Got Apples? This soup will please your palate!

Today started out pretty well. A gorgeous full moon slipped to the west just as the sun lit up a cloudless blue sky to the east. We got the kids off to school after family prayer and scriptures and a warm breakfast of eggs and toast (made out of that delightful maple apple oatmeal bread). I played catch up on folding yesterday's laundry and had just finished tidying up the kitchen and drinking my spinach smoothie when the phone rang. 


"Kari, are you okay? Rachel just called and said she was worried because you haven't picked her up to take her to work yet."

Oh no!  I totally spaced that today is Wednesday -- my morning to take our sweet neighbor to her job in Lindon. I stammered an apology and told Rachel's mom I would leave immediately. Rachel graciously reassured me that I was not the only person to forget. That almost made me feel worse. But I got her to work and tonight I will write this obligation down on all of the Wednesdays in my planner instead of just a week at a time.

I use the dining table as my office space. I can see out the windows to the back and the front and watch the world while I work. I thought the police officer walking up to the front door wanted to talk to Natasha. I cringed when I heard him tell her he needed to talk to me. He handed me a subpoena to appear in court tomorrow to testify against the guy that assaulted Natasha back in July. Ugh. Thank goodness I saved a bowl of the yummy chowder that Sandy Vernon served at the luncheon yesterday because I needed some serious comfort food. A piece of Cadbury dark chocolate helped a lot too.

too many apples!

That scrumptious chowder got me to thinking about using apples in a soup. Did you know that the crab apple is the only variety of apple that is native to North America? I had no idea! Here's a picture of the crab apple tree in my back yard.
 
 As you can see, I haven't even started harvesting those apples yet.

A few more facts about apples (according to the University of Illinois Extension website):
   * Apple blossom is the state flower of  Michigan.
   * Apples are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free and a medium apple has about 80 calories.
   * Charred apples have been found in prehistoric dwellings in Switzerland.

Okay...back to the soup. Another friend served a Butternut Squash and Apple soup yesterday. I Googled a recipe and found this one from Emeril. I sampled the result just before writing this. You know how when you rub a dog's belly and you hit just the right spot and the dog starts kicking his leg back and forth as fast as he can? Oh. My. Deliciousness. I sliced some apples to go with the soup and got out a loaf of French Bread. Here's the recipe: I doubled this btw...so don't get confused by the pictures.

Squash from my sister-in-law's garden and apples from our trees.

Emeril's Butternut Squash and Apple Soup   

4 slices of bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 large leek
1 large clove garlic ( I always add a little extra...but I love, love, love fresh garlic!)
1/2 bay leaf
salt, pepper to taste

1 1/4 lbs butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and cubed

Can't you just smell the bacon!

1 medium Granny Smith apple - peeled and chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup water
2 Tbls. sour cream, plus more for garnish                    
Apples, unpeeled and sliced for garnish

here's one of those peeler/corer/slicer thingamabobs!

Chop up and cook the bacon. Set it aside for garnish. Use 1 1/3 Tbls of the rendered grease to saute your onions, leeks, bay leaf, and garlic until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add your squash, apple, broth and water.

Ready to cook.

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 - 25 minutes -- until the squash is tender. Remove the bay leaf and puree the soup in a blender. Put in a clean saucepan. Whisk in the sour cream. Heat over a med.-low heat until hot, but DO NOT BOIL. Serve with a garnish of crumbled bacon, a dollop of sour cream and chopped or sliced apple.

Makes about 4 1/2 cups. (Recipe from abcnews.com/recipe)

Be careful! It is hot!

   

Warm 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~