An Apple Galette to Remember.

This goes out to each and every hero everywhere.

This song is a personal favourite of mine.  It always makes me pause to remember those we have lost and those who still fight. (The Highway of Heroes is a stretch of highway 401 in Ontario and happens to be the route our fallen soldiers are taken when they arrive home.  People gather on the bridges along the Highway waving flags and signs to honour the fallne.) It never fails to make my eyes well up.
 
September 11, 2001 will forever be etched in our minds.  It is the focus of the "Where were you when" questions of this generation.  I remember where I was, and I know you do as well.  I was working in a grade 7 classroom in which the teacher had stepped out for a minute.  When he came back, he poked his head in the door and asked "May I speak to you for a minute?". I stepped to the door and he said to me "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center!" I stood there perplexed, taking in the statement.  I think everyone that day instantly craved more information.  What happened? Why did it happen? Are people okay? What we going to do?

The next few days were spent glued to the TV news, reading the papers....The reality of it all was so overwhelming. How could something like this happen?

Today's memorials on TV have been just as emotional to watch. The memories, the thoughts, the hopes that people have been able to move on, recover, and live.

I know how emotional I became just when we visited New York in 2008.  Just being at the site brought on so many emotions.  As I read through some blogs today, all of them had lovely words of remembrance as well as stories.

Each of us does something different to remember and honour those affected by the tragic events of 9-11.  Marla over at Family Fresh Cooking has great idea for those of us who bake.  We bake to remember is a great way for bakers to read and share their thoughts and stories about 9-11.  We also get to link up our post and see other posts of what everyone has put together.



Today was a busy day but lucky for me I had some pie dough in the freezer.  I also had a couple of granny smith apples hanging around....hmmmm....how about an good old apple pie?

1 pie crust of your choice.
2 granny smith apples
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup flour (or 2 tbsp corn starch)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 tbsp water

Peel and slice the apples.  Mix in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour and set aside.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and roll out the pie crust.  Transfer the crust to a baking sheet.

Tip the apples onto the centre of the crust and fold up the edges so they come over the top edges of the apples.

Beat the egg with the water and brush this egg wash on the crust.

Bake in a 400 F oven until the crust is golden and the apples are cooked.

(I think next time I will remember to add some dabs of butter to the top of the apples).

I had some left over pie crust....hmmm......I rolled it out, cut it into strips, gave them a few twists, brushed them with egg wash....then sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar......bake at 400 for 15 minutes....oh my!!

Delish!!

I bake to remember.  Enjoy your baking with your loved ones.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

If Sin Was a Pie, Then this Pie is The Biggest Sin EVER

Happy Bacon Day!!

Yup! That's right...this pie has bacon on the top of it....yes, it is an apple pie.  Yes, it tasted so good, it was sinful!!  I needed something a little sinful so close to the end of summer...

Tuesday will be my first day back at work...my summer is over and a new school year begins.  No more sleeping in, no more staying up late, no more fun...no wait, that's not right.  Fun is always to be had, sleeping in and staying up late will happen on the weekends! All is good.  This week was much better than the week before.

It was a busy week!!

• The show "Wicked" was in town, and it was just that, Wicked!! Amazing!!!

• Trips to the gym, Cost co, and just plain getting ready for the back to school season....felt busy, but good.

• The Boy and I made perogies (with a cheddar bacon potato filling). He did a fabulous job pinching perogies.  Although I don't think we got as many in the freezer for fall as I wanted.  Many perogies fell into his mouth as soon as they were boiled! I am surprised he didn't burn his mouth! We had fun and they tasted great.

• BBQs went on sale at Home Depot so we upgraded.  You know, from no BBQ to one so big it is like challenge to see just how much food I can fit on the grill.  We are working on some ribs for the inaugural BBQing.  The Boy helped with the ribs as well.  I think my kitchen job is in danger!

Now on with the sin....It felt so sinful just thinking of making this pie, never mind actually baking it.  I originally got this idea from Karen at Tasty Trials.  I had bookmarked this recipe when she first posted it and National Bacon Day seemed like the perfect time to try it out.  Now I didn't follow her recipe exactly, I mean how many of us actually do follow the recipe?  Karen is much like me and usually forgoes recipes.  Recipes are really just guidelines.  Once you know the methods, you can change it up.

Sin is In Apple Bacon Maple Pie

Printable recipe here

Pie crust of your choice (homemade or store bought)

14 slices Bacon (10 slices for the top weave and 4 to cook and crumble)

reserved bacon grease

8 granny smith apples

Squeeze lemon juice

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup maple syrup (give or take)

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup flour

¼ cup white sugar

springform pan (or a deep dish pie plate)

Roll out a thicker bottom pie crust than you normally would. (you want a substantial base for all the apples and bacon.)  Chill the pie crust until ready to use.

On a piece of parchment, construct a weave of bacon.  Place in a cold oven and turn oven on to 300F. Let the bacon weave bake away until slightly crisp but not overly crispy as it will continue to cook on the top of the pie.

In a large fry pan, fry the last 4 slices of bacon until crisp. Be careful not to burn the bacon or the pan. Drain the bacon on paper towels and cool.  Save the bacon fat in a bowl for later.

Peel, core and slice your apples.  Toss with some lemon juice.  Mix with the brown sugar, cinnamon and flour.

Add the white sugar to the hot pan with the bacon grease and tasty bits to start the caramelizing process.  Add in about ¼ cup of maple syrup.

Tip the apples into the pan and cook until caramelly and thickened but you don’t want the apples cooked through.  Let the mixture cool.

Crumble the four slices of bacon and mix in with the apples.

When the bacon weave is cooked, but not crisp, remove it from the oven and place it on paper towels to drain.

Remove the pie crust from the fridge and brush the entire surface with bacon fat.

Pour the apples and syrup mixture into the crust and bake at 400F for 20minutes.  Check the pie, if the edges are over browning, cover with foil and bake another 10 minutes.

Top the pie with the bacon weave.  Brush the bacon with 2 tbsp maple syrup.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove pie, brush bacon with more maple syrup, reduce oven temp to 300.  Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove the pie, brush again with maple syrup and bake for another 12 minutes.

Resist eating the pie until it has cooled somewhat... you don't want to burn your mouth!!

Serve while in the company of good friends!
I am not going to lie to you....this was absolutely divine!!! Discussion actually touched on the topic of 'too much bacon' (if you can believe it).  Suggestions were made of perhaps a litte extra bacon in the pie and no weave on the top....as nice as the weave of bacon looked, it was a LOT of bacon!  The caramelly/maple goodness went sooooo well with the bacon. This pie is a must to try at least once!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

A Week's Worth of Brekkies

A great way to get going on these cold winter mornings in is a hot bowl of oatmeal! I don't have time every morning to make a pot of good old fashioned oatmeal but I am not a fan of the prepackaged instant oatmeals, they just aren't the same. The oats have been so over rolled there isn't nearly as much fibre left in them as there should be and I can make my own flavours with natural ingredients.  If I want maple flavoured oatmeal, I will just add maple syrup!

My breakfast is happy to see me!

 I generally buy the generic brand of steel cut oats or multigrain oats and cook up a week's worth of oatmeal on Sunday afternoon or evening.  Follow the instructions on the box to cook up the oatmeal and divy the oatmeal out into single serve portions into bowls (with plastic wrap) or containers with lids if you have.  All you have to do in the morning is pop it into the microwave for a minute or two and you are ready for the day! (Or grab it to take to work, use the  microwave in the classroom/staffroom and let the kids watch you enjoy your oatmeal!)

Cook the oatmeal according to package instructions.





Here's where you can adjust the flavours to suit your mood:

• Switch out the water for another liquid such as juice, coconut milk, soy milk, milk....even tea

 
While cooking add to the pot the flavours of your choice:

• 1 chopped apple (keep the peel), handful of raisins, 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• handful of chopped dates (sweetness), shredded coconut,
• pumkin pie spices and smow pureed pumpkin
• chopped pineapple, coconut, and some rum extract (Do you like pina colodas?)
• a handful of chopped dried apricots, some chopped walnuts...
• dried blueberries

The possiblities really are endless, just use your imagination.
Today I felt like apples, dates, and cinnamon!

Lately I have been adding some frozen strawberries and a gulp of maple syrup before popping it into the microwave for 2 minutes.

Being prepared for the week ahead helps keep morning mayhem to a minimum.  Get up, get ready, have breakfast, and go.

One for each day of the week!! This batch has apples, dates, and cinnamon in it but I will most likely add some maple syrup and strawberries in the morning!  This really does save so much time in the mornings.

Breakfast for Dinner?

Well the weather has turned cool...cooler than it was yesterday anyways and cool enough to snow!  It is also getting dark so darned early that everyone is sleepy and feeling like comfort foods.  By 5:00pm tonight (official sunset was at4:42pm with a sunrise of 7:44am), it was pitch dark outside.  Making the transitions to such short days can be tough but we put on an extra layer of clothes, turn the lights on earlier and tough it out until spring.

Tonight is a great night for breakfast for dinner!  French toast to be exact!  I have been thinking about making french toast for a few days so when I came home to a slow cooker meal that just didn't go as planned, I delighted in making French toast!  Warm, soothing, with a touch of cinnamon...just the thing to warm me up!  Served up with crisp bacon and a maple apple salad, tonight's dinner was not only soul soothing, it warmed the heart as well!

French toast 

Thickly slice 2 loaves of day old bread of your choosing.  Tonight I used a loaf of rye and a loaf of multigrain bread.  Any rustic, unsliced loaf will work well.

Heat a fry pan or griddle to medium heat.


In a casserole dish or other vessel with a flat bottom and high sides mix together:

• 6 eggs, beaten well
• 2 cups 1/2 and 1/2 (or cream or milk. I have also used evaporated milk)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Beat these ingredients together really well.

Melt a pat of butter in the hot fry pan

Dip a piece of bread into the custard (egg) mixture and turn it over so that both sides are will coated.  Allow excess to drip off and place in the hot pan.

 
Fry until golden, flip and fry side number 2 until golden.  Place finished pieces in a pan in a warm oven to keep until serving.

Serve topped with maple syrup, or powdered sugar, or fruit, or whipped cream, or what ever floats your boat!


For the bacony side kick:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Spread bacon out in a single layer on a greased (or sprayed with cooking spray) baking sheet.
Bake until golden delicious.  (about 20 minutes)
Once cooked to your desired doneness, layer between some paper toweling to drain the fat.

Maple apple salad

In a bowl, mix together:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt 
• 2 tbsp real maple syrup
• 2 apples, cored and chopped (I like to leave the skins on)

Top with granola (I didn't have any granola on hand tonight but I did use some Kashi cereal and it tasted great!

This salad also tastes great topped with some crumbled bacon.

Apple Rhubarb Cinnamon/Ginger Crispy goodness

Since I am new to the blogging world, there are 2 posts today!!  The pizza pops I actually made on Saturday and felt the need to share the pizza goodness with you.  Yesterday my Dad brought over some apples from his friend's yard.  Today, my friend from the famous blog, Whipped , made a post about rhubarb apple crisp thus reminding me that I still have rhubarb in the garden and tonight I sprung into action!!  I don't follow recipes very well when it comes to apple crisp so there really aren't proper measurements.

• Wash the apples, core and wedge the apples....leave the skins on!! Use enough apples to fill your pan to the top.
• Wash and chopp some rhubarb
• Toss the apples and rhubarb with some light brown sugar, lots of cinnamon, ginger, and a big drizzle of honey (I like to mix all of this together in the pan I am going to bake it in because it means less dishes!)

In a bowl, mix together

• a couple of handfuls of old fashioned oats (don't you dare use quick cooking oats) about 2 cups
• about 1 cup of flour (whole wheat works fine)
• some light brown sugar
• some white sugar

Cut in

• 1/2 to 3/4cup butter, cold

Continue to cut in butter until the mixture becomes crumbly and holds together when squeezed. (feel free to use your clean hands!)
Spoon the mixture over the apples in the pan and pat it down.

Place the pan on a lined cookie sheet (protect that oven from spills).
Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.