For the Love of Dirt: Geraniums and Bubble Bums

"Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is...." -Mark Twain

Gather a small amount of apples. Cut them up as if making chunky applesauce. Because that's what you will do. Doesn't matter the amount. Use what yo want , and save the rest.

You're about to embark on the making of BUBBLE BUMS

( it's fun to say 10x in a row).I think the original recipe name was bubble buns......not quite as fun to say.

I found this recipe in a fancy dancy magazine and decided to make it a whole lot easier. I am in the middle of tearing down the garden for winter. No time to make homemade dough,or cut up the apples an eighth of an inch, or wait two days for the applesauce to mature, or sip sherry whilst doing the waiting......

Geraniums to gather , cats to acknowledge and life in general to potter along with.So here's my quicker version, that goes at speed of light...

Thaw, in the fridge, overnight, if you wish, a bag of dough balls ( about 24).These will be the bubble bums. ( Again, for fun, say 10x fast)

In a saucepan take the quantity of apples you just cut up, and a bag of cranberries, and 1/4 cup of sugar and cook down into cranberry sauce. Or you can get a can of the stuff and add it to applesauce, but personally I wouldn't touch the canned cranberry sauce unless I wanted to go twice the speed of light. Make your own. It's much better.

You can also nuke the mixture in the microwave. Meanwhile, take a look at the last flowering plants in the garden. The leaves are all starting to go rusty I bet. A sure sign it's high time to rip everything out.

That's the best part of the end of summer. By this point you should have placed your dough balls in a greased 9x13 pan. Let rise for a while on the oven that is warming up to 350. It won't take long.

I save as many geraniums as possible. Some years there are a great deal, like this year. think I have about 40 or 50. Not sure. Lost count. I replant them into some of the garden pots. All the rest I put into compost bags and delegated to the curb for pick up.

So, back to the Bubble Bums......your fruit mixture should be soft and ready to whirrrr into applesauce mixture.

Take the risen bubble bums ( which you have again said 10x fast) and cover with the cranberry apple sauce. If you prefer , you can omit the cranberries and just use applesauce.

The pan will have to rise once more, to double in size.

Then you can once more peruse your garden, or what is left of it.

What's left are empty pots, some you can use for the geraniums.

After an hour, the Bubble Bums ( which you have once more said 10x fast) should be double in size. Pop the pan into the oven at 350 for about 50 minutes, give or take. You might have to add extra time depending on your oven.

While they bake, haul compost bags to the curb, and go check on geraniums lounging in the greenhouse. They are about to get a new place to settle.

For the next 8 or 9 months they will take up residence in the biggest bathtub and window you can find. You'll probably find that bugs will crawl out of the dirt since it is a lot warmer inside. Be prepared to wash those bus down the drain. Water geraniums as needed. In January or February give them a dose of fertilizer, and see them spring to life for planting in May.

And as for the Bubble Bums, after baking and cooling for a bit you can slather them with cream cheese frosting: 1 pkg cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp icing sugar, and a touch of apple juice. (This is optional of course)