Apple Raspberry Mini Pies

341.  Fall has arrived and the harvest of summer fruits is winding down.  And, a pie is always a good idea!   So tonight, it is Mini Apple Raspberry Pies...a little taste of summer and a little taste of fall.  

Apple Raspberry Mini Pies

3 Apples peeled, cored and cut in chunks

1 cup of fresh red raspberries (never rinse)

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon corn starch

1 tsp of apple pie spices or cinnamon

1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 Tblsp butter

1 recipe of pie dough

Prepare the apples and mix with the sugar, corn starch, spices and lemon juice.  Mix together and set aside.  Roll out the pie dough till 1/4" thick and cut out circles or squares large enough to fit into  each space in a muffin pan and trim to fit.  Fill each dough cup with the apples and juices from the bottom of the mixture.  Top each apple pile with 5 or so raspberries. 

Roll remaining dough out 1/4" thick and cut round, square or cookie cutter shapes for each mini pie top.  Dot the apples with butter and place the cut shape on top of the apples.  No need to seal.  Brush with milk or heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees till the liquid is bubbling, about 20 -25 minutes.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

I topped off the pie with an autumn leaf cut out from my pie dough.

 Go out and enjoy the fall by picking apples or pumpkins.  Try baking something for your family and enjoy the simple pleasures of homemade goodies.

" All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."
~ Winston Churchill

Pumpkin Floral Centerpiece

320.  This is a beautiful and easy centerpiece for fall.  It's fresh flowers, live pumpkin and a few additives that will be a stunning conversation piece. 

Start with a pumpkin, any size you would like, fresh flowers from your garden or the florist and a few floral pics or floral filler and an oasis block.

Cut a square in the top of the pumpkin then scoop out the seeds and discard.  Cut oasis block to fit the opening and soak the block in warm water till completely saturated.  Place wet block in the opening of the pumpkin.

 
I picked marigolds from my garden to use as filler and completely cover the oasis block.  Then begin to add flowers in three levels:  tall, medium and short.  Accent with floral picks such as berries, corn stalks or fall leaves.

 There is no need to add a bow or ribbon.  The arrangement will stun and delight as the focal point of your table, centerpiece or coffee table.

"Creativity is intelligence having fun."

-Albert Einstein

Potato Leek Soup

 

307. A fall favorite soup always contains potato and cheddar cheese.  You could almost call this soup "Loaded Potato Soup".  I enjoyed a bowl the next day for a private lunch at the snack bar which in fact tasted even better a day later.

 Here is my recipe for Potato Leek Soup

15 medium potatoes or 8 large, peeled and diced
2 leeks, cut lengthwise and in half placed in a cold water bath to remove sand.  Chop leeks into pieces
Fresh dill chopped, approximately ⅛ cup
Salt & Pepper to taste
water
2 cups whole milk
2  cups shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil
butter as much or as little as you prefer (Butter makes everything better!)
1 lb bacon, fried till crisp and set aside

In a large 8 quart pot place olive oil and bring up heat.  Add diced potatoes and stir allowing some potatoes to lightly brown.  Add chopped leek and half of the dill.  Pour in water to cover potatoes till floating.  Bring to a boil then turn down to simmer till potatoes are tender.  Turn soup off till ready to serve.  15 minutes before serving turn heat back on and add milk, butter and cheddar cheese.  Bring soup temperature back up to just about boiling.  Add another pinch of dill and transfer to serving tureen.

 Serve soup and have crispy bacon bits as an add on as well as fresh chopped dill.

This soup is simplistic yet tastes sophisticated and has a depth of flavor and textures.

"A potato is like a garden carried in the pocket."

~ Ancient Irish proverb for gardening - circa 100bc

Oven Roasted Vegetables

290.  Autumn is here and root vegetables and pumpkins are plentiful.  This recipe is hardy and warm and pairs with beef or pork very well.  Ideal for your Thanksgiving table.

Your prep work starts with a baking sheet, like a jelly roll pan, parchment paper, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Line the pan with the paper and rub with olive oil.  Set aside

2 large Leeks, chopped coarsely and placed in a water bath

3 large sweet potatoes or yams, pealed and coarsely cubed

3 large turnips, pealed and coarsely cubed

3 large cloves of garlic, slice thin

30 brussel sprouts, rinsed, picked over and stem ends cut off.  Slice each in half

Rosemary, 2 branches fresh leaves pulled off stem,  or 1 teaspoon dry 

Optional Veggies:  Beets, potato, pumpkin, squash of any variety, rutabaga in chunks

Place all veggies on the parchment paper and mix.  Sprinkle Rosemary, salt and pepper and drizzle with more olive oil.

Place in a 375 degree oven and set timer for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and toss the vegetables making sure veggies on the edges are moved so they do not burn.  Spread around again, drizzle more olive oil if necessary.  Return to oven for 15 minutes.  Repeat this process till all the vegetables are tender.  Taste for seasoning.

Remove from oven and place directly on serving platter.

Serve hot with your roasted meat choice and white horseradish on the side.

These veggies would beautify a platter surrounding a roasted beef or pork loin,

even your Thanksgiving turkey or roasted chicken.  And the flavors are succulent!

All our progress is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud.  You first have an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud, and fruit.  Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.  It is vain to hurry it.  By trusting it to the end, it shall ripen into truth, and you shall know why you believe."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Baked Pumpkin

243. Pumpkins as a side dish? Why yes!

Little Sugar Pumpkins are perfect in flavor and texture.

Start by preparing the 1 to 2 lb pumpkins washing the pumpkins with mild dish soap, rinse and dry. Cut the top cap off by cutting a large circle.

Scrape out all the membrane and seeds clean from the inside and trim the top cap.

Peel, and cube an apple, one per pumpkin.

Cover with 1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 cup raisins (optional), fresh squeezed lemon juice and dot the top with butter.

Place the top caps back onto the pumpkin.

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake 50-60 minutes or till tender. Or, microwave by covering with plastic wrap tightly. Microwave on high for 30 minutes.

Scrape the pumpkin down from the sides to mix with the filling. Serve hot.

"Only the knife knows what goes on in the heart of a pumpkin."

~Simone Schwarz-Bart

Day Trip

182. The air was a chilly 49 degrees, but the sun was warm and the sky, a gorgeous blue. A day trip was on our agenda, after we placed our votes this election day. Our first destination was to explore a new apple orchard, Fort Salonga Farm in Northport, Long Island.

The trees are all dwarf size with over 50 varieties available. But that is all that is available...apples and red raspberries each August. We spoke with the owner, who was very helpful to answer all our queries and allowed us to walk around a bit.

We were told about the best kept secret on the North Shore, Sunken Meadow State Park. After we received directions, we headed over to the Park.

From the access road you could see the Long Island Sound on the horizon. What a beautiful sight!!

We parked and walked through the old bathhouse kiosk with the original bricks and wooden counter. There were old original doors which added to the quaint atmosphere. As you walk through and up the stairs, it opens to the boardwalk and beyond is the calm sandy beach.

It was beautiful. And as you looked across the Long Island Sound, you could see Connecticut in the distance.

Fall leaves, golden and red were all around. Highlighted against the blue, blue sky...it was stunning.

We next headed west towards Asharoken and Eatons Neck, NY. We found a local beach that was just beautiful.

The water was calm and filled with small boats, sailboats and fishing boats.

We also found a great spot to walk around close to the shore with picnic tables and swings.

Canoeing and kayaking would be wonderful in this inlet at Price Bend.

Heading back south, towards Northport, NY we passed so many beautiful sights.

Our last stop was also a beautiful sight! We traveled along Jericho Turnpike into Woodbury, NY, were one of our favorite cupcake shops is located. "Crumbs" Bake Shop. We just love these cupcakes and it is a must to pick up a few each time we are in the area. The Woodbury Crumbs Bake Shop is a great spot.

The cupcakes we selected were "Carmel Apple",

"German Chocolate Cake", "Pumpkin Cake", "Toasted Coconut", "Peanut Butter Cup" and "Fluffernutter" which was filled with peanut butter cream in a vanilla cupcake with fluff added to the frosting. I don't have a picture of that one...it disappeared.

We enjoyed our day trip and were so glad to see the fall leaves before they disappear for another winter.

"The whole secret of the study of nature

lies in learning how to use one's eyes."

~George Sand

"Do not look to the ground for your next step;

greatness lies with those who look to the horizon."

~Norwegian Proverb

Shaker Bean Soup

179. I have the perfect soup recipe for you on a chilly autumn day. This recipe was in an old "Taste of Home-Country Woman" magazine many years ago. If you know anything about ToH, they include pull out recipe cards for you to place in your recipe box. And that is where this jewel is...in my "favorites" file.

When you first read the ingredients, it is difficult to assimilate the tastes with the finished product. But trust me, you will be in awe as you take the first couple bites and the richness and full body flavor of this soup surprises you!

Fresh ingredients are always my first choice, but frozen or canned substitutes work just as well.

Shaker Bean Soup

Country Woman (Taste of Home) Jan/Feb 1992

Grand Prize Winning Recipe

1 pound dry great northern beans

water

1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks (don't use a ham bone from a ham baked with cloves or spices.)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 large stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, shredded

kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in puree, or 6 fresh tomatoes chopped and crushed

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 cups finely shredded fresh spinach leaves, or one frozen package of spinach, thawed

Sort and rinse beans. Place in a Dutch oven or soup kettle; cover with water and bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand 1 hour. Drain beans and discard liquid. In the same kettle, place ham bone or hocks, 3 quarts of water and the beans. Bring to a full rolling boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until meat easily falls from the bone. Remove bones from broth and, when cool enough to handle, trim meat. Discard bones.

Add ham, onion, carrots, salt pepper and thyme. Simmer covered, 1 hour or until beans are tender.

Once beans are tender, continue with remaining ingredients.

Add tomatoes and brown sugar. Cook for 10 minutes. Just before serving, add spinach. This gives the soup a beautiful color with the bright green of the spinach.

The cook who shared this homemade recipe was Deborah, of Michigan.

You will be delighted to serve this delicious and beautiful, colorful soup. It is very hearty and filling. Perfect on a cold evening. And you will wait in line for seconds!

"Omit and substitute! That's how recipes should be written.

Please don't ever get so hung up on published recipes that you forget that you can omit and substitute."
~Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet)

"Recipes are like poems; they keep what kept us.

And, good cooks are like poets; they know how to count."

~Henri Coulette