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! 

 

Lovely, Effortless Lemonade (Plus Flavoring Syrups!)

Sitting out at our lemonade stand was such a joy!  Not only did I get to hang out, do preschool, read and sing with my little ones during the down time, we also got to meet many of our neighbors and just hear the stories of passer-bys.  One couple were even missionaries from Africa here on leave!  As they drank their lemonade, they told us about how the believers were faring in their area and the woman commented, “There, now you have refreshed us with lemonade, and we have refreshed you with news of your brothers and sisters in Africa!”  And it was true!  

It was perfect!  This was the page we were doing in his preschool book!

 

We had several people just want to take pictures of our stand (feel free to read up on the instructions for the lashed branch stand) and nearly everyone comment on how pleasantly surprised they were that the lemonade had such wonderful flavor.  I actually had to agree.  That sounds totally conceited, but let me explain.  I really don’t like lemonade.  I know it's horrible, but I’ve just never really had much of a taste for the drink.  So for me to admit I like it is saying something.  I had several people request the recipe on the spot and it was easy to give because the recipe was so simple.  The kids and I tried to restrain ourselves, but we still ended up drinking about a quarter of the lemonade we made.

The thing is, I didn’t feel bad at all because it was SO easy to make!  No squeezing lemons (or having them squirt in unfortunate directions) and only three ingredients IF you're counting the water.  I made another huge batch the next day for our church painting party and another one after that just for us.  I adjusted this lemonade recipe a bit to make a simple lemonade for us to sell and then I made a couple flavoring syrups to allow visitors some options.  But first, let me share with you how I made the lemonade:

You’ll need:

·         3 lemons

·         ¾ cup sugar (or 1 cup honey)*

·         6 cups water

 

·         Blender

·         Strainer

·         Pitcher

Set 1 ½ cups of water to boiling while you quarter the lemons and toss them into the blender.  When the water is hot, stir it into the sugar to dissolve, then pour it into the blender as well.  Add remaining water (if it doesn’t all fit in, you can add the rest to the pitcher.)  Start out on lowest setting and allow blender to agitate the juice from the lemon quarters for a minute or so.  I waited until the water was just becoming opaque. You don't want to grate the rinds.   Then pour through strainer (to catch all the rinds and seeds) into the pitcher.    Cool (or ice) and done! 

*I want to note, this will yield a fairly sweet lemonade, so if you prefer it to be more on the tart side, you may want to adjust this amount.

Just kitty-corner from our house is a farm stand called Me and Moore that sells the most amazing peaches right now!  They’re seriously like candy!  The kids, Clancey dog and I walked over and got a bagful.  They found some pretty little wildflowers on the way and each picked one for the lady who always works at the counter.  She’s such a sweetheart and always has a nice conversation with the kids when we’re there!  Once we got home, I followed this recipe for the syrups:  I didn’t know at the time that the lemonade would be able to stand on its own!  But it’s still fun to add a little flavor, even if just for variety’s sake, from time to time.  In fact, nearly everyone who came by requested flavoring added in.  A spoonful or two was more than enough for the flavor to come through.

Ingredients:

·         3 cups fruit

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 cup water

Bring the water to boil in a saucepan.  Dissolve sugar into boiling water, turn down heat to medium, then stir in fruit.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until it has thickened, stirring intermittently.  Pour into jar and refrigerate until use.

I did a batch of strawberry also and they both turned out so tasty!  And they looked so cheery sitting on the stand together!  I understand life is sometimes too crazy even for this, but I picked up another flavoring cheat I wanted to pass on if you need to save some time: jam or preserves!  I had a little bit of my mom’s blackberry jam and just added a splash of water to a spoonful to thin it out a bit.  Stirred into the lemonade it turned out great! 

If you're looking for another syrup recipe, Sweet C Designs makes a very similar version that looks super yummy, too!

Anyway, I’m so glad we decided to tackle this adventure! Have you ever had a lemonade stand?  This endeavor really got me reminiscing.  I grew up near the end of a long dead-end road, so a full-blown lemonade stand wasn’t really an option.  But a few friends and I created the “Berry Berry Bunch Club” when we were barely in grade school.  We diligently picked all sorts of wild berries and made concoctions by smashing them or mixing them into juice we had swiped from the kitchen.  We put the drinks into tiny cups and sold them for a nickel to anyone who would give us the time of day!  Wow, fun times, though…

Alright, then!  Let's reel it back in from the reminiscing rabbit trail!  I hope you're having a great week and I'll leave you with this gem:
"TASTE and SEE that the LORD is good!  How blessed is the one who takes shelter in Him!" Psalms 34:8

Lemonade Stand! And My Lessons in Branch Lashing...

The last bittersweet days of summer…

…are still incredibly hot!  It was pushing 100 degrees as we sat at our lemonade stand.  Which, I suppose, is good weather to have a lemonade stand in… either way, it was a much more preferable event than my trial and errors of making the stand itself!  So I wanted to share my experience with you with the hope that you might have an easier go of it. 

It all started when I read to our little guy about a lemonade stand in one of his books. We talked about it a bit and he (okay, we) got really excited about the idea!  We talked about how it would work and flavorings we would make, and when he asked, I told him I would see if we could make it work. 

First, I asked our landlord if it was even okay, then set to planning.  I’m not going to lie; my first plan failed miserably.  It wouldn’t even stand up.  So I’d like to tell you what not to do and then what worked for us. 

So, if you read my post about our fort (here) you’ll recall we have a ton of fresh, strong branches from a recent tree trimming and I thought they might make a cute, rustic sort of lemonade stand, too.  Josh insisted that lashing the round logs was the best way to secure them, but he showed me the right way to do that this time.  I’ll pass along that bit of knowledge in a bit, but first I’ll explain my failed design:  four upright posts, two braces on each side and a couple angled supports.  In the end, I had to back track and take several pieces off to make it a sort of A-frame.  Another gem Josh taught through this experience is that triangles are sturdier than squares/rectangles.  MUCH sturdier, though it still sits at a bit of an angle on our uneven ground.  But, it worked fine and I still like how it looks. 

So here’s the bit about lashing that I found very helpful and hope to use again in the future: I started laying the branches (each about 6 feet long with a 3 inch diameter) out the front on our patio (propping them up on paint cans made for some extra elbow room) and lashing the cross beams to the uprights.  So, we started with a clove hitch.  The best way I can describe that is to wrap your twine around one branch twice so they cross with a long tail.  Where the twine crosses, slip the tail under both sides and pull tight.    Easy peasy.

For the long beams across the front, we did square lashings, meaning I would go up and over the branch on top, down under the branch on bottom, then over the top on again on the other side.  Basically going around instead of cross.  Hopefully the photo can explain what I can’t with words.  I followed this pattern about five times over.

To add strength, I was advised to keep the twine as neat and snug as possible.  I’m afraid I didn’t achieve either to the degree I would have liked, but each one was better than its predecessor.  When the five times over-under-over-under pattern is complete, it can be tightened even more by doing the opposite: over the bottom, under the top.   About five times around again. This takes up much less twine each round because you’re only circling around the first batch to tighten them in together.  Again, I’ll have to refer you to the photo.

Once you’ve tightened the lashing, complete with another clove hitch and there you have it!  I did a slightly different pattern for the shorter braces going front to back.  The only difference is that after the starting clove hitch, I did a cross over back and forth so that they will support the board, still finishing with the tightening portion and ending in another clove hitch. Then lash the tops together in the same way and you’re done with the frame! 

I did add some kitty-corner braces in the front upper corners to give even more stability.  We laid a board across the top and decorated a little with table cloth, pendants, and sign (instructions to come for this one!  SO easy and fun!) 

This was by far the hardest part of the adventure.  Especially since we had to backtrack a bit there, but now that I’ve made that mistake you can save yourself the headache of it!  In the end, the materials I used were:

·         6’ long branches x 5

·         2’ long branches x 4 (2 for the front to back beams that held the counter, 2 for the corner supports)

·         12” board (ours was only an inch thick and 4’ long, but this could vary for you so long as it fits between your frame braces)

·         Lots of twine!  I used about half a skein.

·         A little scrap fabric if you choose to decorate

Total cost: $12 –but this was only because we had to buy that silly board and twine new.  Do you have something already laying around your house that would work?  Maybe you could make it for even less!  I was looking at lemonade stands online and all I found were well over $100.  Very well constructed all and would probably last forever, but I didn’t feel like we needed that. 

 

 

And, what I think the best part about this project was, the kiddos were able to help and learn along with me.  They helped pick the straightest, strongest branches, haul them to the patio, set up, and pick up all the stray strings and branches.  We had so many people comment on how much they liked the uniqueness and style of our stand as they came to visit and many random visitors took photos!  Of course, it was probably just for these two cuties sitting behind the counter! =)

I hope this helps you create your own stand at some point, even if you’re on a budget (be it time or money) and can save you a headache or two!  Coming up on Tuesday: an amazingly simple lemonade recipe that tastes amazingly good!  I’ll even throw in a couple flavoring syrup recipes, too! Stay tuned!

 

In need of more inspiration for simple lemonade booths?  Check out an adorable pallet one here, or this sweet one made of painted cardboard!