This last week I flew down to visit my sister, her husband, their room mate, and my 3 week old nephew. I was too sick to actually hold him and help with the gross baby duties (haha, I said duties… doodies), so I instead decided to help by cooking up some delish foods. Lemon-sugar.com facebook updates inspired me to whip up some apple pie and cheesy garlic biscuits.

Yield: Approx 12 Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
4 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 Tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons dried oregano

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat mat, and set aside.

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter until the butter forms small, pea-size clumps. Add cheddar cheese, and milk. Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix. Use a large spoon to drop scoops of dough onto baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to barely turn brown.

3. While they’re baking, combine melted butter, dried oregano and garlic salt in a small bowl. After the 8-10 minutes is up, remove from the oven and brush generously with the butter mixture. Return to the oven for 2-3 more minutes.

Ingredients:
6 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (Use a good pie apple, whichever you prefer.)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 stick butter
1/8 to 1/4 cup cornstarch
Pre-made granola crust
*Apple juice may be required
*Extra sugar and cinnamon for decoration if desired

1. In a large bowl, combine peeled/sliced apples with lemon juice, 1 and 1/4 cups sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Let the fruit macerate for 2-3 hours, or up to 5 hours.

2. Prepare the pie crust, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drain the juice from the apples and set juice aside. Pour apples into crust. You should have 1-2 cups of “juice” from the apples. *If you don’t have that much, supplement with apple juice.

3. In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low-medium heat, combine juice from apples, butter, salt and 1/4 cup of cornstarch. Whisk constantly until mixture begins to thicken. If it doesn’t thicken, add a little more cornstarch, a teaspoon at a time until it does, keeping in mind that once it’s boiling, it’s the thickest it’s going to get. (Don’t over do it or the mixture will get TOO thick and will be a ruined glob.) Pour the thickened mixture over the apples in the pie crust, and stir/mix lightly into apples. Sprinkle the top of the mixture with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar. Use foil or a pie-crust shield to prevent over-browning if necessary.

4. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let pie cool to room temperature (or slightly above) before serving with whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
18 oz. kumquats
sugar to taste

1. wash kumquats with cold water to remove dirt.

2. poke holes around each kumquat while 4 cups of water comes to a boil.

3. add kumquats to boiling water and let simmer for 15 min. Stir periodically and ensure that the water level remains above the kumquats so they do not stick to the bottom of the pot.

4. Add sugar and water to the hot mixture to taste.

5. Chill and serve over ice.

I broke my lease four months later, found a 150 sq ft studio apartment across the street from work, and shoved all my stuff under my bed and in corners. I had stuff everywhere; Stuff was stacked on top of and under other stuff. I found myself crawling over furniture and unlabeled boxes, and shoving things in cabinets and closing them quickly before the entirety of it all collapsed on me. My possessions were depriving of a comfortable home. I knew I needed to downsize my possessions but was too overwhelmed with the entirety of the project to begin.

The first step was to commit to the idea of downsizing. I had to seriously analyze what I owned and force a purge of items and textiles that haven’t been used in the last year instead of buying more furniture solutions to fit my possessions efficiently. Items in perfect condition were listed on eBay, traded on Amazon.com through their Trade-in program, donated to City Opera House, Housing Works, NYPL, or thrown away; stained or damaged textiles were reused in my puppy’s crate and became chew toys; paperwork was shredded and discarded. Eventually I was able to get rid of furniture and regain some floor space.

Three and a half years later I still struggle with letting go of my “big space” mentality, but I have gained my own sanctuary. I love leaving work and looking forward to spending time in my very very small home.