Accidental Applesauce

Every year, for Thanksgiving, I bake an apple pie. For Jason. He loves apple pie and since I am a nice mom, I make it for him once a year, on Thanksgiving.

Well this year I blew it. I overcooked the apples (enough for two pies!) and had to make them into applesauce. It turned out to be the best applesauce I've ever had! Really! And I already liked applesauce.

And, yes, I did buy more apples and I still made apple pie. And it was delicious.



ACCIDENTAL APPLESAUCE

I don't really like Granny Smith apples, which are traditionally used in apple pies (I'm sure this is because they are too sour to just eat them). So I use several different kinds of apples in my pies—these are the ones I chose this year:

8 honeycrisp apples
4 Granny Smith apples
4 Jonagold apples
4 Braeburn apples

You also need:

2 Tbsp. lemon juice
about 1 cup water
sugar, to taste (I probably used 3/4 to 1 cup)

Peel, core and slice all the apples. This takes forever!
Put them into a great, big pot and toss with the lemon juice.
Add the water.
Cover the pot and put it on the stove, over low heat.
Go to your sister's house (or a friend's house) and forget all about the apples for about an hour. When the lightbulb goes on, call your kids and shriek into the phone, "Turn off the stove! Yes, the burner where the apples are."
Hurry home; check out the apples. Are they too mushy to use in a pie? Good.
Use your magic wand to blend it all into applesauce.
Stir in sugar, to taste.
Put the applesauce into smaller containers and refrigerate.
Eat it before it grows mold (within a week or so).

Makes about 3 quarts of really delicious applesauce!

Gazpacho

I first tried out Gazpacho on my honeymoon. NO, it's not anything kinky! What kind of a blog do you think this is?

Gazpacho is a Spanish, cold tomato soup. I learned about it in 7th-grade Spanish class; but I really did not try it until I was at a nice restaurant, on my honeymoon. It is delicious! And it's the perfect recipe for this time of year when the ripe tomatoes are abundant!

Unfortunately it is one of those recipes where I don't really have exact measurements of the ingredients. But you'll figure it out. ;-)

GAZPACHO

*3-6 slices of French bread [shouldn't it be Spanish bread?]
*2-3 lbs. ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
*1 red onion, peeled and diced
*1-2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
*1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced or 1 mild chili pepper, diced or a combination of bell pepper and a mild chili
olive oil
red wine vinegar, to taste [well really the whole recipe is "to taste"]
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic, to taste (optional)

[The honeymoon gazpacho also had some medium-size shrimp in it. Mmmmm!]

* Don't forget--these are not exact amounts; you just make this soup to taste!

Remove and discard the crusts form the bread; tear bread into chunks. Place the bread pieces into a large bowl and soak in water--just enough to make the bread a little soggy, but without leaving it in standing water. [I know, this sounds weird. Just trust me.] Add tomatoes, onion, cucumber and peppers. Puree in blender until homogenous--or use your magic wand [hand-blender--every kitchen should have one!]. Drizzle mixture with olive oil and add vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic to taste; stir well. Chill until ready to serve.

This makes a nice, cool appetizer or side-dish. It is very pretty with some of the diced veggies and a sprig of parsley or cilantro for garnish. :)

Toasted Almond Spread

Last night we celebrated my dad's 80th birthday. (He turned 80 on Sunday.) Almost all of my relatives that came to the open house/birthday party asked for a recipe for this yummy cheese spread. I'd like to claim it as one that I, with all my inspiration and talent, created. But I didn't. This recipe is a Christmas tradition of the Forsyth family, friends of ours who kindly shared it with us.

TOASTED ALMOND SPREAD

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (6 oz.)
1/3 cup Miracle Whip
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/3 cups sliced almonds, toasted *

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients; mix well. Spread mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring after 8 minutes. [oops! I didn't stir after 8 minutes!] Garnish with additional toasted sliced almonds, if desired. Serve with assorted crackers or toasted bread.

*You can toast the almonds one or two tablespoons at a time in your hot-air popcorn popper. Just let it run for about 10 seconds. Otherwise just stir them in a hot frying pan on the stove. Be careful! They are nasty if they burn. But they are so much more delicious toasted than raw!

Yum!