So many apples and a pumpkin

I love to cook and I love find ways to use up ingredients that I have in the house in new ways. Right now I have an overabundance of Macintosh apples from Z's apple picking adventure. So far I have made crockpot apple butter and amazing apple cookies.

The crockpot apple butter recipe is dead simple but time consuming. It is from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann on page 481. I love this cookbook, my mom gave it to me as a gift and it is one of my most thumbed thru books. One standout is the Boston Baked Beans which my sister T turned me onto. If you have never had fresh baked beans you do not know what you are missing. I can tell you you will never want to go back to canned beans again!

The amazing apple cookies recipe I found at the blog bread-and-honey:

http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/2008/07/glazed-apple-cookies.html

I modified the recipe further by leaving off the glaze, swapping in dark raisins for the golden ones and leaving out the walnuts. I have to limit myself to only 3 every morning with a cup of tea for breakfast. Yes, they are THAT good.

Other apple recipes that i am going to try and complete today are for the freezer, for work and for my friend, C's ladies crafting potluck tomorrow night.

The recipe that is for the folks at work is from The Art of Jewish Cooking by Jennie Grossinger:

Apple Cake

1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons sugar
1 stick butter-room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
4 cups peeled, sliced apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and 3 tablespoons sugar into a bowl. Work in half of the butter. Beat the egg and milk together and add flour, mixing until a dough is formed. Pat into a buttered 12 x 8 inch baking pan. Arrange the apples in rows. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and remaining sugar. Melt the remaining butter and pour over the top. Bake in a 400 degree oven 35 minutes or until apples are tender.

The recipe for my freezer is modified from Oat Cuisine by Bobbie Hinman, they are perfect to defrost overnight and then pop in the toaster for a quick breakfast on the go:

Applesauce Spice Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup skim milk
2 egg whites
1 cup spiced applesauce**
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped fresh apple
Ground cinnamon for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil muffin cups to be used In a large bowl, combine flour, oat bran and baking soda. Mix well. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except raisins, walnuts and chopped apple. Beat with a fork or wire whisk until blended. add to dry mixture, along with raisins, walnuts and chopped apple, stirring until all ingredients are moistened. Divide mixture into muffin cups and bake 20-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove muffins to a rack to cool.

** If you do not have spiced applesauce you can use unsweetened mixed well with 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves & 1/4 tsp ground allspice)

And 2 apple pies, 1 for my freezer, 1 for my friends.

A future apple recipe I want to try if any are left after all this baking is to make a couscous salad with some olive oil, chickpeas, raisin, sunflower seeds, chipped apple bits, shredded carrot, lemon, cinnamon, turmeric, lemon pepper, coriander, sea salt and pepper.

Oh yeah, 1 pumpkin rendered by roasting. Now to puree it and then let it sit over a colander to let the excess liquid drain out. Then into the freezer it goes in 14 oz. portions to be used in future endeavors.

I tossed the seeds with olive oil, coarse sea salt and garlic powder and baked at 300 for 30 minutes. Wow.

And finally a baking soda tip: To tell if your baking soda is still good to use for baking pour a 1/2 teaspoon vinegar into a dab of baking soda, if it bubbles it is fresh. But don't throw it out if it is not fresh either pour it down your sink, toilette or laundry to freshen up those things.