When Life Gives You Apples, Make Apple Cake (And Invite Me Over)

About a month ago, Ranger talked us into buying an enormous bag of beautiful Granny Smith apples at a warehouse store.  My kids love tart Granny Smiths more than any other apple, and I am to blame (either by nature or nurture) for this.  There is nothing like the sharp snap of a tart slice of apple.

When I sliced the first apple from the bag and gave it to the kids, Ranger declared the apple sub-par.  In his defense it lacked the crispness that characterizes Granny Smiths.  I figured we could still make it through the bag; a green tart apple is a green tart apple, right?  It turns out that Ranger has the dedicated tastebuds of a wine master.

Later I fed him a sliced Granny Smith from a local orchard.  He loved it and asked for more, so I sliced an apple from the bag that I'd moved to the fridge the previous evening.  He took two bites and pushed it away.

I gave the leftovers to Scout who played with them for about 15 minutes before asking for "an apple."

I sliced another chilled bag apple and put it on a new plate.  She ate half a piece, shook her head, and asked for cheese.

Jim soon arrived home and helped me eat the two rejected apples.  That only left a few more pounds in the pantry.

In subsequent weeks, I kept trying to pass off the apples as grocery store apples.  To no avail.

Then I started looking for Granny Smith recipes.

Relish! had one for apple cake that looked straightforward and didn't require a special trip the grocery store.  The heavenly autumn olfactory trifecta of cinnamon, cake, and baked apples now waft through the house.

Relish! Apple Cake
Prep: 30 minutes Bake: 50 minutes Serves 12 3 cups all purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 large eggs , lightly beaten 1 1/4 cups canola oil, (or cooking oil) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 Granny Smith apples , peeled and chopped 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted per serving: 317 calories; 3 grams protein; 18 grams total fat; 1 gram fiber; 2 gram saturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 21 mgs cholesterol; 188 mgs sodium		Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. [1] Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a very large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; make a well in center of dry mixture and set aside. [2] In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil and vanilla; stir in apples and nuts. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened (batter will be thick). Spread batter in prepared pan. [3] Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

The sweet cake bakes to form a crunchy top that yields to a soft crumbly interior.  The texture and homey flavors of cinnamon-sweetened apples well suit this season of crisp leaves, pleasantly sharp breezes, and harvest flavors.

The commonplace ingredients, simple recipe, and exquisite results are typical of our cooking experiences with Relish!

This recipe was good enough to make me (momentarily) consider another mammoth bag of mediocre Grannies, but then I realized how wonderful it might be with fresh orchard apples.  If you try it, let me know, or, even better, invite me over.

***Baby Toolkit is written by at least one geek parent with a serious sweet tooth and a love for fall foods.  We are (paying) Relish! subscribers since October 2008 and credit the online menu planning service for most of the home cooking we accomplish.  We have no ongoing financial relationship with Relish!  We are however Amazon affiliates, so purchases made through our Amazon links support the ongoing blogging efforts of Baby Toolkit (many thanks!).  

Joy on Ice: DIY Iced Chai Latte

There's a reason Starbucks has a siren on their logo.  Lately the call of iced chai lattes has been drawing me to the Seattle-borne shop.  The night I found myself explaining to Jim that I either wanted the middle size if the menu board showed 3 sizes or the smallest size if the updated menu board had been put in place, I realized that I had spent too much time drinking the corporate Kool-Aid.

So here is the Jones' answer to the witches' brew.

Jones' Iced Chai Latte

4 c boiling water
4 spiced chai teabags (we used Trader Joe's because it was in the pantry, Starbucks uses Tazo)
1/4 c & 3 TBS sugar
4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Boil water and brew teabags until you're pretty sure the resulting sludge is both bitter and repulsive.  At any point you can add all the sugar to brewing tea (sorry it didn't come out to a normal cup measurement).  Stir until the sugar dissolves.  You can use a sugar substitute, but we're into extreme sucrose around here.

***IF YOU USE A GLASS PITCHER, please make sure that the tea has cooled before the next step.  In childhood, Jim exploded a glass teapot making sweet iced tea.  His mother still mourns the teapot.

Pour milk into a pitcher with the brewed, sweetened tea.

Stir in vanilla and cinnamon.   Serve over ice.  Makes 2 quarts (64 ounces).  We have no idea how long it keeps because it only lasts about 24 hours here.  Do not serve to toddlers unless you're willing to share most of your cup.  In our small sample preschoolers seem entirely immune to its charm.


***Baby Toolkit is a random smattering of events told by geeks, full of words and lame jokes, signifying parenthood.  We're Amazon affiliates, so please be duly warned (and thanked) that any purchases made through our links promote even more of this nonsense..

Labor Day Brats

German heritage is strong is our area. On holidays where the rest of the nation grills hot dogs and burgers, here you can find many a grill laden with bratwurst.

Our grill was not one of them. It's sitting in a box in our garage because no one wants to carry the very heavy object up our sloping backyard and assemble it (or assemble it then drag it through the yard).

Faced with the option of spending the holiday morning assembling a grill, I looked toward Google for an answer and found a smart way to cook bratwurst on the stove.

The results were simply amazing and we were able to prepare more than a dozen wursts in a few easy steps.

It gave us a lot of time to relax and enjoy lunch with great guests.

Fair Trade Peanut Butter Bars: A Recipe for Awesome

Some friends who gave up commodities chocolate and switched to fair trade were talking about how much they missed Reese's cups.

So, for day 5 of my 29 day giving challenge, I'd like to offer all you fair-traders a sweet alternative: my family recipe for peanut butter bars with chocolate. We can only trace this recipe back to a staff newsletter (Faultless Caster's Top Drawer) from the early 80s.

Brace yourself, this confection is anything but healthy.

Peanut Butter Bars
Grease 9"x13" pan.

Cream together:
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 c. peanut butter

Add and blend:
1-1/2 to 2 c. crushed graham crackers (throw them in a baggie and let your kid pulverize them with a rolling pin for family participation)
1 lb. powdered sugar

When fully blended, press into pan.

Melt and spread evenly over peanut butter mixture:
12 oz. of deliciously child-slavery-free Fair Trade chocolate chips

Cool in refrigerator until firm. Cut into bars before chocolate gets too solid to cut.

Do not eat entire pan in one sitting.

How does Fair Trade chocolate limit child exploitation?

• Chocolate's Dark, Dirty Secret: No It's Not Nougat
  

Sharing the Anticipation: An Adoption Shower

Last month, I was honored to attend an adoption shower for friends adopting a daughter from China. My connection to the adopting mom is through one of my dearest friends (who hosted the event).

As I'm reasonably food-obsessed, I volunteered to bring muffins. On Craftster I had seen photos of similarly decorated international adoption cupcakes, so I couldn't resist trying my hand at making mini-flags.

If you have some Avery 5160 labels and want to print your own you can download MS word formatted sheet for 30 US flags and a MS Word formatted sheet for 30 Chinese flags. [These files are zipped, but should otherwise be standard Word format. If you're an Open Office user, email me for odt files- Google base is rejecting them at the moment.] Or you can grab the US flag and Chinese flag jpg image files and use them with the software or label of your choice.

As with traditional baby showers, our young guest of honor was not present. She was represented by a recent photograph. The hostess chose to have the shower before the toddler was in the country for a few reasons:

1. We're a sometimes overwhelmingly enthusiastic group for anyone- especially a small child new to the country.
2. There are items the family could use for the trip to China and immediately after their return to the US.
3. The adopting family applied to adopt two years ago. Our whole community is SO EXCITED for them and wanted to do something fun and encouraging to help pass the time while they're waiting for their daughter to come home.
4. The shower offered the opportunity for people who will be in different areas of this child's life to meet each other before the baby arrives.
5. It saved the adoptive mother hours on the phone explaining where they are in the adoption process to everyone who attended. She had a very receptive audience to talk about all that has happened through the adoption process.

Cool things the hostess did:

• She worked to find a non-infant, non-maternity themed shower invitation. After a lot of hunting, she found a beautiful dragonfly stationary which she customized for the event.
  
• As the mom of honor teaches Sunday School for elementary schoolers, the hostess helped arrange for the Sunday School kiddos to make their own congratulations and welcome cards.
• After the gifts were opened, they were laid out on a table so people could see the various things. This is really nice with intergenerational showers as many people like to see what current baby toys and gear look like.
• The shower didn't have games. Instead the hostess decorated with potted flowers and put a prize notification under a few of the seats. The person seated in the lucky chairs got to take flowers home.
• She set all the furniture and decorations up the night before the shower with a friend. On the day of the shower she and two friends prepared and served the food.
• She gave the mom of honor pre-addressed, pre-stamped thank you notes. (This isn't presumptuous if you know the mom is a regular thank you note writer, and it definitely helps minimize the time spent preparing the notes for mailing.)
  

Her casseroles were so good that I got all three recipes to share. They're all great to prepare the night before, refrigerate, and cook the next day. These are delicious examples of Midwestern church supper fare.

Hash Brown Casserole
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs, well-beaten
1 can Carnation evaporated milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pkg (26 oz) frozen shredded hash browns
1 medium onion, chopped
optional -1 small green pepper, chopped - 1 c. cubed ham

Combine cheese, eggs, evaporated milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add potatoes, onion, and remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Breakfast Casserole
8 slices white bread torn in pieces
2 lbs. browned, crumbled sausage -or- 1.5 lbs. cubed ham
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 can (soup can) milk
4 eggs, well-beaten

Grease 9 x 13 dish. Put in bread. Then add meat & cheese. Combine soup, milk, & well-beaten eggs. Pour over ingredients in dish. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Apple Sausage Casserole
2 lbs sausage browned and crumbled
8 slices bread, torn in pieces
1-1/2 c. sliced apples
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 c. milk

Grease 9 x 13 dish. Put in bread. Crumble sausage over bread. In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients & pour into dish. Bake at 350 degrees covered with foil for the first 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake 30 more minutes without foil.

What's Cooking -Or- What the Heck Do You With Bok Choy?

If you love fresh seasonal foods and innovative, delicious cooking, get some great recipes for in-season veggies from our dear friends at their new Seasonal Eating blog.



Their family joined a new Community Supported Agriculture co-op, and their produce runneth over. This is great for all of us who have NO IDEA what to do with bok choy (other than let it sit in the fridge until it gets furry and/or soggy).

Marshmallow Magic: Mix It Up With Some Novel Treats

Target's after-Easter clearance (at 75% off yesterday) helped me score supplies for a favorite household hack. We got oodles of Toasted Coconut Marshmallows at $0.24 a bag.

While the bag claims they are "munchable" alone, I couldn't wait to get them home and try them as Marshmallow Crispy Treats.

For a young pink-loving friend's birthday party last summer, I threw together a batch of Rice Krispie Treats made with the Tutti-Frutti flavored Pink and White marshmallows by de la Rosa. I shaped them in a heart-shaped jello mold (no, I don't normally mold gelatin, I used to do a froofy desert as a lesson in my technology and the family class to make people understand how a jiggly desert once inferred electric refrigeration and affluence as opposed to what it denotes these days). The tan color of the crispies aren't well-masked by the pale pink of the melted mallows, so the whole think looked more like a human heart in color. Jim encouraged me to take the fleshy looking treats anyway (probably to get them out of the house).

We really can't say how those kids liked them because the adults (none of us huge fans of Rice Krispie treats) couldn't stay away from them. I made a second batch of these pink monstrosities for a dinner with my brother (a former fan of krispie treats suffering from complete burnout after a few too many bachelor meals of them). My brother, being super suspicious of many unfamiliar foods and imaginatively squeamish about anything mildly suggesting cannibalism, was entirely put off by their color.

But, he is a brave soul and wouldn't want to hurt my feelings, so he nibbled at one. This is truly an act of bravery as Mom and I once made him a homemade Key Lime pie for his birthday- substituting regular Persian limes for Key Limes (completely disregarding their size difference and using a 1:1 substitution). We included the zest of 12 Persian limes in one pie. My brother ate a very generous piece without a word (though I suspect his head was threatening to implode with the tartness). I tried the pie after he left and gagged. I can eat raw lemons, and the pervasive tartness of this desert was way too much for me. He has ample grounds not to trust me.

After a little nibbling, he took a bite. "Wow, these are great!" After finishing a few he asked "Could I take the leftovers home?" I made sure there were plenty left as he was gracious enough to eat an entire of slice of that horrible pie and pretend to enjoy it. He really is a fine big brother.

So, the Tutti-Frutti ugly treats passed muster with a cynical audience- and actually a few adults from the kids' party kept asking me for the recipe. I was happy to tell them about the substitution, but I don't know if we can get the de la Rosa marshmallows locally, I typically buy them at Saraga when we visit Indianapolis.

When we came upon the Toasted Coconut Marshmallows at 75% off, I knew we would have to try another variation. The bags release a cloud of toasted coconut aroma, so be prepared to spend maybe $0.96 if you find them at your local Target. Unlike the typical fat-free marshmallow crispy treats, the coconut marshmallows pack some saturated fat, so they promised to be extra delicious.

I made a test batch, promising Jim he could take them to work if they were good. And they were. Maybe not as good as the de la Rosas, but lusciously scented with coconut sophistication they exceeded the regular limits of standard issue crispy treats. I was so sad to enter the kitchen on Friday morning and find that Jim had taken ALL of them to work. Leaving none behind for young Ranger (BabyGeek has outgrown the old moniker) or me. When I called him at work to see if he would bring leftovers home, he reported that they were all promptly consumed by his fellow Morlocks.

I was forced to make another pan. Ranger saw me eating one and demanded a portion. He's onto the fact that much of what I don't offer to him is delicious (this actually proves useful in getting him to try new things through reverse psychology), and in this case I was willing to share.

Try them at your house. And if your kids don't like coconut, well I guess you may have to invite a few other grownups over for Happy Hour. (Jet-Puffed also makes Strawberry Marshmallows- though I've never seen them in stores- in case you want to placate the wee ones with treacle.)

Egg-cellent: A Hard Boiled Hack Just in Time for Easter (or Egg Salad Sandwiches)

I love egg salad. My friend Kathryn has the best recipe ever for egg salad, but as she's a Southerner it's completely irreproducible for anyone living above the azalea line. She's given it to me more than a dozen times (always when I'm lacking a pen).

The "recipe" goes something like this:

"Honey, it's just egg salad- but you MUST use Duke's Mayonnaise [only available at Winn-Dixie, Piggly-Wiggly, and other Southeastern grocery chains] and you take the pickle relish [sweet/dill? I can never remember- and apparently it's essential that you not choose the wrong one] and you squeeze all the juice out of it. Then you put [one portion- either the squoze relish or the juice- another detail I can never conquer] in with the regular egg salad ingredients. Whatever you do, you MUST use Duke's mayonnaise."

Note the complete lack of measurements and proportions. It just makes my head spin, plus it's dangerous to assume I know anything about cooking. Should I ever lay hands on an unexpired jar of Duke's, I may call Kathryn and take one more shot at getting the recipe, but for now I really love the recipe for Pickle Packers International's Auntie M's Deviled Egg Salad. This stuff is seriously delicious (far superior to my own Auntie's egg salad), and, as if that weren't enough it allows one to say "Pickle Packers International" (bonus points)!

Jim and I were making egg salad tea sandwiches for a baby shower, and he dropped the eggs into the large pot of boiling water after punching a pinhole in the big end of each egg. I heard the egg shells cracking together as they dropped into the pot, and I remembered that Jim usually misses the hard-boiling stage of egg salad production. So I taught him a hack that we think useful for religious and secular egg boilers alike.

Using a spaghetti scoop (aka spaghetti server, spaghetti fork, spaghetti ladle, pasta server) is great for gently navigating the eggs into and out of a pot of boiling water. It cradles the egg, making them easy to capture and strategically release (unlike a large spoon).

Happy Spring, everyone!