Apple Pie in a Jar (1 qt)

This is great to do when apples are abundant and later, when you are craving pie, just grab the jar and bake. Also can be used on waffles and ice cream. Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of 18 months to 2 years, and require no special attention.

3 1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup apple juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
.. and if you like spices, also add ..
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves (this makes it too much for me)

First, make sure you pick naturally sweet varieties of apples, like Fuji, McIntosh and Jonagold. Always use a mixture and never just one type. Once your apples are peeled, cored and slices, blanch them for 1 minute in boiling water. You don’t want to cook the apples, just heat enough to stop the enzymes that degrade flavor overtime. Next, make the filling. In a large pot, combine the apple juice, water, sugar and spices. You can also substitue 3/4 cup of honey in place of the sugar. Heat and stir constantly until it begins to bubble. Mix the corn starch with lemon juice and add this to the pot. Boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat. In your prepared canning jars, fill the jars in alternating layers of filling and apple slices, until the jar is full to around 1/2 inch below the top. Make sure there are no air spaces and fill with as many apple slices as you can. Wipe the top, put on the lid and ring. Process the jars for at least 25 mins.

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Apple Danish (2 braided loaves)

A very easy danish recipe that can be served for a special breakfast treat – or any other time of the day!

1 tbsp or pkg active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp grated lemon or orange peel
1 cup cold butter
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, melted
crystalized sugar

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and lemon/orange peel. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the yeast, milk and eggs by hand. Turn onto a floured surface and knead about 20 times into a ball (dough will be slightly sticky). Put in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. For filling, combine the apples, sugar and cinnamon. Gently punch the dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half and roll each into a big rectangle, about 18×15 inches. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle the center third of dough with filling to within 1/2 in of edges. On each side of the filling, cut lines/slices into the dough and create an alternating braid over the filling. Tuck the ends under and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with crystalized sugar and bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks and cool. Enjoy!

On a beautiful autumn day, a small group of friends gathered at Silverman’s Farm to take part in a September tradition – apple picking. With apple choices such as Gala Red, Empire, McIntosh and Jonagold, who could pass up such an opportunity? Oh, and there was Red and Golden Delicious too, but those aren’t on the favorites list.

So after plenty of picking, a few samples and very heavy bags, the “hayride” back down the hill seemed to be a good plan – plus, add in a fabulous friend that carried all bags! Stay tuned for stories and photos into the apple baking world – jam, butter, pie, strudel, and more.

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*Update 9/28*

Of course, “Wolverine” comes to Silverman’s farm AFTER we’ve already been and done our thing. I’m not sure I’d know what to do if I did see him around. “Here, let me hold that big pumpkin while you sign your autograph for me” just doesn’t sound that appealing – for either side. Check out the photos here.

Monday is always a good day to review what’s in the fridge. So what do you do with several cucumbers just sitting there after you’ve had one too many cucumber salads … you make pickles!

And if you know me, I flirt with the sweeter side of life so decided on making the classic sweet bread-and-butter pickle slices. Using the (still borrowed) mandolin slicer, I added the fun wavy decorative slice to the cucumbers and let them sit in a bath of salt to remove water. Next, I boiled up the pickling juice of sugar, vinegar, turmeric, mustard seed, celery seed, peppercorns and ginger. Add it all together and can into jars. According to some research, to enjoy a firmer pickle, maintain the canning water around 180F for 30mins. This pasteurizes the pickles so shelf-life is the same, but it doesn’t keep cooking them as much as the boiling water.

Yum! Homemade is definitely worth the minimal effort.