An Apple A Day

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I wish chocolate could activate a button in my brain that would make me more computer savvy (sigh). I do have apples though. Lots and lots of apples. I've sauced them, dried them, juiced them, and pied them. (I suppose "pied" is not a real word, but since this is my blog...;o). Now what do I do? Back to that in a moment. Here's how this post came about.

My Internet service crashed today when some well meaning construction worker sliced through Comcast's fiber optics. All. The. Way. Through. That left me without any more excuses like work and school and laundry (because I like to watch Hulu while I fold clothes, in case you were wondering what laundry has to do with the Internet). Time to face the apples. I already processed about 100 pounds and threw away at least another 100 pounds of apples that fell off the trees and got smooshed. I picked Granny Smith's, Galas, Red Delicious (although just a few as I don't think those are quite ready), and Golden Delicious. I had to pick up the ground falls first. That's when I realized that the lawn needed mowing. Badly.

Levi took care of the lawn most of the summer. But since school started, he has been swamped with homework. Then soccer season started and with two kids playing and reffing...and with Doug reffing...yeah...our Saturday's have been shot. (How did we survive the year we had 7 kids playing soccer??? in Phoenix. In the summer.) So. I picked apples off the ground and then off the trees. I pulled out the lawn mower. (The almond tree really does lean like that. Guess which way the wind blows around here!)

Then I realized that the walnuts have been dropping. Had to pick those up too. About halfway through the mowing, Doug came home from work. When raindrops began to pitterpat on my head I prayed for time to finish mowing. I feel like God's pet because the rain stopped long enough for me to finish mowing and pick some more apples with Doug's help. It goes so much faster with two people. Now I didn't have to run up and down the ladder for every three apples I picked!

After dinner we loaded up a few of the boxes and took them to friends. The smiles on their faces made me feel like the sun had been shining all day. Now I have three boxes of apples left on the porch. And the trees are still loaded.



So here's the part about writing this post! I had a thought or two while I mowed the lawn. I've been trying to come up with a theme to blog about. (Cause it's only been how many months since I wrote?) Why not apples? What if I try a new apple recipe every day and blog about it? I could post anecdotes about apples or apple jokes. Jokes are good. I can't think of any right now though, so here is the first apple recipe I tried. Well, after I made cider and dried apple slices and pie filling and apple sauce and salsa...??? If you want me to post instructions on any of those, I would be more than happy to share.

I found this recipe on www.midwestliving.com/recipes/

Danish Pastry Apple Bars

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1 egg yolk
milk
1 cup cornflakes ( I left this part out....oops!)
8 - 10 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (8 cups) (I used Granny Smith apples)
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ( I think I used 2 teaspoons)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
3 - 4 teaspoons milk

1. In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a liquid measuring cup, beat egg yolk lightly. Add enough milk to make 2/3 cup liquid. Stir well to combine. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture with a fork until combined (dough will be slightly sticky). Divide mixture in half.

2. On a well-floured surface, roll half of the dough into a 17 x 12-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Transfer to a 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan (I used the Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan) and unfold dough, pressing to fit into the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle with cornflakes. (or not) Top evenly with apples. (This is where one of those corer/peeler/slicer thingamabobs comes in really handy!) In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over apples. (I placed a layer of apples, sprinkled some of the sugar mixture over it and did another layer of apples, then sugar, etc.) Roll remaining dough to a 15 x 10 inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Place atop apples and unfold dough. Crimp edges or use the tines of a fork to seal. cut slits in the top. Brush top with beaten egg white.

3. Bake in a 375 degree F oven to 50 minutes or until golden and apples are tender, covering with foil after the first 25 minutes of baking time to prevent over browning.

4. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar and 2 -3 teaspoons milk to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm bars. Let cool completely (say what? We couldn't wait that long!) on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars.

Even though I left out the cornflakes and I used leftover icing from the fridge...this dessert rocked. Can you say comfort food? I didn't think about taking a picture until after we started eating...I'll try to remember to take a picture of the finished products before we dig in next time!


Granny Smith apples from our tree...and my favorite plate! (Thanks Becky!)

If I run out of recipes to try, maybe I can post a craft or two. Or perhaps my readers would like to share their favorite apple creations. (Do I have any readers?)...hmmm...perhaps I can round some up on Facebook. Then that would mean I have to be committed to writing on this blog. Obviously I have plenty to say, or this post wouldn't be so rambling and long. Eventually, I'll write about my new adventures writing copy. But that's an entirely new box of apples!