An Apple a Day Monday: V

Last year, through the month of November, I did a Fall cooking series called An Apple a Day Monday. I was lucky to have an available and very productive apple tree nearby last year, which facilitated dishes like Apple Bundt Cake, Apple Crisp, Apple Cider and Apple Bran Flax Muffins. This year I am not as lucky to have the apples, but have been experimenting with some other items instead.

This weekend, my Mom was in town and we had a great time exploring the area and shopping and eating! On Saturday night, Broski came over with the lady friend and they all had a chance to try my Screamin' Hot Habanero Sauce that I made out of the peppers that they gave me. Remember the one that gets rid of your socks? They both loved it and wanted the recipe (Mom is not as fond of hot stuff), so I decided to share it with you too, in case you feel like making some of your own. I got my peppers from the garden, but they are pretty cheap at the market, especially if you have a Latino market nearby. They always have the best peppers!

It's a great addition to any dish and I like it because it doesn't taste of vinegar; it mostly just tastes of pepper /  heat! And a little dab'll do ya! The problem with my cooking sometimes is that I just toss stuff in, so you may need to tweak this a little to make it to YOUR liking, just like I did. The recipe was inspired by this.

Screamin' Hot Habanero Sauce

2 cups of hot peppers (I used Serrano and Habanero)
1 tbsp salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup vinegar (I used Champagne, but you could use red wine, apple cider or white vinegar)
1 tsp garlic salt

First, cut the stems off the peppers. I put gloves on to do this just in case. I would hate to touch my eye afterward or something silly like that. Then blanch them in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove them and run them under cold water (see how to blanch here).

Place them in a blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend. Voila. Now you have sauce. This will keep in the fridge for about a year. A spoon full in any dish gives your dish a nice kick, or you can do like we do, and just spoon it on your meal, one plate at a time!

The original recipe suggested removing the seeds, but I did not. If you want it to not be as hot, you may want to remove the seeds. If you want it more vinegary, you may want to add more than I did, but I prefer it not as vinegary.

Do you like spicy things? What dish do you use peppers in? Have you ever made your own hot sauce? 

An Apple a Day Monday: IV

I arrived home the other day to find out that my mother had bought even more apples! This is the fun of living in the state that grows much of America's produce; when you are driving home, you never know what you may find. Peaches, plutots, kiwis, artichokes, mandarins, walnuts, and of course...apples. 

1. I think she got a peck of apples. If she got a peck of apples, how many apples did she get? 

2. Do you use a peeler or a knife? I used the knife. 

3. One apple = approximately 1 cup

Everyone keeps saying that Apple Crisp is their favorite Apple dish, so I thought I would take a stab at it. I used Martha Stewart's recipe. (Check out Apple a Day I and Apple A Day II and Apple a Day III.)

Martha Stewart = Butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

3 pounds apples, such as Empire, Gala, or Braeburn, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Cut butter into flour, using a pastry blender or two knives, until mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Add oats, and use your hands to toss and squeeze mixture until large, moist clumps form. (I used my hands, after washing them in COLD water, so as to not melt the butter)

Transfer to freezer to chill while you prepare apples.

The porch aka "the freezer"

In another large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. (I also added a few tsp of my new friend, flaxseed meal)

Transfer to a shallow 2-quart baking dish, and sprinkle with topping mixture. 

I like to use several. It makes it easier to give them away!

Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until golden and bubbling, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

It turned out pretty good! The only thing I would do differently is that I would double the amount of apples, since they bake down a lot!  Or maybe if I had only used one pan, it would have been thicker? I say more apples! You can never have too many apples.

What is your favorite apple crisp recipe? Do you think Martha uses too much butter? Have you ever bought a bushel or a peck of anything?

An Apple a Day Monday: III

Remember last week when I made the Apple Cake? Now I had buttermilk left over, as well as still having plenty of apples. I didn’t yet know what I wanted to make with these items. I contemplated buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk apple muffins.

(Check out Apple a Day I and Apple A Day II.)

Then, I got the prize in the mail that I won from Corey! Flaxseed Meal! I have never used it before, but have been putting it in oatmeal, on cereal and now in baking…and its great! I used the recipe that was on the back of the bag and amended it a bit to fit what I had on hand. And…they turned out great! Like a nutty, yummy, bran muffin…without the bran! For those of you who are gluten free, flaxseed is GF, so all you need is some GF flour (can sub for oats as well) and you are all set!

Bran Flax Muffins

(aka Oat Apple Nut Buttermilk Flax Muffins [and Squares])

1½ cups flour

¾ cup flaxseed

¾ cup oat bran (I used stone ground oats)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 ½ cup carrots, shredded

2 apples, peeled and shredded

½ cup raisins (I used craisins instead)

1 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts)

¾ cup milk (I used buttermilk instead)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients (first 7 on the list). 

In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the (wet) ingredients. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Do not over stir. Batter may be slightly lumpy. Pour into greased muffin tin. Fill cups approximately ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Yields 15 medium sized muffins**

**NOTES: I ended up filling 12 cups ¾ full and still having a lot left over, so I used a bread pan and 2 mini bread pans to use up the rest. You could also easily cook these in a 9x13 baking dish and just cut them into squares. 

Next up: The apple craze continues! What else can one make with an apple? Don’t forget to check back next Monday to find out...and for another edition of “An Apple a Day”, which will be a feature each Monday in November.

Have you ever used flaxseed meal? Have you ever made your own oat bars?

An Apple A Day Monday: II

I love to bake, especially in autumn. That nice cinnamon smell about the house, the warmth; they are the epitome of fall to me. Besides that, I love figuring out fun things to make with the ingredients on hand. When I saw Kim’s Apple Bundt Cake recipe, I knew that since it was apple season, and we have several trees, and I finally have an oven to use, I would have to make it.

I didn’t make it once; I made it twice, and it was a hit all around (I took one to the Apple Cider potluck and it was gone in about 47 seconds!) I did not have a Bundt pan, but made it work with a bread pan and a pie dish instead. I bought buttermilk for her glaze, but ended up only using about 1/8 of the recommended amount of glaze, since I liked the cake just fine without it.

Kim’s Apple Bundt Cake

3 cups flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (or you can sub ½ c. applesauce, ½ c. oil for a lower fat version)

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups raw peeled, diced apples (I used 2 large apples)

1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I did not put them in)

2 eggs, beaten

Glaze(optional):

½ cup melted butter

½ cup sugar (I only used ¼ cup)

½ cup buttermilk

½ tsp. Baking soda

Peel apples. 

Dice and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Mix together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add remaining ingredients, including apples, to dry mix. Stir together until well blended. Spread into a greased pan (1 – 10 inch Bundt pan or any other baking dish). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean. 

For glaze: Mix together all ingredients and drizzle on cake after cake is cooked. I only used about 1/8 of the recommended glaze on one of my cakes and none on the other. I actually prefer it without the glaze, but you can do it either way! 

Notes: I don’t flour my pans, I only butter them, but Kim recommended using flour. It’s your call. Mine came out of the pan just fine. The batter looks like it needs more moisture when you are mixing it up, but it cooks just fine. I did press mine down into the pan on the second batch, which made it a little less crumbly, but also less tall. I recommend a light press, just to keep all the batter together, since the first time one of the cakes split in half (it still tastes great though!)

Next up: What will I do with the leftover buttermilk and the rest of the apples? Don’t forget to check back next Monday to find out...and for another edition of “An Apple a Day”, which will be a feature each Monday in November.

Do you own a Bundt pan? What is your favorite thing to bake in the Fall?

An Apple a Day Monday: I

As you may know, fall is apple season. You are probably tired of the “pick your own apple” places and all the apple hype, but I am not. I love apples. I am so happy to have several trees to “pick” from at home. Last weekend, an orchard near us invited everyone to come join them in picking the last of their apples and making cider from them. You could bring your own apples if you liked, even knobby, small or slightly holey ones or you could use their apples if you didn’t have your own (free of charge). Once picked, the apples went into a hand cranked cider press and came out as cider! It was great fun! We brought some of our own apples, picked some of theirs (and ate many of theirs!) and hand pressed our own yummy apple cider.

There was also a pot-luck, so we brought a dish to share and some chairs and hung out all day with friends and family, chatting, taking photos, eating apples and enjoying the fall weather (which has been unseasonably warm this year!)

Next up: There is more than one way to skin an apple. Don’t forget to check back next Monday to find out how...and for another edition of “An Apple a Day”, which will be a feature each Monday in November.

What is your favorite apple related food? Have you ever picked your own apples? How do you get YOUR apple a day?