Apple New Year: Apple and Honey Nachos

This year was the most successful apple picking adventure to date.

What made it so successful?  Two things:

1) The weather.  This was the first year ever the weather wasn't unbearably hot.  It actually felt like fall! It was even cool enough that the boys had to wear jackets.

2) The fruit was bountiful.  We had no problem filling up our bags with pears and apples.

That's right, pears AND apples.  We headed to our favorite orchard which has both.  Thatboy is obsessed with the pears.

Thatbaby also told me he was glad we came, because apparently he didn't know he liked pears.  Now he knows he loves the yellow ones.

One of the nicest things about this apple picking trip was that we did it the day before Rosh Hashanna, the Jewish New Year.  One of the holiday traditions is to have apples with honey, so this felt especially special.  And we got to have our own freshly picked apples with our honey.

I also made a special apple and honey dish for the family to share with our Rosh Hashanna supper - apple and honey nachos.  Apples sliced thin serve as a chip substitute and the toppings?  Well just like real nachos they're very customizable.  I drizzled honey and peanut butter over the apples and then added my own form of "salsa" - strawberries!  But you could use chocolate, caramel, or berry of your choice.

Apple and Honey Nachos

2 apples, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp peanut butter

1 cup strawberries, diced

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1.  Arrange sliced apples on a plate and drizzle with honey.
2.  Heat peanut butter in microwave until it's soft and drizzle over the apples.
3. Top with strawberries and chocolate chips.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Peach and Blueberry Muffins

Back in February when we were visiting Horsewhisperer and her family, Thatboy pointed out that the Horsewhisperers had just moved and we were visiting them, but we still hadn't visited one of his besties, Grateful, who had moved to Washington several years ago.   

Which is a fair complaint, but it's much easier for me, the trip planner, to plan trips to my friends than his.  So I told him if he got some dates from his buddy, I would be happy to plan it.

Which is how we ended up flying to Portland in August.   We flew into Portland because Grateful lives equidistant from Portland and Seattle, and Thatboy's other bestie, Magski, just moved to Portland.

So when we arrived, we made a quick trip to check out her new digs.  Plus our kids hadn't seen each other in a couple of months, so they were super excited for the reunion.

After our visit we hit the road for a bit of a car trip.  The drive was beautiful and I got a kick out of pointing out landmarks from The Oregon Trail.

"Look guys!  It's the Dalles!  That's where you have to decide whether to ford the river or pay the toll!"

We also found the weirdest rest stop, with cows!  And baby cows!

And then, we were in Washington!

Grateful's son isn't as familiar with our boys as Magski's kids are (mostly because I haven't been good about planning trips) but it took no time at all before they were thick as thieves.

This wasn't our first time in Washington, but we never cease to appreciate the beauty it holds.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was going fruit picking.  

There were a bunch of fun things for the kids to do too.  All the boys were very impressed with the tire swings. 

And my kids loved the little train tour around the farm.

What was neat about the experience was the variety. Here in San Diego, there aren't many places you can pick multiple fruits and each fruit has its season.  Grateful took us to a place where we could pick berries, stonefruit, apples - it was amazing.

Our original plan was to do some peach picking.  I love fresh peaches, and my childhood summers in South Carolina and Georgia have filled me with the feeling that it's not really summer without them.  But I've never picked them before!

We couldn't, however, leave without getting some bona fide Washington apples.  And we decided that, given the later apple season in San Diego, that this trip would be our apple picking for the year.

I snuck home some of those apples and peaches.  We snacked on them on the road trip to the airport, and on the plane, and still had a couple of doughnut peaches left over when we got back.  Which I thought would be perfect for muffins.  Throw in a couple of blueberries and it was like extending our trip for a couple more days!

Peach and Blueberry Muffins

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 peaches, chopped

1/2 cup blueberries

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and line a muffin tin with silicone liners. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
2. In a separate bowl whisk the sugar, oil, sour cream, eggs, and almond extract in a bowl.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until just combined.
4. Stir in the peaches and blueberries.  Divide among the muffin cups.
5. Sprinkle the almonds on top and beak for 20 minutes.  Let the muffins cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a rack to cool.

Crave Wednesday: Orange Cream Pops

One of my favorite fall traditions is going apple picking with LO and her family.  One of my least favorite fall traditions is going apple picking when there are no apples left on the trees.  Which is almost every year.

Every year, without fail, by the time September rolls around, there is only one orchard that still has apples.  And those apples are small and hard to find.

This year, I planned early.  I knew this would mean going in August, opening weekend!  And luckily LO was available, and so we met them at our new favorite orchard - Apple Starr.

We like this place so much because last year, when we went the first weekend in September and they were out of apples, they did have pears.  And those pears were delicious.  So we knew that even if the apples were weak, the pears would be strong.  But we had pretty high hopes for strong apples too.

We also love that they have wagons for dragging your kids through the orchards.

Opening weekend meant the trees were full of fuji, gala, green, and jonagold apples.  There were even a couple of yellow apples.

While we were warned that the pears weren't quite ripe yet, we found green and red pears, soft and ripe, bursting with flavor.

We had no problem filling up a couple of bags to bring home.

On the way home I asked the boys what they wanted to make with the apples and pears.  Thatbaby requested apple pasta, and so last week we had pasta with goat cheese and apples.  And both boys picked out the apple pieces, gobbling up the goat cheese and pasta.  Thatkid requested apple and pear muffins.  But you guys, the problem with apple picking in August?  It's HOT out there.  It seriously might have been the hottest day of the year while we were there, the sun beating down on us.  And it has barely let up since.  So the idea of baking anything isn't highly appealing right now.  Instead, we've been eating pears and apples like crazy - just as they are.

And instead of baking, we've been whipping up more frozen treats.  You may have heard the saying "comparing apples and oranges" as a way of describing two very different items.  So it makes sense in this post about apples and fall I would make something very orange and summer.  Right?

50/50 bars were one of Thatdad's favorite Good Humor treats, and he passed that love on to me.  The flavor is unmistakable, and probably one of the reasons I was such an Orange Julius fan, which seemed to capture that orange cream in drink form.  Thatbaby also loves orange flavored anything, so he falls right in line with his mom and grandfather in loving orange and ice cream.  These orange cream pops capture that flavor from my childhood in a way I love sharing with my kids.  It's a new summer tradition - less nutritious than apple picking, but way cooler!

Orange Cream Pops (From Cooking Light)

4 1/2 cups vanilla light ice cream, slightly softened

1/4 cup thawed orange juice concentrate

1 Tbsp grated orange rind

1 drop orange food coloring

1 drop yellow food coloring

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine 3 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream, orange juice concentrate, orange rind, and food coloring in a large bowl, stirring until colors blend.
2. Beat whipping cream in an electric mixture at high speed until soft peaks form.
3. Fold vanilla into whipped cream.
4. Fold whipped cream into 1 1/4 cups vanilla ice cream.
5. Divide half of the orange flavored ice cream among 20 popsicle molds.  Freeze 30 minutes, or until set.
6. Top each serving with vanilla ice cream and add popsicle stick.  Freeze 45 minutes, or until set.
7. Top each serving with remaining orange flavored ice cream and freeze at least 4 hours.

A Homemade Life: Custard Filled Corn Bread

Happy October everyone!  My Octobers are always jammed full as I try to fit all my fall favorites into the month.  And balance them between the millions of birthday parties we usually are attending (only 3 this year since Superkid had his party in September!)

There's trick or treating, visiting pumpkin patches, drinking apple cider, Halloween events, and of course, we start every fall off with apple picking.

L&O was the one who first introduced us to apple picking in Julian, so I always turn to her first when planning an outing.  Even when I invite her I still feel like I'm crashing on their traditions!  But it's always fun for Thatkid to have a friend there.

 This year BA joined us also.  It was his first time apple picking, but he quickly got the hang of it.

 

The boys had a great time running around the orchard, filling their bags, and eating enough apples to make lunch a non-issue.

Apples are one of my favorite fall foods.  Apples and pumpkins.  Apples and pumpkins and chili.  Apples and pumpkins and chili and cornbread.  Cornbread is just a quintessential fall food for me, and it really couldn't be easier to make.  It's pretty much a quick bread - just mix the ingredients, pour into a pan, and cook.  My secret ingredient is drizzling honey all over before baking.  This recipe subs in cream for the honey.  Which has a very interesting result - it creates a custard layer in the corn bread, and also prevents the cornbread from drying out.  It's the perfect complement to chili!

Custard Filled Corn Bread (From A Homemade Life)

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1 1/2 Tbsp distilled vinegar

1 cup heavy cream

maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350.   Butter an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan.  Put the buttered dish in the oven to warm while you mix the batter.
2. In a large, microwaveable bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and baking soda.
4. When the butter has cooled a bit, add the eggs and whisk to blend well.
5. Then add the sugar, salt, milk, and vinegar and whisk well again.
6. Whisking constantly, add the flour mixture.  Mix until the batter is smooth and no lumps are visible.
7. Remove the heated pan form the oven, and pour in the batter.  
8. Then pour the cream into the center of the batter.  Do not stir.  Carefully slide the pan back into the oven, taking care not to knock it, and bake until golden brown on top, 50 minutes to 1 hour.  Serve warm, with maple syrup.

A Homemade Life: Tarte Tatin

Poor poor second children.  Little Thatbaby gets dragged all over town because how do you explain to a 3 year old that you can't do something because of the new baby?  You don't.  Instead you strap on the infant and head out.  Really, it's partly his own fault for being born in the summer, when there are so many activities we usually do as a family.

Like the fair.  It wouldn't be summer without our annual trip to the fair! 

The first thing we did when we got there was head for the animals!  Thatkid fed and pet cows, sheep, and goats.  But before long he was itching to head over to the rides.


He started slow with the carousel.

Although of course he chose the least tame of the carousel animals.  Maybe partially because we're going through a "How to Train Your Dragon" phase right now?


Thatkid's big milestone was that he rode all the rides by himself this time!

And he did some major thrill-seeking rides.  This balloon ride spun and went up pretty high in the air.  Thatkid got to ride it several times, because it had to keep stopping to let off crying, scared kids.  When he first got on, we were worried he'd be scared, but he surprised us with his bravery.

And proof that he will be quickly joining Thatboy on the big rollercoasters at amusement parks, his last and favorite ride was his very first roller coaster!

He had the biggest smile plastered on his face the whole time this fast coaster whipped him around.

After the rides, we headed over to "The Farm" where Thatkid made me identify every vegetable or grass that was growing out of the ground.  And World of Horses where they had every horse imaginable.  We also made our usual stops at the photography exhibit and the gems and minerals.

And of course, no trip to the fair would be complete without our annual stop at the photo booth!  This time with  our newest addition!

Four years of family fun!

Thatkid may be into the rides, but Thatboy and I always look forward to fair food.  We let Thatkid pick out ANYTHING he wanted for dinner.  And in classic Thatkid fashion, he went with pizza.

A sausage for me, because where else can you find a giant link like this?

Thatboy wins for weirdest fair food.  And friedest fair food.  The triple decker krispie kreme cheeseburger. 

I was not impressed.  I was even less impressed with his other choice, a deep friend peanut butter pickle.

I love fried pickles, but adding the peanut butter ruined them for me. 

Don't feel too bad for me, Thatkid and I split an even better fried fair concoction - funnel cake!

There were so many fruit toppings available, I just couldn't decide and went with the plain, unadulterated version.


It didn't hurt my decision making that I had this beauty at home.  Wizenburg's tarte tatin has all the benefits of funnel cake, but is so much easier to make.  I'm guessing.  I've never actually tried to make funnel cake at home.  But using pre-made puff pastry gives that same doughy goodness.  And it's topped with caramelized apples, making it even better than anything I could find fair-side.

Tarte Tatin (From A Homemade Life)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups sugar

5 to 6 Golden Delicious Apples

6 Tbsp butter

14 oz puff pastry

1. Stir together the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large bowl.  
2. Peel and quarter the apples, trimming away the cores such that the quarter has a flat inner side.  Put the apples in the bowl with the lemon juice and sugar.  Toss well and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. In an 8 or 9 inch ovenproof pan, melt 4 Tbsp butter over medium heat. 
4. Add remaining 1 cup of sugar, along with 3-4 Tbsp of the lemon sugar juices.  Cook over medium low heat, stirring regularly, for 15 minutes.
5. Remove pan from heat and carefully arrange the apple pieces, rounded side down, in a decorative pattern.  Arrange a second layer of apples on top.
6. Dice the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and distribute them evenly over apples.
7. Preheat oven to 375.  Cook apples over medium low heat for 20 minutes, frequently spooning the bubbling caramel over them.   Remove pan from heat.
8. Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface, until it is 1/16 thick.  Using a sharp knife, trace a circle in the pastry about 10 inches in diameter. Trim away the excess dough.  Carefully lay the pastry circle over the apples in the skillet, tucking the overlap between the apples and the side of the pan.
9. Place the skillet on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.  Remove skillet from the oven and let it rest for a minute. 
10. Tilt the pan slightly and pour as much of the juice as you can into the sink or trash can.  Place a serving platter upside-down over the skillet and invert the tart onto the platter.