Apple (Shhh...Don't tell my husband I hid zucchini in it) Cinnamon Bread

One of my adorable daughters-in-law sent me a sweet message today:

"I’m so glad you are posting on your blog again! I can’t wait to try out the apple cider recipe. Yum!

As I was reading through your last couple of posts, a thought occurred to me concerning the focus of your blog. I have a suggestion for you, which of course, you are free take or leave. I’ll read and be happy either way!

I’ve noticed sometimes you apologize for getting “off topic” in your posts--when you’re talking about family, or spiritual things, or anything not directly apple related. Those are the things that I LOVE to hear you talk about, though! I know you have a testimony of families, and building people up, and the strength that the gospel provides. While the Table Talk book is the only project that I know you’ve been working on, I’m not sure that focusing on apples alone is building a platform that truly represents your unique view of life, especially concerning the gospel and our families.

What if, instead of focusing just on apples, you expand your blog’s focus to the topics of “growing” and “harvesting?” That way, you can certainly draw inspiration from Nature’s bounty, but you won’t have to feel so guilty about talking about the other things we grow and harvest. You’ve planted a lot of seeds in your life (especially in mine!) that I think people need to hear/read about. Your words about the gospel and Heavenly Father are so reverent and full of awe--I can’t help it if I want to read more about that!



She's wise as well as adorable! I will run out of apples...eventually. I will never run out of family. And I will never run out of wonder and awe for the abundance with which God has blessed us. Besides, Micaela is already expressing how her enthusiasm is waning for anything "apple."

The wind came up last night. The moaning and howling kept me awake long past midnight. This afternoon, however, I discovered the wind brought me a gift. I stepped outside to glean the last couple of zucchini and whatever tomatoes and peppers I could rescue. To my surprise, the ground was covered with walnuts. I apologized to the wind!

Of course, I knew we had walnuts. The tree blesses us with glorious shade all summer long. Last year we had a late, heavy freeze and the tree didn't produce more than a handful of nuts. The year before we had quite a few, but it was far too labor intensive to remove the husks off of the shells. Today, I found most of the nuts on the ground clean and dry, already separated from their slimy husks. In about 15 minutes I gathered almost 10 pounds of walnuts (that's in the shell, of course)! I'm pretty sure some of this bounty will make its way into an apple recipe!

I can see this blog changing with the seasons, just like me. Most of my children are grown and on their own. My husband and I have been reaping a bounteous harvest for awhile now as we watch them become responsible adults who know who they are and with firm testimonies of Jesus Christ. (I'll save the joys of being a grandparent for another post.) The son and daughter still left at home are not quite ready to leave our nurturing and protection. I'm glad. I'm not ready to be an empty nester just yet.

I read over this and think, gosh, but I'm old! haha! I don't feel old! I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  I do know that first and foremost, I am and always will be, a mother. That is inherent in that I am a daughter of God.There are just so many fascinating things to do and learn! It's hard to choose! I do know that the subject I choose to write about is not as important as knowing that somehow, somewhere, the words I write make a difference. If those words gladden just one heart, then they will have fulfilled their purpose.

Okay, at least I chose a recipe to share -- I declare that any recipe that uses apples AND zucchini is useful! My kids are always warning guests about how I hide vegetables in everything anyway. Here is a sweet bread recipe I have been playing around with for a couple of months.

Zucchini Apple Cinnamon Bread (boring name, I know! But I promise this bread will make you feel loved!)

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups grated zucchini
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts, optional (I left this out.)

okay...you need to know that I doubled this recipe, and made 4 loaves, so don't get confused when you look at the pictures! This recipe as written will make two nice sized loaves. So, prepare two loaf pans by greasing them and coating them with flour. (or use a cooking spray...I was out.) Grate your zucchini and apple and set aside. (If you want, you can peel them first, but why go to all the extra work?) Preheat the oven to 325 deg.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until creamy and light yellow. Add the oil and the applesauce and mix well. Sift the dry ingredients together in another bowl and add to the egg mixture. Mix well. Squeeze the extra moisture from the grated zucchini and apple and fold the pulp into the batter. Stir in the vanilla and nuts. Divide the batter between the loaf pans. Bake at 325 deg for about one hour.

I dare you to leave this bread alone until it cools off. On second thought -- Don't wait. Hot out of the oven, this bread rocks! (If you're really brave, add a little butter or caramel sauce...if your heart can stand it, that is!)

Happy harvest!
hugs~

An Apple (or Two) A Day

According to Wikipedia, there are more than 7,500 varieties of apples throughout the world. That's a lot of apples! China is the number one producer of apples, with the United States coming in second -- just in case you get picked to be on Jeopardy and need to know that kind of thing.

Okay, so I have a confession. This is day two of my apple project and I already have to cheat a little. I forgot that today was a "A" day for the schools and that Levi had early morning seminary this morning, so I overslept a little. It was my yoga day, and the neighborhood lunch bunch, and I expected a client to call around 10 am. I needed something to take to the luncheon and I wanted to try a new apple recipe. I made a batch of maple-apple-oatmeal bread last week and I found a loaf hiding in the freezer. I thawed it out, took a picture, sliced it up and served it with apple butter. I know it's not a new recipe for me...but it most likely is for you, so I decided that since I haven't blogged about it before it's legal. I'll try for a new one tomorrow. Maybe. Hopefully.

Of course, the client never called. But he did send me an email that he would call later. What does that mean anyway? What do you mean when you say later? When my parents said "Later" they usually meant "not in this life time." Too bad he lives out of state. I could take him some of this maple-apple-oatmeal bread and tell him that I write copy that's even better than this yummy bread. It could work!

I got this recipe from Shar of Shar's Kitchen and Bosch store when she still had the store in Phoenix. What an amazing lady! The store had a full kitchen where she demonstrated how to cook all kinds of yummy healthy foods using Bosch appliances, Kun Rikon pressure cookers, and every kitchen gadget you can possibly think of. Let's just say that after attending Shar's classes for a couple of years, (oh, and 6 months of being a Pampered Chef consultant) I literally had to remodel the kitchen so that I could store all of my tools! Well, it helped that I started storing them in the garage with my husband's tools and even started using some of his tools in the kitchen. Did you know that an oil filter wrench makes the best jar opener ever? I swiped that one. It's still in my kitchen drawer. Wow...I really digressed from the apple thing, didn't I!

okay..here's Shar's recipe for Maple Apple Oatmeal Bread (oh, and if you use a KitchenAid...just cut the recipe in half.)

Place in the Bosch mixer with the dough hook:
4 cups warm water
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp. maple extract
2 beaten eggs
3 Tbsp Saf instant yeast
2 Tbsp. sea salt ( I never use table salt anymore...too many impurities and chemicals)
3 Tbsp. dough enhancer ( I actually leave this out.)
3 cups bread flour or 1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)
2 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour

Use the moment switch ( or mix briefly).

Mix thoroughly. Continue to add fresh ground whole wheat flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and add:
4 cups fresh, grated apples ( I used Granny Smith's)...or diced...or chopped, depending on how big you want the fruity bites to be.
1 Tbsp sweet spice blend or cinnamon or apple pie spice...

Knead on speed one (Bosch) to thoroughly mix in the apples and spices into the dough and keep kneading for about another 2 or 3 minutes. Form into loaves. This made 5 - 1 1/2 pound loaves. (I use a scale to weigh my dough so that I get my loaves all the same size. OCD?) Place the loaves into well-greased bread bread pans and let rise until the dough is about 2 inches above the edge of the pans. Bake at 350 deg. F or until the internal temperature of the bread is 210 deg. F.

If you dab a little water on the loaf before you place it in the pan, you can roll it in a little oatmeal for a fun look. you can also roll the dough flat and sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on it...just a little and then roll the dough into a loaf shape. I also slash the tops of the loaves with a baker's blade so they bake more evenly.

This bread is really yummy toasted and makes the best French Toast -- especially if you add a little vanilla to the eggs and milk you dip the bread in. Mmmm...vanilla. My dad gets it in Mexico for me, but my sister-in-law makes her own. Maybe that's another blog down the road.

hugs~