Apples in uniform

What's in an apple? C-Vitamin? Seeds?

Sometimes when you just incidentally happen to eat a whole bowlful, there's also stomach ache in apples. Well...yeah.

But with these apples it's certain - no seeds, no ache (I solemnly swear..), enough C-Vitamin to keep you going and on top of all that there are...apples:)

The first time I tucked fruit into uniform was when I had leftover dough from a pie shell and - I tell you - it's the best way in the universe for using up that leftover dough you'd otherwise end up eating bit by bit, cursing yourself more and more and in the end - having less uniformed fruit to eat;)

Apples in uniform
(serves four)

4 small apples
about 170 g sweet patee brisee
3 tbsp sugar
¾ tsp cinnamon

1. Peel the apples and cut the bottom parts a bit flatter so they stand up better. Core them, but don't cut through the bottom.
2. Divide the dough into four and roll each part into quite a thin circle; leave a bit of dough for decorating.
3. Fill the apples (as much as you can) with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
4. Place the apples onto the dough circles and then wrap them up. Make sure the dough is of the same thickness everywhere and that it's as smooth as possible - you get four nice balls.
5. Make (2) leaves for each "apple" from the leftover dough and press them onto the "apples". Use a knife to make the leaf pattern.
6. Bake the apples in a buttered oven dish at 175C for about 30 minutes until they look golden.
   
7. Eat while still warm, serve with vanilla sauce or -ice cream.
   

How sad that I don't have a photo of the finished dessert! Cause the apples are just so nicely golden and round that they make you want to juggle, roll them in your hands or just eat up at once. Below the crisp surface there's a soft apple and the filling has turned into a sweet dark sauce, that complements the slightly more sour apple very well.

A bit of ice cream or vanilla sauce and this dessert should do the trick:)

Fruit stuffed fruit

...stuffed marzipan stuffed chocolate.
Ooh. Today I'm proud of myself. Just like for the first time in my life I had prepared something...elegant. If that's the word. I wasn't sure what I was going to make or how I was going to make it, but I took out a can of apricot halves, some chocolate, marzipan and dried apricots. And then I stared at them, just stared at them for a little while before my mind cleared up.
Ding!
And that's what I got.


Chocolate balls filled with apricots and marzipan
(yields six balls)

12 canned apricot halves
6 dried apricots
120 g marzipan
100 g dark chocolate

1. Drain the apricot halves on paper towels so that they're quite dry.
2. Place dried apricots between two apricot halves.


3. Roll marzipan into a thin sheet and divide it into 6, then wrap each 'apricot' into marzipan. Be sure there are no holes in it.
4. Melt chocolate over a waterbath and dip the marzipan covered apricots into it to be wholly covered with chocolate (I found the best way to do so was to use a tablespoon to roll them around in chocolate). Place them onto baking paper or foil and then into the freezer at first so that the chocolate would quickly harden.
5. After about 5 minutes you can put them into the fridge to keep them there.



The inside of the treats is flavoured by marzipan that has turned soft due to apricot juice. When broken, marzipan flavoured juice flows out just like a sweet sauce. And chocolate melting into marzipan when bitten...could it get any better? I believe it's possible to add even more twists to the dessert. What about adding a bit apricot jam between the dried apricots and apricot halves? Or what about adding almond slices instead? Adding them would enrich the treat with yet another different texture.

With this post I'm also joining the fabulous event Waiter, there's something in my... stuffed fruit/vegetables! hosted by Jeanne of Cook Sister

Head isu!

Quince jam with cinnamon

What should I do with my first quince?

Quinces are usually cooked before serving. As they're high in pectin, quince jam and paste are its common uses. Or maybe quince jelly? These fruits also make a good substitution for apples in almost any kind of recipes or give them a little twist by adding some into a cake or whatever dish made with apples.


My first quince wanted to become jam.

Quince jam with cinnamon

250 g quince
250 g sugar
1/2 dl water
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Peel quince and cut out the core. Puree it.
3. Add pureed quince and cinnamon to the syrup and boil for about 5 minutes
4. Pour the mixture into a small jar and let it cool - first at room temperature, then in the fridge.

I'm not really a jam-person. But I guess the cinnamon got me fooled, because this was good! Cinnamon gives quite much taste in here. We ate it on cookies, bread, stirred it into yoghurt and jabbed onto porridge. Mixing the jam with some cream cheese makes a delicious spread.

Now what should I do with my second quince?

P.S. I'm leaving for Georgia today and will be away for a week. So get ready for Georgian cheese, because I'm getting ready for Georgian SPA!

Honeyed onion and apple soup with caraway

Potatoes and cabbage - that was everybody's opinion when they first saw this soup. But it's tricky with me. I'd rather suspect dishes obviously made of potatoes and cabbage and make sure those cabbage leaves aren't actually some sweetish and divine tasting onion strips. But the trick was accidental this time. As our unexpectedly warm weather started to turn, I felt an urge to eat a warming onion soup. Enough with those potatoes and cabbage now!


I have ate simple onion soup a few times, but I usually like to add a little something to it. We have a nice bowl on the kitchen counter that's always full of home-grown organic apples. When I need to peel some for a dish, I actually stick the peels into my mouth instead of throwing them away. So the vitamins beneath the skin (there are hell of a lot vitamins there as you know) don't get lost. And the caraway and honey...well, today feels organic.


Honeyed onion and apple soup with caraway
(serves 2)

150 g diced apple
150 g diced onion
1 tbsp butter
1/3 tsp ground caraway
1 tbsp honey
3 dl vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 1/2 dl milk
salt, pepper
1-2 tbsp grated cheese

1. Melt butter in a saucepan and add onion and apple. Cover and cook about ten minutes over medium heat until onion is transparent and golden.
2. Take the cover off and turn the heat up. Cook for additional five minutes.
3. Add caraway and honey, then milk and broth. Boil the soup for about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve it hot sprinkled with grated cheese and green onion tops.



The soup has quite much sweet taste - the word honeyed has hit the spot with its yum stickyness. Caraway is the ingredient that shows its character and makes the dish more earthly. The apple dices are really tender, but not yet losing their shape. Onion tops and cheese...well they're like cherries on top of a cake. Adding milk makes the broth hazy, but milder in taste, so I really like to use it in onion soups.
And of course, perfect accompaniments for this soup - a slice of bread and a hope for more sun.