Man in the Kitchen!

The architecture of Bob's apple pie

My brother-in-law Bob is a kitchen genius. He doesn't rest on his laurels, either, but puts his all into everything he prepares. For apple pie, he cuts fruit slices (Granny Smith) a bit on the chunky side and places each slice carefully by hand. 

Bob's crumbly crumb topping is applied carefully, too -- one spoonful at a time, crowning the sweet, rounded hill of apples.

The long, slow simmer of Bob's chicken soup

When Bob makes a pot of chicken soup, he starts early in the day to make a rich stock. Already it smells so good it's hard not to take a dipper to the pot!

A little later in the afternoon, with the pie in the oven and the soup approaching completion, the aromas in Bob's kitchen could drive an even slightly hungry person wild.

My sister Deborah's salad

When I call it "Bob's kitchen," I only mean to indicate that he was chef of the day. My sister, herself an excellent cook, was busy entertaining sister (me) and dog guest (Sarah), but she took time to assemble a beautiful salad, another architectural marvel. 

Here is the soup ready to go into our waiting bowls, chicken and carrots and mushrooms added to onion and garlic, plus a little lemon and Bob's secret chicken soup spice. I wonder if he would mind my sharing his secret?

The pie is out of the oven, too. With the crumb topping hiding the apples, there is no way anyone would guess at this stage how beautifully -- and with what loving care -- the pie has been put together. 

Of course, the proof of the soup and the pie (and the salad) is in the eating, and I'll just say that there were no disappointments!

Brother Bob, I'm so glad we are family!