Someone had apples at the farmer's market today and I thought "hmmmm....apple pie". So I bought some apples and when we got into the car The Splendid Table was the radio and Melissa Clark was talking about her 20 ingredient pie recipe. I was inspired. OK, I wasn't too keen on the idea of putting 20 different ingredients into my apple pie. I am a purist at heart. But it did make me wonder why I never thought of adding anything like nuts or dried cranberries. My apple pie has always been every one's favorite (remember my gift for crust?). I've used the same recipe from my Mamaw's old Betty Crocker cookbook since I learned to bake. It's a simple recipe of apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. But today I added walnuts, dried cranberries and cardamom. It was the best idea. Perfect for a crisp day like today and all that was missing was the vanilla ice cream.

The idea of adding something to an old tried and true recipe got me thinking about other things, about how it's so easy to stay inside our little boxes. This seems to be my year for thinking outside the box. It's as simple as adding sauteed veggies to Mac-n-cheese or cranberries to the apple pie.