Apple Season Recipes - Apple Slaw, Cinnamon Apples, and Apple Squares

Last weekend, after our day at Oktoberfest, we stopped by a local farm stand to pick up some corn, and check for my favorite apple variety- Honeycrisp.  We were in luck, and the Honeycrisp apples were in and we brought a large bagful home.  So this past week was apple week around our house.

The first apple recipe I made was a delicious slaw to go with our steak and baked potato meal.  I love coleslaw, so it was fun experimenting with my recipe and making a sweet version.  Here's my recipe.

Apple Slaw:
1 head of cabbage chopped (chop into the size of pieces you prefer in your slaw)
1 1/2 to 2 cups apples peeled and chopped in to inch long matchstick sized pieces (I used 3 extra large honeycrisp apples)
1 1/2 cups golden raisins (regular raisins will work too but I really liked the golden raisins with this slaw)

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup sugar
a dash or two of salt to taste (I prefer sea salt)
2-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (more to taste if needed)
1/4 cup milk

In a large bowl toss together chopped cabbage, chopped apples, and raisins, then set aside while you make dressing.  In a small mixing bowl add all dressing ingredients and stir together until totally combined.  Then give it a taste, sometimes I like to add a little more vinegar or sugar , if it is too thin add a little more mayo, too thick add a little more milk.  I like the taste to be a little sweet with that nice bite of apple cider vinegar, but not so much vinegar that it overpowers the sweet, I always work with it a bit to get it just right.  When the dressing is done, pour it over slaw and toss it well.  I find slaw tastes a little better if it has time to sit in the refrigerator for at least half an hour before serving.

This is a nice sweet slaw, the apples add a delicious crunch, it was a perfect side dish to our dinner. Normally I add a small amount of onion to my slaw, so the next day for lunch I chopped up a small bit of very finely chopped onion and mixed it in the slaw.  This was also good, and added a little kick to the slaw, I liked it both ways, the kids really seemed to like the non-onion sweeter version.  Either way this is a wonderful side dish, and the apples and raisins gave it a nice fall flavor.

The next day we had baked pork chops with stuffing, and what better side dish than homemade cinnamon apples.  This is a very simple side dish to make.  Just peel and chop up apples in good sized chunks, about an apple and a half per person or more if the apples are smaller.  Sprinkle cinnamon over apples, and add to a sauce pan with about a half cup of water (more water if you are making a larger batch) simmer on medium, covered, and stir frequently.  Cook apples until they are softened, add a tablespoon or two of brown sugar if apples are too tart.  If there is too much liquid turn up heat and cook on medium high with the lid off, stirring frequently until liquid cooks down.

This is a delicious side dish and the house smells wonderful while the apples are cooking!

The last apple dish I made this week was a yummy dessert that I have been making for years.  The recipe comes from an old international cookbook I bought back when I was in high school as a fundraiser for my French Club, A Norwegian recipe for Apple Squares.  I shared this recipe back in 2011, but thought I would share it again because it is one of my favorites.

Norwegian Apple Squares
Preheat oven to 375 F.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
3 cups grated apples
3 tablespoons sugar
cinnamon to taste

In a bowl combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup softened butter, mix until combined, then add two eggs and mix until combined, then mix in the flour.  Pat half the mixture in a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.  In another bowl toss grated apples with 3 tablespoons of sugar, then spread apples over bottom layer of dough, and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Then top with remaining dough, I like to drop dough on by teaspoonful.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until light golden brown.  Cool and cut into squares.  The buttery crust is delicious with the apples!

So that was my apple filled week.

Cooking with apples is on of my favorite fall traditions, you might be interested in some of my other apple recipe posts.

Sausages with Apples and Onions
Baked Apples
Eve's Pudding
Crock Pot Apple Butter

Happy Fall!

Welcoming Fall at Oktoberfest 2013

Every year we kick off the fall season with Oktoberfest.  We are lucky to live only a short drive away from the town of Mt. Angel that hosts a wonderful Oktoberfest every year.

We always have fun walking around Mt. Angel. In the center of the festivities is Die Fruchtsaule, a harvest monument that is a symbol of the bountiful harvest and is a beautiful piece of folk art created from all sorts of different grains, dried legumes, and produce.

The we made our way to the bandstand area, where we enjoyed hearing tradition folk music and some yodeling.  There was also Bavarian style dancing which was pretty entertaining, some of the local school groups had put together some fun dance routines.

I am typically on the other side of the festival area most years around noon, watching the dachshund races, but this year we were there in time for the May Pole Dance which occurs every day of the festival at noon, what a fun dance to watch as the ribbon is braided around the pole.

After the May Pole dance we hurried over to St. Mary's church, the church hosts traditional music concerts throughout the festival.  This year we attended the Salzburger Echo Alpine Horn performance.  The church itself is quite a beautiful building, full of beautiful architectural detail and stunning stained glass.  The Alpine Horn concert was fun, the band members were funny and entertaining and spent some time teaching about the Alpine Horns. 

We saw some very cute dachshunds. Like this one!

Ate some delicious food, like this local made bratwurst from the Mt. Angel Sausage Co., which was wonderful!

This year we went with Joe's girlfriend as well, here the kids were having fun trying on mini hats at one of the booths. All around it was a very fun day!

Every year, on the way home from Oktoberfest, I stop in at a local farm stand to see if the honey crisp apples are in yet, and Gary likes to stock up on corn.  This year the different varieties of squash were begging for a photo.

Just a couple more days until fall is officially here, I am looking forward to the crisp fall air, and all of the rich colors of the season.

Back to School Week and Molasses Cookies

We are in full back to school mode around here.  Last week school started, we started the week with some delicious home-made cookies to welcome home Joe from his first day back to school. I made a batch of my Molasses cookies, and the house smelled delicious.  I normally make my Molasses cookies in December for the Christmas season, so when Joe came home he asked why I was making Christmas cookies.  After tasting a few though, Joe and Sarah said I should make them every week. They are a yummy, easy cookie to make, so although I won't be indulging every week, I will have to make our Molasses Cookies a little more often.

Happy Back to School Week Joe!

Friday night we enjoyed the first home football game, the weather, which had been rainy, cleared up, and it was a great evening for a high school football game.  Our team won the game with quite a few exciting touchdowns.

This week the weather turned from cooler, back to school weather, to record breaking highs, we often have very hot Septembers here in Oregon, not very conducive to all the fall baking and cooking I am itching to get going on, but next weeks weather looks like our pre-fall weather may return. Time to break out the soup pot, and baking pans!

Hope everyone is having a nice mid September!

Sausage Barley Stuffed Bell Pepper Bake

For the past two weeks the star of our garden has been the pepper patch.  Both the bell pepper and the jalapeno pepper plants are loaded.   The zucchini plants are starting to slow down, but there are still a few to be picked.

We also had a surprise pepper plant this year, I bought a six pack of jalapenos and another pepper variety must have found its way into the mix.  I am not quite sure what the variety is, I'm thinking maybe Anaheim chili peppers.  I am quite glad for the mistake, we have been enjoying them with our eggs at breakfast, sauteed in a little butter, they have a little bite, but overall are pretty mild.  I hope to find the same variety next year, any pepper growers out there recognize what this variety might be?

Last week instead of our classic recipe for stuffed bell peppers, I decided to switch up the stuffing a bit, and came up with a yummy new recipe using barley instead of rice, and sausage instead of hamburger.

Here's my recipe for Sausage Barley Stuffed Bell Pepper Bake.

Ingredients-
Roughly 2 cups chopped mushrooms (white or mini portobello)
olive oil for sauteing
1 pound mild country sausage (or regular if you like a little more spice)
3 cups pre-cooked barley (cook according to directions on bag)
3-4 bell peppers (or more if they area little smaller)
2 - 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth
salt, pepper, Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ( or a shredded cheddar blend)

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms seasoned with a few dashes of Italian seasoning and salt and pepper, in a little olive oil until they start to cook through and shrink down, then add the sausage and cook until cooked through and browned.  If there is an excess of fat drain it from pan, then add 3 cups cooked barley to the sausage mushroom mixture, and 1 can of chicken broth.  Bring this mixture to a simmer, and cook, stirring often,  until most of the chicken broth has reduced.

Meanwhile, wash peppers, and either cut them in half lengthwise or cut out the top (depending on pepper size, I cut extra large ones in half and lay them on their sides, and remove the tops of the smaller peppers and stuff them upright) clean out seeds and core.  Set peppers in a large baking pan.  When filling is ready, fill each pepper with mixture, then spoon the rest of the mixture around the peppers in the baking pan, then add 1 can of chicken broth to the pan around the peppers.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 F. for about 45 minutes to an hour, until peppers have softened.  Then remove foil sprinkle cheese over the top of peppers, and return to oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

This was a delicious dinner, the whole family enjoyed it.  I love using veggies fresh from the garden in my cooking, this recipes will definitely be on the list during pepper season!

Fall is definitely in the air.  My little corn stalk is starting to grow us a tiny ear of corn.

The Hydrangea flowers are turning a beautiful purple blue color.

Last week, when I was on a walk with my niece and nephew, we spotted these beautiful little acorns. Acorns always make me think of fall.  I always look forward to this time of year. :)

Friends of the Library Book Sale Haul

I love our little town library, and stop by frequently to pick up books I have on hold.  A few weeks ago when Gary and I stopped in to pick up some of my books I noticed the Friends of the Library Book sale was going on.  Of course we had to pop in and do a little book treasure hunting.

It was a Sunday, and the last day of the sale, so I figured it would be pretty well picked over, but still worth a shot.  Since it was the last day of the sale, we were informed that as many books as you could fit into a paper grocery store bag would only be $3.00.  What a deal!  Gary stocked up on a nice supply of his favorite adventure novels, and I found quite a few interesting books.  Here are some of my favorite finds.

I got a great book from 1972 called Inns and Villages of England, full of interesting black and white pictures of English villages. I look forward to sitting down and browsing through the old pictures! :)  Also an old National Geographic book- World Beneath the Sea from 1967 - I love looking at vintage pictures and seeing all of the old equipment, and vintage outfits, not to mention great marine life photos.  The little red book was the first treasure I found, a 1972 copy of one of my childhood favorites- Encyclopedia Brown. The really cool thing about this book is it came from a Multnomah County Library, which is the county I grew up in as a child, and Encyclopedia Brown books were one of my favorite series to read back then, so sort of a treasure from my childhood.

I found a Corrie Ten Boon book, I have always wanted to read one of her books, so it was fun to find a copy of one, Corrie Ten Boon's family helped hide persecuted Jews during World War 2, and as a result she ended up spending time in a concentration camp, when she was released she began traveling the world doing mission work and telling her story.  I also found an interesting looking cookbook, from 1950 with recipes from preachers wives with devotionals for Homemakers- I love vintage recipe books as well as vintage Homemaker literature, so this mid-century book should be a fun one to browse through.

I found a practically brand new looking copy of Affluenza, a very interesting book I have read before and would enjoy reading again about the epidemic of over-consumption.  I love tips for living more simply so this book is right up my alley.  The Home Workplace from 1980 is full of Organic Gardening and Farming tips as well as plans for building all sorts of useful items like Cold Frames, Mushroom Growing shelves, Solar food dryer, different plant trellis types, the list goes on and on, quite a treasure trove.

This book from 1975 really caught my eye.  It is cloth bound and in excellent condition, I love the yellow color as well as the font of the title on the cover.  I have always loved the subject of writing, so it should be a fun one to look through, but also just a fun book to look at!

I had fun at this sale, and am looking forward to the next one in October.  The last couple of years I have been bringing our used books to the library for donation, I keep a spot in the laundry closet for our goodwill donations and a box for books we are done with to bring to the library.  The donated books often go to the used book sales that help fund different library projects.  

I love interesting old books, but unfortunately am allergic to old paper.  So I have a few tips that I follow for dealing with old books.  I don't shelf older musty books near my newer books, because the must will spread. If a book is too musty I read it and then donate it when I am done, and if I really love it or feel like I will need to refer to it again, I keep it sealed in a plastic bag, or in a tote out in the garage.  I definitely wash my hands after reading an older book and avoid rubbing my eyes or nose while I am reading it.  Some books that are too old I just can't tolerate, and sadly can't even read for more than a few minutes before they set off my allergies, so those usually have to be sent on their way.  Such a frustrating condition for someone who loves books like myself and could spend hours quite happily in any library or old book store.  I would love to hear your tips for dealing with old books?

Hope everyone is having a nice start to the week.  Thanks for reading!

You might also enjoy reading my older post on getting ready for Fall - My Big Fall Clean Up

Mid-August Garden Update and Favorite Garden Fresh Recipes

Every summer our whole family looks forward to all of the fresh veggies that our garden provides.  Late July throughout August the garden is in full swing.  Here is an update to how our garden has been growing this season, as well as a few of the yummy recipes that we have been enjoying using our own produce.

This year we tried growing potatoes in potato growing bags, and overall they did pretty well.  This method of potato growing is perfect for smaller gardens, and is a nice way to be able to grow different varieties that are harder to find in the grocery store.  We grew a purple variety and Red Pontiac's, it was fun emptying out the bags and seeing how many potatoes grew.  We enjoyed them boiled with a pot roast, as well as roasted with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  Gary and Joseph carved one of the purple potatoes into a heart for Sarah. :)

A yearly staple in our garden are the green beans.  I grow both green and purple varieties.  They got off to a slow start this year, but ended up growing beautifully, we are still harvesting large mixing bowls full every week.  We mostly enjoy them steamed and drizzled with garlic and browned butter, this year for a treat I made the bacon wrapped green bean bundles that I kept seeing on Pinterest.  The Green Bean Bacon Bundles took a bit of time to assemble but were well worth the work, they were delicious!  I blanched the green beans first, then cooled them down with cold water, and wrapped five green beans in half a piece of bacon.  I placed them on a metal cooling rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, and baked at 375 F. until the bacon was crisp.  Definitely something we will be making again - delicious!

The zucchini started out very slow this year as well, we had some troubles with germination.  Fortunately the plants finally got growing, and although our zucchini crop was a little smaller than normal, we have still enjoyed some good zucchini along with our dinners.  Just like the green beans we mostly enjoy the younger zucchini steamed and drizzled with browned butter and garlic.  We still have a few extra large zucchini that will be shredded and made into zucchini fritters and zucchini bread, and stuffed zucchini.

Last week I made us a delicious thin crust pizza for lunch using some of our garden produce- we had a crop of garlic this year from bulbs I missed digging up last season, our purple basil ended up growing very well, and is beautiful and very fragrant.  So I made a pizza using thin crust refrigerated pizza dough, which I pre-baked for about 5 minutes, then topped with some pressed garlic and olive oil that I let heat up for a bit to saute the garlic, then cool back down (we like our garlic cooked more, otherwise we find it bothers our tummies, you could skip this step if you like your garlic less cooked).  I then topped the pizza with slices of mozzarella, and thinly sliced blanched zucchini, and purple basil leaves.  Then baked until the crust was golden and the cheese was melted.  It was very good, next time I will add more zucchini, it was a great pizza topping!

The pepper plants are doing well, and I hope to have pictures next week of our pepper harvest.  We also have a nice little pot of green basil that is doing very well, I had to replant the green basil multiple times and it kept getting eaten by something, but the little pot I planted in a different area it doing nicely.  The Corn didn't do well at all this year, I planted a new variety specifically for container gardening, and the germination was very poor, but I still have a few plants, so at least we have some honorary corn stalks for the fall season. :)

One of the most pretty things out in the veggie garden this week are the pumpkin and winter squash blossoms.  They are so pretty and sunshiny I can't help but want to walk out in my garden every time I spot them out my window.  This morning I spotted a few tiny pumpkins!

Some of the most pretty things out in my garden right now have planted themselves. In my corner garden, all around the hydrangea, volunteer nasturtiums and California Poppies have grown, they look really pretty by the old and new growth on the hydrangea.  One pink bachelor button plant popped up in the center of the raised bed I have waiting for fall kale transplants.  We always have a few thistles pop up in the garden, usually hiding behind something, I love their flower.  You can read all about the giant thistle we let grow one year as an experiment in my post Blueberries and Thistle, I imagine the smaller thistle are offspring from the giant thistle of 2011.  This year we have let some of the bird seed go to seed, and have some very pretty millet grass growing around the bird feeders, we plan to pick and dry some of the millet sprays to leave out for the birds this fall.

The hens and chicks are doing nicely, all of our succulents grow very well here, and the nasturtium and daylilies are brightening up our little corner garden.  I love nasturtium leaves they remind me of lily pads.

The weather has been warm and muggy, and we have been getting some rain here and there, which the garden enjoys.  We have had some thunder and lightening during this first half of August as well.  The sky has been putting on quite a show some evenings.  One night it went from an orange to a purple and a rainbow during one of the prettiest sunsets I have seen in some time.

I am really looking forward to the rest of the summer!

Thanks for reading. :)

52 Weeks of Fairy Tales #48 - Sleeping Beauty

It has been quite some time since I have posted one of my 52 Weeks of Fairy Tales projects, I am still working my way through the final few, slowly but surely.  I am also working on getting a post together with links to all 52, so they will be easier to access.  For week #48, I have chosen the very well known classic tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Sleeping Beauty was told by Charles Perrault in 1697, and was also told by The Brother's Grimm as Little Briar Rose.  I grew up on the Disney version as many also have, I still have my old Disney Sleeping Beauty View Master Reels that I loved looking at as a child (I loved view-master reels as a child, and started collecting the vintage reels about 15 years ago).

The story of Sleeping Beauty begins with a King and Queen who have invited all the good fairies to bestow gifts upon their baby girl.  The King and Queen welcome the fairies with beautiful jeweled chairs and special table setting, and have made everything beautiful for the fairies invited. The fairies bestowed gifts of beauty, intelligence, grace, song, and dance, and other good traits on the baby princess.  As the kind fairies were bestowing gifts upon the baby girl, a wicked fairy arrives and inquires why she was not invited.  The Queen quickly tries to appease the wicked fairy and makes room for her at the table, but it is clear to the wicked fairy that she was left out, so before she leaves she puts a curse on the baby girl.  A curse that one day the child shall prick her hand on a spindle and die!

Luckily one last fairy had not given the baby her gift, and she used her gift to soften the curse, instead of the princess dying, she would instead fall into a deep sleep for 100 years, and be awoken by a prince.  The king forbids all spinning wheels and spindles throughout the land, in hopes that he can prevent the curse from happening.

One day, years later, when the princess was a young woman, her parents had left the kingdom.  She was wandering around the palace, when she came upon an old woman in a secluded part of the castle in a tower, the old woman was spinning.  The princess was fascinated with the spinning, and asked what she was doing since she had never seen a spinning wheel before. The princess reached out, and pricked her hand on the spindle, and falls asleep.  The old woman gets help, but the princess cannot be woken, so she is put to sleep in the finest room, upon a beautiful bed fit for a princess.  The good fairy who had softened the curse arrives at the castle, and decides that it would be best if everyone in the castle was put to sleep as well, so the princess will have her family and friends when she is woken.  The fairy also causes bramble to cover the castle to protect the sleeping princess.

One hundred years pass.  One day a prince is out on a hunting expedition and spots the bramble covered castle, an old man in his hunting party tells him the tale of the beautiful sleeping princess within the bramble covered castle, that can only be woken by a kiss from a prince.  The prince braves the bramble and thorns and makes his way into the castle grounds, where he sees the castle occupants sleeping.  Soon he comes upon the stunning sleeping beauty.  Overcome by her beauty, he kisses the sleeping princess, and the curse is broken.  The princess and everyone else wake up from their long slumber.  The prince and princess fall in love, and are married right away, and they live happily ever after.

~

As a child, the scene in the Disney movie where the princess is lured up to the tower, where she ends up pricking her finger on the spinning wheel, was one of my favorite memorable scenes, so for my fairy tale craft, I decided to do another paper cutting for my fairy tale scrapbook, of that scene, along with the beginnings of the bramble that grew around the castle.  I was very happy with how the picture turned out, however as I was gluing down the paper cutting to it's backing paper, using very sticky spray glue the wind caught my project and glued it down crooked! I worked quickly to try and peel it apart to straighten it, but the bottom corner got crinkly.  I always use my glue spray outside, next time I will wait for a non-windy day! :)

Luckily once the page was put in the page protector the crinkles were not as noticeable.  I was originally going to use red as the backing color, but I really liked the hot pink, so I went with that.  I so enjoy paper cutting, and have decided that I may try stamp carving next!

I hope everyone is having a nice summer, my daughter continues to heal from her car accident, which you can read about in my post Sarah's Accident .  We are starting to gear up for back to school season, and I will be posting soon about the progress of our garden and all the yummy garden recipes we have been trying. Right now we are in the midst of a summer storm, the sky was a beautiful orange color and has just changed to a beautiful purple, and the garden is enjoying the rain.

Thanks for reading!