Apple Pie & Baseball

No, there is nothing more American!

These two proverbial pastimes made my afternoon. I got to listen to my Nationals shut out the Marlins (thereby also taking first place in the National League and winning home field advantage for the playoffs next week!) and bake with apples I picked with my good friend Kailey on Wednesday. There's a fantastic, tiny orchard around the corner from my neighborhood and I noticed they had a "U PICK!" sign out front. Then she invited me to visit the orchard and pick apples with the moms group she's in so I went, and we picked about 15 pounds each. We spent that morning in the honeycrisps, which are super yummy, and it was such a fun way to spend the morning. We definitely went back today. There's an apple extravaganza planned for next week--we have big plans for pies and apple butter and apple cocktails and anything else we can pin! Meanwhile, I had to try making something today.

I had originally planned to pickle my cucumbers, but I needed to run the jars through the dishwasher. So, while I waited on that to finish, I couldn't resist starting on some apple pie. A test run, if you will (or impatience, whatever. call it what you want). I also had some Pilsbury pie crust (don't judge me) in the fridge in its last days so I needed to get rid of it.

So I made pies. Plural, 'cause they're mini! I cut out dough with my Salty Dog Cafe glass and made tiny pies with tiny leaf cutouts made from extra dough.

 

I used this filling recipe from sugarywinzy.com which was simple and smelled amazing. I even made my own brown sugar (1 T of molasses to 1 cup of granulated sugar, then measure & use according to your brown sugar needs)! Since I didn't use her crust recipe I guessed and baked at 425 for 23 minutes. A taste test will tell if I need to post some adjustments. I shall let you know.

 

 

Picking apples reminded me of when we were kids and used to go in the fall. Being in the apple trees reminded me of being back in Virginia, where Winchester rivals the North West's apple growing. Orchards make me happy! Eating apple pie reminds me I do like Autumn!

Oh, and I did also finish making pickles. I'll post that later this weekend.

Off to do dishes,

kt

 

 

 

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Blackberry Morning

Good morning! In this indecisive season of March (65 tuesday, snow yesterday, cold today), I have had enough of winter mode. I found a muffin recipe a few weeks ago on Pinterest that I had to try. I started to make them last Saturday for breakfast, but ran out of time. How do I always think there's more time than there is? This morning there is plenty of time. It's my last weekday morning off and it's an off Friday for my fella (I love this schedule of every other Friday off!), so we get a free day together. Muffins that taste like summer are the best way to start such a day.

The recipe was for blueberry jam muffins, and their photo looks fantastic. They are blueberry with blueberry jam & lemon zesty sugar topping. This berry and citrus combination is something I've always enjoyed, and when I think of the colors of blueberry & lemon I have to smile. It's so so summery and fresh, no? I have been thinking about those muffins ever since I pinned them, but with no time to make them. I haven't baked since Christmas. What?!

Alas, I have no blueberries. Nor a lemon. But there is a handful of blackberries (frozen, but from the new Natural Grocers store that just opened in town! They'll do) and a handful of raspberries (frozen too, but I picked them at my friend Mary's house last summer to round out a super fun quintessential summer day). I rather enjoy when I find I have exactly the amount of something I need. I needed two cups and had a cup of each. So I made these muffins and just ate one with a full cup of hot, uninterrupted coffee and I'm a happy girl.

I adapted the recipe from Damn Delicious, and am looking forward to baking them just as she instructs in the very near future. In the meantime, my muffins have raspberries inside and blackberry jam on top. Sprinkled with a little bit of sugar, they've got such a good light crunch on the top. Yum.

You can find the original recipe for the blueberry muffins here. To make my Raspberry Muffins with Blackberry Jam Topping, I used one cup of blackberries for the first step (making the "jam") and one cup of raspberries for the batter.

And so I start my day with a tiny taste of summer. These muffins reminded me of a raspberry jam from last summer that I made. I am very, very much looking forward to doing that again soon. Not soon enough. I hope you have a fun Friday, and are staying warm wherever you are. Has it stopped snowing back East yet?!

 

With summery thoughts,

kt

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Much A'do About Rhubarb

SO much to do!  Good morning!  This weekend I took my scissors to the rhubarb plant again.  This is the third round of fruit I've gotten from my wonderful and generous little plant.  It's not so little anymore, and I didn't know how big it would get when I bought it on sale at Wal*Mart last summer.  It's made me a believer!  








Wowzuh, it's been so good to us.  It's just July and I've gotten a big old batch of rhubarb ginger jam, some to freeze, and now these yummy rhubarb muffins.  I had to Instagram and Facebook that picture, and got several suggestions in response to my "what do I do with this batch?!" quandary.  I'd not ever thought of muffins with this tarty loveliness, so I researched some recipes.  (Dear Pinterest, I love you so!)   

Here's what I found.  It's a terrific and easy recipe from a terrific and cleverly named blog called Arctic Garden Studio.  I realize Idaho Falls is no Fairbanks, but it is nice to have a resource and an ally in the world of Nothing Grows Before June!  I also enjoy that she uses yogurt--it makes these muffins so moist and spongy.  Terrific!  I used Hermes Greek Gods, and NOT the non-fat version.  I'll not have it!  Please note that I used mini muffin tins for two dozen treats, and also got a 1/2 dozen large muffins out of this recipe.  Here you have it!

Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins, from Arctic Garden Studio (who adapted it from Fine Cooking)

Muffins:

2 cups AP flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar (I use raw cane sugar)

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup whole milk yogurt (I use Hermes 

Greek God regular--not non-fat--yogurt)

8 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

1tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups diced rhubarb

Topping:

3 T granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degreesF, and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil baking cups.  I used Pam instead of cups for the little ones--you need to grease or line!  

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients and whisk to blend.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the next four ingredients until smooth.  Next, with a spatula, lightly stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture until the batter just comes together.  Be careful not to overmix.  Gently stir in the diced rhubarb.  The batter will be thick.

Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups, using the back of a spoon or spatula to settle the batter into the cups, or slam the pan on the counter to settle just as nicely (her suggestion, and it works well!).  The batter should mound a bit higher than the tops of the cups. 

In a small bowl, combine the sugar & cinnamon and mix well.  Sprinkle a 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture atop the large muffins (about a 1/4 tsp. on the minis).

Bake until the muffins are golden brown, and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18-22 minutes.*  Transfer the tins to a rack to cool, then carefully lift out the muffins.   Enjoy (several at a time)!

*I baked these--both the minis and the large ones, baked separately--for 15 minutes.  We also live at an elevation of 4,700 feet, and I can never get baking times right.  I decided to check them at 15 minutes and they were perfect.  

TADA!

Uh, don't tell anyone, but I've already eaten three...  Thanks to my friend, colleague, and fellow East Coaster & Nationals fan, Ken, for making the winning suggestion.  I shall share with him tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, I discovered rhubarb is one of those words that starts to sound funny if you say it enough. 

Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb,

KT