Pumpkin AND apple....

The two flavors of fall seem to be pumpkin and apple.  How many of you have a recipe that uses both?  This one comes from the Weight Watchers Complete Cookbook.

PUMPKIN-APPLE BREAD
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 large egg
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 apple, peeled, cored, and grated
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F; spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.  In a small bowl, beat the egg; add the buttermilk, apple, and pumpkin.  Pour over the flour mixture; stir until just blended (do not overmix).
- Spoon into the pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.  Cool in the pan on a rack 10 minutes; remove from the pan and cool completely on the rack.  Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Before.

After.

 

 

 

 

 This loaf can be cut into 10 nice slices.  It is good toasted, spread with a little cream cheese.:-)

We are having a beautiful fall around here!  It has been a good time for some neighborhood construction projects to continue.  The next post will be about one of those projects.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate  your comments.

The first harvest....

Good Monday morning to you!  Was your week-end a good one? 

We have had our first harvest of our planting of fall greens. 

Oops! A little blurry.:-(

This is a mixture of kale and spinach mustard.   We also have lettuce that is about ready for picking.

Our favorite way to prepare the greens is in a pan with garlic that has been sauteed in olive oil until fragrant.  The greens don't need very much water, just a couple of tablespoons or so, then I cover the pan, and let them steam a bit until they are tender.  They will wilt, of course, and cook down.  Sometimes I like to add balsamic vinegar to my serving before I eat them, but usually I just enjoy them without anything added.  Having fresh greens is one thing I remember most about my childhood.

Unfortunately, there are little critters helping themselves to our greens!  This is the first time for that to happen with us.  A frost would surely help, and it wouldn't hurt the greens at all - just discourage those critters.:-)

Are you doing much cooking with pumpkin or apples these days?  Coming up next will be a recipe that uses both!  I hope you will return.

Thank you for reading.  I enjoy your comments.

For consideration....

One of our favorite programs to watch when our children were small was Mister  Rogers Neighborhood.  A good friend gave me his book, "The World According to Mister Rogers," for Christmas several years ago.  A quote for your consideration today comes from this book.

"Some days, doing 'the best we can' may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect - on any front - and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else."

May you find happiness in this day!

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

A "sneak preview...."

Today you get a "sneak preview" of the dessert I plan to serve to the adult day care on the first Tuesday in November.  It is waiting in the freezer until needed on that day.

Before.

After.

 

 

This is Pumpkin Cake, made from a recipe I clipped from a newspaper in a small town where we lived over 39 years ago!  I have done the baking, and will finish with the frosting the day before taking it to church.

PUMPKIN CAKE
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon soda
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt
- Mix oil, sugar, and eggs together well.  Then add remaining ingredients. Bake in greased, floured tube pan for one hour at 350 degrees F.
- Cool on rack; remove from pan.
ICING
1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
- Cream together, then add:
1/2 box confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Pecans, chopped or halves
- Spread on cake; decorate with pecans, if desired.

There is a market here that is featuring lots of different pumpkin-related products - pumpkin cider, pumpkin pretzels, pumpkin almonds, pumpkin spice cookies - other really nice-sounding "goodies."  It would be really neat to put together a pumpkin-themed basket for someone.:-) 

More pumpkin recipes are forthcoming.  There may just be a break in cooking for a few days.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

Ready for the Great Pumpkin!

One of the much-loved Charlie Brown special programs for me is the one where he is awaiting The Great Pumpkin's arrival.:-)  Here is something to help you enjoy the time YOU spend waiting for The Great Pumpkin.:-)

Before.

After.

 

 

GREAT PUMPKIN COOKIES
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 one-pound can pumpkin
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 cup raisins
1 cup pecans, chopped

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
- Mix sugar, shortening, eggs, and pumpkin thoroughly in a large bowl.  Sift dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture.  Blend well.  Add raisins and pecans.  Drop batter by teaspoonsful on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven, and lift off with a pancake turner.  Makes five to six dozen.

This recipe comes from the Peanuts Cook Book, published in 1969.  It was an offer of the Scholastic Book Club, a source for ordering books when I was teaching.

The Husband has endorsed these cookies.:-)  After volunteering all day working on a Habitat House that our church is building, he quickly ate two of them for a snack.:-)  Then, he followed up dinner with a slice of Apple Pie.:-) 

The next post will be a "sneak preview.":-) 

Thank you for reading.  I really enjoy your comments.

My favorite....and a better picture

My favorite treat to make with apples is Apple Cake!  I do not make it often since The Husband prefers Apple Pie.  However, when we recently visited a nearby apple orchard, I made sure to bring enough home so I could bake BOTH!:-)

The finished product.

This recipe comes from "The Table at Grey Gables." 

APPLE CAKE
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3 cups self-rising flour (not what I regularly use, but I usually have some on hand).
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups peeled, chopped apples
3/4 cup chopped black walnuts or pecans (I used pecans.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour a tube pan.  You may also use a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. 
- In a bowl beat the sugar and the eggs.  Stir in the oil.  Add the flour and cinnamon and mix until well blended.  Stir in the apples, walnuts, and vanilla.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 
GLAZE
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
- In a saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter, and evaporated milk.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.  Pour the glaze over the warm cake in the pan.  Let cake cool before removing it from the pan.

I think this cake is delicious!  It would be good with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped topping, but I am never able to wait for the extras to be added.:-)

As I mentioned earlier, I had apples for this cake and a pie both.  Here is a better picture of the apple pie.

The Husband had some pie!

The pie is baked in the Longaberger pink pottery pie dish in recognition of October's emphasis on Komen pink.

Of course I have not mentioned all the ways we enjoy apples, nor have I even begun to mention all the varieties.  I know everybody has a favorite for snacking as well as for cooking. 

Now, it's on to pumpkin!  What fun we will have with that!:-)

As our temperatures have fallen, I hope you have been able to escape damage from frost.  There are those who have said that fall greens are actually better once they have a little frost.:-) 

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate  your comments.

Not too pretty....

A few weeks ago, I baked several things to enter in the Fair.  One of those was an Apple Pie.  Well, when I went to shop for apples to use in the pie (I have made my pies from Golden Delicious for years and years!), the store just didn't have any good looking Golden Delicious available.  So, I made a substitution for an apple called Ginger Gold. 

The pie pictured below had made the trip to the Fair and back.  The picture is not too pretty because of the glare of the aluminum foil.  The instructions specified the pies be baked in a foil pan.

After The Husband has enjoyed it!:-)

Well, it was not a good idea to substitute the apples!  When the judges cut into the pie, it was too juicy, and they did not want a "juicy fruit" pie!:-)  So, it didn't receive a second look and came back home with us.  The Husband has declared that they missed out on a great-tasting pie!  The learning experience for me with this one is, "Use the same apple!"

Many of you may have a different variety of apple that you have found to be "tried and true" for your pies.  It would be good to hear from you in the comments what kind of apples you use.  Anyway, here is the recipe I follow, and have followed for YEARS, for both Apple Pie and Pastry.  They come from Betty Crocker, from "way back when!"

APPLE PIE

6 to 8 apples, pared, cored, and sliced
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons flour
dash nutmeg
pinch of salt
butter
- Combine sugar, flour, spices, and salt.  Mix with sliced apples. 
- Line pan with pastry. (Recipe below.) Fill with apple mixture.  Dot with butter.  Top with pastry.  Cut slits in top, and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake 50 minutes at 400 degrees.   If crust seems to be browning too quickly, protect with aluminum foil.

PASTRY (double crust)
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (Some of you may wish to use more.  I decrease the amount of salt in what we eat.)
1/2 cup canola oil
5 Tablespoons cold water
- Combine four and salt.  Measure oil into glass measuring cup, and add cold water.  DO NOT STIR! Pour into flour, and mix with spoon until it will hold together into a ball.  Divide in half.  Sprinkle a drop or two of water on countertop, then place a sheet of waxed paper over it.  Place one part of the pastry on the waxed paper, and cover with another sheet of waxed paper.  Roll out to desired size.
- It is easy to transfer the pastry into the pie plate.  Pick up the pastry, including the waxed paper, and let it fall in half over one hand.  Use the other one to peel back the paper from the top half.  Then position the pastry into the pie dish, and peel off the remaining waxed paper.
I sometimes will use three cups of flour, increasing the salt, oil, and water accordingly.  This is especially helpful if I am baking a 10-inch pie, which is what my Longaberger pie dishes seem to do best.:-)

Some people like to add a slice of cheese to their apple pie when they eat it.  That is good, I will admit.  However, nothing is better to me than a scoop of vanilla ice cream on warm apple pie!:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments!