Deli-Apple-icious

Too much?

Ah well. You might change your mind if you try this recipe.

Can you guess what this is? Note that colour. Oh, it's so pink and pretty, isn't it?

You scrolled down to see what it is, didn't you?

That's okay. I would have, too.

I'm telling you about beautiful, delicious Ida Red Apple Sauce. Yes, it needs to be Ida Red. Sure, you can use other apples. It just won't be deli-apple-icious. Ida Reds have a semi-firm flesh, gorgeous red skin, high juice content, and a sweet-tartness that is perfect to create a blushing sauce for your dinner table.



Here's what you need:

Ida Red Applesauce
Ripe Ida Red apples, washed, as many as you want (I used 9 large to medium-large apples to serve 5)
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of sugar (optional)
Pot to cook them in
a food mill

Oh, and by the way -- this is so easy! Very little work involved.

1. Using a handy-dandy apple slicer-corer, slice your apples directly into the cooking pot. Do NOT skin the apples. (If you don't have an apple slicer-corer, use a knife, slice apples and discard seeds and core.)



2. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. (You don't need much as these apples are full of juice and the pot will fill with it while they cook.)
   
3. Sprinkle apples with about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon (reserve the rest to add if needed after the sauce is done.)
   
4. Set heat to medium high, put lid on pan and bring to a boil.
   
5. Turn down heat to medium low and let cook about 30 minutes.
   
6. Stir, moving topmost apples to bottom of pan. If some apples are still firm, replace lid and allow to cook another 15 minutes.
   
7. Once all apples are cooked, place them into a foodmill and grind directly into serving bowl. Be careful, with this step as they're hot.

8. Grind the sauce in the mill. See my mill? It's about 50 years old. It is a beautiful mill, but it has worked pretty hard over the years for my mother and now for us. I needed to use a wooden spoon to occasionally push the apples through the sieved bottom of the mill. In the end we had all the peels and a small amount of pulp remaining in the mill. It will compost nicely.

Now is the time to taste your sauce. If it's a little too tart, stir in a bit of sugar to taste. Brown, white, or Splenda -- whatever suits your fancy. Add a bit more cinnamon if you need it. Stir and serve!

Take a look at the finished product:


When the kids sat down to dinner tonight they exclaimed "It's PINK! COOL!" And they all wanted seconds. They got them, and there's enough leftover for tomorrow.

And by the way, if you don't have a food mill, you can peel your apples and make the sauce. It just won't be pink and you'll be lacking the added nutrients from the peels. You'll need to mash your apples in the pan (simply stirring with a wooden spoon will work for a slightly chunky sauce.) None of the other steps will change.

This makes a lovely side-dish for Thanksgiving dinner. You can reheat in the microwave before serving.

If you try it, let me know.

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The Insanity Has to Stop

NPR has reported that Major Nidal Hasan's mental health was questioned by his nearly two years ago by his supervising Psychiatrists. Daniel Zwerdling reports that Hasan's supervisors referred to him as "schizoid" and questioned whether Hasan was mentally fit for service.

"One official involved in the conversations had reportedly told colleagues that he worried that if Hasan deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, he might leak secret military information to Islamic extremists. Another official reportedly wondered aloud to colleagues whether Hasan might be capable of committing fratricide, like the Muslim U.S. Army sergeant who, in 2003, killed two fellow soldiers and injured 14 others by setting off grenades at a base in Kuwait."

You might not be familiar with the term "schizoid" but I am. It's not a word that mental health professionals toss around lightly. Schizoid is considered milder than schizophrenia, but harder to treat. It is a personality disorder in which the afflicted person is completely disconnected from his emotions and unable to develop meaningful interpersonal relationships. According to this article "the person with schizoid personality disorder may be able to hold a job and meet the expectations of an employer if the responsibilities do not require more than minimal interpersonal involvement." I think the job description for military psychiatrist in wartime might involve more than minimal interpersonal involvement.

However, Zwerdling reports, circumstances were such that the officials who raised the concerns (and continued monthly discussions about those concerns) did not find it feasible to issue any giant red flags about Hasan. They did not because:

1. there would be too much paperwork and bureaucracy
2. they would appear politically incorrect and unsympathetic to Hasan's extremist Islamic views
3. they didn't know that Homeland Security was tracking his emails with other extremists, and the icing on the cake:
   
4. Hasan was leaving for Fort Hood, anyway, and could be their problem.
   

Which begs the question: did officials at Walter Reed who were concerned about Hasan's fitness to serve alert officials at Fort Hood to his apparent mental instability? Did they? I want to know.

I don't know about you, but the four reasons above are NOT GOOD ENOUGH for failing to flag a person who would be in a position of power, authority, and care taking with our soldiers at home and abroad.

Why would it be okay for a person with extremist views, views that specifically condemn American ideals and the war on terror, to serve in any capacity with our armed forces?

I'm certainly not saying that Muslims cannot serve in the military. To the contrary. I think Muslims can absolutely serve in the American military. I think Muslims can be a great asset to the American military. This man espoused radical Islamic views which are actually contradictory to the Muslim faith.

This is not okay, people. This man was unstable enough to become the focus of monthly conversations between the officials, including the Psychiatrists who supervised him, at one of the hospitals where he trained.

But. They. Did.

NOTHING.

They did not insist he have a full psychiatric evaluation.

They did not place him on probation.

They did not require he have any intervention whatsoever.

They did, however, pass the buck:

"Hasan was about to leave Walter Reed and USUHS for good and transfer to Fort Hood, in Texas. Fort Hood has more psychiatrists and other mental specialists than some other Army bases, so officials figured there would be plenty of co-workers who would support Hasan — and monitor him." (Zwerdling)

I am outraged that the Psychiatrists who supervised Hasan didn't have the balls necessary to red flag his nutty ass.

What's it take?

Seriously, what does it take?

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Halloweenies

Or Mummy Dogs

These are fun and easy fare for the kids this time of year. (I make them anytime of year that the mood strikes me.)

You will need:
1 tube of refrigerated crescent rolls (or one recipe baking soda biscuits, which follows)
1 package hot dogs
baking sheet

Preheat the oven to 375.
1) Open and unroll the crescent rolls (if using baking soda biscuits, roll quite thin - about 1/4").
2) Working on wax paper, cut crescent dough into narrow strips.
3) Wrap crescent dough strips mummy style around each hot dogs, leaving a "face" exposed.
4) You can cut X's for eyes before baking, if you like.
5) bake at 375 for about 15 minutes. Once the dough is golden, the dogs are done.



Baking soda biscuits:

3/4 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 T shortening
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1. Sift flour baking powder and salt together.
2. Using pastry knife or two butter knives, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in milk.
4. Turn out on floured surface. For use with mummy dogs, roll out 1/4" thick. Cut with floured knife. (There will be excess dough. Make biscuits that can bake alongside mummy dogs by cutting and shaping at 1/2" thick.)

To make this a complete meal, serve it with Green Goodness Smoothie.

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Just Where Does the Time Go, Anyway?

I could have sworn I'd just made my last post a week or so ago. It's been a month!

This summer has been crazy busy, once summer started, that is. For us in Ontario it rolled in around late July to kick our rears most thoroughly.

Between hitting the beach as frequently as possible, birthdays, picnics, barbecues and local festivals; there isn't much time left for much else.

I'll tell you one that that's definitely put me into a strange time warp: quitting smoking. I've been smoke-free since July 1. Prior to that, I spent six weeks weening myself off cigarettes and replacing cigarettes with Nicorette. Yes, I'm still chewing Nicorette and yes, my body apparently still needs it. But I'm without all the other chemicals in the cigarettes and also not burning my lungs anymore! Do I feel better? In some ways, yes. Oddly, I've been achy since I quit smoking. I wonder if my body is just clearing out all those toxins. I don't know. Or perhaps I've overdone it abit at the beach, on the bike, etc., trying to pack all the summer activities I could into the few really nice days we were having. I've been, off and on, very distractible since I quit completely. I don't often know the time and I have to really work at concentrating sometimes. That seems to be lessening now.

So there's where some of the summer time goes, anyway.

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Kitchen Tools I Wouldn't Cook Without

Mandolin

The mandolin is invaluable when slicing root vegetables. There are generally additional blades for cutting julienne strips and wider strips as well. Whether putting up carrots or making scalloped potatoes, french fries or crudités; this tool reduces the toil and the time needed to cut any of these harder vegetables by any other means.

Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer

This peeler/corer/slicer is my favourite. I do own others, and they have their uses, but this is the one I use when I have a couple bushels of crisp apples in the fall. If we're canning apple slices or freezing them, we can whip through them in no time with this handy tool. It takes less than a minute to peel core and slice an apple with this tool.

When working with mealy-type apples (which will turn to mush in the above-pictured tool), I use this type of peeler:
Combined with this slicer:

This slicer is used almost daily during the school year to slice apples for the kids' lunches.


Mini Food Processor

Black & Decker MFP200T MiniPro Plus Food Processor

I've used this thing so much over the past 7 or 8 years, I'm surprised it hasn't died yet. I make our chicken and egg salads. We crush our dried chili peppers in it. I chop nuts in it. I slice carrots and celery in it (it's the fastest way to do so!) I shred zucchini and other vegetables or cheese in it. You want an egg salad that's a spreadable consistency? Use the food processor. Yes, it only holds two cups, but that's enough even for my family of five. You would be surprised how much one of these mini's can do. It's easy to clean, and small enough to not be a burden in the kitchen. Love it!

Plastic Lettuce Knife

We eat a lot of salad. We take great pride in our salads. My daughter has turned salad assembly into an art form. She'll call me on it, too when I've just chopped a bunch of vegetables and thrown them in a salad bowl. "Fail on the presentation, mom."

A plastic lettuce knife won't cause your lettuce to brown and wilt like metal knives will. I know many people prefer to tear their lettuce. I'd rather cut it. I get the pieces to the size I want and I can cut many more pieces at one time than I can tear. Using a knife also reduces risk of transferring bacteria to food from your hands.

The best thing about a plastic lettuce knife is it will not cut you. Or your kindergartner. With a plastic knife like this, younger kids can get started in the kitchen a lot earlier than they would with only metal knives to use.



Electric Griddle

If your stove doesn't include a griddle, it pays to own an electric one. Pancake breakfasts, grilled cheese dinners, quesadillas, Reuben Sandwiches ... all so much easier on a large electric griddle. In my largest skillet I could cook two pancakes or two grilled cheese sandwiches or one quesadilla. With the griddle, I make the whole family's at one time. Anything that saves me time cooking for a family is worth the expense in my book!

Crock Pot / Slow Cooker

Hamilton Beach 33967 Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker

When I was a single, working mom I fell in love with my crock pot. No more fast food because we were starving on the way home from work/school and nothing in the house would be ready in a timely manner. I'd start a chicken, pork chops, roasts, soups, or chili in the morning when we left for school and work and come home to a slow-cooked, hearty, nutritious meal. It saved my sanity and my kids' health!

It is imperative that you purchase a crock pot with a removable crock. These things are impossible to clean properly without the ability to remove the crock.

What are your favourite kitchen gadgets?

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The End of Childhood

Where do you draw that line between childhood and adolescence? When does a child creep quietly from the magical land of wonder into the skeptical territory of the tweeners? I used to think that for most kids, 6th grade marked the advent of adolescence. Now with girls starting puberty at 9 and 10, it's harder to put an age to it.

Kids seem to know so much more than they should by age 10 these days, too. They can see more violence on tv and in video games than I hope they would ever see in their lives. Of course, though, I'm one of those mean moms who won't let her kids watch or play that kind of stuff.

The other day my sweet, beautiful 9-year-old boy broke my heart. He gave me that sly smile, the one that says "I'm smart. I'm very smart. And I know it." He told me that he went to Google, typed in "Santa" and clicked on "define" and learned that 'Santa is a mythical creature.' He said "mom, that means Santa is made-up. And now I know the parents really buy the presents." Ah, but see, Santa only brings presents to those who believe. (Santa only delivers one present to each believer in my house. I know he delivers 10-20 to other kids, but that's just because he feels so very sorry for them since their parents don't get them any presents at all!)

Now let's stop and think about this for a second, folks. Some other kid didn't tell him. He didn't find out because a nasty teacher thought it was time (happened to my oldest). He didn't learn it from an older sibling. He didn't just ask me directly. He GOOGLED Santa! And he found the answer he sought.

And now, my sweet, adorable, magic-filled child has crept into adolescence and suspicion over childhood myths is only the beginning . . .

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My apologies (again)

Too much going on and an inability to use my personal computer have prevented me from completing those recipe posts. I'll get them done. In the meantime, I've got a bunch of other things to share with you, so bear with me. The other things are far more interesting than recipes anyway.

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