For Stepherz......the best apple pie recipe I know...

This one is for you kiddo....

Apple Pie

5 - 6 mixed apples (4 Granny Smith, 1 to 2 McIntosh) , peeled, cored and sliced
2 9-inch pie crust pastries
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and water and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with the apples, mounded slightly. Cover with the second pie crust pastry, cutting small slits to allow for the pie to vent. Gently and slowly, pour the sugar and butter mixture over the crust, making sure that none of the mixture runs off.
Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

Footnotes - Instead of cutting slits, try using a small apple-shaped cookie cutter to cut the top pie crust. Also, decrease the water by 1 tablespoon and replace it with 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Before adding the top pie crust, pour some of the sugar and butter mixture onto the apples, then pour the rest over the top of the pie.

9/11...........Ten years later...........

I'm not even going to intro this....you just have to read the article. Not many things make me cry...but this is an amazing article about a really amazing guy. Ronnie....my hat is off to you.....

http://fortlee.patch.com/articles/911-stories-helping-fdny-get-back-up.html

Sometimes you just have to stop and splash in the puddles....

We had stopped at my friend Jenn's house to drop off some extra sandbags to her. Her son Vinny came outside, wearing her flip flops, all curious about why we were there. After asking us about 100 questions, Vinny wanted to jump in the puddles of water that had collected in the driveway from the rain. So..off the flip flops went and we stood there barefoot, splashing each other with the water. We then raced up and down the driveway, smashing every puddle that was in our path until the bottoms of our pants were soaked.
The older we get, the more worries we have, the more responsibilities we take on, the more serious we get, it's easy to forget to just let go and be a kid, even if its just for a minute....and in the middle of a hurricane. Thank you Vinny.....

XOXO

What Hurricane Irene has showed me.....

It has been a mentally exhausting few days. The flood waters from the hurricane left our garage and shed in ruins but little by little, we are getting back on track. Among the causalities were about 40 cookbooks which I am still trying to salvage. I know it could have been worse. We luckily didn't get any water in the house which I am so thankful for but what we did lose still hurts.
I know I have said this a bunch of times but this week it couldn't be more true. I grew up in Queens. Little Ferry is the closest thing to a small town I have ever lived in. It was truly amazing to watch people come together to help each other out. And I am not just talking about friends...I mean strangers willing to lend a hand and volunteer in any way they could. I am still amazed by the kindness and love that the people who live in my town have shown in the past few days. Not only my friends but people who are usually just a "hello" in passing. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that even when you are at your lowest....there are still good people out there willing to lend a hand.
My CERT team and Ladies Auxiliary worked straight thorough the night, well into Monday making sure everyone ate, slept, got what they needed. It was such an act of selflessness.
We were cleaning out the garage on Monday morning...and walking up the driveway was Walter offering his help. Scott called his cousin to bring us his pump to pump the extra water out of our crawl space. My friend Tara, even after volunteering at a shelter with CERT for 3 days straight with 3 hours sleep, walked into my yard and helped us all afternoon. Lita...Bill Holley...Mike, Joan, Peewee, Ronnie, Brian.....even in a disaster with their own homes to clean up....my FD family and my LF friends were there for us.
It is in moments like these, where I am most proud to call Little Ferry my home.