40lbs of Apples

I think that I am one of three Minnesotans who does not care for Honeycrisp apples. My favorite has always been a Haralson and I am lucky to have a new cousin-in-law with overflowing apple trees. 

But here is the problem: what do you do with 40lbs of Haralsons? I ate five pounds, I gave away another ten pounds...but I am still left with 25 pounds of apples. 

I started with 8 pounds and my favorite applesauce recipe. I love homemade applesauce. The only thing better than eating a bowl of it right out of the oven is smelling it when you walk through the front door. I am sorry but no candle can replicate the smell of cinnamon, allspice, and apples baking in the oven.

Applesauce is usually made with a combination of sweet apples (McIntosh, Fuji, etc.). I decided to go with all Haralsons which made for an incredibly sour--but incredibly delicious--applesauce. 

I am thinking of making an Apple Challah or Apple Cake next...if you have any other ideas, send my way.

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Applesauce
adapted from Ina Garten

Make the applesauce: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add the zest and juice of the oranges and lemon in a large bowl. Peel the apples and chop them into large pieces. Add the apples to the juice as you go. 

Pour the apples and juice into a dutch oven. Add the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and allspice. Cover and bake for 1.5-2 hours or until the apples are soft. Remove from oven and whisk until smooth.

2 large oranges, zested and juiced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
8 lbs apples (~15 or so)
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

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Two Years Later

What do you call a beautiful 70 mile ride with Ben to a wonderful, no reservation, no credit card taken, not open in the winter restaurant on Lake Pepin? I call out it a pretty awesome way to celebrate your two year anniversary.

If you have never ventured south to Pepin, I encourage you do to so in the next few weeks. Drive the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi and be shocked, like Ben was a few years back, by the beautiful terrain that exists in the midwest. Stop in Stockholm, cross the river and meander through Red Wing for a bit, and then end in Pepin to eat at Harbor View.

While Harbor View has changed ownership in the last few years, the food is still pretty tasty. Ben and I enjoyed the golden onion soup, the carrot ginger soup, a bison filet with mushrooms and cranberries, a nice bouillabaisse...and New Glarus Spotted Cow on tap.

Cake Batter Energy Bars

Even though I have yet to taste anything that actually tastes like cake batter other than cake better itself, I felt the need to make the following recipe that I found online. While the recipe does not live up to its expectations, the bars are pretty delicious and are filled with some great ingredients. And they are pretty cute, no?

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Cake Batter Energy Bars
from Chocolate Covered Katie

Make the bars: Combine rice krispies, oat flour, and salt in a bowl and stir. In a separate large bowl, combine vanilla, cashew butter, and agave and stir to form a thin paste. Make sure that the cashew butter is room temperature, not out of the refrigerator. 

Pour dry ingredients into the wet and stir until well coated. 

Line a dish with a piece of parchment or wax paper and pour the mixture into the dish. Using an extra piece of paper, press down as hard as you can to flatten the mixture and create an even layer. According to the recipe, the mixture will fill a 7×5, or about 2/3 of an 8×8. Place the bars in the freezer to harden before cutting and eating.

1 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 cup Oat Flour (I made my own by grinding oats in the coffee/nut grinder until they turn into a fine powder)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
3 tbsp Cashew Butter
5 tbsp Agave 

Optional:
Sprinkles

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