Apple Season is Here :: Homemade Apple Sauce

Hope you had a lovely weekend!  A. and I have been very lazy and have hardly left the couch... we finally got Tivo installed and it has completely sucked us in!  I thought the idea was that you can record shows while you're not home, well it's had the opposite effect on us.  I did make it away from the TV for a few hours yesterday to do a little work in the kitchen.  I cleaned all the cabinets, the fridge, moved pots and pans around, threw out old spices, and even created a cabinet of Fido jars to house all of our dry goods - flours, sugars, salts, herbs, and oats all in their own jar.  I love it...a little Fall cleaning was much in order!

I realized I had a big bowl of apples from last week's farmer's market.   I decided they had to be used up before we go apple picking in a couple of weeks and come back with more piles.  Get ready for apple season:  tarts, pies, upside down cakes, and of course: apple sauce!  So I decided to make apple sauce, mostly because I love it (...a little weird but I actually buy Gerber's all the time as an after dinner dessert), but also because I bought an immersion blender last week that was begging to be used!  :-)

Well, it came out delicious, and so easy.  No need for store-bought.  I also had a few Bartlett Pears around, so I threw them in as well... why not!   I stored it in mason jars and into the fridge they went.  You can also freeze it for months.  It's a perfect snack or a topping for savoury meats.  Our neighbors - M. & G. - invited us over for dinner tonight to help them get through a turkey breast they are roasting, and A. had the idea that we could top it w/apple sauce.  Perfect, no need to make gravy!  So that's what we'll be having for dinner tonight, I can't wait: yum! 

Enjoy!

APPLE SAUCE (adapted from Simply Recipes)

6 large cooking apples (granny smith, macintosh, golden delicious, golden crisps, fuji, etc)

2 pears (optional)

Juice of one lemon

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

1 Cinnamon Stick

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup white sugar

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Peel and quarter the apples and pears.  Put all ingredients in a large pot over high heat.  bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer on low heat for 25 minutes.

Remove from the heat and remove the cinnamon stick.  For a smooth texture, puree the mixture with a hand blender or use a potato masher for a chunkier consistency.

Enjoy warm, or allow to cool for later.  

IDEAS:  For a twist, add a star anise will boiling, or even a tip of ginger.  You can also add raisins, craisins, or blueberries to serve.

Just Dessert :: Apple & Apricot Coffee Cake

While A. was busy prepping for his paella on Saturday, I was in charge of dessert.  :-)

I found this delicious recipe for a dense/crispy cake topped with apricots on Chocolate & Zucchini (one of my favorite blogs!).  I also had some crisp apples from our CSA share, so I combined thinly sliced apples with the apricots.

Delicious! ...Plus the recipe is in grams so it gave me a chance to use my Escali light blue kitchen scale, which reminds me of a Vespa!

APPLE & APRICOT COFFEE CAKE (adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini)

300 grams red apples (thinly sliced)

200 grams ripe apricots

225 grams all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp baking soda

150 grams of butter

100 grams of sugar

1 egg lightly beaten

Topping:

1 tbsp plain yogurt

1 tbsp sugar

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Butter and lightly flour a 9" cake pan (I used a non-stick skillet).

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, baking powder, and room temperature butter.  Add in the sugar, and mix.  Add the egg, vanilla, and milk.  Mix until fully combined.  Pour the batter into the pan.  It will be very think, almost like a bread dough, so spread it with a spatula or your hands if needed.  Place the apples in a circular pattern over the top of the mix with the apricots in the center.

In a bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and egg and beat with a fork. Pour the mixture over the top of the cake.  Put in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden.  Leave it in the turned off oven for another 15 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream (I used Haagen Dazs Five Vanilla Bean).

Enjoy!