Steppin' Out

When J. Kenji López-Alt was ten he had his whole life planned: married at 24, Dad at 26, PhD by 29. At 30 he would discover the cure for cancer and win the Nobel Prize. Then he’d serve as Legoland president until retiring at 87. His career stayed on track until M.I.T., where he learned to HATE biology labs. He decided to take the most non-academic summer job he could find: chef at a Mongolian grill. Today Kenji is Managing Culinary Director of Serious Eats and author of the James Beard Award-nominated column The Food Lab. He’s also the author of the book The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science. His book is a grand tour of the science of cooking classic American dishes like mac n’ cheese and roast turkey. He details how to achieve the perfectly seared steak; medium-rare without charring. He may be on to the cure for cancer after all.

Ladies' Wreath

When Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in 1865 it featured 42 wood engraved illustrations by Sir John Tenniel. Among them were depictions of the Mad Hatter in a checkered waistcoat and trousers, a high collar and a polka-dot bow tie. On his head is an enormous hat with a sign attached reading, “In this Style 10/6.” Presumably this is a price tag showing the cost in pre-decimal British money as ten shillings and six pence. In 1986 a group of computer technicians in Boulder, Colorado set aside the sixth of October (10/6) as National Mad Hatter Day. You might celebrate by wearing an outlandish hat today. I wish I could spend the day riding the spinning teacups in the Mad Tea Party at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom. But as I’m 600 miles from one and 2300 miles from the other, I’ll probably just have a cup of chamomile. And a biscuit.

Bountiful

Apple Crumble

10 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place apples in a buttered 9x13 inch pan. Mix sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Sprinkle water evenly over all. In a bowl, combine oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture. Bake about 45 minutes. Serve warm with cream, ice cream or whipped cream. Makes enough for a dozen lucky people.

Double Dutch Stars

I used to laugh at the title of Eleanor Burns’ television and book series, Quilt-in-a-Day. Even before I made my first quilt I knew: they don’t take hours or days, they take months or years. Well, I actually made this top in a day. I started stitching after washing up Tuesday’s lunch dishes. Three hours later when my piano students started showing up, I’d pieced everything but the border. After piano lessons we had pasta dinner and headed to the cinema (because Tuesdays the movies are all $5). Wednesday morning I left the breakfast dishes in the sink and went back to it. I wanted a fancier border than the kit provided, so I spent an hour scrounging through my stash for a print that would suit. I finished the top before 9:00 a.m. I still have to build a fabric “sandwich,” quilt and bind it, so maybe a quilt in two days.

Five Inch Basket Block

"I would like to issue a challenge for all of us as women of the Church to be defenders of The Family: A Proclamation to the World. We need to boldly defend the Lord’s revealed doctrines describing marriage, families, the divine roles of men and women, and the importance of homes as sacred places—even when the world is shouting in our ears that these principles are outdated, limiting, or no longer relevant. Everyone, no matter what their marital circumstance or number of children, can be defenders of the Lord’s plan described in the family proclamation. If it is the Lord’s plan, it should also be our plan!" - Bonnie L. Oscarson

Jack's Delight

Slow Cooker Marinara

7 cups Roma tomatoes (Run them through your blender or food processor.)

1/4 cup fresh packed basil, chopped

10 garlic cloves, minced

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons Italian seasonings

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place blended tomatoes, basil, onions, garlic, and oil in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 8 hours. In the last hour of cooking, stir in remaining ingredients. Cook with the lid partially off to thicken the sauce. Continue cooking sauce as needed with the lid slightly ajar until desired consistency is reached. If you’re in a hurry, this last step can be done in a pot on the stove. May be served as soon as it’s thickened, or cooled and refrigerated up to five days or frozen up to a year.