Deer Down

I almost forgot!   I shot a buck with my bow last night.  It's the second one I've shot, but the first one I've found.  It's not the monster I had seen back in October, but I haven't shot enough deer to be overly picky.  He's good practice for the next time I see the monster.  Check it out!

4-H Shirt

I haven't been posting all of my disturbing dreams lately, because I don't want people to think I'm metally sick.  And I don't want people to know when I have dreams about them getting killed.  But, I had one last night that was pretty peculiar and I'll share the little of it that I can remember.

In my dream, my dad was some other man, not my real life dad.  And Kayla K., an old Chi O president, was my older sister.  Neither one of my real sisters was in the dream.  So, what happened was that my dad killed some man and then ran away.  All the evidence was on this old, ratty 4-H shirt.  The police questioned me and I felt like I had to turn over the shirt.  I went home and turned the options over and over in my mind.  If I didn't hand over the shirt, my dad could go free.  If I did give them the shirt, though, my dad would be justly punished for his crime. 

As I was weighing the consquences of each, I heard a knock on the door and I sprinted into my room, grabbed the old shirt and frantically searched for a place to hide it.  I finally wadded it up and stuck it behind the shoe rack in my closet.  I ran back to the door and opened it for the police.  They entered and began to question me more and search the house. 

They found the shirt and, after trial, sentenced my dad to death after five years in prison.  I was guilt-stricken, but I couldn't say my dad didn't deserve it.  Kayla K. came over to my mother and me after the verdict was handed down and handed us both fans of money.  For some reason we were getting compensated for this tragic fiasco. 

Kayla K. looked at me with stern eyes and said, "You remember why you are getting this money.  I hope you are happy."  Gulp.  I woke up shortly after this part.  I'm still slightly disturbed by this dream.  The good thing is, it wasn't my real dad in the dream, or my sisters.  I think Kayla K. was in the dream because I was just thinking yesterday about how she dropped off the face of the earth after she left ECU.  I'm sure the correlation of the dream and my dad has to do with the present state of our relationship.  Anyway, that's that.  I hope I stop with all these murder dreams -- and soon!

Apple Tart

This is a very quick, easy and yummy dessert.  I was wanting to stray away from the normal cookies that I make nearly every night after dinner.  I was really wanting something fruity, but couldn't desert dessert.  I love sweets.  So, I found this recipe, modified it a little and then indulged in this apple-y goodness. 

The recipe calls for:

2 pastry sheets

4 apples

1 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

I used:

1 pastry sheet

2 apples

1/2 c. brown sugar

pinch of salt

I still had a lot of apples left over, so it's probably smart to only use one apple unless you want to make both sheets of the pastry.  You can find the pastry sheets, by the way, in the freezer section next to the pies.

You need to lay the pastry sheet out on a pan for about 20 minutes to let it thaw before you unfold it.  It's folded in thirds, so you can either cut it down the middle for more on the sides (like my picture) or cut it into three sections for less puff (I'll probably do that next time).

Preheat the oven to 415 degrees.  While the pastry is thawing, begin slicing the apples.  Slice them as thinly as you can without cutting your fingers.  When you do cut your finger, call your husband in the kitchen to finish.  Or just don't cut your finger.  Once all the apples are sliced, throw them in a bowl.  You can squirt lemon juice on them if you want.  I didn't.  Then add the brown sugar and salt and mix it all around gently.  Let the apple mixture sit for a few minutes to let the ingredients become friendly with each other.  Next, unfold the pastry and cut in halves or thirds.  Layer the apples in a straight line, overlapping as you go.  Pop the pan in the oven and cook for 18 to 20 minutes. 

Remove the pastries from the pan immediately and find a creative way to "style" them.  I just added sifted powdered sugar.  I think I'll mix it up tonight and top it with caramel and pecans.  The simplicity of it was so good and the apples were just perfectly tart.  The extra puff around the edges was a little too flaky for my liking, which is why I'll cut it into thirds next time.