Pear Heaven

The concept of time intrigues me. So much of what we do is based on how much or how little time we perceive we have. In elementary school, I used to watch the second hand of the clock quiver as it ticked off each moment until the final bell to freedom rang. An invitation to a birthday party meant an entire week of watching seconds, minutes and hours drag by. And a year -- what child doesn't feel like a birthday or Christmas is a lifetime away and is never going to arrive?

Every year however, those moments have grown closer and closer together. At first, the change was imperceptible. Now time flies by so quickly that I catch myself missing hours and days and wondering what in the world I did with all that time.

Take this blog, for instance. I could have sworn I posted just a couple of weeks ago, well, a month ago anyway. But no...three months have come and gone. Obviously I survived the invasion of the apples, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and the birth of a new grandchild (# 16!). Last week Doug was laid off from his job and now new adventures lie ahead. Just like when I was a child, time slows down as I anticipate Doug hearing from potential employers. (Don't they know we are waiting?) On the other hand, time also seems to slip through my fingers as we struggle to find enough hours in the day to find other ways to meet our financial obligations.  I started thinking about eternity and wondering why, if in the next life I get to experience unlimited time, I feel so constrained by time in this one. (Does that make any sense at all?) I have more thoughts about that...but since you are probably already bored, I'll switch to what got me back on the blogging horse.

Pears.

I know...weird. It's not pear season here. Obviously it is somewhere, because last Saturday I came home from running errands with Doug to discover that we had been gifted with an entire box of over ripe Bosc pears. They smelled heavenly. They were very ripe...too ripe to can, but I knew there had to be something I could do with them. I searched the internet for ideas and inventoried my pantry and food storage to see what I had on hand, since no job means no money to run out for extras! I found jars and new lids, sugar, cinnamon, half a box of oranges that needed attention, flour, eggs, oil...and a few other mainstays in the house. (Hooray for food storage and being prepared!) On the internet I found dozens of yummy ideas for pear upside-down cake, puddings, sauces, flan...all incredibly tempting. Two recipes stood out because 1) they were simple and 2) because I had everything on hand to make them! I mentioned them on Face Book and several people requested I share...so here they are! I forgot to write down the sources...yikes!...but I also tweaked the recipes to fit my family's tastes. Here are my versions of:

Pear Butter

2 quarts pear pulp (20 - 25 pears)
4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Quarter and core about 20 - 25 pears. Place them in a pot with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, place a lid on the pot and cook the pears until they are soft -- stirring every few minutes to prevent scorching. When the pears are soft, let cool for a little bit, then press through a food mill or sieve. Measure the pulp into a large pot and add the remaining ingredients. Cook this mixture, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until it thickens. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, place lids and rings, and process in a hot water bath. (about 10 minutes/pint or 1/2 pint.) Super yummy on toast, waffles, crepes, oatmeal, pork chops....MMMMMM!

Pear Bread - okay...I have to admit I was a little skeptical about this one. But my bathroom scale will tell you just how much I can't resist nibbling (okay...snarfing) this bread!

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup pear sauce (just peel, core and "blenderize" a couple of pears)
3 eggs
2 cups of sugar (yeah, if you are diabetic, I would stay far away from this recipe!)
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour
zest of one lemon (actually, I forgot to put this in..and never noticed)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
-------------------------
1 3/4 cups finely chopped up pears.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare 2 loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat your wet ingredients together. In a medium bowl sift the flour with the other dry ingredients and  mix with a wire whisk. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently fold together. Add the chopped pears and and gently fold those in. (oh..and you can add a cup of chopped nuts if you like.)
Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. You can sprinkle the top of the batter with cinnamon and sugar if you like, but it is already super sweet. Either way...it will be great!
Bake for 60 - 70 minutes. Test at the 60 minute mark. Touch the top of the loaf. If it is firm and springs back a little, it is done. You don't want it too dry, but you don't want to under bake it either. You can also do the tooth pick trick. If the toothpick comes out clean after inserting into the middle of the bread, the bread is done. (I find this sometimes results in over cooking as the bread is quite moist.) Remove from pans and let cool.

So...do you know why Bosc pears are wrapped in paper? I had no idea! The skin of the Bosc pear is very sensitive to skin oils and bruises easily. Keep them wrapped in the paper and they last longer! 

Just in case you are so enchanted by my writing that you can't stand the thought of leaving, I have another story about "time."

My friend and mentor Stephanie Fleming expressed her frustrations the other day about balancing career and family and asked me how I dealt with it when my children were little. I shared my experience and pointed out that I was very young and had several children in quick succession, so I didn't have time to focus on my "career." That night, when I told my husband about our discussion, he asked - too sincerely--

"Well, did you tell her we didn't have computers back then?" 

I almost choked.

sigh.

I feel so old now.

 Enjoy your pears!!!

hugs~

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Where did October go? Halloween is in three days and I'm still working on September birthdays...sorry Chris! (I'm not such a good mother-in-law.) Not to mention Elizabeth turned 25 on the 7th and tomorrow Brittany turns 19. Levi turns 14 next week. I don't feel old enough to have children who are in their 30s, but I've noticed lately that my skin on my arms (sorry...tmi) is getting that loose, crepe-like appearance. That could be the weight loss though. As of today...I am finally down 35 pounds. (no thanks to my Wednesday night writing class!) Just 15 more to go (pounds, not writing classes...I need a life time of those!) and I'll reach my goal weight!

Oh...and Wednesday's class wasn't as over-the-top as last week. I did take a writing sample to be critiqued. And I took fresh chocolate chip cookies. Caleb told me to rewrite about a third of the essay, but also added that he liked more of it than he didn't like. Woohoo! I can see where his critique is spot on. He pointed out how many words I use to say so little. I've always had that problem, but he showed me why! At least two people cried this time, but one was tears of happiness because she earned Caleb's praises. Then there was a discussion about how women feel this huge pressure to be the perfect mom, housekeeper, cook, and look model gorgeous all at the same time. Caleb wasn't getting it. I declared that the day I realized that I wasn't going to burn in Hades because I buy frozen bread dough was one of the most liberating days of my life. We all had a good laugh and went back to our writing.  My favorite Caleb quote from Wednesday:

"It's a good thing you didn't write the Bible. We'd all be Muslims." ( yeah...you had to be there...but it really was funny!)

With Halloween just around the corner, here is a super fun way to use your pumpkins...so don't carve them! Paint them with nontoxic paints instead  and then eat them. (After you bake them of course!) It's really yummy! and super easy!!! The kids will get a kick out of it...and will at least give it a try. You can even "dress it up" for a grown up party. So far everyone in my family has enjoyed this meal.

Aren't these cute!!! Just right for generous single servings.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 medium pumpkin or 4 small sugar pumpkins
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbls. vegetable oil
2 pounds ground beef
2 Tbls soy sauce
2 Tbls brown sugar
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (or use a 4 oz can)
1 15 oz can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken or cream of celery)
2 cups cooked rice (brown is best, but white is great...whatever your family will eat!)
1 8oz can sliced water chestnuts ( or 1/2 - 1 cup chopped celery...again, whatever your family prefers)

1. Cut the tops out of the pumpkin(s) and clean out pulp and seeds. (save the seeds for roasting!)
2. Preheat oven to 350 deg.
3. Saute onions and garlic in the oil.
4. Add the hamburger and brown. Drain.
5. Add soy sauce, mushrooms, brown sugar and soup.

This really looks better in person...not a great picture...sorry!

6. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.
7. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts.
8. Spoon mixture into the pumpkin(s) and put tops in place. Set on a baking sheet and place in oven.
9. Bake about 1 hour -- until the pumpkin flesh is tender
10. Remove from the oven, and place on a plate. Remove the lid and scoop out pumpkin with the rice and meat for a yummy casserole dish!

I double the recipe...and got this...plus leftover filling.

I like the versatility of this recipe. You can season it anyway you like and trade out the celery or mushrooms, etc. Play with it and have fun! I think this is a great way to enjoy the harvest season get our families to try new things. Traditions are a great way to bring our families closer together.

Yummy!

What traditions do you share with your family in the Fall?
Warm hugs~

Country Apple Dumplings

Wow. I am not very good at keeping up with this blogging business! But I do have an excuse...the fall weather has been absolutely gorgeous. And, knowing that it could change at a moments notice, I have been picking more apples, gathering walnuts and almonds, fighting off cowardly gophers and discovering this:

Anybody care to guess what it is? Something or someone had a party on the trampoline. They feasted on these...yep, walnuts. And the tracks were left by those ring tailed varmint raccoons that come around knowing that our yard is the equivalent of raccoon heaven. If only they wouldn't invite all their friends and have all those raccoon babies...


So yesterday, the weather turned cold and I got back busy in the kitchen. Actually, we've enjoyed some fun seasonal recipes, but I just haven't had time to tell you about them! I got a produce basket Saturday that provided us with all the fixings for a hearty veggie soup. Sunday we had dinner in a pumpkin. I bought these perfect little sugar pumpkins...just right for one per person. But I can't find where I put the recipe, so I'll save that one for another day. Besides, it's always more fun to have dessert first, don't you think? Someone pointed out to me once that "stressed" backwards spells "desserts." That's all the excuse I need! (hee hee!)

I've been wanting to try this apple dessert for a couple of weeks, but it just never seemed the right time. My sister-in-law's husband just took a job in North Dakota and was leaving this past Monday, so we invited them over for dessert the night before.

Do any of you remember that old cartoon where the dog is given a treat and he hugs himself and hums and jumps into the air and then gently drifts back to the ground? yeah, well, that's how I felt after eating this dessert -- even without the whipped cream on top because said brother-in-law came over and borrowed the cream while I was at choir practice! Ha! ha!

I followed the recipe on line as it was written (well, except I doubled it)...since I had not made it before. I think I will tweak it next time and try to lower the fat content. (I don't even want to know how many hours of Pilates I need to do to make up for this one.) I wasn't sure how it would turn out. David (bil) pronounced them restaurant quality. (his ultimate compliment, btw!) Anyway, here is the version I found online for :

 (super easy)
Country Apple Dumplings

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla (well, maybe I did add a little extra...I usually do!)
1 cup butter (sigh...yep. that would be 2 full sticks)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 12 oz can ginger ale (or Sprite or 7-up or Mountain Dew...)
2 large Granny Smith apples - peeled and cored and cut into 8 wedges
2 tubes of Pillsbury crescent roll dough

Preheat your oven to 350 deg. F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.
Open the crescent roll dough and separated the triangles of dough. Roll each apple wedge in a triangle of dough by beginning at the skinny end. Pinch and seal the edges of the dough together around the apple wedge.Place the dumplings in the baking pan.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in both sugars and the cinnamon. Stir and cook until the mixture is smooth and starts to thicken. Removed from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Be careful! It will spit at you! Pour the sauce evenly over the dumplings. Pour half of the soda over everything. Place in oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until golden brown. (Drink the other half of the soda while you wait for the dumplings to bake.)

Serve warm with whipped cream or with a scoop
of ice cream. We ate ours alone...and loved them. be warned! They go down fast!

Warm (and slightly sticky) hugs~

How Chocolate Chip Cookies are Going to Help Me Learn to Write

I didn't get to post anything yesterday because I went somewhere last night. I don't know if it was purgatory or heaven. I'm still shaking in my woolly socks. I am either scared out of my writer's mind, or I just became the newest Caleb Warnock groupie. It could be that my blood sugar is too low. I just realized I haven't eaten anything since I walked through the doors of the Historic American Fork City Hall into the jaws of -- what? I don't know what to call it. I think my muse is still curled up in a fetal position in some secret passageway of that old building.

Sorry. I don't mean to sound like such a drama queen, but I've never seen a teacher make students cry like that before. At the same time, I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants. Too cliche. But it's true! Next time, I am definitely visiting the ladies room before class AND during the break.

Do you remember the movie "The Paper Chase?"  John Houseman portrays a much feared law professor by the name of Charles Kingsfield. (If you haven't seen this movie or the series on TV from a few decades back...you should watch it. The characters are fascinating...or you could read the book...by Jay Osborn, Jr.) Okay -- put Professor Kingsfield's mannerisms into a big, burly, blond English professor/farmer. Put that guy in jeans and Tevas (and navy blue, gold-toe socks). Now put him in a room with 8 female writers ranging in age from their mid-twenties to somewhere in their 70s. One woman is pregnant with her fifth child. I should have known there was a significance to the food offerings some of the women brought to the class. (Now I can't help imagining natives throwing food into a volcano to appease their fire gods.) 


Professor Caleb began the class by announcing that he needed to raise $1000 by Thanksgiving for the American Fork Fine Arts Council Press. His plan: to get 50 people to commit to asking 20 friends for $1 each. Then he started writing all our names down and asking for suggestions for other names. After about 20 minutes of "bullying", one of the other first time attendees said,


"I'll write you a check for $100 right now, if you'll just start the class."


He nodded. She wrote the check. Class started.

I don't think it's possible to describe what happened after that. You kind of have to be there. After making a couple of students write their sentences on the white board, and everyone getting a bit frustrated, Caleb felt the need for a visual to make his point. He climbed up and laid his body across the tables and acted out a woman giving birth. Yeah, like I said, you kind of had to be there. Later in class, one lady started talking about reading a negative review of the movie "Abduction." She said, "But, I liked that movie." Her friend said, Yeah, but you like Caleb, too." ahahaha! Writers can be so snarky! I love it.

In all fairness, I want to share this great comment from Loraine Scott (a member of Wasatch Writers and the gal who told me about this class). "The class always has the 'take no prisoners' kinda attitude. You are expected to bring work and share... he says his comments are filled with "buckets of love" but they can be pretty difficult to take even filled with love. But... he says he would rather be honest and help you then to deceive you into thinking "your crap is good". We already think we've written the great American novel and then Caleb looks at it and we see it for what it is. Only the great survive C's classes. Many of his students have gone on to publish and that's really what its all about for him. He wants to see people succeed and now that he has had his first book published, I'm sure he's gotten even worse. If you feed him chocolate, he behaves himself."

Caleb did cut me some slack when he asked me if I brought anything with me and I said no, that I thought I would listen and learn the first time around. He didn't let me get away with not participating, however. And guess what! I got a snorty laugh...and a round of applause for my first sentence! One class member said that he is always nice the first time, and beguiles you to come again, and then gets really mean. Then I got another laugh and applause for the second sentence. Whew. After class, Caleb asked if I was going to bring anything next week. I hesitated, and he said, "Without being fearful." I said I would bring something, but that I would be full of fear and trepidation. He accepted that. 

And you can bet your first book that I will be going back. I feel like I could write a best seller just by being a fly on the wall and writing about all the writers in the class and how their life stories play out during the class. Besides, I have something to say, and I think I found the help I need to learn how to say it.

I'll take some fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies with me...just in case.
Here's the recipe we like best...(sorry, no pictures today...too many other things on my plate!)
In a large mixing bowl, cream together:
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 cups butter


Add:
4 eggs

Mix well and stir in:
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt


Add 6 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. Mix in carefully. Don't overmix. Stir in 2 cups (or more) of chocolate chips.


Drop by spoonfuls (I use a scoop!) onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 deg. for about 10 minutes..or until light golden brown. Don't overbake...unless you prefer a crunchy cookie. I like mine crisp on the outside, but still gooey inside. Is there anything more comforting than a really good, fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie? Maybe...but not many!
hugs~

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~

Let Them Eat Cake!

I love it when I can solve two problems with one solution! I wanted to post a new apple recipe today, but I also knew that I had a ton of more pressing things on my to-do list. I host a writer's group in our home every second Thursday. I wanted an extra nice dessert because we had a special guest coming -- author Carla Kelly. Carla is "the author of more than 30 novels and novellas for Donald I. Fine Co., Signet, and Harlequin. Carla is the recipient of two Rita Awards (think Oscars for romance writing) from Romance Writers of America and two Spur Awards (think Oscars for western fiction) from Western Writers of America." (bio from her novel Marian's Christmas Wish). Carla gave us delightful presentation on the craft of writing. Her sweet husband accompanied her. I think we should have them come back and give him a turn to teach us a few things too! He is a playwright and fascinating to talk to. A huge hug and thank you to the Kelly's!

Anyway, I also spent a number of hours working on my latest copy job. I'm writing a free report for a guy about the e-coupon industry. Actually quite interesting. I wonder what the economy would be like if we all just stopped using coupons and the businesses lowered their prices for real, instead of inflating everything and then marking it down to make it look like they are giving us a deal. Is there really, truly a "regular" price for anything? Just a rhetorical question...but back to today:

Okay...long story cut short. The hearing in which I was supposed to testify this morning was continued for a later date.  Yeah! More time for apples!...and laundry...and copywriting. I found a promising recipe on the Martha Stewart website. Actually, I found lots of promising recipes there, but since I could only pick one, I chose John Baricelli's Three Layer Apple Cake. Only I decided to make it two layers and I decided to try a Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting instead of the Butter Cream frosting used in the recipe posted online. I also noticed that the gallon jar full of dried apple slices was almost empty! I filled it back up. Because I could! Yeah! I'm glad the family is enjoying them. I'll post the details on drying the apples in a couple of days.

Sorry, I keep getting off track. Today was so full of random stuff. Oh! My mom called and asked if I thought we could stand having her come up and stay for 10 days! I am so excited! Our grandson Ephraim is going to have his baptism here instead of in Idaho so that more family can attend. Gigi wants to come for that and for my cousin Austin's wedding. I'm putting in an order for some amazing Indian Summer weather so that Mom can see some color while she is here.

Have you ever thought about how the Bible never says that Adam ate an apple. It describes the "fruit of the Tree of Knowledge", but it doesn't say apple anywhere in the account.  I've often wondered how apples got involved. According to healthdiaries.com, " It was Hugo Van Der Goes who first implicated the apple as the forbidden fruit in his 1470 A.D. painting, The Fall of Man. After that, it became popular to depict the apple as the forbidden fruit."

Hmmm...I have 45 minutes before it's tomorrow. I guess I better give you the recipe for that cake. Levi is still up doing homework so I am staying up with him. LOL...the dog keeps coming up to Levi and licking his arm to get his attention and then walking over to the stairs. Gentry sleeps in Levi's room. He's telling us it is time for bed. I love animals!

oh yeah...the cake.
John Barricelli's Three Layer Cake  (With Two Layers and a Different Frosting)

1 stick melted butter                                        
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled - 2 coarsely grated and 2 diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. Butter 3 - 8 inch round cake pans. (I used 2 9-inch). Line with parchment paper. Butter, then flour paper and sides of pans.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar and eggs until well combined; fold in grated and diced apples. Add flour mixture; mix just until combined. Divide batter among pans - smooth batter out.

3. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes ( use the tooth pick test). Cool cakes in the pans for about 20 minutes, then invert the pans onto wire racks, peel off the paper, and let the cakes completely cool.
 You can also bake this cake batter in a 9 x 13 pan and bake about the same amount of time.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup brown sugar
10 Tbls butter - divided into 4 tbls and 6 tbls.
1/3 cup heavy cream
8 oz package cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Melt the brown sugar and 4 tbls of the butter over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Whisk in the cream. Blend well and transfer to a bowl and let cool at room temperature. Stir this once in awhile to help the cooling process and to keep it from getting dried up on the surface.

2. Place the remaining 6 tbls. of butter and the cream cheese in a large bowl. beat together until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and beat some more. add the dash of salt, stir, and then very gradually, while the mixer is still going, add the brown sugar mixture. Then gradually add the powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time, beating well in between additions. Chill frosting slightly before frosting the cake.

Frost the cake! Yummy!  I double the frosting recipe and ended up with 2 quarts. To be perfectly honest, I think the cake is better with no frosting. It is very dense and moist and sweet. I think this frosting will be exquisite on some cinnamon rolls with grated apple in them. So watch for my Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls in the next few days. ...20 minutes til the witching hour...

I served this with hot cider (freshly squeezed from the Gala apples) with a shot of cream and caramel. I'll post the recipe later, too.  (I have ten minutes before I turn into an apple!)
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~