A few weeks ago, I got a coupon from Earth Fare for a FREE 3 lb. bag of (my favorite) honey crisp apples.  Obviously I wasn’t going to miss out on such an awesome deal, but I had just bought a 5 lb. bag of honey crisps at Trader Joe’s the day before.  Rather than miss out on 3 lbs. of free apples, I got them anyways and figured I’d find some way to use them.

Fast forward about three weeks, and there are still apples left.  Apples that I might add, are starting to look a wee bit past their prime.  What to with apples that are on their way out?  APPLESAUCE!

So tonight, I made a quick and easy dinner, centered around delicious homemade applesauce.  I started by quartering all the apples, and dicing them into large cubes.

Next they went into my rice cooker (aka the wonder machine) pot, and I added a splash of light apple juice so that they would have some cooking liquid.

Added a touch of cinnamon, and gave it a good stir…

And popped it into the Zojirushi!  Have I not written a post about this bad boy yet?  It is the appliance that has single-handedly transformed my meals, and oatmeal.  Post to come – soon – I promise.  Set it to regular cooking, and hit GO!

Abut 40 minutes later I had this…

And that is not bad picture quality – that is piping hot STEAM!  Soooo delicious and gooey – I left the skins on to give it some texture (and fiber!), and tried to not over-stir to leave the applesauce a bit chunky. 

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, piping hot homemade honey crisp applesauce, served with simple maple roasted carrots, and my favorite baked tofu.  (And a tiny bit of leftover lentils from last night.)

All together, made a super fast, completely easy, and totally satisfying dinner out of kitchen leftovers (lentils and apples) and pantry staples (carrots and tofu).

YUM!

I’ve never been a big fan of waiting.  I also hate surprises.  I think the two go hand in hand.  Once I know something is up, I have to know what it is immediately – patience is not my strong suit.

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been complaining about my old camera for some time now, so I practically jumped around the room when Casey told me that his parents wanted to get me a new one for Christmas.  Even better, they were going to get it for me in Indianapolis and not make me wait until Christmas – hurrah!  I spent days and days on end reading Consumer Reports, photo blogs, customer reviews, etc. – trying to find the perfect camera for me.

First I debated camera style – SLR or point and shoot?  To be honest, I really want both, but ultimately I decided that I really good point and shoot would be best for now, until I learn more about the SLR’s and how to use them.  My plan is to save up for one throughout the year, and think about it again down the road.  One decision down, many to go.  Decisions are also not a strong suit…

In researching point & shoots, I found two that I liked, the Canon Powershot G11 and the Canon Powershot SX120 – different levels of features, and different levels in price.  After showing them both to Tina, she suggested I go with the higher level camera, and we’d call it a Christmas/Birthday present – SOLD! 

Blog world, I present to you, the Canon Powershot G11, arguably the most advanced point & shoot camera in the market today…

I took these pictures in the mirror, since I couldn’t bear to go back to the Casio once I started with the G11 – so pardon the backwards camera and mirror reflection!  It has a million features I won’t list and bore you with, but one of my favorites is that it has manual controls as well as automatic settings.

As soon as I got it, Casey and I went to Starbucks where I ran around taking pictures of everything in sight…

When we got home, I chased Bugs and Ruthie around the house with my new camera.  They were very patient (and photogenic!) models…

This camera gets so much more detail than I’ve ever been able to capture before.  I can’t wait to get home and get cooking so I can post some great FOOD photos!

I couldn’t believe I was even able to focus in on Casey’s ring inscription – so cool!

It take super wide screen shots too…

As I’m sure you can tell, I am sooooo excited for this wonderful early gift, and even more excited that I don’t have to wait for it!  Thank you thank you Tina and Eddie! 

Welcome G11, I’ve been waiting for you…