Hallo! We meet again! It's been a while, huh? Well I had a wildly busy spring and summer, but don't worry-- I never forgot you! What was I doing all that time you ask? Helping my best friend plan a wedding, working at the farmer's market, making art, crafting and cuddling, moving to a new apartment... Yeah, I'd call that a busy year.

But things are winding down now, and as summer fades into fall it has me in a decidedly domestic mood. As soon as it starts to get chilly out, my mind is on crocheting, baking, apple picking, and cuddly movie nights. I've had a recipe idea kicking around in the back of my mind for a few weeks now, and it is easy, decadent, and completely delicious. Apple Cinnamon Goo's*! It's apple-y, it's cinnamon-y, it's gooey, and chewy, and sweet! Prepared cinnamon roll dough and apple pie filling combine to make a sweet turnover, and during baking the steam separates the cinnamon roll layers, giving them the appearance of a beautiful seashell. Let's start baking!

*Cinnamon Goo's are the name my wonderful boyfriend bestowed on cinnamon rolls, his favorite food, as a toddler. The name was so funny it stuck, and soon his whole family picked it up. Now it feels so natural for us to refer to cinnamon rolls as goo's, we forget they were ever called anything else!

Apple Cinnamon Goo's
Makes: 5 servings
Prep time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (about 30 active)

What You Need:
- One package prepared cinnamon roll dough (large size, the kind that come 5 rolls in a tube)
- 2-3 Granny Smith apples, diced
- lemon juice, 1 lemon yields
- 2 Tbsp sugar (light brown or raw sugar will give you richer caramel flavor)
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 Tsp corn starch
- pinch of salt
- AP flour (to dust your rolling pin and work surface)

What to Do:
Preheat your oven to 350F. Open your cinnamon roll dough and separate the rolls. Let these sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes. They will begin to soften and expand, which will make them easier to work with.

 In a medium sized bowl, mix together apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch, and salt. Make sure the apples are evenly coated, then cover with plastic wrap. Let this sit for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can combine and the sugar and salt can pull a little juice out of the apples.

Now that your cinnamon roll dough has warmed up a little, it's time to roll them out. Thoroughly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Do not skip this step!! If you don't use enough flour, you will simply end up with a sticky, buttery, cinnamon mess. Flour is cheap, don't be stingy! Start by flouring the top and bottom of the dough round, and gently begin to flatten it with the palm of your hand. Using your rolling pin, gently roll the dough into a flat round by rolling the pin away from you. After each pass of the rolling pin, flip the dough over and turn 1/4 clockwise. This will help you to make a smother, rounder shape. Once the dough is about 1/4-3/8 of an inch thick, set aside. Make 5 rounds this way.

Line a baking sheet with foil and have it standing by for the finished goo's. Spoon 1-1 1/2 Tbsp of apple filling into the center of the dough round, and gently fold the dough in half, enveloping the filling completely. The layers will want to separate at the cinnamon seams, but allowing the dough to warm up helps them to be a little more flexible. Keeping the bottom solid is more important, so if one side splits just place it on your baking tray split-side-up, and cup the top together. During baking the steam will separate the top seams anyway, but by keeping these as tight as possible before baking will give them a nicer shape when they open up in the oven. Do not overfill the dough or it will open up flat and look more like a messed up dessert pizza than a beautiful shell. Save any extra filling for later.

Place your filled goo's on the baking sheet with at least an inch between each or they will not be crunchy on the outside. Bake on the middle rack for 15-18 minutes, or until they reach a golden brown color on all sides. Let the goo's cool to room temperature, then drizzle the cinnamon roll icing over the top.

Hey, remember that leftover filling? Here's a sweet secret: place leftover filling in a microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Leave the filling covered with the wrap and in the microwave until you're ready to serve your goo's and-- well would you look at that? Warm apple chutney. No extra work. Everybody wins!

As you can see in the picture, I served these not just with the apple chutney, but with some vanilla bean gelato, as well. And I'm not ashamed, it was delicious! Know what was even better? Warming up leftover goo's (15 sec in the microwave on high) for breakfast the next day. Scandalous!

After 10 long laptop-less weeks, I am relaxed and reinvigorated. A little time AFK has given me time to read and think and I am super stoked to share my new passion for "me-time" activities like hand quilting and hula hooping!

This past New Year's Eve, my bestie got engaged and I could not be more excited for her! Even better, she asked me to be her maid of honor. She wasted no time in setting a date, and before you know it the big day is now six months away. I've been doing my best to help out with planning (even if 'helping' means letting her vent over cocktails) and things are going well, but there is one undeniable fact looming on the horizon. In six months, whether I am ready or not, I will be responsible for making myself as presentable as possible for more photos than I would care to think about. This sudden need to try on formalwear has gotten both of us on a serious health kick.

For me breakfast is the hardest meal of the day. My ideal breakfast? A triple venti caramel macchiato with whole milk, and maybe a toasted buttered croissant or two if I'm feeling peckish. This is not a skinny girl breakfast by any means. So to make mornings a little easier on my hips I've turned to oatmeal. No! Wait! Don't turn away just yet!! I know, oatmeal is a huge Internet foodie fad. And if you're an oatmeal amateur like I was, chances are good that the only oatmeal you've had comes out of an envelope and gets no more love than a quick zap in the microwave. But oatmeal lovers have been right all along! Oatmeal is a food that demands your attention, and the more love you give, the more your efforts will be rewarded. In my experience, the longer it takes to prepare your oatmeal, the better it is. Stay away from quick-cook or instant versions. Those tend to have that slimy, gluey consistency and taste like cardboard and paste. I like old fashioned steel cut oats, sometimes called Irish oatmeal. It keeps a nice al dente texture, and tastes warm and nutty, providing a base for flavor that makes me think more of a rich breakfast risotto than health food.

In honor of my new love of oatmeal, here are two easy recipes that take less than ten minutes to prep and cook, and will convert you to an oatmeal devotee like me!

Banana Bread Oatmeal
You will need:
1 banana 6"-7"
1/4 c. Steel cut oats
3/4 c. Water
1/8 c. Chopped, toasted walnuts
2 tsp Sugar in the Raw
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Salt and nutmeg to taste

Boil the water in a small pot. Stir in oats and salt, turn temperature to low. Slice 3/4 of the banana into the pot and stir slowly. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir slowly until the mixture reaches the consistency of a creamy soup or chowder. Cooking oatmeal is a lot like cooking eggs, if you cook it til it's done, you'll eat it overcooked. Turn off heat and stir in walnuts and vanilla. By saving the vanilla til the end you keep the freshest vanilla flavor possible. Pour the mix into a bowl as it continues to thicken. Top with thin slices of the last 1/4 of banana and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Now, I know I said not to over cook the oatmeal, but that's not necessarily true. I really like this recipe when it's overcooked and allowed to sit for a while. I eat it while it's still warm, but letting it sit gives it a denser texture, almost like an English boiled pudding.

Speaking of pudding, here's another one that has a distinctly desert-like appeal.

Blackberry Vanilla Oatmeal
1 c. Blackberries
1/4 c. Steel cut oats
3/4 c. Water
2 tsp honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Add salt, oats, honey, and blackberries. Reserve 8-10 blackberries to use later. Turn heat to low and stir. Once the berries begin to turn red, start to mash the mixture as you stir. Cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes, then turn off the burner and add vanilla. Pour into a bowl and top with remaining blackberries and a big creamy blob of Greek yogurt.

Just think of oatmeal as a delicious canvas. Add fruit, cook it in tea or juice, add crunchy things, sweet things, chewy things, creamy things, chocolate, nuts, jams and marmalades, butter, flavor extracts and syrups. Really, as long as you start out with good oatmeal, use your intuition and make something tasty!!