Apple matrix

I was a little worried that all the free apples I've been getting from co-workers and from Tiffany and her dad's "hobby" orchard would endanger my marriage. Chris has been beyond patient with the pounds and pounds of apples that I've turned into quarts and quarts of apple sauce, butter, and pie filling. However, since he brought home a good-sized bags of apples courtesy of his chair earlier this week, I'm a little less worried about it. Regardless, we still have to figure out how to eat them, and I've already got more applesauce saved up for the transition to solid foods than any baby could possibly eat, and I think my freezer is holding more apple butter than I've eaten in my entire life put together.

If you have free apples coming out your ears like we do (LOVING living in northern Wisconsin... never in my life have I gotten so many free apples, tomatoes, and strawberries, which also happen to be my all-time most favorite produces), then you'll join me in thanks to Mark Bittman for an apple matrix. For lunch today I made the apple and brussels sprouts. Pretty easy, although I missed the delicious golden crust that sauteed brussels sprouts get. Next time I think I'll put those in first, cook for a bit with the lid off, then throw the apples and the rest in. I also tossed in some fresh cranberries for good measure, which I think was really worth it.

Next time: Apples and poppyseeds... :)

Crock pot apple butter

• 5 1/2 lbs apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped (or, leave the peel on if you're going to be using a blender at the end, not a whisk, to smooth it out. I used a food processor grater to finely chop them)
• 2-4 cups sugar
• 2 -3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Combine apples, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt in the slow cooker. Mix.
2. Place in crock pot, cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Stir every so often to mix in the sugar and spices.
3. Decrease heat to low; cover and cook on low for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown. Stir occasionally.
4. Uncover and cook on low for 1 hour longer.
5. Whisk until smooth, or use an immersion blender if you left the peels on.
6. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch head space.
7. Cover and freeze.

RESULTS:

This is from http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-apple-butter-93886. I changed the original recipe a lot based on the comments, and I agree with them that the taste of the apples should determine how much sugar you use. I used milder apples, and I probably put in about 3 cups of sugar. I might add more before I put it into jars, I haven't decided yet. (I'm making a second batch with some other apples, and I'm going to combine the two and see what I think then.) Some people processed their jars in a boiling water canner, but I'm not willing to do that without an expert telling me exactly how long it should be processed.  The big oops that I did was to add some allspice, thinking that would be awesome. It's not bad, but I wish I hadn't added it. You can always add more spices after it's finished it you want.

Baked Oatmeal

Kathleen found this recipe on the Fooducate Blog.

Dry ingredients:

• 2 cups old fashion oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Wet ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups sliced fruit
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, or sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray nonstick spray on a 8×8 baking dish (or equivalent). Mix dry ingredients and then mix in wet ingredients. Spoon into pan and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, remove foil, and bake for another 25 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy hot, cold, or room temperature. If well covered, this will keep in the fridge for one week.

RESULTS: This was a really nice Sunday breakfast, and the leftovers will make a great second breakfast for the rest of the week (infinitely better than the dried-out muffins that show up at work). I used a couple of the amazing apples Tiff gave me from her dad's orchard. I cooked it exactly to the instructions, and I think I could have left it in there a little longer after taking the foil off to get a nice golden crust (my oven seems to run a little cool, though). I drizzled just a little syrup over the top of my piece, because that's how I roll, but it really didn't need the extra sweetness. When Kathleen made it, she thought it was a a bit dry, but she used dried blueberries and coconut as the fruit, which I think would suck up a fair amount of moisture. So maybe if you want to use dried fruit, either let them soak for a while to plump up or add more liquid.