An Apple a Day…or a Slice of Pie

Author: Meera, November 7, 2019

What could be a healthier self-care act than eating an apple? On my way to do chores yesterday, I bumped against the Fuji apple tree, knocking off several. After finishing my chores, I picked up the apples and plucked a few more to take back to the kitchen. Fuji apples (like Cortland, Macintosh, and other firm varieties) are crisp and juicy and hold their shape during baking. Plus, they’re good for you.

 

Apples are a rich source of dietary fiber and are loaded with antioxidants. They are considered among the healthiest foods because apples decrease the risk for diabetes and thrombotic stroke as well as lower levels of LDL or bad cholesterol.

 

According to research done at Cornell University, eating an apple a day may help prevent breast cancer. Some compounds in apples are thought to aid in weight loss and lower blood pressure as well.

 

Fuji apples are firm, crisp, and juicy and hold their shape during baking

 

Inside the house, I ran through my apple recipes. Should I make pie, an apple crisp, crumble, kuchen bars, cake, or some other apple dessert? Pie seemed the simplest. Also, a pie only uses six or eight apples. I could keep the other apples as fresh snacks.

 

 

 

Instead of a regular pie crust, I made a pate brisee in my food processor and chilled the dough for a half-hour before rolling it out into the bottom crust. In lieu of a top layer of pie crust over the apples, I made a crumb topping using oatmeal and brown sugar with a little flour and butter.

 

A little lemon juice squeezed over apples keeps them from turning brown once they're peeled

 

 

The pie turned out delicious. The crumb topping added a little crunch to the softened apple filling and tender, flaky crust. I could have made it even crunchier with the addition of chopped walnuts or pecans.

 

 

Unbaked, the crumb topping has been added in place of a top crust

 

 

APPLE PIE with CRUMB TOPPING RECIPE

 

 

Freshly baked, the scent of the spices and apple in this crumb topped apple pie fill the kitchen

 

 

Ingredients:

 

8 firm apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Pinch of ground mace

 

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

 

2 Tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

 

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

 

Position your pastry round over an 8-inch pie plate and press in place. Trim the pastry and crimp the edges.

 

Toss the apple slices with the spices and sugar and fill the crust. Dot with the butter. Cover the apples with the crumb topping and bake for 45 minutes (cover with aluminum foil during the last five or ten minutes to keep the topping from burning).  Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

 

 

CRUMB TOPPING RECIPE

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter

 

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

 

1 cup rolled oats

 

Directions:

 

Place butter and flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture becomes like a coarse and crumbly. Add the oatmeal and brown sugar and pulse with the butter/flour mixture until combined. Cover pie with crumb topping.

 

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Eating apples is a healthy practice for self care. If you want to learn more about making self-care a priority, check out my latest offering available this fall in time for holiday gift-giving: THE SELF-CARE PLANNER, A  Weekly Guide to Prioritize You.

 

 

Learn how to schedule personal time to accomplish your dreams and goals for body, mind, and spirit. You’ll find prompts, reminders, and checklists to help you create and stick to your self-care routine. Put this book on your holiday list and find it online where books are sold and in traditional bookstores everywhere. This holiday season, remind yourself that self-care isn’t selfish. It’s an act of love.

 

 

Also, if you enjoy reading about country living, growing heirloom vegetables and fruits, and preparing delicious recipes, check out my cozy mystery series that is chocked full of craft ideas, foods, and wellness tips for humans and pets.

 

All novels are available online and in bookstores everywhere. They include A BEELINE TO MURDER, THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE, and A HIVE OF HOMICIDES (Kensington Publishing, NY).

 

 

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Pie to Welcome Autumn, Plus a Few Apple Facts

Author: Meera, September 15, 2017

Autumn officially arrives next Friday, September 22, 2017. That means peak apple season has begun and nothing says “fall” like an early-autumn apple pie.

 

A little egg wash on the crust renders a beautiful golden color

A little egg wash on the crust renders a beautiful golden color

 

 

Here’s my easiest apple pie recipe.

 

COUNTRY APPLE PIE

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

6 cups apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

 

2 tablespoons butter

 

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 

2 tablespoons flour

 

2 unbaked pie crusts (homemade or store-bought)

 

1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water (to make an egg wash)

 

 

Pie ready for top crust

Pie ready for top crust

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

 

Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmegr in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in the apples. Spoon the apples into a pastry-lined baking dish or pan. Cut the butter into small pieces and distribute over the apples. Place the second rolled-out crust over the pie. Snip off the excess crust and cut a design into the top crust to create a steam vent. Flute crust edges. Use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash over the top crust.

 

Pie with egg wash applied and vents cut in is ready to bake

Pie with egg wash applied and vents cut in is ready to bake

 

 

Bake for 10 minutes. Cover crust edges with aluminum foil to keep them from burning. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Crust will be golden brown and juices will be bubbling.

 

 

FACTS ABOUT APPLES

 

1. Apples were known in the ancient world; they’ve been around for 3,000 years.

 

2. Apples thrive in a temperate climate and are grown worldwide.

 

3.  There are roughly 7,000 varieties of apples worldwide, all members of the rosaceae family.

 

4. Washington state produces half of all U.S. apples.

 

5. Science shows that apples are rich in antioxidants and vitamins A and C, are high in fiber, and  and aid in lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure. They can help stabilize blood sugar levels.

 

6. Some of the best-loved apple varieties include: Braeburn, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, and Rome.

 

If you want to know which apples are best for baking, eating fresh, making into sauces, or freezing, see, http://bestapples.com/varieties-information/varieties/

 

 

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If you enjoy reading about delicious farm recipes, growing heirloom plants, or keeping bees and chickens and you like a mysteries, check out my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries from Kensington Publishing in NY. They’re available online and in traditional bookstores everywhere.

 

Murders at a N. California winery is a catalyst for ex-cop turned farmette owner Abigail Mackenzie

Murders at a N. California winery are the catalyst for ex-cop turned farmette owner Abigail Mackenzie to search for a killer

 

 

 

Currently, A HIVE OF HOMICIDES is a featured title in Barnes & Noble’s September promotional BUY 3, GET 1 FREE sale.

 

WHAT IS THE BUY 3, GET 1 FREE OFFER?

 

Everyone who buys a Kensington cozy mystery from the B&N in-store display or any Kensington cozy mystery from BarnesandNoble.com between 9/5/17 – 10/5/17 and registers their purchase at http://sites.kensingtonbooks.com/kensingtoncozies/BN/ will:

 

—     Automatically be entered into Kensington’s “Cozy Mystery Bonanza” sweepstakes for a chance to win a $300 value gift basket. One grand prize winner will be selected after the sale has concluded.

 

—     Automatically receive a free Kensington Cozies recipe booklet plus a download code for the novel A STORY TO KILL by Lynn Cahoon after the sale has concluded.

 

 

*                    *                     *

 

DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE FREE DRAWING AT GOODREADS.COM.

Win a signed copy of A Hive of Homicides along with a gorgeous reversible apron and a set of 2 chicken napkin rings. Enter before September 26 for a chance to win.

 

See, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33911114-a-hive-of-homicides?from_search=true

 

 

 

 

 

Reversible apron features a floral backside. Ties make it totally adjustable.

Reversible apron features a floral backside. Ties make it totally adjustable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Grafting Expands Fruiting Options

Author: Meera, February 19, 2013

 

This Fuji apple tree is one of three (some with other grafts) in the Henny Penny Farmette orchard

This Fuji apple tree is one of three (some with other grafts) in the Henny Penny Farmette orchard

 

 

Last year during bare-root season, I purchased a  multi-variety tree offering several types of apples, including the Fuji pictured above as well as Einsheimer. Sometimes spelled as Ein Schemer, this apple variety comes from Israel and has low-chill requirements, unlike some apples that need many hours of chilling. It’s a good choice for southwestern U.S. and Northern California gardens.

 

Anna and Beverly Hills are the other two varieties grafted onto my multi-apple tree. Such trees are ideal if you have limited space and cannot plant more than one tree. Apple trees also look lovely espaliered against a wall.

 

Apples live longer than many of the deciduous fruit trees. They have short fruit spurs that can produce apples for up to 20 years. The only pruning required is to remove dead, weak, damaged or crossed branches and twigs.

 

 

A true dwarf apple won’t exceed 5 to 6 feet in width and height; a semi-dwarf, however, can easily reach 10 to 15 feet. Apples like deep soil but many will tolerate less-than-ideal soil; even soil with poor drainage or clumpy clay soil. Some apples are self-fruitful and others need a pollinizer (which might not be a problem if you have other pollinizing apple trees in your neighbor’s yards.)

 

I took a class years ago through University of California (Santa Cruz extension) to learn grafting. The process is not difficult to master. And the only tool you truly need is a sharp knife to cut a piece of stem (called a scion). The scion must have a couple of growth buds on it.

 

Stock is the plant you will graft the scion onto. For example, you might want to graft an Anna variety apple scion onto a Fuji apple tree (stock). You will cut the scion from the Anna and insert that scion into into the Fuji. Select a scion roughly the same diameter as the stock branch (you will graft the scion onto). The union (when the graft succeeds) is a new branch that carries the Anna apple.

 

The tricky part of grafting is aligning the cambium layer of the scion with the cambium layer of the stock. So how do you find the cambium. Simple. The cambium is the tissue-thin layer between the bark and the inner wood of the tree.

 

Cut the end of the scion into a wedge (like an ax edge or a two-sided tip of an arrow) and also make a cut into the branch of the stock. Then slide the tip of your scion into the stock, making sure that cambium aligns with cambium. I like to then bandage the grafting area to hold the scion in place until the graft has taken.

 

There are other ways to graft, but this one has worked best for me. For western gardeners, Sunset’s Western Garden Book has great illustrations and directions for grafting. Also the following website for the University of Minnesota provides easy-to-follow instructions. See, http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg0532.html.

 

You increase your chances for success if you graft like varieties to each other and also if you do the grafting during the dormant season before buds start showing up and swelling. Grafting expands your options for multiple varieties of fruits on the trees in your garden. Just remember to graft varieties of scion and stock that are botanically similar.

 

 

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