Dogs of the Tractor Parade

There were a lot of dogs at the Charlotte Tractor Parade on Sunday; most didn't seem to mind the crowds or noise. Whether they like watching tractor parades or just didn't want to stay behind at home was unclear.

9th Annual Tractor Parade Scores Another Beautiful Day

The Tractor Parade rolled down Spear Street this afternoon for the 9th consecutive year - were you there?. Huge crowds, including scads of adorable children, music, pumpkins, apple pie and of course, tons of tractors. Congratulations to Carrie and all her helpers for another wonderful East Charlotte event. More pictures tomorrow.

What are you doing with your apples?

First we picked them (at the nearly-in-Charlotte Shelburne Orchards) and shared a couple pieces of Nick Cowles' gigantic apple pie. Then we hauled our bags home and contemplated what we were going to do with them all.

So far, I've made apple crisp and apple butter. Here's the recipe for the apple butter, which is much easier than pie:

Peel and slice apples to fill the crock pot (13-15) (I used a combination of macs and cortlands).

Cook on low overnight (8 to 15 hours - it's an easy going recipe).

In the morning, mash and stir. Add 2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground cloves, up to 2 cups of sugar or other sweetener depending on how you like it - I added 3/4 cup agave syrup; stir again.

Then cook on low for another six hours covered and a couple more uncovered until it's as thick as you want it.

I froze it in 3 one-pint containers, which left about a cup to spread on our toast and waffles this week.

Now what to do with the other half-bushel?

Blogging Class

Here are a few new bloggers at the 21st Century Toys class at the Senior Center this morning. The students registered with blogger and set up diverse and interesting new blogs.

Kay Teetor now has a food blog called Salt and Pepper - click to see her review of a recent dinner at Starry Night. Martha Barton-Rivera's blog (Swimming in Lake Champlain) is all about Thompson's Point and you can check to get the latest news all year round.

The Charlotte Brew

We caught Edd Merritt at home last week brewing up a batch of Irish stout. Edd makes his own beer from time to time, although hasn't tried this particular recipe before. From top to bottom, here is how it's done: (1) the grains are pulled out of the wort after simmering for an hour or so, (2) malt is poured into the pot for another round of simmering, (3) stirring the yeast into the wort, (4) cooling the mix as quickly as possible (no snow banks handy!). Our beer is then poured into a fermentor, where it sits for two weeks, and then goes into a carboy, or secondary fermentor for two more weeks before it's bottled. We need a name for this batch - Eastside Stout? Charlotte Dark?

Field Trip!

The perfect weather continues for a few more days. If you'll be in Burlington enjoying the Church Street madness, be sure to stop in at the Firehouse Gallery (149 Church Street) to see Charlotte-raised glass artist Ethan Bond-Watts' new piece that's part of a big exhibit called The Energy Project, which "explores the future of Vermont's landscape as it grapples with the aesthetic challenges of a carbon-constrained world," according to the brochure. Ethan's piece is a show-stopper and hangs right inside the front door of the gallery; there are nine more interesting and thoughtful new commissions to see while you're there.

Harvest Time

Eli and his friend Sylvia picked squash at Stony Loam Farm off the Charlotte/Hinesburg Road last week. Eli doesn't look like he's tired of zucchini yet.

Thanks to Edd Merritt for the pic.