Apple Recipe Roundup: Updated!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Autumn!  I can't believe it's been a year since I really took off with this blog!  For those of you who have come along on the ride, you have my thanks! It sure has been a year of fun adventures and growth.

About this time last year, I was overwhelmed with the amount of apples our tree dropped and went a little apple crazy!  Well, it didn't really end and I've decided to update my apple round up post from last year to add in some of the many more I've tried since posting!  Here's where I'll take off:

(We have an apple tree in our back yard!) Free fruit!  Fruit was so precious in Alaska, we are kind of going crazy with all the fruit now.  I can’t stand to see any of it go to waste!  It is an old, untended tree that we have here, so it has been necessary to cut out the big bruises and insects.  Still, I have been making as many apple dishes as I can!  I wanted to share an apple round-up with you of some of the recipes I have been using this autumn.

1.       Dried apple chips: may be done in the oven or a dehydrator.  Or even strung on a thread and hung on the hearth if you want to do it the truly rustic way!  I followed this simply wonderful recipe and my huge batch disappeared in a matter of days.

2. Mountain Apple Dumplings.  The official recipe for this is up, but for my unedited (well-loved) version, zoom in on my recipe card below. 

3.       Apple Cider Vinegar:  well, except for the cider bit.  You just use the toss-away cores and skins instead!  This may not save time or much money, but how cool is it that you don’t have to throw away your cores or skins!  The homemade vinegar recipe can be found here in her creative post.  *Update: I'm not going to lie.  I've been struggling with this one and fruit flies.  I've tried boiling them first.  Anyone have any suggestions?
 

4.       Apple Crisp: This crisp has been my go-to this season and we’ve already made three batches!  Perfect combo of warm tart apples, and cinnamon, oat gooiness!

5.       Irish Apple Cake/Bread: Straight from the Emerald Isle, this lady’s concoction is sure to make you feel like you’re sitting at the comfort of a warm hearth on a soft morning.

6. Apple Cardamom Jam:  I made this for Thanksgiving last year and it was such a hit!  I still can't get a enough of it!  It's so unique, I've been giving it as gifts, too.  Although not necessary, I've added crab apples to this as well.

7. Smoothies: I suppose if you blended just apples, you'd end up with apple cider?  We tend to add in other fruits or berries, but the apples add such a great flavor and consistency.

8. Popsicles: You can use remnants of the smoothies to pour into popsicle molds for the hot, dog days of summer we seem to be experiencing now. 

9. Fruit Leather:  Again, you could use the same concoction as your smoothies, or just plain blended apple.  Pour on to dehydrator sheets and in about 4-6 hours you'll have your own fruit leather!  Love this for picnics!

10. Pectin: I'm always curious about how things USED to be done.  You know, before we could just run to the store and grab whatever we need.  Pectin is one that had stumped me for some time.  I know people have been making jellies and jams for some time, so HOW?  Anyway, I was pretty excited to figure this one out, and now, with only the help of the apple tree, I can make it for free! 
11. Shrunken Apple Heads: We made these for Halloween and they turned out great!  Although ours were just decoration, I've heard of others floating theirs in punch bowls!

12. Strawberry Hard Cider: This is my husband's latest endeavor and we're still awaiting the results, but isn't it lovely?
 

I have yet to find the perfect apple pie recipe, but I feel like that should be included in the list somewhere, too!  Anyone have any amazing favorites?

 And here's one last apple bonus: how to keep your apples from browning!

Oh, man, this is making my mouth water!  You can have your pumpkin spice!  I’ll take apple as my autumn flavor any day!  What will you be doing with your apples this year?  I hope you’ll get a chance to try some of these delectable delights during this time of changing seasons! 

 

Homemade Pectin from Apple Scraps!

It has been one year now since we moved down to Oregon and I started up this blog.  Before we really knew anyone or got settled and I would stress about getting acquainted and involved.  One short year later and I often feel too busy and can't seem to arrange time to meet up with all the friends we really want to! Really good "problems" to have; just funny how life can change so quickly!

With these great berry pickers, we had loads of berries, berries for jam!

I remember this season last year, right after we moved into our rental (see that fun story here!) and the excess apples on the old tree behind the house began to fall.  Green and hard, they seemed to have little use.  This year, however, I found a wonderful use for them: Homemade fruit pectin!  Immature apples have a high concentration of natural pectin and are perfect for making your own for canning!  Forager's Harvest has a great description about the method of boiling down immature apples into pectin, but that's just about the gist of it: quarter apples (or even leave whole!), cover with water in a pan and boil it down!  American Prepper's Network and Mother Earth News also explain the same process as well as how to use your new pectin.

Baby Apples and the boiling process

I just used a standard strawberry freezer jam recipe from Land O' Lakes and it worked!  It gelled but I did have to boil it for a minute which the recipe didn't call for.  My only complaint is that it's VERY sweet.  I know that sugar to pectin ratio has to be just right, but my next mission is to find a recipe that comes out a little more fresh tasting and not quite so sugary! 

 

I just find it so fun to be able to use something that would go to waste to make something I would have to spend money on and use often!  Hope you can find these links to be of use as well!

Waste Not Fruit Leather

 Are you guys getting this crazy heat!?  88 degrees in April just seems surreal!  I used to LOVE the sun, and it couldn't get too hot for me, but now I'm afraid Alaska has ruined me.  I feel like I'm melting as soon as the mercury hits 80 and I'm more than a little concerned about this upcoming summer!  But, oh!  The blooms!  The variety of plants that are thriving in this climate never ceases to astound me.  My neighbor threw some lilac boughs on the burn pile yesterday because she had to thin her tree out a little, but I couldn't bear it!  I had to rescue them and brought them all in the house! =)

We've had a lovely week of exploring gardens, wading in creeks, and shooting with friends.  Not to mention catching tad poles and filling up the kiddie pool!  Our little lady has decided that while we're out and about, her snack of choice is an apple.  Not slices, no, the whole thing.  And that's all well and good except, she gets it to where it is just beginning to look polka-dotted with her tiny little bite marks and then she decides she's done.  Even on her best day, she'll eat off all the skin but doesn't want to eat the flesh.  But I'm pretty okay with it because of my latest technique for using what we have. 

Last summer we made a lot of smoothies with unfinished bits of fruit, but this spring I've been taking it a different direction.  Like I've said before, good fresh fruit was difficult to come by in Fairbanks, so it pains me to see it go to waste!  So lately, I've taken the leftover bits and pieces and throwing them into the blender, then in my dehydrator to make fruit leather.  This is so easy!  I only have one tray right now, so my blender half filled with puree will then fill my dehydrator tray just about perfectly.  As. Kadee mentions in her post Oh So Delicioso, the right consistency comes from patience and spreading it so it's just thicker than transparent.  In the dehydrator set to 135, this will take about 6 hours to fully dry. But keep checking on it as you get close because different combinations are going to take different lengths.  It should feel fairly dry to the touch. 

And flavor combinations are endless!   Right now, mine usually involve some apple and banana, but I've been adding in melon, orange, and blackberries.  I did a couple adding a spoonful of honey or sweetened jam, but it certainly wasn't necessary.  I even did one that was about half Greek yogurt!  It was really tasty!  This is another place to sneak in some well paired vegetables as well, like cucumber, spinach and carrots.  I've snuck them all in! =) 

So far this spring, I haven't had a batch last more than a day.  The young 'uns eat it like candy, it's easy to make and easy to grab on the go!  My next batch is going to be blackberry watermelon.  What other concoctions could we come up with?

Note: our family shares our own germs, but if you're making this to share outside of immediate family, I recommend using non-nibbled fruit! =)

Frozen Pipes and Star Analogy

Making friends with the neighbors

Do you ever start looking back through old photos and sort of get lost in time.  Our Decembers have often been interesting months.  Most notably, of course, was two years ago when our daughter was born in the midst of an Alaskan snow storm. 

So Tiny!

But both the year before that and just last year, December was the month the temperatures finally dropped low enough and long enough for our pipes to freeze despite our pipes being wrapped with electric heat tape and in frequent use. 

The inside of our windows come December

It was a bother, but really, not that big of a deal.  Especially in the lower 48 here, we can become so used to having things a certain way, anything else becomes shocking and pitiful.  But so many people up there live in dry cabins anyway, our being without running water for those few weeks at a time was generally regarded as a minor inconvenience. 

 There were water stations in town where you simply hauled your tank (be it pickup bed sized or the 7 gallon blue ones like we had) and filled up whenever you were in town.  We were thankfully close enough to the Fox springs to be able to fill up with that pure water without having to drive into town.  Or, if we were really in a pinch, we had all the water we wanted right outside our door.  All we had to do was set pots of snow on the stove to melt and boil. 

He loved this job!  Good science experiment, too!

 Being careful to avoid the yellow or brown patches, of course.  An older, single nurse from the hospital I worked at up there said she felt much more prepared to survive in the winter than in the summer should something happen, because she had all that fresh water all around her and a stove to heat it on!

December 2012

 

December 2014

Tiny bits for washing dishes.  Showers were obviously out of the question, but washing up with a washcloth was usually sufficient.  We would give the babies shallow baths in the galvanized tub.  Then use that water to spot clean laundry.  An outhouse would have been nice.  And I really understand the relatively high density of outhouses in the area.  One flush takes a lot of water!  You just get used to thinking about things differently and learn not to waste something even so common as water. 

At the plumbing store...again.

And then the electricity would go out every so often, but every house out of town had a stove.  Maybe this sounds crazy, but looking back, I really appreciate how those times grew me and caused me to get creative and see things in a new way.  It’s so rewarding to be thrust into a potentially dangerous situation like that and come through with flying colors.  Like a victory.  I am very grateful for our new home here in Oregon and love that we get to settle here, but I hope I never lose the lessons I’ve learned nor forget the adventures we’ve had in Alaska.

Okay, enough reminiscing.  I guess what I was leading to is gratefulness.  I know Thanksgiving is over, but it really should be a mindset rather than a single holiday, anyway.  Choose to be content, to be grateful for the things you do have, especially during this crazy month of gifting.  Remember all we have been given, the best gift of the offer of Living Water with the birth of Jesus!  Yeah, that’s “Christianeese.”  I’ve got to stop that, but I like the analogy.  Jesus Spirit living with those who love Him is likened to Living Water that is vital for full life and quenches the thirsty soul.  !  I love Christmas as much as the next person, but it’s just the beginning of the story!  The climax will have to wait until Eastertime, though! =)

We haven’t really started celebrating yet, mostly waiting until after our upcoming birthday party, although Christmas tunes are finally playing regularly.  We did do one activity in preparation for Christmas that I thought I would share because I feel like it was a fun learning activity for my littles.  We had an apple that was starting to look like it was dehydrating from the outside after it had sat on the shelf for much too long.  I brought the littles over to watch for the hidden star as I sliced the apple around its girth.  What delight when they found the familiar shape in the middle. 

 

 As I continued to cut thin slices to (finish) dehydrating for our popcorn/cranberry garland, I told them about the star that shone when Jesus was born, that the shepherd’s saw in the fields and that the wise men followed for their long journey.  The star was there for everyone to see, but the wise men knew what to look for, sort of like how we knew how to look for the star in the apple.  I’m not sure if the analogy played out perfectly, but it was fun to talk about as we worked together.  I’m always up for new Christmas ideas and I know there are tons of amazing traditions and ways to celebrate Christmastime out there.  I’m curious, how do you start off the season? 

Sorry for the dark photos!  Sometimes life doesn't happen in perfect lighting! =)

 

Mountain Apple Dumpling Recipe

 

 

Do you still have any apples left?  As promised, I’d like to share with you our Mountain Apple Dumplings.  Now, I’d like to tell you some wonderful, woodland tale about backpacking deep into the Cascades and stumbling across a story book cottage of a sweet, elderly, mountain lady who kindly shared with us her treasured family recipe.  That’s the fable that plays in my head when I hear the name but, no, not quite so romantic.  The name comes from the secret ingredient: Mountain Dew.

Is this healthy?  Eh, “healthy” is a continuum, right?  It’s better than some, has real fruit in it and is amazingly delicious!  This recipe is quick and easy and always ends up being a hit at get-togethers.  I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been asked for this recipe!  And the funny thing is that, though I got this recipe from my Mom ages ago, she and I have both evolved it to our own tastes, and now we would write it out completely differently.  So take this recipe as a general guide and have fun with it!  I’ll include some comments about different ways you could tweak it. 

 

Mountain Apple Dumplings

Ingredients:

2-4 apples

2 refrigerated crescent dough (or pie dough)

1 c. butter (she uses 1/2 cup)

½ c. sugar (or 1 cup for tart apples)

1 can Mountain Dew (I don't usually have soda in the house and have used orange juice in a pinch.  I works, but changes the flavor)

1-2 TBSP Cinnamon (I like to add nutmeg, cloves or allspice, too!)

See!?  Every ingredient is adjustable!  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Core and slice apples into 16 pieces.  You may peal them if you desire, but I usually leave the skins on. 

 

Wrap each slice in a triangle of dough (it’s okay if it’s not completely covered) and place in greased 9x13” pan. 

 

They will probably all be touching.  Pour sugar evenly over dumplings, then spices over the sugar. 

 

 Gently (so as not to wash all the sugar off dumplings) pour butter, then Mountain Dew evenly over dumplings. 

 

Cook for one hour, then enjoy!  These taste amazing warm with a little ice cream!

 

Can I just share the story of this plate while I have it in a photo.  I know it’s not much, but I think it’s beautiful: emerald on the top and cobalt underside.  My kinda colors!  So, we were on our daily walk down our dirt/ice road last breakup (spring) in Fairbanks.  As the snow had just begun to melt it revealed this beautiful plate, surprisingly unbroken, on the side of the road.  Though I immediately wanted to take it home (is that gross?  I sanitize!) I figured it belonged to someone farther down, so I set it upright in a snowbank so any one passing would be sure to see it.  I let a week pass and it remained, so I brought it home and thought of it as my lovely scavenger’s treasure.  Not long after before we were having a meal on our porch because it was finally ABOVE FREEZING!!! And the baby pushed the plate off the table and it shattered into a million pieces.  Aw man, sad!  Oh well.  I threw it away.



Does he remind anyone else of a tiny Kristoff?

My walking buddies

 

 

The next day on our walk, I found the exact same plate in the exact same spot!!!!  What?  Wow, thanks, God!  Hee hee!  Now my little miracle plate makes me happy every time I see it.  And who said God doesn’t care about the little things! =)

(Quicke{er} Shrunken Apple Heads!) Happy Halloween...

...to you and yours from me and mine!  I hope you all have a fun, safe day celebrating this beautiful time of year.  I just wanted to share with you a quick (to prep, at least) craft you can show your little ones and create with the older ones if you have a little down time today. 

Apple Shrunken Heads!  Yeah, this is about as scary as it gets around here.  In fact, mine just turned out looking like a cheerful elderly lady! 

Basically, you peel the area you want for your face, then peel a small hole on the back side for excess fluid to escape.  With a small knife, etch out a simple face (hollow eyes, leave  the nose the brows and nose highest, make the mouth wide or just a line)  Don't forget to scratch in a few of the deep wrinkles!  I only did a few on the forehead and at the corners of the eyes. 

Then pop them in the oven at a low temp until they have reached sufficient shrunkeness!  I did 275 for about 3 hours.

After they have cooled enough, you can take two apple seeds from another apple and push them in by their points for the eyes.  Then just set about as décor!

I made this off of old childhood memories, but there are several direction online.  Most involve setting the apples on a shelf to dry for several weeks like this beautiful one from Yet Another Mommy Blog.  But I also loved the idea of letting them float in a punch bowl of cider like this variation from GirlChef.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Happy creating!

Inspriation for Life and Apples

Do you have anyone in your life who has (or continues) to inspire you creatively?  Those people you admire are vital, but what about those who invest in your creativity, who are honest but encouraging and thought provoking…  I hope you do, but either way, I’d like to share some of mine with you, to pass their inspiration along so that it might benefit more.

Meet my parents!  My first inspirer-ers.  Is that a word?  It is now…  Anyway, they have been encouraging and uplifting from day one and it's so exciting to see them investing in and inspiring my children now, too!  I love this photo of them because it makes me laugh every time.  So here’s the back story: we were walking along a windy beach, I got ahead a little bit and looked back to see them walking along together, talking and laughing.  So romantic!  I whipped out my camera to capture the moment and this is what I got:  Mom reaching down to pick up a shell and Dad holding out his jacket to fly!  They love each other and they love life!

Dad claims this is a more natural pose =)

I could go on about how wonderful they both are, but my purpose of this post is to encourage you with something that they gave, and continue to give me.  My Dad is the most God-loving, hard-working, creative man I’ve ever known.  Although I don’t think he would consider himself artsy, he sees the beauty and majesty of God’s creation in everything from the greatest mountains to the smallest microbe.  And he’s so good about inviting others into the outdoors (or anything he’s interested in, really) and making it fun.  I want to be that kind of person to others.  I can’t think of anything more inspiring than creation and the God it directs us to.  And his creativity comes out in more electronic ways, also, that I can only hope to understand someday!

He and Mom both share this knack for making things work.  If you can’t afford it or can’t get it, then you find a way to do it yourself or take what you already have to substitute. This led to teaching us the determination and perseverance that many projects throughout life require.   Of course this comes with some trial and error, but I love their stance that mistakes are for learning!  I also love their giving hearts.  Yes, it’s good to make and do, but so much better to share these things with others!

Now Mom is very much the sort of person who would just rather create things herself.  Her “famous” quote has always been, “we could make that!”  When you make it yourself it is the ideal size, shape, color, function…why pay more when we could do it ourselves?  Also, her love for animals had encouraged many to care for their critters well.  Again, I could quote them both until the cows came home and one quick blurb will not do justice to all their words of advice, encouragement, wisdom and inspiration.

But one more thing I’ve admired about them is that they always try to find the good in every situation. Which leads us to my bridge to the apples: they are one of Mom’s favorite things!  Though autumn has never been her favorite season, she’s always enjoyed apples whether they be baked in a dish or standing alone.  This is the first year since I lived with them that we’ve had an apple tree in our back yard and I LOVE it!  Free fruit!  Fruit was so precious in Alaska, we are kind of going crazy with all the fruit now.  I can’t stand to see any of it go to waste!  It is an old, untended tree that we have here, so it has been necessary to cut out the big bruises and insects.  Still, I have been making as many apple dishes as I can!  I wanted to share an apple round-up with you of some of the recipes I have been using (and a couple I’d like to try!)

1.       Dried apple chips: may be done in the oven or a dehydrator.  Or even strung on a thread and hung on the hearth if you want to do it the truly rustic way!  I followed this simply wonderful recipe and my huge batch disappeared in a matter of days.

2.       Mountain Apple Dumplings.  The official recipe for this will be coming soon, but if you’re in a hurry and want the unedited (well-loved) version, zoom in on my recipe card below. 

3.       Apple Cider Vinegar:  well, except for the cider bit.  You just use the toss-away cores and skins instead!  This may not save time or much money, but how cool is it that you don’t have to throw away your cores or skins!  The homemade vinegar recipe can be found here in her creative post.

4.       Apple Crisp: This crisp has been my go-to this season and we’ve already made three batches!  Perfect combo of warm tart apples, and cinnamon, oat gooiness!

5.       Irish Apple Cake/Bread: Straight from the Emerald Isle, this lady’s concoction is sure to make you feel like you’re sitting at the comfort of a warm hearth on a soft morning.

Yet to try:

1. Apple Fritter Bread
2. Easy Apple Pie
3. Mini Carmel Apples
4. Also, I have yet to find chickens to feed the pieces that are unfit for my family!  There’s always those super bruised pieces or the ones that had (or have) worms leave their marks.  It makes me miss having chickens because I hate throwing anything away! 

 And here's one last apple bonus: how to keep your apples from browning!

Oh, man, this is making my mouth water!  You can have your pumpkin spice!  I’ll take apple as my autumn flavor any day!  What will you be doing with your apples this year?  I hope you’ll get a chance to try some of these delectable delights during this time of changing seasons!  Oh!  And if you’re able, give your folks (or mine) a hug and let them know how they’ve inspired you in life!  If not, be that inspiration to someone else!