rosy applesauce for happy children

I first made this applesauce last year . It's pretty, tart, and a great way to use up all those apples from the pick-your-own farm. I froze A LOT of it last year, after my toddler granddaughter requested it for every lunch. It's also wonderful with any kind of pork or turkey.

To make:

6 fresh apples, peeled, cored and sliced

3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

2 T. good honey

about 1/2 cup water, depending on moisture in apples

Simply simmer apples, cranberries, and honey with water until the apples cook down. You need to stir this often, and try to evaporate most of the water and juice from the apples.

Cool and freeze ( and eat!).

3 minute microwave chocolate cake-in-a-cup

Oh my gosh - I haven't had as much fun as this since I blew up marshmallows in a microwave last year with a 12 year old!

I got this in an email - and tossed it - and then went right back to my trash and rescued it.

I have now made it three times, and it isn't bad at all. You could even get away with it at your next dinner party, especially if you make some whipped cream on the side. Can you see it now - a prep line of beautifully dressed adults stirring their cake batter in mugs and microwaving it? What a hoot!

Care package for college students, or funny Christmas package with a cool mug and all the ingredients ( except the milk and egg, of course) - I'm sure you'll think of lots of ideas.

Take a mug or large microwavable cup.

Add:

4 T. flour

4 T. sugar

2 T. good, unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix dry ingredients well.

Add:

1 egg

3 T. milk

2 T. vegetable oil

3 T. semi-sweet chocolate chips ( or broken up good chocolate)

1/2 t. vanilla

Mix really, really well in cup. Microwave for 3 minutes on high. Remove and enjoy!

cranberry-oatmeal scones

One night I was re-reading my son's "Martin the Warrior" book, one of the thumpingly good adventure tales written by Brian Jacques. On page 127, we hear a conversation between Rose ( a mousemaid), and Grumm ( a mole), on the run from pirates:

"Grumm massaged his ample stomach as it gurgled plaintively. "Hurr,"scuse oi, moi tummy's a-thicken moi mouth 'as forgotted 'ow to eat."

Rose propped herself up on two paws. "What I wouldn't give for a plain ordinary oatmeal scone spread with honey right now."

After reading that, my stomach gurgled and sent me straight to the kitchen to come up with these oatmeal scones with dried cranberries and drizzled with honey. The oatmeal flour makes them amazingly tender.

*to make oatmeal flour, simply whiz rolled oats in a blender until finely ground

Preheat oven to 350F.

1 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

1/2 cup oatmeal flour

1/4 cup sugar

7 tablespoons unsalted, cold butter, cut in pieces

2 t. baking powder

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 cup dried cranberries

honey for drizzling

egg wash (optional)

Mix flours, sugar, butter and baking powder in mixer bowl until mixture resembles cornmeal and butter is incorporated.

Add buttermilk and cranberries and mix again until dough comes together.

Pat dough into a ball and roll out into an 8" or 9" circle.

Cut circle in half, then cut each half two more times, giving you 3 scones for each half.

Arrange the scone triangles on a baking sheet fitted with foil or parchment. Brush with beaten egg if desired.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

Drizzle honey on the scones while still warm.

Serve with warm cider and a cinnamon stick.

making naan bread

For a while last year, I seemed to see articles about naan all the time - even my local supermarket ( now closed) offered it, misshapen and rustic, in plastic bags near the checkout. When I started feeling that too-full feeling from my usual sandwich bread, I decided to try naan. While naan does use yeast, it's more like a soft pita bread - and thicker than pita. It's also fast - probably 1 1/2-2 hours in all, depending on rising time. There is only one rising, then you shape the dough into a "teardrop " shape, and bake quickly in a hot oven. Many recipes call for an additional quick broil, but I skipped that.

What I like about this bread is that you can mix in spices and herbs as you make the dough - I've been leaning heavily toward coriander powder and cracked pepper, but I might start trying minced fresh herbs as well.

This recipe makes four large naan ( as big, at least, as your hand).

To make:

4 T. milk, lukewarm

1 small packet yeast, 1/4 oz, softened in the warm milk

1 T. vegetable oil

1 egg

2 T. plain yogurt

2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1-2 t. coriander and freshly cracked pepper

about 1/4 t. salt

Melted butter to brush on naan.

Soften yeast in the milk and let blend for 15 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients, including the milk/yeast mixture, in mixer bowl. If dough seems dry, add 1-2T. warm water. Switch to a dough hook, or just massage dough until silky.

Let rise in a covered, oiled bowl for about an hour, or til doubled

Form dough into a ball, and cut into four pieces.

Preheat oven to 400F. Place unoiled baking sheet in oven to heat up.

Shape each piece into a teardrop shape with a rolling pin, about hand size.

When oven is at 400, remove baking pan ( remember- it's HOT!)

Place naan on baking sheet, brush with melted butter, and quickly place in oven.

Bake naan 5 minutes on each side.

They will be done in ten minutes. Let cool before packaging.

These are thick enough to cut in half for sandwiches.

gently poached wild pears in a lemon verbena simple syrup

You might remember a few weeks ago I was gifted some semi-wild pears , which, at the time, were grainy and hard, and I was clueless what to do with them. So they faded away in the fruit bowl, and then, again, I was gifted with the more mature and juicy pears last week. Just a week or two made a huge difference - when peeled, these darlings were juicy and plump. Having had my bedside reading a glorious, full color herbery book, I decided to try poaching these with lemon verbena leaves. My lemon verbena is counting her days til frost and death, so I clipped a few twigs with long leaves, and infused them in a light simple syrup. A few squeezes of lemon juice, and a sprinkling of sugar made for a light infusion. And how did it go? Beautiful. And so delicate, even my two and a half year old granddaughter ( a true foodie in training), came back again and again to finish off her four half pears, submerged in lemon verbena syrup. I also tried them with mint, (thumbs down, surprisingly), and the last of the fresh basil ( not half bad), but I loved the verbena the best. Just try not to overdo - the lemon verbena is strong!

How to:

It depends on how many pears you have. I had three pears to play with - I peeled them, and cored them, giving me six halves.

I brought to a simmer about 1 1/2 cups water - enough to cover the halves.

I then added 2 tablespoons of sugar, and about 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to hold off the browning.

I then added a small branch of lemon verbena leaves.

I turned off the heat, and slipped the 6 pear halves into the infusion for about 15 minutes.

I pulled the pear halves, covered with the infusion juice minus the lemon verbena leaves, and placed in a covered plastic container for the trip to visit my granddaughter. Of course, I had to try them - so there went 2 halves!

As I set out Izzie's lunch, she went immediately for the pears - which doesn't surprise me, since she's a fruit freak. I had brought along a fresh pear, which I peeled and cored, and quartered - just in case the lemon verbena was too strong. She tasted, she questioned, she finished every single one of the poached pears.

I think this might be lovely with a little Greek yogurt and some strong honey drizzled on top with a little pinch of lemon verbena leaves on top........

chicken marengo with orzo

Last night I made this classic chicken stew - plump chicken pieces simmered in broth with tomatoes, wine or vinegar, mushrooms, and tarragon. Oh my, it is delicious on a chilly night! It's also easy when you have company, or need to get dinner together quickly. The simmering part takes an hour to an hour and a half - but it takes just a few minutes to pull it together and stick it in the oven. I served it with orzo and a salad, but you may want to also have some chunks of rustic bread to mop up the broth.

You will need:

Preheat oven to 350F.

6 pieces of chicken ( I used legs and thighs) skin removed

2 T. olive oil

2 T. unsalted butter (optional)

Rinse and pat the chicken pieces dry.

Heat the butter and oil in a skillet, and when it is hot, sear the chicken pieces until they are slightly browned.

Remove chicken pieces to an oven proof casserole dish.

1 cup white wine ( or 1/2 cup water, 1/2 c rice vinegar)

1 heaping t. tarragon ( dried)

salt and pepper

2 cups canned plum tomatoes, with some of the juice

10 sliced mushrooms

2 cloves minced garlic

Pour the wine or vinegar/water into the skillet, scraping up the bits left in the pan. Add the tarragon and garlic, salt and pepper, and then the tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir together, then pour over chicken.

Put a lid on the dish, or cover with foil. Place in oven for approximately an hour and a half, or until chicken is very tender.

Enjoy with chunks of good bread and a salad!

the vegetables of october

The month of pies, cobblers, tarts, and thick and tasty soups................ and a brief glimpse of an occasional dragon.