Apple Cobbler

Conor (Kalen's brother) invited us to for a picnic at the park with the boys. We gladly accepted and brought chips and apple slices. I didn't want the slices to turn brown and I also wanted them sliced before arriving at park. So I deconstructed 6 apples (2 granny, 2 jazz, and 2 large jonagold). And submerged them in cold water with one squeezed lemon and a little bit of salt. It kept the apples crisp and no browning.

 

But we brought home left over apples. And I thought it would be fun to make cobbler. Its my first without my Mom and its my first Apple.  We would have made pie but I like the crust on cobbler better. So here we go.

Apple Filling

• sliced peeled apples (I used about 4.5)
• 3/4c sugar
• 2T white wheat flour
• 2.5t cinnamon
• 1/4t salt
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1.5T orange juice

Mix well till apples are coated. Take pan and lightly butter sides before pouring apple filling in.

 

Note: I made two since the first didn't cover the whole cobbler. Also it was a bit dry so for the 2nd batter I added a little bit of OJ since I used all white wheat flour.

First Batter (under the 2nd one), mix well and serve on top of apple mixture

• 1/2c white wheat flour (1/8c of was white flour)
• 1/2c sugar
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1/4t salt
• 1/2t cardamon
• 1 egg

Second Batter, mix well and serve on top of first batter

• 1/2c white wheat flour
• 1/2c sugar
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1/4t salt
• 1/2t cardamon
• 1egg
• 1T orange juice

Dap on about 1T of butter ( could use 2T) on batter. Bake for 35-45 minutes on 375. Or till crust is brown

 

In hindsight I would have used a flatter pan to cook instead of a bread pan. I had to break the crust in order for the rest of the batter in the first layer to finish cooking.

The cardamon was wonderful in the cake batter and the 1 to 1 ratio for the sugar made it a bit more crunchy in the crust than if I had used a 2 to 1 ratio of flour to sugar.

Overall tasty, serve warm with some vanilla ice cream.

Vegetables with the help of pork

I would say that this is vegetarian since there was no physical meat present but people argue that using bacon fat is meat. So...I feel vegetarian inspired! Two dishes, Sauteed vegetables in bacon fat and boil potatoes in pork stock.

Sauteed in bacon fat

• 1 portabella mushroom, thinly sliced squares
• sqaush and zucinni, thinly sliced rounds
• 1/5 diakon radish, thinly sliced half rounds
•  

Add and steam with lid on

• diakon radish leaves and stems, thinly sliced
• 6 swiss chard leaves and stems, thinly sliced
• 1T of saki
• 1T of white balsamic vinegar

 Add

• Ground pepper
• Crushed basil leaves (or oregano)

Steam till all greens are fully cooked. Note: would have been great over brown or wild rice.

Other side dish...
I used the pineapple/vegetable stock to boil a pork lion that I planned to slice for sandwiches for Kalen. It turned into pulled pork by the time it was done cooking. No complaints, we added bbq sauces and some spices. Had some really good sandwiches. Then I was left with pork stock. So I used it in this next dish.

 Boil

•  pork stock (cover the potatos)
• 4 red potatoes with skin on, cubbed
• 2 T of chopped parsley

Once the potatoes are tender, drain with spatula to serve on plate. And keep the left over potatoes and stock for a potato soup :)

I seasoned my servings with a little bit of salt and habanero ground pepper. 

And there you have it! It was just enough for the two of us. Very filling.

Lasagna three way

I had planned three Lasagna's today though they didn't go as I wanted. I got strapped for time because of a phone interview. So Lasagna consists of (1) Tofu (2) portabella mushrooms (3) zucinni and yellow squash with vine tomatoes, pablano peppers, onions, and a lot of other good stuff. Prep time two hours.

 In bowl, beat (eggs) then mix in and set aside

• 4 large eggs
• 6T dried parsley
• 15oz low fat ricotta cheese & 15oz non fat ricotta cheese
• 4t cayenne peppers

In a large skillet with olive oil cook seperatly

• 2 portabella mushooms, sliced length wise
• 1 zuccinni and 1 yellow squash, thinly sliced circles
• 2 pablano peppers and 1/2 onion, sliced in thinly with thin celery (1/3stick)

Slice thinly

• 3 Vine ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 container of hard tofu

Start layering.

Be sure not there is a good amount of liquid in each layer or the pasta will not have enough liquid to cook in the pan. Use olive oil if your vegetables, cheese/egg mixture, or tomatoes are not watery enough.

Tofu Layers 1.       Olive oil 2.       Pasta 3.       Sliced tomatoes 4.       Pasta 5.       Ricotta mixture 6.       Pasta 7.       Pablano/onion/celery 8.       Tofu, dried basil 9.       Pasta 10.   Ricotta/cream cheese

Portabella Layers 1.       Olive oil 2.       Pasta 3.       Sliced tomatoes 4.       Pasta 5.       Ricotta mixture 6.       Pasta 7.       Pablano/onion/celery 8.       Portabella mushrooms 9.       Pasta 10.   Portabella mushrooms 11.   Pasta 12.   Ricotta/cream cheese

Squash Layers 1.       Olive oil 2.       Pasta 3.       Sliced tomatoes 4.       Pasta 5.       Ricotta mixture 6.       Pasta 7.       Pablano/onion/celery 8.       Zucchini/yellow squash 9.       Fresh sliced garlic 10.   Pasta 11.   Ricotta/cream cheese

Cover with foil after layering

Preheat oven for 375. Bake covered for 25minutes. Take out of oven. 

Remove Foil

Place back in the oven to continue cooking for another 10-15minutes. And let rest for 10minutes before serving.

Sweet Heat

Kalen would take me to Half Priced Books when I would be leaving Texas to fly home. It became a tradition that we buy a book for one another. The first cookbook he bought me was “Headin’ For the Sweet Heat: Fruit and Fire-Spice Cooking” by Jacqueline Landeen.

The book has inspired me to create two stocks, using left over vegetable and fruits that would be otherwise composted or thrown away.

The first stock consisted of purple carrots (primary), pablano and jalapeno top, celery, onion peels/roots, garlic peals, green apple core and skin, whole pepper corns, and bay leafs with a pinch of salt. I didn’t intend to put meat in it but I boiled chopped freezer burn pork (that was removed from some pork steaks) in water for an hour and half. The stock is pink in color. I removed all excess material and threw in trash since there was meat in the stock, I could not compost.

I used the stock for the spaghetti that night as well now I’m using it to boil pinto beans with sautéed chopped pablano peppers, jalapeno pepper, purple carrots, celery, onion, and tomatoes; topped with another bay leaf and minced celery leafs. I’m pretty excited. Depending on the amount of broth left, I may just throw in some rice to boil at the end. 

The second stock consisted of onion peels/roots, celery, purple carrots, broccoli, and pineapple core with bay leaf and whole lemon pepper corns. I bought a whole pineapple and deconstructed it. It seems that pineapple is a lot of waste when you remove the meat. So I decided to make a second stock using that as my primary fruit. Boiled for an hour and half, removed contents and let cool to put into compost.  I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be using this stock for but the possibilities are endless. 

On another note, I’ve been pretty pissed about the fruit fly situation in the house and in the compost. Since my lizard friend hasn’t left yet. I decided to move the bucket closer to the railing in hopes that he may sit on the lid and catch those stupid flies as they leave the vent holes. This was Thursday evening. I saw him today sitting on the lid. I’m super excited that I’m going to have a very fat lizard this Summer.

And if it gets to bad in the apartment, I learned that they love the smell of vinegar. I found them inside the easy pour vinegar bottles above the stove. They were trapped and drowned. It’s annoying however because I can’t leave the easy pour bottles out. And have to dig around in the cabinet for vinegars if I need any. On a positive note, I went to World Market and purchased a nice compost pail. So now I don't have to deal with as many flies in the kitchen looking for food scraps.

Herb and Honey! :)

Last time for bread in my Mom's house. (delayed posting because of the wedding).

Making two batches of bread. The difference is 1) and 2) variations in the ingredients. So one uses rosemary and safflower oil. The other uses oregano and olive oil. I'm excited! :)


Herb and Honey Flaxseed Bread with Buttermilk

Measure and whisk dry

• 3t yeast
• 1c whole wheat flour
• 2c bread flour
• .5t baking soda
• 1t sea salt 
• 1c flax seed meal 
• 1) fresh sprig of rosemary chopped (makes about a tablespoon)
• 2) fresh sprig of oregano chopped finely (makes about three tablespoons)

 Measure wet and add to dry

• 3T honey
• 1) 4T safflower oil (may need more)
• 2) 4T olive oil (may need more)
• 1.75c buttermilk

I heated the honey and oil in the microwave for 20seconds so that it would mix better. Let rise for 2hours or until doubled. Punch down, let rest 10minutes. And Knead again for 10minutes. Oil bread pans. Let rise in pan for another 2hours or until doubled.

Sorry no pictures because there was just too many things going on at the house.