Apple Love

Here in Florida, apples definitely do not grow on trees. Orange groves we have a plenty. But apple orchards, not so much. So on a recent trip to North Carolina, I was a bit crazy about gathering some local apples. We were too late in the season to pick any ourselves, but a couple of market stands sufficed quite fine. I returned home, happily, with fresh apples, apple butter and apple cider in tote. (Thank you DaddyBird for the many roadside stops without a single grumble!)

Much of my bounty was used in apple empanadas for a friend's potluck-style Day of the Dead Party (recipe below). The rest was gobbled up by the many apple-loving members of my household. A favorite after-school snack: sliced apples drizzled with melted caramels.

This season, we've also had fun apple stamping (not with those precious NC apples, of course).

And with bobbing for apples and apple races at our annual family campout.

Here I am again, going on about produce. But really, what's not to love about a fruit that brings so much joy, in so many ways?!


MamaBird's Apple Empanadas for a Crowd

4 large apples, peeled & diced
1 cup apple cider
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 boxes refrigerated pie crusts* (4 premade crusts)
1-2 egg(s), beaten

Filling: Simmer diced apples, cider, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over low heat until apples are soft. In separate bowl, mix cornstarch with enough water to thin; stir into apple mixture and cook until thickens.

Assembly: On a floured surface, roll out refrigerated crusts (one at a time) to about 1/8" thick. Cut into 3-1/2" circles with biscuit or cookie cutter (you can also use a glass or bowl). Brush pastry circles with beaten egg & place a spoonful of apple filling in the center. Fold pastry over to form a half moon and pinch together; seal edges with a fork. Brush top of empanada with beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. [Note: make these in batches, reserving unused pie crusts in refrigerator as you work; the empanadas hold their shape better in assembly when the pastry is cold.]

Bake at 375 degrees, on a parchment-lined baking sheet, until golden brown (about 15 -20 minutes). Yields approximately 30 empanadas.

*Of course, if you have the talent and time, homemade pastry would elevate this recipe to the next level. Although, the storebought crust was delicious - and fail safe. Great advice my mother once gave me is that not every aspect of a dish/meal must be homemade. So make the filling, buy the crust. Or buy the filling, make the pastry. Or, if you must, knock yourself out and make it all!

3! and Pink Strawberry Cake

My baby turned three this week. Three! She is her own little person now, with her own big ideas. She knows what she wants; and for her birthday, she wanted a pink strawberry cake.

I scoured the internet for a strawberry cake free of red food coloring and strawberry Jell-O (there's something familiar about this...). It was hard to find, but I finally came across this fantastic recipe. To my birthday gal's delight, the cake was both pink and full of strawberry flavor. And to my delight, these were both accomplished naturally by using, of all things, real strawberries. This recipe is a keeper!

Farm to Fork Dinner

Have I mentioned my love for local produce here before? Ahem. I do have a bit of a thing for farmers markets, produce stands, local farms, roadside produce stands... you get the picture. Sunday night, I was treated by my dear sister-in-law to a locavore's dream: a Farm to Fork Dinner on a local farm! (Thank you Cathy, the best "Secret Santa" ever!)

The setting was picturesque; we gathered family-style at tables set under the exposed beams of the market stand roof. Draped in white linen and burlap, the tables boasted centerpieces that featured produce and flowers grown right on the farm surrounding us. As the sun set, candles were lit, champagne was poured and hors d'oeuvres were passed: tomato & mozzarella tartlets with basil puree, fried local grouper sliders with housemade tartar sauce and mini popovers with Florida grass fed roast beef & creamed horseradish.

We were seated and the artisan meal to follow was to die for, featuring a bounty of ingredients from farms and producers within a 70-mile radius of the area. The first course was a farm to fork salad with locally harvested greens, herbs & heirloom tomatoes, red onion confit, Humboldt Fog croustade and champagne-Dijon vinaigrette. It was paired with artisanal bread & local butter. This was followed by an appetizer salad of warm scallops, stone crab and crispy uncured bacon with an apple, walnut & freshly-shucked black eyed pea relish.

{photo by Chad Spencer, Edible Sarasota}

The main course was a fragrant and savory turkey pot-pie baked in acorn squash, and potato, leek & mushroom dauphinoise served family-style. Dessert was a caramelized spiced rice pudding with pumpkin pie ice cream. And yes, it was all every bit as delicious as it sounds! The evening was perfectly magical on every count, and a memory I will always hold dear to my local produce-loving heart.

First Meal of Fall

Despite the craziness of the move, I managed to pull off a proper "Welcome Fall" dinner on the Autumn Equinox. We feasted on a few of my favorites: Kale Salad from Love Soup, Butternut Soup with Pear, Cider and Vanilla Bean from A Homemade Life, baked chicken with herbes de provence and ginger cookies for dessert. There was no time to make homemade cookies, so I tried the organic Ginger Spice cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Co. The cookies were nowhere near as good as our favorite Fresh Ginger Cookies, but OK in a pinch. Yay to the flavors of Fall!

Gifts from the Local Food Goddess

In my eyes, all my mama friends have achieved goddess status of some sort. There's the Domestic Goddess, the Birth Advocate Goddess, the Healing Goddess... and now, I officially pronounce one of our tribe the Local Food Goddess. She is a skilled gardener on a mission to procure all her food from local sources, or by growing it herself. Eating locally is something I've been slowly moving toward for some time. And now, I'm learning from - and with - my friend how to take this step for real.

So on her rounds today, the Local Food Goddess visited our local dairy farm, which houses grass-fed cows and follows organic practices. Finding the heavy cream on sale, she called me... "Yes, of course I'll take a half-gallon of heavy cream for $2. I'll take two. And, uh, what exactly should I do with all that cream?" The answer on the other end of the line was simple: make butter.

On her way home, my friend passed a sign by the side of the road that read "Fresh Eggs for Sale." She knocked on the residential door and was shortly out back watching free-roaming chickens, happily pecking away, and showing her young boy dozens of baby chicks! Another phone call... "Yes, of course I'd like a dozen free-range, farm fresh eggs for $2.50."

So after picking my own little chicks up from school, I swung by the home of the Local Food Goddess herself to pick up my goods. As we chatted about local meat sources and how to make butter, our kids romped through her expansive garden sampling strawberries, mint & sage, purple beans and cherry tomatoes. She hacked off a huge stalk of deep green kale for me, and filled the girls' hands with fresh herbs.

I loaded up my treasures - which cost a mere $6.50 - grinning ear-to-ear. And I just had to wonder, at what point, exactly, did it come to be that cream and eggs and kale could make me so very happy?

Stay posted for my adventures in butter making.

The Magic Tree

Living in Florida, we come to recognize the seasons in different ways than most of the country. And one of the joys of winter here is the sweet goodness of grown-in-your-backyard citrus fruit. I'm blessed to have two fruit trees in my backyard. One is an orange tree that yielded me a full pitcher of aromatic fresh-squeezed juice this morning, with the promise of more to come.

The other tree, well it's magical. Growing low and close to the trunk, are the shiny yellow lemons this tree has produced every year. But this season, there is more... up higher among the branches hang big, round and notably orange-colored lemons. I think these are too big - and not sweet enough - to be the famed Meyer lemon, so they are mystery lemons right now. As an additional bonus this year, right in the middle of the tree, two small, bright green limes appeared. Just two. I told you it is a magic tree.

So what's a girl to do when life hands her magical lemons upon lemons? Lemonade doesn't quite feel right on cool, grey days. But I'm dreaming of ...

Pots de Creme au Citron (Lemon Custard)
Lemon Frittata with Leeks & Goat Cheese
Lemon Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
Lemon Ginger Muffins

What are your favorite lemon recipes? (And any input on the mystery lemons is welcome!)