greens

more playing with leftover ingredients from 3 porch farm...

arrangement and photographs by rinne allen

tufts

photograph by rinne allen

apple stacks

this weekend we headed up to north georgia for a day of apple picking.  this has become an annual tradition for us that we look forward to every fall.  i have been seeing these recipes for apple pull apart bread and wanted to try my hand at one.  i followed this basic dough recipe and made some modifications to the filling.  my daughter enjoyed helping me out with this one.....and we got to practice some patience with the two risings.  this bread took us almost all day from start to finish but the apples and cinnamon made our house smell like fall- it was worth the wait!

making the dough (the dough recipe is from the blog half baked)

ingredients

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup lukewarm milk

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast   

directions

-whisk together the butter, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla extract.

-in the bowl mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast, then add the wet ingredients.

-using the dough hook attachment mix and knead, until the dough is smooth. the dough will be quite soft. if it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a 1/4 cup.

-place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

now for the rest of the recipe with my modifications 

ingredients for filling

4-5 fresh apples, cored and thinly sliced as shown in the picture

3 tbsp cup unsalted butter, browned

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tbsp cinnamon

a sprinkle of salt ingredients for glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp of milk or lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla and

a sprinkle of salt

directions for stacks

-on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a large square  about 24 inches by 24 inches.  add more flour if dough begins to stick

-with a pastry brush, brush the browned butter onto the dough

-do the same with the maple syrup

-sprinkle the cinnamon and salt evenly over the entire square

-using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into even squares or rectangles,  3 inch squares work great

-line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

-make the stacks by carefully putting a piece of dough then a slice of apple, and continue so you have DOUGH-APPLE-DOUG-HAPPLE-DOUGH-APPLE-DOUGH

-place in a warm place for an hour or until the dough rises for a second time

-pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

-after rising is complete bake for 20- 30 minutes or until brown

-meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar, milk or lemon juice, vanilla, and salt

-let the stacks cool for 15 minutes before drizzling the glaze over them

-enjoy these sweet fall treats!  

****note, if you want to make a pull apart bread verses the stacks follow the same instructions but stack vertically in a greased bread pan and increase baking time to 40-50 minutes

photos by kristen bach recipe by half baked blog and modified by kristen bach

scuppernongs

photograph by rinne allen

the alabama organic cotton project

We've written about our friends at Alabama Chanin here many times; They are continually doing great things. Recently, alongside their friend and frequent collaborator Billy Reid, they've seen the launch of their first line of garments grown from their very own organic cotton.

Over two years ago, members of the Alabama Chanin and Billy Reid teams planted seeds for a 6.9 acre organic cotton crop, and tended the field with the help of friends & family. In the fall of that year, they celebrated the harvest by hosting a picking party for the 150+ friends who came to help pick this first batch of organically grown cotton. The cotton was then delivered to a nearby gin, and then traversed the south to various mills where it eventually became yards & yards of cotton jersey fabric.

Rinne documented the harvest and the crop's journey to becoming clothing designed, made and sold by Alabama Chanin and Billy Reid. Her work, alongside more photographs and details about the harvest can be found in the first installment of her New York Times series on harvests across the South.

photograph by rinne allen

black eyed susan

photograph by rinne allen

abandoned gin

recently, on a drive to the south carolina coast, i passed this abandoned cotton gin...the roof had fallen in, but the machines were still standing tall.

words and photographs by rinne allen

church door

photograph by rinne allen

mcclellanville, SC

i spent time north of charleston recently and loved discovering the hidden town of mcclellanville. (kristen was actually there too just a few months ago.) i could not believe all of the architectural gems tucked away behind the spanish moss and along the marsh...enjoy!

words and photographs by rinne allen

green grass

photograph by rinne allen

rain tree + persimmons

photographs by rinne allen

sprigs of thyme

photo by kristen bach

slow roasted pizza sauce

this weekend marks the end of the season for us at our house.  we pulled out our summer tomatoes, peppers, and basil and replaced them with our fall crops.  we harvested the last of the end of summer, blemished tomatoes and tired basil and slowly roasted a delicious pizza sauce. 

ingredients

8 tomatoes

1 medium sized yellow onion

10 sprigs of thyme

5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup loosly packed fresh basil

salt to taste 

directions

-pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

-finely chop your onion into small pieces and saute for 20 minutes on low heat with half of the olive oil

-meanwhile, core tomatoes and cut them into large, rustic pieces

-in a roasting pan, combine the sauteed onions, tomatoes, thyme (including sprigs), and salt

-toss with the remaining olive oil

-roast uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, checking every 30 minutes or so

-remove sprigs of thyme and add the basil

-return to oven for 1/2 hour

-cool before adding to pizza dough

photos and recipe by kristen bach