Apples in the Kitchen!

I love apples! Back about 13 years ago, I even very painstakingly hand painted and stenciled apples in a checked pattern on my kitchen walls, since that time....I've gathered quite an extensive collection of apples! Apple items adorn every nook and cranny.

Here's what we did with our own collection from our apple trees a few weeks ago...



We made applesauce:

Lots of apple crisp!

We had to peel and ... and peel...

(we had a little help, some of you know who this is)

and then arranged them in pans!



We topped them off with a crumbly topping...YUMMY!!

Here's the recipes we used:

APPLE CRISP
8X10 inch pan - 8 servings Time: 45 minutes Temp. 350 degrees

5 apples
1/2 cup sugar
Cinnamon

Crust
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Butter Pyrex dish or pan. Peel and slice athe apples into dish. Cover with 1/2 cup sugar and sprinkle with cinnaon. Mix flour, brown sugar and butter until it resembles cornmeal. Cover the apples with this crust and bake until light brown or well done.

(I double this for the 9X13 pan - it makes for a thicker, deep dish crisp). Enjoy!


APPLE DAPPLE CAKE
(courtesy of the Prairie Dwellers - www.prairiedwellers.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
1 tsp.cinnamon
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 cups peeled and diced apples
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup coconut or 3/4 cup oatmeal
1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together eggs, sugar, and oil. Add dry ingredients, then apples, nuts, and vanilla. Bake in 9x13-inch pan for 45 minutes.

Icing:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup milk

Boil for 3 minutes. Poke holes all over top of cake, pouring icing over while cake is still hot. The icing will soak into the cake. Let cool.

Thanks Bryce!! This is extremely good!

Have a blessed day!

Lori

Autumn Harvest

What natural beauty bestows the countryside as fall comes to season. Leaves begin to change color in rustic shades of brown, orange and red. The trees boast ripe, juicy apples, ready for picking. Pumpkins and gourds adorn porches, and the autumn sunset glows of harvest colors onto the land.

Oh, for all the fruits and vegetables that abound during the fall! Apples and squash are two of the most plentiful and picturesque members of the produce family that graced grocery store shelves with the approach of cool weather. Both apples and squash are versatile members of the fall food season, meaning they are equally scrumptious served up in the bulk of the main course and as the headliner on the dessert table. Open up your hearts and kitchens to the most plentiful crops of the fall season – apples and squash!!

Johnny Appleseed, an American folk hero who was actually named John Chapman, covered 100000 acres in his lifetime – on foot, planting apple seeds, the fruits of which we’re still enjoying today. He apparently had a dream in which he envisioned a land completely covered in apple blossoms, and was inspired, beginning the very next morning, to spend the rest of his life planting and growing apple trees. Why not start peeling and whip up some of your favorite apple recipes, such as apple crisp, apple pie, apple upside-down cake, apple bread, or apple scones. With over 7500 varieties worldwide and several times that in recipes to use them, it shouldn’t be hard to find an apple-pleasing dessert!

Although there are no famous American folktales cataloguing the inspiration and glory of squash – seed planting, squash does indeed have a long and well-founded history in the young Americas. The word squash itself comes directly from the Native American word “askutasquash” which means, “eaten raw or uncooked”. The Iroquois tribe considered squash along with corn and beans to be the “sustenance of life”. Squash are nutritious (jam-packed with vitamins A and C) as well as delicious and abundant. How much more convincing do you need? Why not try some baked squash, squash soup, pumpkin pie, or any number of pumpkin dessert recipes you already have on hand.

With the pressing garden work of spring and summer behind, you now have time to enjoy your harvest. Warm fall colors will fill your kitchen as squash, tomatoes, pumpkins, eggplant and corn are harvested. The cool weather’s creeping up on us so, it’s time to heat the kitchen up with hearty soups and stews, and fill the house with the wonderful aroma of baking cookies and breads. Nothing quite compares to the satisfying wholesomeness of a hearty, home-made meal.

Get out your recipe box and start digging for those treasured delights of fall, today!

Have a blessed day!
Lori

Bread Baking (and eating!)

Mmmmm....the wonderful smell of bread baking in the oven. Just nothing quite like it. And eating that first slice of warm bread smothered in butter - ooh, nothing quite as rewarding to the taste-buds.

My mom used to spend Saturdays baking homemade buns for our family when I was growing up. I can still see the top of the old freezer lined with rows of neatly spaced balls of dough left there to rise. I'm sure it was more a "labor of love" than an actual money saving event. Perhaps she just plain enjoyed hearing the oohs and aaahs from her appreciative family, as we sank our teeth into a fresh slice of homemade bread. Perhaps she got satisfaction from knowing we were getting a nutritious addition to our daily diet. Whatever her reasons, she faithfully baked bread for us for years and we joyfully ate it!

I find it interesting that the Bible speaks much about "bread". Jesus Christ rebuked the devil when he commanded the Son of God to turn stones to bread by saying, "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." And in another place He called Himself the "Bread of Life", telling us the importance of accepting Him as Savior in our own lives and reminding us that we need His word daily. Paul tells us to eat the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" in I Corinthians 5:8. We are to ask the Lord to give us our "daily bread", speaking of Him providing our necessary food each and every day. But one of the most interesting references to bread is found in Proverbs 31:27, where it mentions we, as wives, ought not to eat "the bread of idleness". Why is it that some wives and mother's never seem to find enough hours in their day to accomplish the many tasks at hand, while others seem bored, oblivious to their daily duties, spending hours on the phone or visiting with friends. There may be no harm and even something at times to be gained from a friendly visit. But we can all too easily let this pleasantry take too much of our time, allowing us to become guilty of eating "the bread of idleness".

After filling ourselves with this bread we are sure to end up with a stomachache of discouragement, worthlessness, and unhappiness. Why? Because God intended for us to work. There is therapeutic value in work. We are happiest when busy. We can gain a sense of worth when we've accomplished something. It is rewarding. Many a broken or discouraged heart has been healed while working outdoors in the sunshine amongst flowers.

Here's a word of caution, though, we need a variety of "breads" to have a balanced diet. Don't neglect to eat "the Bread of Life", and indulge in God's Word daily. That's the true life-giving bread and a mainstay if we are to "looketh well to the ways of [our] household". You'll find no time to be bored and you'll have energy to accomplish all the Lord has in mind for you daily. Your reward? ..."strength and honour are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come." - Proverbs 31 woman

Have a blessed day,

Lori