remember from Grandma Ang’s story, these are not sweet apples.”

Angie eagerly took a bite.  Catherine and Ang waited, as did DJ, gauging her reaction.  Angie beamed.  “I like dese ones,” she said, taking another bite, and her mother and grandmother exchanged a smile.

DJ examined his slice and then took a bite, almost immediately making a face at the tart taste.

Ang chuckled.  “Well, it was almost unanimous.”

DJ grinned, placing the slice back on his plate.  Catherine smiled softly to herself as he asked Ang for another Gala slice, his favorite of the apples they’d tried.  She‘d noticed during the first few months after DJ came to live with them that he would eat anything and everything put in front of him, even when she got the sense he didn’t like something.  It broke her heart a little each time, knowing it was because he hadn’t been able to count on regular meals in the past or have any say in what was in them, and she and Steve had gently assured him he didn’t have to eat something he didn’t like.  Over the last few months, she’d happily seen that while he still tried everything without prompting, he didn’t force himself to eat what he didn’t like because he knew he didn’t have to.

“It’s okay, honey,” Catherine said.  “Most kids actually don’t like the tartness.”

“I’ll bet you’ll grow to like them eventually,” Ang said confidently.

DJ smiled back, nodding, then leaned down to color a single apple on his chart.

Catherine glanced over him toward the doorway and smiled.  “And in the meantime, Daddy will be there to eat whatever you don’t.”

“That’s right,” Steve said, placing his hands on DJ’s shoulders, surprising the two kids who hadn’t heard him come in.

“Daddy!” DJ cried excitedly.

Angie waved, smiling around a mouthful of apple.  Steve leaned down to greet both with a kiss.

“Now what am I eating?” he asked.

“We tried lots of different apples, Daddy,” DJ told him.  “Grandma Ang knows them all, and she taught Mommy and now she taught us.”

“Nice,” Steve said, nodding approvingly and flashing a smile at Ang and Catherine.  “And what was the verdict?”

“Angie liked them all,” DJ said for his sister whose mouth was full with another bite.  “I liked them all except the Granny Smith one but Mommy said you’d eat it.”

Steve smiled, but before he could take the remaining slice from DJ’s plate, Angie reached over and grabbed it.

Ang chuckled.  “Or Angie will.”

Catherine shook her head in amusement, running a hand over Angie’s hair as the little girl chewed.  “Don’t you want to share with Daddy, baby girl?  He hasn’t had any apples yet.”

Angie looked between her two hands, one that held the partial slice of Granny Smith and the other with a slice of Honeycrisp.  She dutifully held up the fist that held the Honeycrisp toward Steve.

“That’s my girl,” Catherine said, winking at Grandma Ang who laughed.

“Our girl.”

Steve leaned over and bit the apple slice out of Angie’s hand with an exaggerated sound, causing her and DJ to giggle.  “Thank you for sharing,” he said after swallowing the slice.

“Welcome,” Angie said, beaming.  She looked at her now empty plate and then up at Grandma Ang.  “Dere mo’ apples, Gwamma Ang?”

“No more apples for now, angel,” Ang said, piling the remaining cores onto her cutting board.  When she made to stand, Steve stepped over to pick the board up for her and she smiled gratefully.  “We don’t want to spoil dinner,” she continued, looking back at Angie and DJ.  Her eyes twinkled.  “But for dessert, I have a special treat.  DJ, I think you’ll like Granny Smith apples when they’re baked into a pie.”

He nodded eagerly.  “I will!”

“Pie wif ouse cweam?” Angie asked and they all laughed.

Catherine leaned over to kiss her head.  “Leave it to you to make sure there’s ice cream.”

DJ slid from his chair and walked around the table to hug Grandma Ang.  “Thanks for sharing all the apples with us, Grandma Ang.”  He handed her his apple chart.  “You can keep this with Mommy’s paper.”

Angie quickly followed with her own.  “An’ my one!” she echoed, waving it.

Steve smiled at Catherine as they watched the scene.

“Maybe next fall we can try even more apples,” DJ suggested.

Ang hugged them both to her.

“Count on it, sweet boy.  Count on it.”

….

Hope you enjoyed!

Find all our stories (in chronological order!) on our website: marirealmcroll dot wixsite dot com backslash real-mcroll

Or in the McRoll in the REAL World community here on fanfiction dot net

Find us on Tumblr: mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com 

You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line.

And find Mari on Twitter at Mari21763 and add #REALMcRoller

[narilgc]

forget betty crocker. with confidence like this, nari is convinced she’s destined to have her own cooking channel. why ? today, she’s going to make the perfect apple crisp.

.... okay. so she’s only made an apple crisp for the first time over the weekend. but her viewers don’t need to know that ! as far as they’re concerned, she’s a chef worthy of putting gordon ramsey to shame, based on the grin she gives the camera. in front of her - ingredients, a bowl, as well as a peeler and mixer. it’s go time.

“ brr ! it’s chilly outside, isn’t it, everyone ? well, have no fear ! as we transition into the fall season, you know your favorite chef nari wasn’t going to keep you hanging. right ? that’s why today, we’re going to make an apple crisp sure to warm you up with some festive spirt ! ” a burst of theatrical energy, as usual, starts her video. but it soon subsides, replaced with a more calm instructional tone as she begins her tutorial.

she goes through the more obvious steps such as ingredient preparation and mixing as planned, though when she gets to the apples her eyes fill with childish glee. “ see these ? we have granny smith, fuji, honey crisp, red delicious, golden delicious ... how could you ever pick just one to add ? ” pretending to ponder, she pauses, then looks back to her audience with a chuckle. “ the beauty of apple crisps are ... well, you don’t have to ! so i’ve picked out some of my most favorite apples, and we’re going to cut them up and add them to the bowl ... like so ! ” 

once the mixing is done, she pours it into a pan, next to which she has a jar of oats. “ and now, the hard part’s over ! all we have to do now is sprinkle a generous amount of oats onto the pan, to make our crisp crust ! if you guys are anything like me, you love sugar. so my oats have cinnamon on them ! but cutting back ? no worries, i get it, a plain oat substitute will do just fine ! ” she’s reminded of her mother when she says that, the one who was courteous enough to show her healthier alternatives when nari had her many experimental diets in high school. she still held herself to pretty strict dietary standards, but today could be the exception.

after finishing, she has a few leftover slices, which she shows to the camera. “ and if you’re like me, you’re going to want to eat the extras. don’t be shy ! take a bite. ” following her own words, she grabs hold of a red delicious, immediately grinning upon taste. “ delicious ! ” though her words are muffled from eating, she allows herself to laugh it off, covering her mouth as instinct. it’s a sign she’s getting more comfortable on camera, as she often wouldn’t allow herself to be presented in such a casual atmosphere for the public. perhaps she was improving.

“ and ... voila ! your perfect apple crisp fit for birthdays, family holidays, or ... if you just want to bake some to send to me ! ” she jokes, winking at the camera. “ i had so much fun baking with you all, and hope this recipe does you some good ! and if it does - tag me on instagram, ” she whispers, sure not to forget her subtle promotion. “ until the next time, this has been legacy’s im nari, and i hope to see you all again ! happy holidays ! ” a wave is given, and then promptly, the screen fades to black.

[universal-shenanigans]

Confessions (3)

     Alexa slumped into her room and closed the door. She flopped onto her bed and drifted off to sleep. A few minutes into her slumber, her eyes shot open to the sound of tapping at her window. She growled quietly to herself as she pushed herself up and trudged over. Upon pulling open the curtains, Caroline was floating on the other side. Alexa unlocked it and she flew inside. She crawled back into bed, and Caroline chuckled as she watched. “I told you not to work yourself so hard.”

     “I had to. I needed to make sure I was free tonight.”

     “And why is that? What’re you up to tonight?”

     “...I have a date...”

     Caroline’s fluttered with excitement and she clapped her hands. “Really?! Finally! I knew he’d ask you! Granted, I didn’t expect him to ask you today, but hey I’m not complaining.”

     She lifted her head, “I didn’t even tell you who it is.”

     “Lexie, I think we both know that he’s the only man you’d actually go on a date with right now. Plus, he’s gorgeous. What time the date?”

     “7:45...”

     “...it’s six o’clock. I’ll come back in an hour or whatever, and let ya sleep.”

     “Thanks Cari...see ya...love ya...” she drifted back to sleep.

~

     Alexa jumped up. She looked around her room, and then to her clock. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed it. “Shit shit shit shit!” She threw the clock away and race to the bathroom. She opened the door and found Caroline on the other side. “I was just about to wake you up. Bath’s ready, clothes are hanging up, there will be a horse outside the gates for you.” She passed Alexa and gave her a few pats on the shoulder. “Tell me how it goes.”

     “I will. Thanks a lot for this I owe you one.”

~

     Alexa ran out the front door and towards the gate. She leapt onto her horse and rode out of the village. She trotted up to the mouth of his cave, and climbed off her horse. She walked inside and tapped her heel against the rocks. “Hey Vince, I’m here!” She waited for an answer. Nothing. He couldn’t have been in a deep sleep, and even then he usually always answers. Her ears flicked She smelled the air. His scent was very faint, which meant he wasn’t there anymore. She turned around and slowly walked away from the cave. She paused for a moment, and inhaled. Once she found his scent, she hopped onto her horse and rode further into the forest. She came across a house. She hopped off the horse and walked up to the door. After giving it a few knocks, the door opened and a well dressed Vincent appeared on the other side. “Well, you look absolutely amazing.”

     “Aw how sweet. You look very handsome yourself.”

     He stepped to the side, “Come on in, your highness.”

     “Why thank you.” She walked inside and looked around. It was quaint, yet lavish at the same time. He closed the door and lead her to the living room. “I apologize for not being specific on where we were going to be having dinner.”

     “It’s alright. I should apologize for being a bit late.” She smelled the air and her tail began wagging. “It smells amazing in here.”

     He chuckled, “I’m cooking something special~. Please, have a seat, and make yourself at home.” She walked around the couch and drummed her fingers on it. It was soft, and so were the pillows. She sat down and soon she was letting out a long sigh. She melted into the couch and she could hear him chuckle behind her. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Something to drink? Water? Wine? Mead?”

     “A glass of wine would be lovely, thank you.”

     “Anything in particular?”

     “Hmm...do you have plum?”

     “I’ll go take a look.” He smiled and slithered into the kitchen.

~

     He came back with two glasses, and handed her one. She thanked him and took a sip as he sat down next to her. She sighed and placed her glass on the coffee table. it was quiet for moment. As much as she knew Vincent, she didn’t really...know him. She’s been on dates before, but she would always cut them short because of the guy she was with. But, since she was with Vincent, it was bit more difficult to actually communicate. She had become lost in her thoughts, growing more nervous about the date but not really showing it to make him worry. He had already noticed, and broke the silence. “Are you alright?”

     She jumped, “Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. Yeah I’m okay.”

     “Are you sure?” He raised a brow. She nodded and smiled. “Yeah I promise.” He sat there for a moment and stared at her. Her heartbeat hadn’t slowed since she went into her trance. She grabbed her glass and took a sip while trying to avoid his gaze. Finally after a couple more minutes, she set her glass down and nervously chuckled. “What?”

      “Oh nothing. Just waiting for you to tell me what’s on your mind. Since I know you’re lying.”

     “Vince I promise I’m fi-”

     “Your heart rate has been increasing slowly since you blacked out.” Shit. She's only seen him pull that trick one time, and then totally forgot about it. He sat up and placed his hand on hers. "If something is wrong you can tell me."

     She was quiet for a minute. She kept looking from her feet to his eyes, and then sighed. She pushed a piece of her hair back, and sighed. She looked up at him, "So, you know that I don't really go on dates. Haven't even before I left for almost a year. And even before that, the dates I would go on would be kinda short cause of the guy I was with. I wouldn’t even tell him about myself, or really talk too much at all as a matter of fact. But now that I’m on date, with you, I wanna talk about something, but can’t Long story short, I feel like I’m failing at this date.”

     He couldn’t help but to laugh, “That’s it? You’re nervous? Alexa it’s alright that your nervous, but you really have nothing to worry about.” A ringing interrupted the conversation and he stood up. “I have to go check on that. If you can think of a topic of conversation that’s fine, and if you can’t that’s fine too. Be right back.” He smiled and ruffled her hair a bit before slithering into the kitchen. She placed her face in her hands and pushed back her hair. Why was she having such a hard time talking to him? Nothing was different. They were just on a date. Having a nice dinner. Gods why was she being so awkward. Her thoughts almost spiraled out of control, but a tap on her shoulder helped break her away. She looked over her shoulder and saw Vincent holding out his hand. She smiled and took it. He led her around the couch, and took her other hand. “Maybe I can help you relax.”

     She raised a brow, “How?”

     “Ever play 20 questions?”

     “No. But I’m guessing it’s where we ask each other questions till we get to 20?”

     “And we have to answer them. Nothing around it. I’ll try to make my questions expandable for actual conversations. Sound good?”

     She nodded, “Yeah. Sounds fun.” He smiled, twirled her, and pulled her close. “Alright. I’ll go first. What’s with you and apples?”

     “Pfft. Okay. I just really like them. I especially like granny smith, those yellow ones, and the honey crisp apples.” She chuckled. “But yeah I sometimes think I might have a problem.” He laughed.

     The ringing went off again and he let her go to get to the kitchen. “Okay I won’t judge you. I just see you eating them a lot. Your turn.”

     “Alright give me a sec.” While she thought about her own question, he came back with two bowls in his hands and another bottle of wine in his tail. He gave her a bowl and sat down next to her. He grabbed the first bottle with his tail and poured more wine into their glasses. She took a bite of her food and her eyes grew wide. She had to stop herself from scarfing the whole bowl into her stomach. “This. Is. Amazing.”

     He laughed, “Thank you. I’m glad you like it.” She watched him coil around his glass and bring it to his lips. That gave her an idea. “Well, my question is, what all can you do with your tail? It seems to come in handy, so can it help you pick locks or something?”

     He scoffed, “I can assure that it can’t do that. But it does come in handy for remedial things. Think of it as a third hand, but without the fingers.”

     “Okay. Your turn now.”

     He sat there in thought for a moment. He took bites of his food, and glanced over at her. “Well...”

~

     The two had finished dinner, and were finishing up their little game of questions. Alexa dug her fingers into her hair, “Alright your turn.” He looked around the room in thought. A lot of the questions he asked were a bit mundane, but it did let him know more about her. The same went for Alexa. It was good that they were playing the game since she wanted to know more than she already knew about him. Upon looking around, he noticed her hair. He’s seen it in mostly ponytails, and one time he saw it down while it was wet. Right now it was in a braid. He turned towards her, “Do you ever let your hair down? Just, let it loose for awhile?”

     She shook her head, “Not really. Tried changing it up with braids and stuff, but I am trying to break out of that habit. I mostly let it down on very special occasions, and when I’m going to bed. Now my question is will you ever cut yours?”

     “I get it trimmed. But, no. I will never actually cut my hair. Guess I have the last question.” She nodded. Her eyes were closed, and he wanted to take advantage of that. He slowly coiled around her, and brought her closer. When she opened them his eyes met hers, and he had a very toothy grin across his face. Her face turned pink, and her eyes grew wide. He leaned in a bit closer, “Would you like ssssome dessert~?” She was speechless at the moment. She didn’t know whether to say yes or no to that question. Especially because she knew what he was implying. Her heartbeat increased and her face became darker. “...yes.”

     “Great! Because I baked something that I think you’ll absolutely love.” He let her go, but she was still frozen in her position. She stayed that way even when left the couch. When he was behind her he knelt down and almost whispered, “I mean, what did you think I was talking about, Alexa~?” This caused her to break her paralysis and shove him. He laughed and headed for the kitchen. He came back with two more bowls and gave her one. “I hope you like it.” He smiled.

     She took a bite of it and she could feel herself slip into bliss. “Mmm. Apples~.”’

~

     After dessert and several minutes of conversation, Vincent led Alexa outside and helped her onto her horse. She looked at him and smiled. “Thanks for tonight Vince. It was really fun, and dinner was amazing.”

     “Your quite welcome. I enjoyed tonight as well, and I was hoping that you’d maybe like to do this again sometime?” He raised a brow.

     “I’d love to. If any day or time comes to mind, you know where to find me.” She winked.

     He chuckled, and planted a kiss on her hand. “Until then Alexa. Goodnight.”

     She giggled, “I’m excited for the moment already. G’night Vince.” She snapped the reigns on her horse and sped off to the castle.

[justanoutlawfic]

Coming Home: Chapt. 3

Summary: Emma is forced to stay in Storybrooke longer than expected and runs into some familiar faces...along with one she just can't recognize. 

Also on AO3/FF

Emma has only ever had three good father figures in her life. At least that she can remember. It’s more than a lot of foster kids might have had, she realizes, but in one way or another, they’ve let her down.

 There was the first dad she ever really had. The father that fostered her for three years. She can’t remember much about him except that he smiled a lot and they’d get bear claws every Saturday morning. At least towards the end of her stay with the Smiths, which was where she got her old last name. She changed it not long after she left the Nolans and found herself living on the street. An older boy told her a different way of looking at “The Ugly Duckling”. The duck became the swan, because she believed in herself. Emma supposed she could believe in herself too.

 There was Bill, when she was around 12 or 13, the years all start to blend together. He took her to a father/daughter dance at her middle school. He and Katie were going to take her on her very first vacation: a camping trip. Her foster brothers, their biological sons, were going to come along. Then Lily had to go and ruin all of that. The way Bill looked at her and said that she had put “his children” at risk. She realized he was never going to love her the same way he did Max and Zach. He hadn’t even fought for her when she ran away.

 The last was David. She had been with him less than the Smiths, but longer than Bill and Katie. For seven months, she had a home. David had promised her that he was going to be her forever father. After Jerry Smith, it was a promise she treasured. And then after David, it was a promise she never really believed again. She didn’t understand how he could go from playing with her, teaching her how to make cookies and checking for monsters in her closet…to just letting her slip away.

 Emma dealt with Henry at the beach. The kid was messed up, there was no doubt in her mind about that. He resented Regina and Emma felt for him, but she also knew that was his mom. They needed to work out whatever issues they had. Henry kept trying to insist his life sucked but Emma struggled with feeling for him. He had a mom that had called the police the minute he went missing. A mom that genuinely seemed to miss him. Regina and Henry were going through a rough patch, but they were going to be okay.

 It broke her heart to watch him forlornly walk into the house, but she knew just as she had 10 years ago, that it was for the best. Regina looked at her skeptically and Emma couldn’t blame her there. This was the second time her kid had run off in 24 hours and Emma had been the one to show up with him. She said her goodbyes and climbed into her bug, fully intending on heading out of Storybrooke and back to her life in Boston.

Until her bug stalled in the middle of Main Street. Which, like her former foster mother, hadn’t changed a bit.

 Billy, the mechanic, came fairly quick once Emma got the number from the waitress at the diner. His news, however, wasn’t as bright.

 “I’m a bit backed up,” he said. “I’m not going to be able to get to this for a while.”

Emma groaned. “You have got to be kidding me. I’m trying to get out of town. I’m not even from around here, what am I supposed to do now?”

Billy gestured behind him to the inn. “There’s a bed and breakfast? You could stay there.”

Emma shut her eyes, tipping her head backwards. She supposed she didn’t have much of a choice. “How backed up are you?” She asked.

“A week.”

“Of course. And you’re the only mechanic in town?”

“This is Storybrooke.”

“Right.”

 Emma turned around and headed towards the bed and breakfast. She hadn’t ever had a reason to stay there during her first go around in Storybrooke. She did happen to know the owners. If they remembered her, was going to be another question.

 Emma walked inside and up to the front desk. No one was around, at least not at first. Suddenly, she could hear arguing coming down the stairs. Yup, that was familiar. She remembered once asking Mary Margaret and David why Ruby fought so often with her grandmother, but they never had an answer.

 “I should have gotten out of this town when I had a chance!” Ruby yelled.

“I’m sorry my hip replacement ruined your travel plans,” Granny called back. She saw Emma and her entire demeanor changed. “A guest. My, we don’t get many of those.”

Emma arched an eyebrow. “You don’t?”

“No.” She scurried behind the desk. “It’s just you?”

“Yes. I’m looking to stay about a week.”

“Sounds perfect. Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally there’s an upgrade for the square, but I can waive it.”

Emma couldn’t help but smile as Granny frantically busied herself behind the desk, looking for her ledger and a pen. It was clear she didn’t recognize her yet. “The square is fine.”

“You look familiar,” Ruby piped up. “But I haven’t seen you in a while.” She looked a bit closer. “You’re not…you’re not the kid that Mary Margaret and David fostered way back when, are you?”

Emma cringed at the mention of Mary Margaret and David. “I am.”

“Wow. I can’t believe it’s you.” Ruby looked her up and down. “You’re…you’re so grown up!”

“Yeah that’s what happens when you get forced out of town.” Emma turned away from Ruby and back to Granny who had the book open once again.

“What was your last name again, sweetie?”

“It’s changed, actually. Swan. Emma Swan.”

An unfamiliar accented voice spoke up from behind them. “Emma.” She turned her head and found a shorter man with shoulder length brown hair, dressed in a fancy suit. A cane was clutched in his hand. For the life of her, Emma could not place his face. “What a lovely name.”

“Thanks,” she replied, not knowing what else to say. Emma was one of the most popular baby names out there, not like it was something more unique. Yet, the man just kept smiling at her. It was starting to creep her out.

Granny reached out past her holding a wad of cash. “It’s all here,” she said firmly, though Emma could tell her usual demeaner was cracking.

“Yes, of course it is, dear.” He accepted the money and placed it into his jacket pocket. Then, he turned to face Emma. “Enjoy your stay…Emma.”

 He slowly walked out of the inn, making sure to look at each and every one of them as he did. The door shut behind him with a ring of the bell above it. Emma finally got the nerve to speak to Ruby again.

 “Who was that?”

“Mr. Gold.” Ruby shuddered a little, watching behind the curtain as he walked away. “He owns this place.”

“You mean the inn?”

“No,” Granny looked deeply afraid. “The town.”

 Emma tilted her head and more memories began to flood back. She vaguely remembered a Mr. Gold working with her former foster parents towards the end of her stay in Storybrooke. He was an attorney, they told her and would be helping them adopt her. That obviously hadn’t happened.

 She shook it off, not wanting to keep thinking about the past. “Can I get the key to my room, please?” She asked. “It’s been a long day.”

******************************************************************************************

Emma woke up the following morning, slightly forgetting where she was. For a minute she expected to be back in her Boston apartment with the calligraphy painted front door. Instead, she had a lumpy mattress under back and a scratchy blanket over her body. She climbed out of bed and walked to the window, not caring that she was just in a white tank top and her underwear. On the streets below her, the town was aflutter with people heading to work and school. She cracked her neck, trying to get the pressure of the awful night from out of her.

 Before she could text her boss to let him know she’d be out of commission for the week, there was a knock at the door. Heading over, she opened it hesitantly to find Regina Mills on the other side holding a basket of apples. This town was too strange for her liking. Had it been that way when she was little?

 “Did you know that the honey crisp tree is one of the most vigorous apple trees?”

 Emma tilted her head. It was too early and she hadn’t had any coffee or cocoa to deal with this agricultural lesson.

 “It can survive temperatures as low as 40 below and keep growing,” Regina prattled on. She gave Emma a soft, yet firm smile. Emma suddenly realized she wasn’t here to give her gardening tips. No, this was a threat. “It can weather any storm. I’ve had one I’ve tended to since I was a little girl. And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers.” She plucked an apple off the top and offered it to Emma, who slowly took it.

“Thanks,” she said, giving Regina a weird look.

Regina extended the basket to her. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy them on your drive home.”

“Actually, I’m going to stay awhile.” Regina blinked several times in under two seconds. “My car broke down and you only have one mechanic. He said it’s going to take a week.”

“Oh.” Regina loosened only slightly. “With all due respect, Miss Swan, I do think it’d be best if you stayed away from Henry during this time.”

“With all due respect, Madam Mayor, your son’s the one that sought me out. I have no intentions of further complicating your lives. I just want my bug fixed so I can leave and get back to my life.”

 Regina didn’t look so convinced, but she nodded nonetheless.

 “I do have him in therapy, you know.” Emma raised an eyebrow. “Henry. The situation is under control. I know what’s best for my son.”

Emma hadn’t planned on questioning Regina’s authority, but she could tell the woman was clearly afraid she was. “You’re his mom,” is all she said in response.

“Yes. I am.”

 Regina walked away, taking the rest of her apples with her. Emma sighed and took a bite of the one she left behind. At least she got a free breakfast.

***************************************************************************************

Emma didn’t know what else to do with her morning, so after grabbing a cup of coffee from Granny’s she decided to take a walk.

 The town really was the same. None of the shops had been updated in the past 23 years. The people all looked the same for the most part too. It was like they all drank some version of spiked water or had great deals with plastic surgeons.

 Or Henry’s theory about them all being cursed by Regina is true.

 Emma rolled her eyes. There was something weird about the town, but magic wasn’t it. Fairytales, wishes on shooting stars, she stopped believing on all of that ages ago. Henry was still a kid, it was cute that he thought that his school teacher was Snow White. Maybe less cute that he viewed his mom as the Evil Queen but what pre-teen didn’t at times?

 As Emma rounded the corner to go off Main Street, she found herself walking to the house where she had spent most of her time in Storybrooke when she first lived there. The big blue house with the wraparound porch. There had once been a yellow and white bike, that David helped her learn to ride. Mary Margaret’s garden was long gone. Her old foster mom’s station wagon and David’s truck weren’t in the driveway, instead replaced by two Volvos. She had seen Mary Margaret’s car at the school, so was there a chance that they no longer lived there?

“I had a feeling I might find you here.”

 His voice was soothing, like warm water. She didn’t want to turn around and see his face. She tried to block out the memories, just as she had over the years. Yet, the most prominent one floated up. The two of them sitting in front of the TV, wearing matching jerseys and yelling at it at the top of their lungs. She had tried her best to learn everything about football and had probably failed. She mostly liked the snacks that David made before the games and the way she could curl up against his chest, most likely falling asleep. It had been the first way they could truly bond after she came to live with them.

 “What, you’re stalking me now?”

“We were afraid last night that you left, that we missed our chance. Then word got around town that you checked into the inn last night. We had some hope.”

“My car broke down, just waiting for it to be fixed.” She suddenly had a weird feeling. “Did you mess with it?”

“No, no. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t put you in danger. All of that, was just one big coincidence.”

 For some reason, Emma believed him. She slowly turned around, forcing herself to look at the man she had once called “Daddy”. Like everyone else in the stupid town, he looked exactly the same. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a bit of fuzz around the cheeks. It used to scratch her when he gave her a kiss, but she never complained. He even still dressed the same, just like Mary Margaret. David wore a blue flannel shirt and some jeans. His badge stuck out over the pocket of his pants, showing off that he still held the same career.

 David’s eyes glistened at the sight of her and she almost had to look away again. “Mary Margaret was right, you’re all grown up now. I don’t get how that’s possible.”

“It’s been 23 years.”

“I just…I didn’t think that much time had passed. In my mind, you’re still 5 years old and we’re going out for ice cream after school.”

Emma didn’t smile at the memory. “I told your wife what I’m going to tell you. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Mary Margaret and I aren’t together anymore.”

 That’s one thing that changed.

 She remembered looking through David and Mary Margaret’s photo albums, more specifically their wedding one. Mary Margaret always looked like a princess to her. She even wore a tiara. In those seven months she spent with them, David and Mary Margaret had probably been the healthiest relationship she had seen until Bill and Katie. They laughed together, they kissed and went on the occasional date night. The two were always saying “I love you”. To Emma at that age, it was like being fostered by a fairytale couple. The way they looked at each other as if they were the only two in the room. It made her feel safe somehow.

 Now it was like all of that was taken away, on top of their happy family.

 “Well that’s…too bad.” She wanted to ask why. She didn’t get how two people that in love didn’t work out, but she didn’t want to feel even more involved in their lives. “It still doesn’t change what I said.”

“Stay in Storybrooke, Emma.”

“I’m here for the week until my car gets fixed.”

“Stay longer than that.”

“Why do you even care?” Emma threw her hands in the air. “You two gave me away and then couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye or explain why to me.”

“It was a complicated situation. We wanted to but social services…”

“No, that’s bullshit. You two were just two more people in my life that let me down.”

David let out a disgruntled sigh. “If that were true, then why would we be here fighting for you Emma? Why would I be trying to get you to hear us out when you clearly hate us? For God’s sake, I was your father…”

“I don’t know! Maybe you have some weird guilt! Maybe you think it’ll get Mary Margaret to talk to you! What I do know is, you’re not my dad, David.” She fixed him with a look. “You made sure of that.”

“Emma, we lo….”

Emma stormed away, not letting him get another word out. She didn’t want to hear it.

 She didn’t want to hear that they loved her. Because what did it matter? They had just let her go in the end.

[thevoltrongames]

Rainy Days and Apple Picking

Discord: Keith#9970

Keith was always a fan of fall. The way the trees lit up in a blaze of red, orange, and yellow. The way the air crisped up, growing chilly. The way the sky grew darker sooner, allowing the stars to take the stage for longer. Everything about it made him so happy. Having Lance there with him, well, that was a plus.

Lance had this things about him where as soon as fall started, he went all out with doing the things Keith loved the most – pumpkin patches, scary movies, walking through leaves, even going all out for Halloween, even though he really didn’t like it that much.

Today, Lance had the idea of going apple picking at a nearby orchard. Keith wasn’t one to disagree with this, he loved apple picking, loved the way the fallen apples scented the air – an almost sickly sweet scent – that mixed with earthy smell of rotting leaves and overturned dirt. But he was a little weary of the weather. The forecast had called for rain, and by the look of the clouds, it didn’t seem like they’d be getting any sun.

“Lance, maybe we should reschedule. You see those clouds, it’s going to rain today, maybe even storm. If we get caught in that, we’ll get soaked,” Keith said as Lance busied himself with finding gloves and scarves for them. He was currently standing on a chair in the hall closet, rummaging through one of the storage bins they had on the top shelf.

“We are not rescheduling Keith. A little rain never hurt anyone. Besides, the forecast said it was a 20% chance of rain. Those clouds are just clouds to me. But today,” Lance said as he pulled a basket out of the bin, backtracking out of the closet, “is our day. We’re going.” He had a triumphant smile on his face as he pulled out two scarves, blue and red, as well as a few pairs of black gloves. Keith just shook his head as he moved past Lance to get into the closet.

“Then we’re bringing umbrellas, cause I refuse to get caught without one,” he said as he pulled out a rather colourful one and a maroon one. Lance laughed at him as he stole the colourful one from Keith, trying to open it. Keith lunged forward, taking it back, holding it close to him. “You know better than to open these in the apartment! It’s bad luck!”

“Bad luck, shmad luck, you know I’m not superstitious.” Lance tried to take it back, but Keith took a step back, his eyes deadly serious as he hid it behind his back. He sighed, throwing his hands up. “Fine, but that means they go in your bag.” Keith agreed to this, since it meant that Lance wasn’t going to open it.

A while later, both boys were ready to leave – Keith in black combat boots, matching black jeans, and a dark red sweater with a black lion face and a leaf crown on it, Lance in dark blue converse, skinny jeans, and dark blue sweater with “It ain’t no lie, I’m bi bi bi” on it in white lettering, as well as their scarves and gloves (though Lance still couldn’t get over the fact that Keith had cut the fingers off of his, completely ruining the purpose of them). Keith had his backpack with him, filled with the umbrellas, their wallets, a few water bottles, and their lunch (Lance had insisted that they have lunch there).

The drive there was spent with the two boys alternating their songs, always singing along. Keith tried to keep it to Tim Burton music to stick with the Fall/Halloween theme, but Lance was all over the place, one minute playing Beyoncé, the next playing Nicki Minaj. And yet, every song seem to fit with the last, so Keith couldn’t complain.

He couldn’t completely focus on the music though. The clouds seemed to be getting darker and darker as they drove. Keith kept checking his phone, making sure they would be okay while they were out, and it seemed like they would by what the forecast kept telling him. But the clouds didn’t seem to be following that.

When they got to the orchard, Keith was glad Lance had pulled out the scarves. The wind had picked up, to the point where Keith had to put his hair up to keep it from whipping him in the face. Lance took his hand, giving it a squeeze at the concerned look on Keith’s face, and he led the way to the trees. They picked up baskets as they passed the gate, and Keith temporarily forgot about the rain. The smell of apples and leaves and dirt filled his senses, and he stood there for a second, just breathing in the scent.

“Come on, Mr. Autumn. If we stand here for too long, all the good apples will be gone,” Lance said, tugging Keith’s hand. Keith chuckled, following him.

“We both know the best apples are towards the top of the tree, and that you’re one of the few people who can get them,” Keith said back, peering at the signs that went with the different types of apples. He pulled Lance down one row, towards the Honeycrisp apples.

“It’s only because everyone else is scared to climb up to the better apples,” Lance said, grabbing a stray apple off a branch and taking a bite, humming happily as sweetness exploded in his mouth. Keith laughed, stealing a bite of the apple.

“No, it’s because they have the common sense to stay on the ground,” Keith said around a mouth full of apple. Lance pouted a little at his comment, and Keith gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, the sweet smell of the apple lingering on his lips. “Come on, let’s get some apples, the clouds are getting darker.”

They spent the next half hour moving between rows of apples – Keith stayed more with the sweeter apples, like the Honeycrisps, Gale, and Red Delicious, while Lance had moved to the more tart apples, like the Granny Smiths, Braeburn, and Jonathans. Keith had finishing picking from the Red Delicious when he felt the first rain drop hit his cheek, followed by several more. He’d just barely gotten his umbrella out and open when it started raining, the wind picking up even more.

“Lance! Come on, we need to go!” Keith called, backtracking to where he’d last seen him. He found him huddled under a tree, the basket on his head in an attempt to keep him dry. Keith walked over to him, pulling out Lance’s umbrella and handing it to him while he did so. “I told you it was going to rain and you didn’t believe me.”

“Yeah yeah, I know sunshine. But that doesn’t matter, now does it? We still got apples before it started raining,” Lance said with a wide smile. Keith shook his head, taking Lance’s hand and pulling him back to the car. The wind chilled them where the rain had soaked them, and Keith sighed happily as the warm air of the car heater hit him. Against the sounds of Lance, he cranked the heat up, turning the car into a furnace. Lance may generate his own heat, but Keith certainly did not.

They drove slowly home, the rain streaking across the windshield. It was quiet, Lance focused on the road and watching for other drivers. Keith was alert too, wary of the wind and the way it made the tree branches sway. He was relieved when they made it home safely. Lance grabbed both baskets of apples, telling Keith to go ahead and run inside. Lance followed a few minutes later, drenched from the downpour.

Keith had grabbed a towel for him, as well as had turned the heat up, and Lance gave him a thankful kiss, running the towel in his hair. They both changed into something dry – Lance in his fuzzy pajama pants and a hoodie, and Keith in sweatpants and a long sleeve pajama shirt. They spent the rest of the night on the couch, huddled under a mountain of blankets, while the storm raged on outside. They watched a few Halloween movies at the request of Keith, and at one point Lance had gotten up to make apple cider for them.

Despite his originally reservations at them going out today, Keith had to admit that it was actually a nice day. He got to smell that orchard scent again, and they’d gotten quite a few apples. They’d use that one’s Lance got to make various apple dishes, and Keith would snack on the sweeter ones while they cooked. He’d also be the one to take care of a sick Lance, him having caught a cold from the rain. But he wouldn’t have changed how their day had gone for anything.

[bradenthompson]

Fun Apple Facts for 12:00 am

enjoying a honeycrisp hard cider and thinking about how swell it is to live in Washington State. Did you know people from Washington are called seasonally depressed? Anyway, apple facts!

Apples originate from Kazakhstan

In the 5th grade I did a history report on Johnny Appleseed, who was a real person! I forget everything about the man besides that

6 out of 10 apples consumed in the United States were grown in Washington. Go Mariners! Win the ball game! Please! Do marginally well for just one season, for the love of god!

There exists an apple-based confectionary created in Washington State, called Aplets & Cotlets. I don't like them!

5. There are over 7,500 varieties of apple. Capitalism dictates only thirty are worth a damn

6. The most popular apple variety is the Gala. It originates from New Zealand

7. The Fuji apple is basically a big watery candy bar. Among the sweetest apple varieties grown. It's color bothers me for some reason. It's like, not as red as you would like an apple to be. It's like what an apple would look like as a Brawl render

8. Jonagold apples freak me out. They're huge and vibrant and you take one bite and it explodes everyone. An apple designed by Studio Trigger

9. The famously tart green boy, Granny Smith, is named after its Australian cultivator. Would you not name an apple after yourself? No. You would sooner name yourself after an apple. Look me in the eyes and tell me you got a cooler name than Honeycrisp

10. The Red Delicious sucks ass. It's awful. It's legit one of the worst apples. If someone ever tells you they don't like apples it's because they ate one of these things. Like how someone says they don't like Star Trek because all they ever saw was, like, Into Darkness

11. Half of all deciduous fruit trees on Earth are apple trees

12. Apples are high in malic acid, which aids in preventing gallstones. I eat a lot of apples and I got a fuckload of gallstones. I had my gallbladder removed. This has severely impacted the amount of food I can eat in one sitting and am woefully underweight as a result. Thanks, apples. Really came in clutch for me, there

13. Apples are 25% air

14. It takes anywhere from four to ten years for an apple tree to reach maturity

15. Apple seeds are Heterozygotes. Meaning, planting all the seeds from one apple means planting like five different apples. If one wants a lot of one apple, better plants a lot of seeds

16. The Honeycrisp was created specifically because the Red Delicious sucks. That's how much the Red Delicious sucks.

17. Washington State University's cultivation program spent twenty years building the perfect apple, a hybrid between the Honeycrisp and the Enterprise. They dubbed this apple the Cosmic Crisp, named after both its Dad and its star-like speckling. They succeeded, by the way; pound for pound the Cosmic Crisp is the best apple, and I have eaten, like, all the apples

18. Almost all apples harvested are done so by hand. This is to prevent bruising. Because you're worth it <3

19. Stick your apples in the fridge. At room temperature, apples spoil at ten times the rate of refrigerated apples

20. A bushel of apples weighs 42 pounds!

21. There's a card game called Apples to Apples. In the intervening years since its inception someone thought the game would be funnier with swear words and perversion, so that also happened

22. hard apple cider is a top 5 alcoholic beverage

23. Saying a lot about society, Red Delicious is an aesthetically pleasing apple that is rancid and horrible on the inside. Just like that girl in high school who used to bully you. Did you hear she went into nursing? How could such a vile bitch go into healthcare?

24. I'm very tired

25. You need 2 pounds of apple to make one, nine-inch pie

26. Pomology is the study of apples

27. There is an apple Pokemon and it's very cute

28. Apple seeds contain amygdalin, which releases cyanide into the bloodstream

29. dude fuck Red Delicious

30. Wait, there's a Yellow Delicious? Something about the name bothers me

31. Y'know, I thought about it, and I have in fact had a Yellow Delicious before. Doesn't do much other than fill the quota of there being yellow apples.

32. I once ate an apple at an emotional low point and cried because it tasted really good

33. The largest apple ever picked weighed over three pounds

34. No one has ever actually bobbed for apples, I don't think. Pretty sure movies made that up.

35. Apples are members of the rose family

36. Apples share 103% of human DNA. They're more human than you are, even

37. The average person, I guess, eats 65 apples per year. So we got some crazy outliers

38. one gallon of apple cider contains the product of 36 apples

39. When you bite into an apple it sounds like krrrooooochasssskkkkhhhhhewwwwwsshhhh

40. I've had two of these hard ciders thus far, yummy

41. Perhaps I have been too hard on Red Delicious. I have done personal research and discovered they are perfect for pies, ciders, frying, and salads. I am sorry to the Red Delicious community and will continue to educate myself

42. Applesauce is a popular food item for Chanukah and pairs well with Latkes. Chag Sameach!

43. I am not Jewish

44. I committed to doing 50 facts against my better judgement, perhaps

45. Cider's good

46. When I wrote that earlier fact about Apples to Apples, I looked it up and realized what I was actually remembering was Hi-Ho Cherry-O, a counting game for babies that is not about apples as I had for some reason thought it was

47. Bruised apples are still good to eat. This is a metaphor

48. The forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, as scripture dictates, was an apple

49. Assassin's Creed had a macguffin called the Apple of Eden and afaik it did whatever the fuck any one game needed it to do I've been drinking

50. Apples are fat-free

[moonlight-at-dawn]

Husband, lighthearted: "You're like Goldilocks. 'This is too big, this is too small.'"

Me, laughing: "I have strong opinions about the sizes fruits should be and how they've been RUINED."

Him, lighthearted: "I know, and so does anyone who has ever been in ear shot of you seeing them."

Look.... Look. I have a small collection of hills I patrol and guard okay. And this is one. I hate the way fruits and veggies (and livestock!) are being bred to be overly large. They lose both flavor AND nutritional value. It does NO. GOOD. Especially since you pay by weight, so I'm paying MORE for bad/bland tasting produce with MAYBE the same total nutritional value as a smaller, more tasty version that i could've easily found 20 years ago. Maybe. It's probably less nutrition in more weight.

It sucks and I'm angry and I want my small, flavor packed fruit back! I want chicken meat without texture destroying stretch marks again! My greens should be VIBRANT not muted, my fruits should be VIBRANT not dull, my roots should be RICH not muted, food is BRIGHT and COLORFUL!!

I used to eat granny smiths off the tree, they don't need wax to be bright! I used to pick strawberries in the yard and had to beat the birds to them, picking them when about thumb sized and at a brilliant bright red, they're crisp and sour to bite into but sweet in the juice, and oh are they juicy! Those mushy maroon monsters with their dull, almost rotted tasting juice are all wrong! Bartlett pears should be a just-a-lil-yellowed rich bright green and firm to touch, not these whited out waterlogged lookin green and icky mushy mealy texture!

And in this same time period of my childhood, I could find these things in stores, just, the regular ol chain supermarket. It wasn't just cause we were growing them ourselves. I dunno when everything changed but I hate hate hate it!!

[clearsmilesorthodontics-blog]

Top 5 Foods for Patients with New Braces

There’s no doubt that braces can be painful especially after they’re first placed on your teeth. The first few days are the worst as your teeth and mouth adjust to having metal brackets and wires stuck to them. But within a week or so, the discomfort will subside and you’ll be able to have a regular diet again. You’ll experience a little more sensitivity each time your braces are tightened, but that’s just part of the journey to achieve a beautiful and healthy smile!

To guide you in the right direction, today we’ll be offering you our top 5 foods to eat during your adjustment phase with braces.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are a complicated one given that they're not crisp like carrots but they can cause pain if you’re not attentive. You obviously don’t want to be using your teeth to rip pizza crusts or bagels, but always remember that there's loads of braces-friendly selections also. Pasta, lasagna, soft bread, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, and couscous are all delightful foods that we love eating which are also soft enough for people with a new set of braces. I won't forget eating mashed potatoes for five days before my mouth could deal with something more weighty!

Fruits

Although you won’t be biting into a crunchy Granny Smith apple throughout your entire treatment, fruits are a terrific possibility for those with new braces. Soft fruits like kiwi fruit, nectarines, raspberries, bananas, and grapefruit that are chopped into small pieces offers a delectable and healthy option at any time of day. Even fairly hard fruits like pears can be chopped into small pieces and chewed with the back teeth after several weeks when the early pain has declined. You can even add some yoghurt to the mix and craft a fruit salad!

Meat & Dairy

You'll also need to be cautious with this classification given that foods like bacon, steak, and chicken can be harsh and cause a load of pain, however there's heaps of soft options as well. Foods like salmon, tuna, sliced lunch meat, cheese, eggs, and yoghurt are all loaded with goodness and soft enough for a delicate mouth. Cheese lovers will savour an excuse to eat as much cream cheese, mozzarella, and brie as they desire! You'll just need to forego the accompanying crackers.

Vegetables

You may be presuming that most vegetables are reasonably tough to eat but there's heaps of ways to eat vegetables creatively throughout the adjustment period with braces. If you're feeling a bit tired then give yourself a multi vitamin boost with a veggies and fruit smoothie. You can also use a vegetable peeler to make ultra-thin ribbons of carrots and cucumber, then sprinkle a little olive oil to make a simple salad. Obviously, softer vegetables can be steamed and eaten as normal like peas and pumpkin.

Ice Cream

Did anybody say ice cream? For lots of folks, the best component of getting braces is having an excuse to eat lots of ice cream! Take care though, try to stay away from ice cream with sticky caramel or chocolate chips as these can result in problems with your braces. Choose the plain flavours such as chocolate or strawberry, and sorbet is terrific for those with a sensitive mouth. Not only is it scrumptious, but the cold will also help alleviate any pain or soreness. Always brush your teeth afterwards though as ice cream has a high sugar content.

Always bear in mind that once your pain has subsided, you need to be careful not to break any brackets when eating. In fact, the biggest offender of broken braces isn't actually food, it's ice, so take care if you have a habit of eating ice after you finish a drink!

If you need any more information regarding suitable foods for those with a new set of braces, contact the friendly team at Clear Smiles Orthodontics by calling 07 5593 3733.

[easyfoodnetwork]

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are a heavenly combination of buttery shortbread, topped with decadent cheesecake, tantalizing apple filling, crunchy sweet streusel and drizzled with ooey caramel on top. Nothing says here comes fall quite like these!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are the perfect way to serve rich luscious cheesecake in the palm of your hand. I love serving these and others winners like Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars,  Nutella Swirl Cheesecake Bars, and Lemon Cheesecake Bars. They are always the first to go at a party or dinner.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Talk about a powerhouse dessert. This Caramel Apple Cheesecake bar has it all. Buttery melt in your mouth shortbread crust is just the beginning. Creamy smooth cream cheese layers on top for a delicious middle. Next spiced apple filling is spread on top and covered in a crumbly sweet streusel topping. After these cool the whole thing is drizzled with a caramel topping perfectly combining all the flavors into an explosion of home baked goodness in your mouth.

These are so extravagant yet so homey you can take and serve them anywhere. From your dinner table to the potluck to the work party, these are perfect. The balance of the tart apples goes perfectly with the tangy cream cheese filling. The crumb topping with caramel will make everyone want the recipe so be prepared with copies.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars Ingredients:

The list may look long, but it’s not complicated at all, it’s just simple sweet elegance.

Flour: All purpose or bread flour work for this recipe

Brown Sugar: Try dark brown sugar for more of a rich flavor

Butter: Be sure to soften the butter for easy mixing.

Cream Cheese: Low fat cream cheese will work here but I wouldn’t recommend non fat.

Eggs: Make sure to get Large eggs.

Vanilla: Helps sweeten the cream cheese.

Granny Smith Apples: The tartness of granny smiths pairs perfectly with the caramel.

Ground Cinnamon: Adds spice and warmth.

Ground Nutmeg: Makes everything taste like fall.

Caramel Topping: Use your favorite caramel topping or make your own.

Streusel Topping: 

Brown Sugar: Light or dark will work beautifully.

Flour: Needed to help make that crumb texture.

Quick Cooking Oats: Make sure they’re not rolled oats.

Butter: Don’t substitute shortening or margarine here. You want that clean smooth buttery taste in your crumb.

How to Make Apple Cheesecake Bars:

This a simple recipe, it just takes a little time but it’s easy to do.

Line: Line your 9 x 13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray to make removal of the bars easier. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine and Bake: Mix the flour and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl. Cut in the butter till mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of your pan and bake for 15 min till lightly brown.

Beat: In another bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed till smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs one at a time wand the vanilla. Mix well and pour over warm crust

Apple Filling: In a small bowl combine the apples, two Tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and spoon over the cream cheese layer.

Streusel: Combine brown sugar, flour, oats and butter till crumbly and sprinkle over the apple layer.

Bake: Bake for 30 min. until filling is set. After cooking drizzle with caramel topping.

  Hints for Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars:

This delicious caramel apple cheesecake dessert has all of the amazing flavors of fall combined into it. The best part is the caramel drizzled on top! Now drool. 🙂

Apples: Cut the apples up into pea sized pieces. This ensures they’ll cook and be easier to eat. If you don’t have Granny Smith apples you can use Jonathan, Jonagold, or even Fugi.The taste will be slightly more sweet however.

Streusel: Don’t melt the butter, keep it cold, but a little soft to ensure you get that nice crumbly texture. Use two knives or a fork to work the butter in if you don’t have a pastry cutter. Use a measuring cup or your hands to press evenly into the pan.

Cream Cheese: You can use either full fat or 1/3 less fat cream cheese, however the full fat will give you a slightly thicker batter. Try adding a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg to the cream cheese mixture to add a little bit more flavor.

Prepare: These do take time to prepare, bake, cook and then cool for an hour all before you refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.So before serving these amazing bars make sure you plan accordingly, It will be worth it. I promise.

  How to Store Cheesecake Bars:

Refrigerator: Cover bars tightly with foil or place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days

Freezer: Cheesecake has always frozen well and these are no exception. Before freezing do not but the caramel sauce on. It doesn’t freeze quite as well. Place  the bars in an airtight container, or freezer safe ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator over night or at least for 4-5 hours. When ready to serve drizzle with the caramel sauce.

More Tempting Caramel Apple Recipes:

There is nothing like biting into a crisp fall apple that has been dipped in caramel. Try these for more caramel apple deliciousness:

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Delicious Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Salted Caramel Apple Butter Bars

Dutch Caramel Apple Pie Bars

Print

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Delicious apple cheesecake streusel bars drizzled with caramel topping!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword caramel apple bars, carmmel apple cheesecake bars, cheesecake bars

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 12 Slices

Calories 528kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup butter softened

2 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup caramel topping

Streusel topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup butter softened

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. This makes removal of the bars easier.

In a medium sized bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of your 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large mixing bowl beat with a hand mixer the cream cheese, 1/2 sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust. In a small bowl combine apples, remaining 2 Tbs sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon evenly on top of the cheesecake layer.

Combine brown sugar, flour, cooking oats and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle streusel topping over the apple layer.

Bake for 30 minutes until filling is set. Allow to cool and drizzle with caramel topping.

Notes

Updated on September 9, 2020

Originally Posted on October 4, 2913

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 257mg | Potassium: 155mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 787IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/2Fgy2P1 https://ift.tt/3bH7Clr

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are a heavenly combination of buttery shortbread, topped with decadent cheesecake, tantalizing apple filling, crunchy sweet streusel and drizzled with ooey caramel on top. Nothing says here comes fall quite like these!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are the perfect way to serve rich luscious cheesecake in the palm of your hand. I love serving these and others winners like Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars,  Nutella Swirl Cheesecake Bars, and Lemon Cheesecake Bars. They are always the first to go at a party or dinner.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Talk about a powerhouse dessert. This Caramel Apple Cheesecake bar has it all. Buttery melt in your mouth shortbread crust is just the beginning. Creamy smooth cream cheese layers on top for a delicious middle. Next spiced apple filling is spread on top and covered in a crumbly sweet streusel topping. After these cool the whole thing is drizzled with a caramel topping perfectly combining all the flavors into an explosion of home baked goodness in your mouth.

These are so extravagant yet so homey you can take and serve them anywhere. From your dinner table to the potluck to the work party, these are perfect. The balance of the tart apples goes perfectly with the tangy cream cheese filling. The crumb topping with caramel will make everyone want the recipe so be prepared with copies.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars Ingredients:

The list may look long, but it’s not complicated at all, it’s just simple sweet elegance.

Flour: All purpose or bread flour work for this recipe

Brown Sugar: Try dark brown sugar for more of a rich flavor

Butter: Be sure to soften the butter for easy mixing.

Cream Cheese: Low fat cream cheese will work here but I wouldn’t recommend non fat.

Eggs: Make sure to get Large eggs.

Vanilla: Helps sweeten the cream cheese.

Granny Smith Apples: The tartness of granny smiths pairs perfectly with the caramel.

Ground Cinnamon: Adds spice and warmth.

Ground Nutmeg: Makes everything taste like fall.

Caramel Topping: Use your favorite caramel topping or make your own.

Streusel Topping: 

Brown Sugar: Light or dark will work beautifully.

Flour: Needed to help make that crumb texture.

Quick Cooking Oats: Make sure they’re not rolled oats.

Butter: Don’t substitute shortening or margarine here. You want that clean smooth buttery taste in your crumb.

How to Make Apple Cheesecake Bars:

This a simple recipe, it just takes a little time but it’s easy to do.

Line: Line your 9 x 13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray to make removal of the bars easier. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine and Bake: Mix the flour and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl. Cut in the butter till mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of your pan and bake for 15 min till lightly brown.

Beat: In another bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed till smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs one at a time wand the vanilla. Mix well and pour over warm crust

Apple Filling: In a small bowl combine the apples, two Tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and spoon over the cream cheese layer.

Streusel: Combine brown sugar, flour, oats and butter till crumbly and sprinkle over the apple layer.

Bake: Bake for 30 min. until filling is set. After cooking drizzle with caramel topping.

  Hints for Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars:

This delicious caramel apple cheesecake dessert has all of the amazing flavors of fall combined into it. The best part is the caramel drizzled on top! Now drool. 🙂

Apples: Cut the apples up into pea sized pieces. This ensures they’ll cook and be easier to eat. If you don’t have Granny Smith apples you can use Jonathan, Jonagold, or even Fugi.The taste will be slightly more sweet however.

Streusel: Don’t melt the butter, keep it cold, but a little soft to ensure you get that nice crumbly texture. Use two knives or a fork to work the butter in if you don’t have a pastry cutter. Use a measuring cup or your hands to press evenly into the pan.

Cream Cheese: You can use either full fat or 1/3 less fat cream cheese, however the full fat will give you a slightly thicker batter. Try adding a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg to the cream cheese mixture to add a little bit more flavor.

Prepare: These do take time to prepare, bake, cook and then cool for an hour all before you refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.So before serving these amazing bars make sure you plan accordingly, It will be worth it. I promise.

  How to Store Cheesecake Bars:

Refrigerator: Cover bars tightly with foil or place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days

Freezer: Cheesecake has always frozen well and these are no exception. Before freezing do not but the caramel sauce on. It doesn’t freeze quite as well. Place  the bars in an airtight container, or freezer safe ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator over night or at least for 4-5 hours. When ready to serve drizzle with the caramel sauce.

More Tempting Caramel Apple Recipes:

There is nothing like biting into a crisp fall apple that has been dipped in caramel. Try these for more caramel apple deliciousness:

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Delicious Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Salted Caramel Apple Butter Bars

Dutch Caramel Apple Pie Bars

Print

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Delicious apple cheesecake streusel bars drizzled with caramel topping!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword caramel apple bars, carmmel apple cheesecake bars, cheesecake bars

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 12 Slices

Calories 528kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup butter softened

2 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup caramel topping

Streusel topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup butter softened

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. This makes removal of the bars easier.

In a medium sized bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of your 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large mixing bowl beat with a hand mixer the cream cheese, 1/2 sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust. In a small bowl combine apples, remaining 2 Tbs sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon evenly on top of the cheesecake layer.

Combine brown sugar, flour, cooking oats and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle streusel topping over the apple layer.

Bake for 30 minutes until filling is set. Allow to cool and drizzle with caramel topping.

Notes

Updated on September 9, 2020

Originally Posted on October 4, 2913

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 257mg | Potassium: 155mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 787IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg

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