Crazy Englishwoman Cooks!

This dull, wet weather we've been experiencing in Kentucky over the past few days has had one result - an overwhelming desire to bake. Typically, I'd make a cake or a loaf of some sort, but since Nic was getting ready to head out of town, I settled on cookies.

If you like your cookies to be crunchy and crumbly, these definitely are not for you. If, on the other hand, you like yours chewy and soft, these ginger-spiced molasses cookies are just the thing with a glass of milk.

Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies

I had never tried Spanish tapas until last year when Nic and I stumbled upon a tapas restaurant in Louisville. We instantly loved it, and it reminded us very much of the Japanese style of eating - many small dishes instead of one main meal.

Last Christmas, Nic bought me a book of tapas recipes and so last night was time to experiment.

Our tapas feast

My attempts at alioli failed miserably, despite Nic being an incredibly good sport and whisking until his arms were ready to drop off. Ignoring that one mishap, here's what was on our menu:

• crusty bread and rosemary crusted Manchego cheese
• stuffed green olives
• garlic mayonnaise
• mushrooms cooked in garlic and sherry
• prawns cooked in garlic and chilis
• chorizo and beans in beer
• Spanish beer

All very simple and very tasty.

To make the Chorizo and Beans in Beer:

Olive oil
Onion, chopped
1 Spanish chorizo, sliced
Can cannelloni or white kidney beans
125 ml beer
splash red wine vinegar
bay leaf

Heat the olive oil and fry the onion for a few minutes. Add the sliced chorizo and fry for 2-3 minutes, until the sausage starts to brown.


Add the beans, beer, vinegar, and bay leaf, and cook for about 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.



A good crusty bread can help to sop up the juices.


The wonderful thing about tapas is that there are so many possible dishes. Next time, I plan on trying fried artichoke and manchego rice balls, mini meatballs, stuffed cherry tomatoes, and who knows what else!

Still overwhelmed with apples? Well here's one of the easiest recipes I've ever come across.

Are you ready?

Core the apples and cut into large chunks. It's ok to leave the peel on.
Fill your slow-cooker with the apples.
Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, or any other spices you like.
Leave to cook on low for ten hours.

After ten hours, give it a stir and turn the heat up to high for an hour or so.

If you want, you can blend the resulting mix or you can leave as is. Either way, the result is a lightly spiced apple butter with no added sugars.

Perfect for hot buttered biscuits on a cold and rainy morning.

Yesterday, we made apple pie filling. But we still have lots of pesky apples left, so what next?

How about this deliciously moist Apple Honey Bundt Cake?

1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
sprinkling of nutmeg
3 apples which I peeled and cored using my handy new gizmo
If you want, you can also add 3/4 cup nuts to the mix, but hubby is not a big nut eater.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray.
Shred the apples.
Mix the sugar and oil together. Add the eggs, and then the honey and vanilla.
Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Lastly, mix in the shredded apples (and nuts if you're using them).
Bake for about an hour.

There are plenty of ways to enjoy this cake - drizzled with caramel sauce, topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt, drizzled with more honey and warmed in the microwave.

Did this use up the apples? Of course not, even allowing for a dinner of pork chops with sauteed apples. So come back tomorrow to see how I finally used them all up.

...and I love it. Who knew something so simple could make my life so much easier?

It's apple season again, and since I have a tendency to buy them every time I see them on sale, by last weekend I had acquired quite a few pounds of them - Fuji, McIntosh, Red Delicious, lots of different varieties.

Time to can.

But who wants to peel all those apples, let alone core and slice them? The problem was solved by a trip to Meijer to buy this nifty gadget:


Just attach to your counter top, impale an apple on the prongs:


Turn the handle, and presto! It peels; it cores: it slices.



I made it through my piles of apples in no time. If you have a composter, throw the cores on there. As for the peels - you can compost them, use them in potpourri, or even use them in an apple peel jam.

All I know is that for $10, I am in love. I'm thinking about trying spuds on it as well.

So now I've peeled my apples, what to make?

First stop - Apple Pie Filling

4 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (I don't really measure mine: I just give a good grating into the bowl)
1 tsp salt
3 tbs lemon juice
10 cups water
6 lbs apples, peeled and sliced - You can use all one variety or a mixture, depending on what you have handy.





Slice your apples using your nifty peeler/slicer and put the slices in a bowl with some water and lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. 


Mix the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large pot. Stir in the water and lemon juice. Cook and stir until bubbly and thick.

Drain your apple slices, and pack into sterilized canning jars, leaving about a half inch of space at the top of each jar. Pour the syrup over the slices, again being sure to leave some space at the top. Seal and put in a hot water bath for about 20 minutes. Leave the jars to cool and make sure the seals are airtight.

Now I have 10 jars of apple pie filling, which should last me a while.


But still more apples, so come back tomorrow to see stage 2 of the great apple fest.

Those of you in Lexington who receive The Chevy Chaser may have noticed a recent article about local food bloggers. Digital and Delicious is a wonderful article about the Kentucky Food Bloggers Association, an informal group of foodies in the Commonwealth, of which I am proud to be a member. So go over there and check out some of my blogging compadres. You'll find a great bunch of people and some fabulous recipes.

I've spent the weekend enjoying BBQ at Danville's Kentucky BBQ Festival and dealing with the many pounds of apples I'd been gathering in my kitchen, so look out for a plethora of apple recipes this week: apple pie filling, apple butter, apple cake....

But for now, I'll share a quick pic from my niece in England. Don't think that making something special has to be a big song and dance. With a touch of food coloring, some mummified gingerbread men, and some Gummi ghosts, Nikita turned a regular boxed cheesecake recipe into a Halloween treat.

Being a good Englishwoman, I like discussing the weather, and it seems to be quite the pastime here in Kentucky. While I am today enjoying the sunshine and marveling over the abundance of new blossoms of my chili pepper plants, just last week we had a couple of days so miserably dark, wet, and cold, I thought I was back in England.

When the weather is that miserable, it's time for some good seasonal comfort food. Since I didn't want to run to the store, I decided to see what I could make from what I had on hand. The following recipe is the result.

Autumn Pork and Pumpkin

1 can pumpkin puree
3 tbs chili and cocoa-infused olive oil
2 onions, chopped
ground ginger and cinnamon
some boneless pork ribs
1 apple
1 can black beans
salt and pepper
chicken broth


Note that the amounts are fairly vague because I was just throwing things in and hoping for the best!

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions for a few minutes. Stir in the cinnamon and ginger and give the onions a good coating. Add the pork to the pan and stir well to ensure it is covered in the spices. Cook for a few minutes until the pork starts to brown.
Add the black beans, pumpkin, and sliced apple, plus some salt and pepper to taste. Stir in some chicken broth to the consistency you like.
Then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

The result was pretty tasty. We had it on mashed potatoes the first night. The next day, Nic had the leftover pork for lunch. I used the rest of the pumpkin and bean sauce as a soup/stew for lunch.