Dutch Appletaart

I'm a summer girl through and through. I used to loath when September came because it meant vacation was over, school was starting and the cold was on its way. But as I become older, and especially this year for some reason, I feel like I'm really excepting it. It really is a beautiful season; the change in color of the leaves, the crisp cool air, and the idea that lovely smells of cinnamon, apples, roasted vegetables, and pumpkin will soon fill my home.

I actually am looking forward to pulling on my familiar layers of woolen socks, sweaters, and colorful scarfs. Waking up to chilly days and wanting only to stay in the warmth my bed provides. The only reasons I can remember to even admitting what I did liked about the Fall and Winter seasons were the food. I love pumpkin pie and spice everything. Warm drinks, baked casseroles, and of course apple pie.

My parents planted two apple trees in our yard when I was really little. I remember every year waiting and hoping for apples to appear. It took awhile and when they finally came there was only a handful, but either the deer or bugs had gotten to them first. After that, I soon was in high school and my attention for fruit growing in your own yard had diminished, for interests in other more important things on my mind then. 

Now, years later, the trees grow so many apples my parents have to give them away. That suits me just fine, I'll take a free apple any day. So I brought home a large bag full of crisp, juicy apples and baked a Dutch appletaart.

This was my first appletaart, and yes, it is spelled with two a's. I've made apple pie many times, but wanted to save that for closer to the holiday season. Although I think I've found an apple pie replacement for this year. This thing was so good we ate it consecutively for 3 days, it didn't matter if it was breakfast, lunch or dinner, I think I ate a slice at least once a day as a meal. The crust is like a tender, buttery cookie balanced perfectly with the soft , tart, cinnamon apples. 

One note on the crust. Unlike traditional pie crust you roll out, this is much more crumbly in texture and is patted in the pan when being prepared. Also I know that quartering the apples might seem too large, but they soften and I think it helps to keep the apples from getting mushy while being cooked for so long, just make sure you leave vents for the steam to escape.

Dutch Appletaart

Adapted from Sweet Amandine
serves 10-12

dough

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1  1/4 cups cane sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 eggs

1 egg white, lightly beaten, for the glaze

filling

3-4 pounds apples (8-10 med. apples); I used Jonagold, you could also use Cortland or Granny Smith

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons sugar

half a lemon

In the bowl of a large (14-cup) food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to blend. Add the cubed butter, and process for about ten seconds, until the dough looks like a coarse meal. Add the two eggs, and pulse to incorporate. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, push it together into a lump, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

While the dough is chilling, or at least the last half, butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan, peel, core, and quarter the apples, stir together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, and preheat the oven to 350˚ F.

Press about three-quarters of the chilled dough into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. The thickness of the dough along the sides and bottom should be about a quarter of an inch thick.

Place a layer of apples into the pan, squirt them with a few squeezes of lemon, and sprinkle them with half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Repeat with another layer of apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar. The apples will lose some of their liquid and shrink as they bake, so you’ll want to mound them an inch or so higher than the top of the pan.

Use the remaining dough to form a top crust. Rip off a handful of dough, press and pat it flat between the palms of your hands, and drape it over a portion of the apples. Repeat until you have covered all of the apples. Make sure to leave enough space between some of the dough patches to serve as “built-in” vents for the steam. Paint the top crust with the lightly-beaten egg white.

Bake at 350˚ F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, turning the pan once half way through. You can place a baking sheet under your spring-form pan to prevent any leakage or spillage onto your oven if you'd like.

Let the appeltaart cool to room temperature before slicing into it so that the filling can set.

Home + Fried Egg Sandwiches

I am home. Our vacation that took us over 3500 miles and to five different states ended earlier in the week and I'm just now starting to settle back into daily routine. Our trip was nothing short of amazing. We both have always wanted to visit all the National Parks and I think we are now off to a good start; checking off Crater Lake, Yosemite, Zion, and the Grand Canyon.

We enjoyed long hikes on most days and lots of time away from computers and fast-paced life. It was good just to sit and ponder life's questions and have nature surround us. The only obstacle we encountered seemed to be the food situation. Early in the trip meals were easy. I had packed homemade granola bars, lots of beans, dried grains, oatmeal, pancake mix, even a fresh batch of graham crackers for late night s'mores with local Theo chocolate in vanilla, hazelnut and cocao nib. We ate stew, chili and grilled corn on the cob. It was easy to buy produce and other perishable items along the way. Towards the end is when things became difficult.

It was hot. Too hot to keep ice frozen in our cooler for even a day. Too hot to think about food, except for maybe cold watermelon or smoothies. Even the water we carried was hardly ever cold. I was craving vegetables like mad by the time we got home and the first thing I made was a large raw kale salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes, cabbage and a lemon oil dressing. I ate it all over the coarse of 3 days. But other than vegetables, the other item I seemed to crave was eggs. I remember one morning, towards the end of our trip, saying to Scott, "I could really go for a fried egg sandwich right now. You know, the kind with melted cheese on a toasted English muffin with tomato." He agreed.

There were very few towns nearby most of the parks for us to go and get a meal. We were lucky if there was even a grocery store or a gas station. Honestly though, I knew that even if we did find a place to eat, there would be a slim chance of anything on the menu that was vegetarian. All that said, we made it out alive and my craving for that exact egg sandwich never went away.

Fried egg sandwiches were one of the first things I learned to make as a kid. Right after pb&j's and grilled cheese. I remember making them for my sister and I on weekend mornings and we'd sit around the table in our pajamas happily eating. Now I wonder if I was really craving the eggs or if I was craving the comforts of home.

This was my first attempt at making English muffins. They turned out better than I had expected. Soft on the inside and a perfect crisp cornmeal outside. Toasted, they are perfect with homemade blackberry jam or warm honey butter. What makes these sandwiches special and gives them a little zing, is the chili oil. Make it a day or two ahead if possible, that way the flavors have time to release.

Fried Egg Sandwich

serves 2

chili oil, recipe below

2 eggs

cheddar cheese

tomato slices

2 English muffins, recipe below

Heat the chili oil in a skillet over low to medium low heat. Once the oil has warmed but is not smoking add an egg (if your pan as large enough, you can do both eggs at the same time). Keeping the heat at a lower setting helps to heat the egg gently, so it doesn't become rubbery). When one side of the egg has cooked enough for the whites to be set, flip and gently cook the other side.

While the eggs are cooking toast the English muffins. Slice a few pieces of cheddar cheese and arrange on top of the toasted English muffins, the cheese will start to melt slightly from the warmth of the muffin. Place an egg on top of each, drizzle with more chili oil if desired and top with fresh tomato slices. Serve immediately.

chili oil

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Heat the oil in a small saucepan until its hot but not smoking. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside until cool. Place in a sealed jar or container until ready to use.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Adapted from Golden Door
makes 18

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 package

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup warm water

1-2/3 cups almond milk (or cows milk), at room temperature

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal, or as needed

Olive oil spray

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the yeast, sugar, and water. Stir to combine and let stand until the yeast has dissolved and is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add the milk, olive oil, vinegar, and egg to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed until well blended. With the mixer running, add the salt along with 2-1/2 cups of the whole wheat flour. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the remaining 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour and the all-purpose flour. Increase the speed to medium and mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. Cover and let stand in a warm area for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Pour the cornmeal onto a small plate. With a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop out 1/4 cup of the dough. This is gonna get messy. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and flatten it into a 3-inch round. Press each side into the cornmeal and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. If needed, spray the pan with olive oil, my cast iron skillet worked great without needing to be sprayed. Place the muffins about 1/2 inch apart on the hot griddle or skillet. Cook until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins over and brown on the other side, about 5 minutes. Repeat with all of the muffins; between batches wipe the griddle with a paper towel and spray again with oil.

Return the muffins to the baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely. To serve, use a fork or knofe to split a muffin in half through the middle to make two rounds, and toast.

Store in a resealable plastic bag at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw at room temperature, then split and toast as directed above.

Grandma's Zucchini Bread

Zucchini bread. Two words that when put together conjure up many memories for me. It was the first way, and for a long time the only way, I would even touch zucchini. The vegetable of late summer that so many gardens overflow with. It always amazes me that someone decided one day to put it into a sweet, spice filled loaf and that it worked. Now many versions of zucchini bread exist, and I'm sure everyone has their favorite. This is mine.

I used to love when my grandma made zucchini bread and always favored it over banana. Since she couldn't get my cousins and I to eat fresh zucchini from the garden, sneaking it into bread was probably her only secret from us. Slightly warm from the oven was my favorite. I could hardly wait for it to cool before cutting a thick slice and happily sitting at the kitchen table, while my grandmother looked over with an approving eye. She knew one day I would make this bread as well. She was right.

These days I do like to eat zucchini and I've been cooking and eating all the gifted ones we've received all summer long. But as soon as fall starts getting closer, my thoughts start drifting towards spices and baking and all things comfort. Zucchini bread is the first thing I bake, welcoming fall, while still allowing me to remember the long warm summer days that provided me with said zucchini.

We're heading out this week for our little vacation. I'm so excited! I've never been on such a long vacation and to be doing it with my husband will be the ultimate adventure. We're going to be disconnected from the main world where computers, and all that comes with them, is the norm. Again, so excited! This zucchini bread, as well as some other carefully packed items, will be coming with us. And for all the many past memories I've enjoyed with this bread, many more are on their way. I'm sure when I'm back I'll have much to share.

Grandma's Zucchini Bread

makes 2 loaves

3 eggs

3/4 cup oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups grated zucchini

3 cups whole wheat flour or all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour 2-5x9 loaf pans, set aside.

In a large bowl mix eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Stir in grated zucchini.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Stir in the walnuts and dried fruit if using. 

Pour equal parts of the batter into each loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack, then slice and serve.