Apple Crazy

Came home late last night from Austin, Texas. Had a blast but have no time to tell you about it today. There are apples everywhere here. I've been at it all morning. Canned 'em in cinnamon sugar, made applesauce and baked yet another galette. Raspberries instead of blueberries added for color and taste because our backyard raspberries are abundant this week.

As for my adventures in Texas: for a hint go ahead and google "Pinetop Perkins" and I will regale you tomorrow or Tuesday - once the apples are under some kind of control!

Cinnamon Sliced Apples

4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3 teaspoons cinnamon
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Half fill a large pan or bowl with cold water. Slice a whole lemon and drop into cold water. Peel, core and slice enough apples to fill 6 quart or 12 pint jars already prepared for home canning. Drop sliced apples into the cold lemon water as you go until you have enough slices to begin packing.

Make a syrup of sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon and water. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Add lemon juice. Put 1 1/2 cups of this into each quart jar, 3/4 cup for pints. Fill with drained sliced apples and pack. Put lids on and process 20 minutes in a boiling water bath. These apples are suited to most apple recipes, including winter galettes and cobblers. Fabulous when simply warmed in a microwave and topped with fresh whipped cream, too.

Comments

  1. Best Wishes, MarieSeptember 14, 2009 at 9:53 PM

    thank you for the picture of the galette in its whole form. wow ... pinetop perkins, a living legend.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grape Infused Vodka Update

Image
It took an overnight frost for our homegrown grapes to sweeten up but the wait was worth it. A big sloppy thank you smooch goes out to Mayor Mike Tautznik of Easthampton, MA for sharing his home infusion method for fruit flavored vodka. Fiddling around with Mayor Mike's sure-fire recipe helped me come up with the perfect formula for home infusing store-bought vodka with the Concord grapes from our backyard garden. And the abundance of those grapes carefully cultivated by the Man of the House deserves another big sloppy thank you smooch, this time for Farmer Paul. Start by boiling a big pot of water to sterilize pint-sized canning jars and their covers. Once they are cool, fill each about 3/4 full with thoroughly washed Concord grapes plucked from the ripest of bunches. Add one teaspoon of super fine sugar. Pour your choice of plain vodka over the grapes, leaving about 1/2 inch headroom before closing the jars. Shake gently to dissolve sugar before storing in a cool dark spot. Two w...
Read more

The Joy of Holiday Cookies

Image
Nothing sweetens the season like holiday cookies! The name comes from the Dutch koejke which translates to "little cake" -- the perfect single serving treat. Cookies have been part of cooking history for more than a thousand years and nearly every culture has a bite sized sweet that qualifies as a cookie. Every year I try to come up with a new twist on an old favorite to celebrate the season for my annual cookie swap. These tasty morsels are my version of rugelach , a traditional Jewish pastry filled with nuts, raisins or apricots, cinnamon and sugar wrapped in a flaky crust. A few good friends sharing a bottle of bubbly then going home with the bounty of a platter full of homemade cookies and the recipes. Lots of fun and yumminess, too! RUGELACH Dough 2 cups all-purpose flour Dash of salt 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 cup unsalted butter 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1/3 cup plain or lemon flavored yogurt Filling 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 cup finely...
Read more

A Perfect Sunday Supper

Image
Nearly everyone has a favorite pot roast recipe. Pot roast begs for inspiration from the cook, roasted red peppers can be a delightful addition. Try mushrooms or whole green beans for a different twist. Choosing the spices can be daunting, bay leaf or thyme, coriander or clove? Some recipes call for tomatoes, others for a brown gravy base. I even saw a barbecue style pot roast recipe recently; not to mention the cut of beef. There’s brisket, chuck, rump roast, to name a few. Over thirty plus years of home cooking successes and disasters, I’ve tried many different pot roast recipes but always go back to page 127 of the Silver Palate Cookbook for the best and simplest example of “A perfect Sunday supper.” I follow the recipe closely though not exactly -- you might like my slightly fiddled with version. Starting with the basics is a good start but no excuse for boring – add your own special flair! PEPPERCORN POT ROAST 3 pound boneless chuck roast 1 teaspoon fresh coarsely ground black pe...
Read more