happy halloween!

– ryan, gub & clementine

we were recently in ellijay, ga for fall festivities and stopped by r&a orchards for some country apple dumplings. they were amazing to say the least! you can find their recipe below if you want to try it at home.

– ryan & gub

r&a orchards

5505 highway 52 east
ellijay, ga 30536
706-273-3821

country apple dumplings recipe:

ingredients:
2 large granny smith apples (peeled and cored)
2 x 10 oz cans crescent roll dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 12 oz can mountain dew

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 and grease 9″ x 13″ baking dish
– cut apples into 8 wedges each
– separate crescent roll dough, and roll each apple wedge up in the dough
– pinch the edges to seal and place in dish
– melt butter in a saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon
– pour mixture over apple dumplings and then pour mountain dew on top
– bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown

i ended up going to the decatur craft beer festival this year with my buddy willy! there were lots of great beer for the tasting, although it’s always a gamble drinking that much between noon and 5pm on a saturday. i know it’s boring, but my highlights were sierra nevada’s northern hemisphere harvest and estate homegrown ale on tap!

– ryan

i recently spent a nice fall afternoon brewing a couple batches of beer with some friends! it had been awhile since i’ve brewed, so i was excited to get back into the swing of things.

we made a bell’s two hearted clone and a pumpkin amber, although we had to substitute some ingredients on the two hearted. the ipa ended up being 9.6% (wohoo!) and the pumpkin amber a respectable 5.2%!

here is the bottle rocket brewing website if you want to check out previous beers i’ve been a part of.

– ryan

brewing recipes:

pumpkin amber ingredients:
5-8 large okra sliced

egg wash:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1 lb caramel/crystal malt (10l)
6.6 lbs amber sparkling lme
2 oz willamette pellet hops
1/2 oz fuggles hops (dry hop)
wyeast 1098 british ale
2 tbsp pumpkin spice (2 tsp dry hop)

two hearted clone ingredients:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1/2 lb munich
1/2 lb carapils
6.6 lbs golden light lme
2.3 lbs pilsen light lme
4 oz amarillo hops (centinnial was the hop we wanted)
1 oz cascade hops (dry hop)
white labs high gravity yeast

i’m really digging the new m83 double album hurry up, we’re dreaming! don’t miss their upcoming show at the the masquerade on halloween.

– ryan

check out this cool frog! i found it blending-in on on top of some concrete. i love how the frog looks like it has a tattoo of itself on its back. that’s one hip frog!

– ryan

clementine is finally big enough to enjoy her bumbo. she looks so cute sitting up!

– ryan & gub

east lake farmers market offers a cooperative csa program you can join to help support your local farmers. they also sell extra csa shares at their saturday market for only $15, which is a super deal! we picked up an extra share last weekend that had basil, rosemary, greens, kale, egg plant, bell peppers, various hot peppers, radishes and more. it was a great assortment for the money!

we also bought some fresh local eggs at the market. it’s interesting how different the sizes and colors of local eggs are from the ones you get at a grocery store. ours were shades of green and brown, a little smaller and had more texture then you are used to.

we’ve had lots of fun coming up with meals incorporating our fresh, tasty ingredients!

– ryan & gub

east lake farmers market

2nd avenue and hosea williams drive
atlanta, ga 30317

saturdays
9am – 1pm
may – october

a co-worker brought in a box of sublime doughnuts this morning! how exciting!

– ryan

sublime doughnuts

535 10th st nw
atlanta, ga 30318
404-897-1801

we had a very nice red tomato from our garden! i’m glad the weather and squirrels are finally cooperating with us.

– ryan & gub