A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Friday, September 25, 2009

The White House News

The gift from the White House.
Michelle Obama's Apple Cobbler recipe follows...
Bee hive on the white house lawn... A close up of the bee hive...



White house china...







The beehive that's part of the White House Kitchen Garden has been providing honey for White House meals since official beekeeper Charlie Brandts first harvested it in June, and now its sweetness is going global, thanks to The Pittsburgh Summit. According to the White House, Mrs. Obama will be presenting G20 spouses with a “one-of-a-kind porcelain tea set and honey vase designed exclusively for the occasion of The Pittsburgh Summit 2009, with honey harvested especially for the occasion from the White House beehive." The special tea set was made by Pickard China of Antioch, Illinois, the Obamas' home state. Pickard is a family owned biz--and also just happens to make the china for Air Force One, Camp David, Blair House, and the State Department--although you, too, can order your custom china from the company.
*The platinum and purple porcelain design of the tea cups is classic and contemporary and inspired by the gold and purple White House China that President and Mrs. Lincoln used in 1861. The use of platinum on the saucer symbolizes Pittsburgh's steel industry roots; the use of purple is the color of the state flower of Illinois, the Purple Violet, home states of both Presidents Lincoln and Obama. The porcelain is one-of-a-kind and made by a century old family business in Illinois.

*A rose in the bottom of the tea cup represents both the official flower of the United States and the American Beauty rose, the official flower of Washington. There is a delicate three-flower bouquet that sits in the well of the saucer. It consists of the Purple Violet, the state flower of Illinois, the Mountain Laurel, the state flower of Pennsylvania and the rose.


*The glass honey vase is an original design inspired by nature and made of a brilliant lead- free crystal mined from minerals found only in the United States. It is hand-blown and shaped by a California artist and signed by the First Lady.





And there are no worries that the Official Obama Spouse Gift is too feminine for the male G20 spouses: Neither Joachim Sauer, husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, nor Nestor Kirchner, husband of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, are in Pittsburgh. As for the beehive: White House chef and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass has said that the White House beehive is expected to produce more than 100 pounds of honey this year, so there's plenty of honey to be handed out as state gifts, in addition to being used for White House occasions. Kass has also called the beehive "one of the greatest achievements of the garden," while Mrs. Obama has noted that the Kitchen Garden is the topic she gets asked about most frequently by foreign leaders, when she's traveling abroad

The Lincoln china that Mrs. Obama's tea set is based upon was created by Mary Todd Lincoln, who was the first First Lady to choose her own china set. The pink-purple color is called "Solferino," and was created by the E.V. Haughwout company of New York; 190 pieces were in the original set.















First Lady Michelle Obama's Apple Cobbler





Filling..





8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced,





1-1/2 to 2 cups of brown sugar,





1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon,





1 teaspoon ground nutmeg,





1/2 teaspoon salt,





1/4 cup white flour...





Crust





3 sheets of refrigerated pie crust,





1 stick of butter.





.





Mix the apple ingredients together in a bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so the spice goes all the way through the apples.





Preheat oven to 325 degrees.*Butter and flour the bottom of a large baking dish.*Roll out three pie crusts real thin--as thin as possible. Layer the bottom of the pan with 1-1/2 of the pie crusts and prick a few holes in it.*Pour the apples with the liquid into the pie pan. Dot 3/4 of a stick of butter around the apples.*Use the final 1-1/2 pie crusts to cover the apple mixture entirely (let the pie crust overlap the pan). Pinch the edges of the dough around the sides of the pan so the mixture is completely covered.*Melt final 1/4 stick of butter and brush all over top of crust.*Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake at 300 for up to 3 hours -- that's what makes the crust flaky, like Barack likes it. Put the cobbler in the oven and go for a walk, go to the store, or do whatever you have to do around the house. Start looking at the cobbler after two and a half hours so it doesn't burn.*Serve anytime










I think that I'll try this recipe...when Joe is off his diet.





Balisha

4 comments:

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I KNOW I am not the first one to comment...I never am. :) Sigh...not that it matters.
Now...where were we? Oh yes...the apple cobbler. It sounds wonderful and I too would like to try it..but...but...there are so many things I want to make. SO many things.
Seems like a lot of us are having surgerys. And...going through them just dandy! That is so encouraging. :)
Thank you so much for posting Michelle's recipe, Balisha. I really will do it...and I have the apples and the crust. :) I have no excuses not to.
You sound good..and that is great! :)
Hugs,
Mona
It was 103 @ 4pm!!! :(

Amber Star said...

The White House china is so elegant. Mrs. Obama is one of my favorite first Ladies. The gifts for the meeting are such a neat idea.

The bee hive, the garden, and the recipe are homey and warm and I can't wait to have time to make that cobbler. Oh my goodness it looks wonderful. I would not have thought of using brown sugar, but I'll bet that makes it most tasty.

Barbee' said...

I didn't know about that. Thank you for sharing the interesting news.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Thank you for this interesting information. I have used honey for years and my children used it on their cereal. I use to have some hives.
Love the recipe - must try it.
Blessings sent your way!!!