*taptaptap*....is this thing on?? Heheheh....yes, I'm still alive, I am just without a home computer and writing full-fledged posts on a smart phone belies it's name. I have posted several new offerings on my facebook page (bitchinvittles of course), so you can look there since I haven't figured our if I can link the two of the accounts together and don't feel like it right now. And that's how I roll....except at my real job, THAT I take super seriously and I'm not saying that just because this is out there in cyber "everyone can read it* land. REALLY.
I really am a bit of a mess....wicked bad arthritis in one knee, plantar fasciitis in one foot, Achilles tendinitis in the other, and bone spurs aplenty in all of them. No matter what I wear I am sporting New Balance walking shoes, white for casual and gray for more formal attire....they cost dang near as much as Manolo's, so if you see me in a cocktail dress cut down/up to there, remember that my walking shoes look far better with it than me belly crawling across the floor. I graduated to a pair of "engineered" sandals, and they're pretty cute....but the jury's still out, I wore them today to Ikea so whether I sleep tonight without lightning bolts in my heel or not will determine if they're good enough support until my healing is complete. I hope so...spending the summer in walking shoes is not my idea of fun....my toes need their freedom!!
Last fall Handsome Stranger and I drove alllllll the way to Hood River, Oregon to pick our favorite apples right off beautifully manicured and well taken care of trees at Kiyokawa Family Farms, and got a little carried away....I think we had in the realm of 70 POUNDS of apples just for us, but it was SO MUCH FUN picking it was hard to stop. My favorite is the Pink Lady (or Cripp's Pink), and they were not u-picking them, but as they were in season, we were able to get them out of the stand, but my honey's pick is always Cameo's, and they were thick and heavy on those trees, just screaming to be picked! It didn't take long to load up our wagon, and it is truly amazing how good an apple is you just picked off the tree yourself....they are my second favorite, and we bought so many it brought the price down so it was fine by me.
We eat a LOT of apples on WW....it's free, they are filling, conquer the sweet cravings, and have tons of fiber and bulk - but maybe not 70 lbs. worth. After a couple months, HS decided that they were starting to soften just a tad, so he would cull out the ones that were aging and whip out a batch of applesauce, no sugar added. I have to tell you, that is the best damn applesauce I have EVER had....it was velvety smooth, sweet and tart, and be darned if a thick layer of it on top of demon oatmeal made me think I was eating apple not-so-crisp. I already miss it, but next year we may have to up the tally to 150 lbs and he can make half into sauce!
I can also find other uses for these beauties....they made great pie, fantastic apple sour cream coffee cake (recipe is in here somewhere), and one my new favorites, Apple German Cake from the good folks at Bob's Red Mill. They have a store in Milwaukie, and I visited there today....I walked over to the goody case they sell their baked goods from, and didn't see it there, but there was an empty shelf with a blank tag. I turned the tag around and sure enough "Apple German Cake" was written on it, and a lady who was hovering said "Apple cake, huh?" I said "HOW can they be OUT??", and she says "Yeah, I know...." and we both walked away with tears in our eyes...oh BOB, how COULD you??
Neither one of us trusts ourselves enough to make it because we know it's kryptonite, but maybe for Easter?? Here it is....I'm not putting it in there, but the recipe does call for some of Bob's products, feel free to use those or whatever you have on hand :-)
Bob's Red Mill Apple German Cake
This cake is not fancy; it's very dark when baked, and has no topping at all....do NOT let that fool you. It packs and apple punch like you won't believe, and it's sweet, dense, and moist as all get-out....the most I think I would attempt to fancy it up is put a pretty stencil on top and sprinkle with powdered sugar, but trust me when I say no one will care while they are stuffing it in their face. And it's RIDICULOUSLY easy...
2 C. Unbleached white flour
2 C. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
4 cups peeled apple, chopped in 1/2-3/4" cubes
1 C. walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
Heat oven to 350, grease 9x13 pan.
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in large mixing bowl, set aside. In medium mixing bowl combine eggs, apple, walnuts, oil, and vanilla; stir together until well mixed, then pour into dry mix and stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 40-45 minutes; cool and serve plain, with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
Enjoy the apple-y and spicy goodness, and think of green orchards against a backdrop of a beautiful snow-capped mountain rising into the bluest of skies....it was a pretty awesome experience, you should do it at least once before your knees and feet give out completely!
