Cranberry Apple Walnut Cake

I love to bake and I have not been doing too much of it.  Usually, I bake for my husband.  I rarely eat what I bake but he makes up for that.  The problem, I do have, is that with only two of us, at home, it is for special occasions, I make the chocolate and the cookies, pies or cakes.  For my husband, it is coffee cakes, nut cakes, and tons of muffins.  They are all easy to do and I am limited but I love to bake, anyway.

I decided to surprise my husband with what I hoped would become a favorite cake.  This cake can be made with many variations.  In fact, the original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens is for a cranberry pear cake.  I changed it to an apple – cranberry walnut cake because I have apples handy.  I would like to make it with pears and use another dried fruit or maybe fresh cranberries, when in season.  Of course, the nuts can be changed as well.  Even the seasoning lends itself to the fruit selected.  Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice sounded right for the apples.

Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Cake

Ingredients

2  cups gluten-free flour mixture

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 pumpkin pie spice

2 tablespoons margarine

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup  brown sugar

2 eggs

 1  cup Rice Dream

1 cup dried cranberries

2 apples, peeled and diced

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup additional gluten-free flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a  9-inch baking pan.

Combine 2 cups of the  GF flour mix, baking powder, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.

In a large bowl beat the margarine on medium to high

speed for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add flour mixture alternately with Rice Dream beating on low after each addition until combined.

In a bowl mix cranberries, apple, and walnuts with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Stir into batter. Spoon into prepared pan.

Bake for  50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes .

This is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays        Cozy Home Party     Trick or Treat Tuesday         Pennywise Platter 

Crazy Sweet Tuesday       Full Plate Thursday             Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays     Cast Party Wednesday           Sweet Treats Thursday        Sweet Tooth Friday

Sausage, Apples and Onions

There are few meats that tempt me, these days but turkey sausage has its appeal so when I decided to throw  together, what I find in the kitchen and make a meal.   My thinking is that everything goes with sausage.  Sausage has so much flavor, it is hard to compete with it and frankly, I don’ think, we should try to.

This  was another recipe that went easily as soon as I decided what I was putting in it.  I tend to go for onions with almost any savory recipe because I cut back on seasoning for my husband.  My daughter complains, I put apples in everything.  She is right.

Turkey Sausage with Slice Apples and Onions

Ingredients  (only a few of them)

 4  sausages

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium  onion, sliced 

1/4 cup dry white wine

 1  apple, peeled, diced

(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsedProcedure

Procedure

Slice the sausages in to 1/2 inch pieces.

 Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add the onion, and cook for 2 minutes .

Add the sausage and cook until the sausage is browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the the remaining ingredients and cook everything together for another few minutes (no longer than 4 minutes).  The liquid should thicken into a sauce.

Waldorf Salad

I like almost anything, with apples which makes this dish, a joy to make.  It is crisp, slightly sweet and one that most people do like.  Making this is easy as pie…… Why do people say that?  Pie is not easy to make, in my opinion.  The crust and I are enemies and that crust usually wins.     Forget the pie.  This is easy to make.  It is nice to have a little bit of sweet in contrast to the fish, soup, meat and vegetables.

Friday and Saturday are the last two days of Passover and then we return to eating bread and pasta and anything else, we don’t eat, this week.  Many people run out and get a pizza or put up a pot of water for pasta or hope the bagel shop is open.  Strangely, I have no desire for “chametz”, the leavened foods, we do not eat on Passover.  Sometimes, I go days after the holiday without eating any of these.  I have no desire for bread or pasta or pizza.  I can’t say the same for the rest of the family.

There is so much work involved in this holiday and there is lots of eating.  It is sad when it is over.  Every year, we say this and it is true, I feel “blah” for a day or two afterwards.  Then, real life, so to speak returns and routines fall into place and time constraints change priorities but this is all a chance to love living.

Waldorf Salad  (adapted) Southern Food – About.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups coarsely chopped apples, about 2 medium apples
• 1  cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation:

To make Waldorf salad, place chopped apple, celery and walnuts in a bowl.

Combine mayonnaise, sugar, allspice and lemon juice. Toss mayonnaise mixture with apple mixture.

 Serves 4 to 6.          

Apple Fritters for Passover

The Jewish holiday of Passover is coming closer.  For me, this is the most demanding holiday, as well as the most rewarding.  We clean our homes not just for dust and spills but for every bit of leavening, in the house.  This means, no regular cakes, cookies, breads, pasta, rice (unless one is Sefardic) and lots of prepared items.

 The kitchen is transformed.  The Passover dishes come out as do the Passover pots and pans, flatware and baking tins.  I love my dishes and since they are used only once a year, they are particularly special.

Some people feel deprived on Passover but I don’t understand this.  I love our food and the challenge of cooking and baking without leavening.  Some recipes fail and some are fabulous.  We eat well and that is what counts.  I will  share some of the really good recipes with you, if I can find time.  I would like to get them here before Passover comes so others can make them, if they choose.  These are recipes, you can use all year.  I keep them for the holiday.

This is something I made, last year.  The photo is not great but the recipe was.

Apple Fritters

The last two days of the eight days of Passover are also holidays.  That means four festive meals with matzah, fish, soup, salads, meat or poultry, sides and desserts and whatever else, I may be forgetting.  I have decided to stay up tonight and get as much cooking done so I can rest tomorrow (ha!) and enjoy the holidays.  Let’s see how I do.  I also, want to make different recipes than I had for the first two days and Sabbath.

I use a lot of apples during this holiday.  It is a versatile fruit.  I wanted to try banana fritters but the majority wants apples and even I like apples better than bananas.

Apple Fritters – Passover Style

Ingredients

4 apples, sliced, chopped or shredded  (My preference is chopped.)

4 eggs

1/2 cup of sugar (I am not sure what you can use in place of sugar on Passover, if you do not use it, normally.)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup potato starch

oil to fry in

Procedure

Place oil in large skillet (12 inch).

I tried slicing the apples first because I like the fritters to be chunky but they would not fry consistently so I changed over to putting them in the food processor with the eggs, beating the eggs and chopping the apples, at the same time.  I am going to try cutting them into chunks, again, this year.  They will look bumpy but you get the bite into the apple and the flavor spreads throughout your mouth.

Add sugar, potato starch and cinnamon to to egg mix.   Mix well.

 Drop by tablespoons or if you have a cookie scoop (small) use that and drop batter into hot skillet. Brown on both sides.

Remove onto paper towels to drain.

Eat or place into baking pan for later use.

Serve with apple sauce, cinnamon sugar or sour cream.

This is linked to Pennywise Platter Thursdays   Frugal Food Thursdays

Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs and Blue Cheese – The Food Matters Project

I have been a big fan of Mark Bittman for a number of years.  I particularly like his ability to convey to the cook many ways to make the same recipe.  This attitude was great for me tonight when I thought I was baking the above recipe, only to find that I could not get most of the ingredients.

I have not seen gluten-free rigatoni so I subbed in penne.  Although, I am sure, kosher blue cheese is available, I have not seen it locally.  We are not fans of figs so I subbed apples which were great.  Finally and unbelievably, the local stores were out of brussels sprouts.  I called my daughter and asked her to look around and she also could not locate any.

I guess, I proved that you can  change the ingredients and come out with a facsimile of the original.

I feel particularly bad because this is the first time, I cooked with the foodies of The Food Matters Project.  This group is cooking their way through Mark Bittman’s, The Food Matters.   If you are interested, get the book and join us.

Marcia from Twenty by Sixty chose the  Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, and Blue Cheese (page 221), in The Food Matters.   You will find the recipe on her blog.

Marcia shares her hesitation selecting this recipe which about describes my initial reaction.  Figs? Blue Cheese? Pasta? and Brussels Sprouts?  They just shouldn’t go together but I gather they did and did so beautifully.

My combination of broccoli, Monterey Jack, Apples and Penne also worked although I didn’t believe it.  The almonds seemed to disappear into the dish and it was not until the end that I found one. This is unique but trusting Mark Bittman helps.  I had to believe the recipe was good.

Check out the other cooks at The Food Matters Project.

Have Leftovers – Make Soup

I had my meal plan in place, for tonight, until I looked into the refrigerator to find quite a few vegetables and fruit which would survive for a short time, if I didn’t use them, very soon.  The sweet potatoes, in particular were ready to get up and walk away.  Usually, I keep four sweet potatoes, in the house, and have plans for them.  This morning, there were six potatoes and I had no idea what to do with them.

I also found lots of leftovers sharing space with the sweet potatoes.  I decided quickly, leftovers would become the fare for, this evening and I would make a soup to go with the meal.

Emptying the refrigerator –  4 sweet potatoes, 1 apple,  container with some apple sauce, leftover vegetable soup.  Can you picture and taste my soup?

Apple Cinnamon-Sweet Potato Soup  (made in a crockpot)

4 medium sweet potatoes

1 cups water

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup applesauce

1 apple, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste

Procedure

Put liquids in slow cooker.  Add sweet potatoes and applesauce.  Cover and cook on low for three hours.

Add apple, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg plus black pepper.  Cook on high for another hour.

Using an immersion blender, blend until the consistency you want.  Mine was smooth and creamy.

If I had cranberry pecan goat cheese, I would have crumbled it on top of the soup.

This soup had a distinct apple flavor to it and it was delicious.

This is not my photo.

 Pennywise Platter Thursdays      Sunday Night Soup      Show Your Stuff

Ginger Carrot Soup with Apples – Guy Fieri

Tonight was a choice of the Heirloom Tomato Soup or the Ginger Carrot Soup.  I could have gone in either direction but at the moment, I was going to cook, carrots won out.  I made this in a crockpot.  Check the original recipe here.

With apologies to Guy, I did make some changes, basically with the topping which I eliminated.  I also added chopped apples, an hour before the soup was completed with some thin sliced carrots.  The soup was very thick. after blending, and I added 2 cups of Rice Dream to thin it out, a bit.  This was not a gutsy  recipe, as I think of Guy’s recipes but, in no way, did this fail in flavor.  It had a delightful  flavor and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

   Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri Ginger Carrot Soup (adapted from Guy Fieri)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 cup chopped sweet onion

• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

• 1 tablespoon minced ginger

• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into even pieces

• 1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped

• 4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock for vegetarian version

• 1 teaspoon honey

  

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

In a heavy skillet,  over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and the sweet onions. Sprinkle with salt and sweat for 10 minutes, until just starting to caramelize. Add in the ginger and saute for 2 minut

es more, being careful not to burn the mixture.

Add onions and ginger to the crockpot along with  the carrots, potatoes, honey and the vegetable stock.  Cover and cook until vegetables are cooked.  Keep warm.

With a stick blender, puree the carrot mixture

 (In the crockpot, it took about five hours to cook and an extra hour after I put the apple pieces into the soup.  Cook for another hour with the apple.)

Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, to taste, Add apples and leave on medium for another hour.

This is linked to Real Food Wednesdays at Kellythe Kop’s     Tuesdays At The Table  
   Gluten Free Wednesdays      It’s A Keeper Thursdays  Tasty Thursdays   Full Plate Thursdays    Pennywise Platter

Apple Cheesecake Tart

I have eaten cheesecake for years and had many combinations.  A particular favorite is a cheesecake with a cherry topping.  Apples never sounded like a fruit to match up with a cheesy filling……..that is until I made this cheesecake tart.    It is from the Joy of Baking.  I do get some of the best recipes from there.  They all work which is a good starting point and they, so far, have all been delicious.   

Apple Tart from the Joy of Baking  (adapted)

Crust

1 cup gluten-free flour mix

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold margarine, cut into small pieces

FILLING:

One 8-ounce  whipped cream cheese, at room temperature (I used Tofutti cream cheese)

1/4 cup  granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

TOPPING:

1/4 cup  granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon (I used more cinnamon – 1 1/2 teaspoons)

4 cups  Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch  slices (about 3-4 large apples)

1/3 cup  sliced almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F  and place rack in center of oven. Spray with cooking oil – a 9 inch  springform pan. CRUST:  In the bowl of your food processor place the flour and sugar.  Pulse to blend together.  Add butter and pulse until dough just begins to come together.  Pat the dough onto the bottom and one inch up the sides of the pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator while you make the filling. FILLING:  In a food processor process the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the sugar and mix well.  Blend in the egg and vanilla extract and process until smooth.  Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling.  Return to refrigerator while you prepare the topping. TOPPING: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Toss the sliced apples in the sugar mixture.  Spoon the apples evenly over the cream cheese layer and sprinkle with almonds.  Place the springform pan on a larger baking sheet to catch the drips. Bake at 450 degrees F  for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 400 degrees F  and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown (apples are soft when pierced with a fork), and filling is almost set.   Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.  Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve at room temperature. Permanent Posies              See Ya in the Gumbo     These Chicks Cook

Apples and Cream Caramel Brownies

I discovered this recipe and many other fantastic ones on Picky Palate, a blog, you should not miss.  I was thinking of joining in the fun on the new Improv Challenge and was thinking of baked goods to make.  Brownies popped into mind and a did a search for Apple Caramel Brownies and I hit the jackpot.

Apples N’ Cream Caramel Topped Brownies

1 Box Pillsbury Brownie Mix, Family size, 9×13 (I made my own brownie recipe – below)

8 ounces Tofutti cream cheese

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons margarine

4 small-medium baking apples, peeled and thinly sliced

4 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or other nut of choice)

Prepared Caramel sauce, warmed in microwave

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare brownies  as below or use a mix.  Pour into a 11×7 inch  baking dish that’s been sprayed with Canola Oil.  Place softened Tofutti cream cheese and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.  Place dollops of cheese over brownie batter.  Use a butter knife to carefully swirl without dragging against the bottom of dish.

2.   Place butter into a large skillet over medium heat to melt.  Add apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour evenly over brownies.  Bake for 45-55 minutes or until center of brownies are cooked through.  Remove and let cool completely before cutting into squares.    (Instead of a drizzle, I used caramel chips, which melted into topping.)

Brownie Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup Canola Oil
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (Second third)
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Grease and flour a baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water. Mix until well blended and thickened. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil. Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt; mix just until all of the flour is absorbed. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Go back to directions for the whole recipe, above.

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Apple Spice Crumb Cake

This recipe called for mayonnaise.  It is a Hellman’s recipe.  I subbed applesauce and oil for the mayo.  I would cut the oil, next time, and it will be just as good.

APPLE SPICE CRUMB CAKE Serves: 16 Prep Time: 20 Minute(s) Cook Time: 50 Minute(s)

APPLE CAKE: 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. baking soda 4 large eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup applesauce 1/2 cup canola oil 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped I did not make the topping.  I sliced an additional apple and placed it on top of the batter. 1. For Apple Cake, preheat oven to 350°. Grease 13  x 9-inch baking pan; set aside. 2. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda; set aside. 3. In medium bowl, with wire whisk,  beat eggs, Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise and vanilla until smooth. 4. Toss apples with flour mixture, then stir in mayonnaise mixture until combined. Dough will be stiff.  Evenly spread into prepared pan. I have only had a piece warm and it was great.  Try it warm and cold.

Linked to Sweets for a Saturday,