Toffee Apples / Honey Toffee Pears

This makes enough honey toffee to cover 6 smallish apples

1/4 cup water
1 cup honey
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbls. butter

First prepare your apples and pears by removing the wax. Dip them in steaming hot water for about 30 seconds each, then rub with a rough cloth until the skin is smooth and not tacky. It may change the color of the skin, but the toffee will stick better. Remove the stems, and push a stick/large skewer into the top down to the center (or plastic forks, in my case). Place out a piece of foil and smear butter on it. Get a deep bowl of cold water ready.

Use a medium saucepan--larger than you think you need, because it foams up a lot when it boils. Cook the water, honey, vinegar, and butter over high heat. Let it boil until it reaches about 280 F. Honey cooks faster than cane sugar so be really careful; this is as hot as it gets before burning. Remove from heat and dip the apples/pears immediately and quickly once it reaches this temperature. Tilt the pan to make a pool, then stick in one apple at a time, twirling it around to cover with toffee. Then quickly plunge the apple into the cold water, then set down to harden on the buttered foil.

Plum Wine

*Not actually wine.

1 pound of plums, pitted
1 Tbls. honey
1 1/2 to 2 cups water

Cook the plums and honey over medium heat, stirring, until the plums are dark, the honey is melted, and the plums have only started to get mushy.

Put the plums in a blender. Use 1/2 cup water to deglaze the pan and add that to the blender. Blend until liquefied. Strain the liquid into a bowl or pitcher through a cloth bag, You have to really squeeze out as much juice as possible--it will be thick--and remaining in the bag will basically be plum mush.

Dilute the juice with about 1 1/2 cups water. At this point it is still somewhat thick, but it has a strong, sweet flavor. Adding more water to change the consistency, even just a little like 1/2 cup, will lessen the flavor, more than I like, but you can do it to taste.

Plum and Apple Pudding

2 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs*

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 Tbls. butter

1 pound of apples
1/2 pound of plums
1 tsp. ground ginger

3 Tbls. Honey

1 cup whipping cream

2 Tbls. brown sugar

Cut the butter into smaller pieces. Place breadcrumbs, butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a non-stick pan on low heat. Cook gently while constantly stirring until the butter has all melted and it’s dark golden. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

Core and slice the apples. Combine the apples and honey. Cook, covered, over medium heat until the apples are soft enough to easily poke through with a knife, but before they get mushy. Add the ginger. Mash the apples, or put them in a food processor on a low setting, until it is have pureed and half chunks of apple. Basically make a chunky applesauce.

Pit the plums and cut into fourths. Mash/process them in the same way. 

Divide each of those ingredients into thirds.

In a glass dish, layer the ingredients. Starting at bottom: apples, plums, crumbs. Repeat to have 3 sets of layers.

Chill in the fridge until cool, even overnight.

Before serving, whip the cream with the 2 Tbls. brown sugar, and spread that over the top. Garnish with plum jam, if available.


*I made bread crumbs with a mixture of whole wheat bread and white potato bread. Basically any plain bread, biscuits, rolls, etc. will work. The easiest way to make bread crumbs is to tear up pieces of bread and process in a blender/food processor until it is all crumbs.

Grumm's Experiment

From Martin the Warrior.  Grumm mixes together wheat flour, wild oats, wild plums, wild honey, and apples chopped small, then shapes the dough into cakes and cooks on a stone over a fire.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup apple, minced
1 cup plums, stones removed, and cut into quarters

 Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the honey and fruit.

Warm the plum pieces to soften them (30 seconds in microwave), then mash them, focusing on separating the flesh from the skin and liquefying the flesh. Stir into the flour mixture. The dough should be very sticky and wet.

Drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet that is greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden-brown.

Apple Almond Cake

Sort of a medieval recipe. An alteration of a recipe that claimed to be medieval, but had no documentation.

2 cups apples, grated
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs
3/4 cup almond meal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt 

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put the grated apple in water with lemon juice until ready to use. Let the eggs come to room temperature. (Putting them in warm water helps.)

Beat the eggs on high speed until pale yellow, a thick foam, small bubbles. Meanwhile gently heat the honey until it is thin and runny. Reduce the eggs to a medium beating speed and slowly pour the honey in as it beats. After the honey is added, beat on high speed for about a minute. Reduce to a low speed and slowly add the almond meal, cinnamon, and salt. Then fold in the grated apple.

Pour batter into a well-buttered 8" baking pan. Cover with foil.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Whole Wheat Biscuits

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbls. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat together the milk and 1 1/2 eggs (or 1 extra large egg). (Start with 1 egg and the milk, then beat the second egg separately and add half of it to the milk.)

Roughly cut the butter into the flour mix, leaving some largish chunks of butter. Stir in the milk mixture until just mixed.

Gently knead the dough on a floured surface until it holds together. Gently shape into a large, flat rectangle. Fold the rectangle into thirds (like folding a letter) and gently press down. Cut into 8 equal pieces, or however many biscuits you want. You can leave them in this shape, or gently reshape them by tucking the edges.

Place on a baking sheet that is greased, or lined with parchment. Use the remaining beaten egg to glaze the tops. Sprinkle seasonings on top if desired. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Potato, Mushroom and Carrot Pasties

1 batch of pie crust dough
3/4 cup carrot, grated
2 Tbls. oil
1 1/2 cup potato, chopped small
1 clove garlic
1 cup mushrooms, chopped small
2 Tbls. fresh parsley leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Chill the pie dough until ready to use.

Cook the potato and garlic with the oil, over medium-low heat until the potatoes are softened (they don't have to be completely cooked). Add the mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes, until the mushrooms are soft. Remove from heat. Add the carrots, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Divide pie dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a circle. Spoon a quarter of the filling onto each circle. Fold over the dough and press the edges together. Make a couple of steam vents on the top and place them on a baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Mushroom, Potato, and Onion Pasties

Makes 4 pasties.

Ingredients:
1 batch of pie crust dough

1/2 cup onion, chopped small

2 tablespoons oil

1 3/4 cup potato, chopped small

1 clove garlic

1 cup mushrooms, chopped small
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves

salt and pepper

Chill the pie dough until ready to use.

Fry the onion in the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the potato and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat until the potatoes are softened.  Add the mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes, until the mushrooms are soft.  Remove from heat. Add the parsley, salt, and pepper.  

Preheat oven to 400F.

Divide pie dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a circle. Spoon a quarter of the filling on to each circle.  Fold over the pastry and press edges together. Make a couple of small steam-holes in each pasty and place them on a baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Wheat Scones with Candied Pear

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter, chopped into little pieces
1/2 cup candied pear pieces
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

ground nutmeg

sugar

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Stir together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in butter and honey until crumbly and there's no more dry powder. Stir in pear pieces, milk, sour cream and egg until combined.

Knead the dough on a floured surface until it holds together and is not so sticky. It's okay to knead flour into it.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Press the ball of dough into a large circle on the baking sheet. Cut it into 8 wedges. Sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until they are golden and the middle is firm. 

Candied Pear

Candying fruit is a very long and involved process, so here's my relatively fast and easy version. I used canned pears for this because they are already soaked in sugar from being canned in syrup.

Get some canned pears. Chop them up into smallish pieces. Line a baking sheet with foil, then dust with powdered sugar. Spread the pear pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet. Put in the oven at 200° F for 4-6 hours. I honestly don't know how long it took me. I just kept coming back to check it. They need to be not wet anymore, only slightly sticky, and with a gummy texture like raisins or other dried fruits.

Buttermilk Jam Scones

This makes a soft, tender pastry with delicious sweet globs inside.

 

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
1/4 cup jam or jelly
1 egg
2 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
spiced sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk, jam, and egg, stirring just until moist.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until the dough is all together. Place on a baking sheet that is either greased, or lined with parchment. Form dough into an approximately 3/4" thick, 9-inch circle. Cut dough into wedges all the way through.

Sprinkle spiced sugar on top. Bake until golden and firm in the middle, 20-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Cilantro Guacamole

6 avocados
2 limes
 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed as convenient, chopped

Peel avocados and remove seed. Juice the limes. Combine all ingredients and mash.