Brandied Apple Butter

Apple season is winding down here in Upstate NY, but here's one to make if your local market has bushel bags on sale:

........................................ (Photo shamelessly snatched from Autumn Rose's blog)..........................................

Ingredients:

* 5 lbs. apples ,(cored , peeled, and chopped fine)

* 2 cups fresh apple cider

* ½ cup white sugar

* 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

* ½ tsp. ground cloves

* ½ tsp. ground ginger

* 1/4 tsp. salt

* ½ cup brandy of choice

Preparation:

1. Place the apples in a large crock pot.

2. In a medium bowl mix all of your spices, salt, apple cider, and brandy. Pour the mixture over the apples and stir until all of the apples are well incorporated in the liquid.

3. Cover and set the crock pot on low. Cook covered for 12 hours.

4. Stir the mixture until it is completely broken down and resembles loose apple sauce.

5. Add additional sugar and brandy to taste, and cook an additional 2 to 3 hours uncovered.

6. Once the mixture has taken on a thick jam like texture, turn the crock pot off and allow the mixture to cool for about 30 minutes.

7. Spoon into sterile jars and boil in water for 7 minutes.

8. Place jars on a rack and allow the jars to self seal. You will hear the lids pop as they seal.

9. Store on shelves or in the refrigerator for future use.

(NB: Steps 7-9 assume you will have leftovers or are not planning to use or give away immediately)

Yield: 4 pints

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time:12 hours covered, 3 hours uncovered

Try this on a toasted English muffin, toast, or home made biscuits, even waffles or pancakes....oh so tasty! Delightful at breakfast or as an addition to afternoon tea with chilly girls just arriving home from school.

For an extra sinful experience, try making a quick spread of 1/2 c. small curd cottage cheese and 1 Tb. each of cream cheese and sour cream, with a little powdered sugar added for sweetness - process or mix thoroughly with a fork. Play with the proportions (this is a half-batch of something I made up to fill crepes back when I had time to do such things - I've never exactly written it down before).

Spread on a bagel or Texas toast, then spoon the apple butter on top.

YUM-O-RAMA!

The Love of Tea

From Tea at Trianon - follow this link to plan your own afternoon tea.

The girls and I have always made time for a "cuppa" after school, sometimes with, and sometimes without a treat or two to go along...I confess I love my teatime with the girls. It's great for what I call "the daily download" of school day stories, gossip, atrocities, and even tears. Nothing like a little tea and sympathy!


A quick and easy tea sandwich recipe:

Ingredients:

*1 small, peeled cucumber, sliced very thin

*wholegrain bread ("Health Nut" or 12-grain is nice), crust removed, of course!

* Philly (or similar) spreadable cream cheese - vegetable variety

Preparation:

Easy! Spread a thin layer of flavored cream cheese on each slice of bread, add a layer of cucumber to every other slice, cover with an "un-cucumbered" slice, and cut into fingers, or quarters (triangular or square).

Serve with a variety of other 2-3 othe tea sandwiches - you can go as fancy(salmon and cream cheese on cocktail rye toast) or as simple (PBJ on white!) as you'd like. I've also been known to whip together some shredded cheddar cheese and Miracle Whip with dash of white pepper - even a little pimiento if I happen to have it on hand. Egg and tuna salad, too. The key is to mix up the sweet and the savory.

When we make our tea a fill-in for dinner, I will break out my tea and snack plate service, and serve hot soup in teacups with the sanwiches on the snack plates.

(This may horrify the tea purists out there, but hey - we're colonists!)