More Canning - Apple Butter!!!

It's fall, new crop apples have arrived, and that means apple butter!!!  Apple butter is super easy to make.  The hardest part is peeling, coring, and slicing the apples, but it's worth the time and effort to have your own apple butter to put on your toast, dinner rolls, or fried biscuits.  (Apple butter was MADE for fried biscuits!)  If you want to try your hand at making preserves, apple butter is a good place to start - it doesn't require the exactitude of making jelly or jam, but still delivers the same satisfaction of self-sufficiency, plus you get to learn a new skill!  How awesome is THAT?

Here's the recipe I use.  It must be pretty good; when she was tiny, my oldest granddaughter used to eat it with a spoon like applesauce!

Apple Butter (about 6 12-oz jars)

6 c apple cider
6 lb apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1 1/2 c sugar
1T cinnamon
1 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground cloves

In a large pot, bring cider to a boil.  Add apples, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally about 45 minutes.  Add sugar and spices, stir until well blended.  Cook over medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick and smooth, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

OR...

In the evening, place the apples and cider in a large (6 1/2-quart) slow cooker, and cook them on low overnight with the lid ajar.  In the morning, stir to break up the apples, add sugar and spices and stir until well blended.  Continue cooking on low with the lid ajar, stirring occasionally, until thick and smooth like applesauce.  Because slow cookers vary, I can't give you a specific timeframe.  My latest batch in the slow cooker took a total of 15 hours; however, I used 10 pounds of apples instead of 6 and adjusted the other ingredients (except the apple cider - I only had 7 cups).  You need to check the apples about once an hour to see how they are progressing!

I like my apple butter a little chunky, but you can use an immersion/stick blender to make it smoother, more like "store-bought."

TO CAN:  Ladle into clean jars, adjust the lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove from the boiling water bath and let cool overnight before removing the rings.  (I know this is an abbreviated version of the process, but full instructions are available here).  

OR...

Ladle into freezer containers, let cool, and freeze.

My Favorite Summer Soup - Gazpacho - A Quick and Easy Pantry Recipe

I learned about gazpacho (gahs-PAH-cho) in high school Spanish class.  It's a tomato-based cold soup (stay with me, here - it's delicious!) originating in Andalusia (southern Spain) that's perfect for those hot hot hot summer days when nothing much sounds good except a plunge into a bathtub full of ice water.  When I first served it to That Man, I told him to think of it as a salad, because that's basically what it is.

The original recipe I have is preprinted on a 3x5 card.  I'd sent away for a packet of these recipes from Campbell's - yes, the soup people!  I tried a few of them and kept a couple - one for fettuccine alfredo and this one for gazpacho.  The original version makes quite a bit - just about 9 cups counting all the vegetables (which is nearly half again as much as what the recipe says it will make!), but I'll give you my cut down version first.  You'll need a blender that can crush ice for my blender version.


Quick Blender Gazpacho

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup
1 c ice and water (I put crushed or cubed ice in a measuring cup, then fill it with water)
1/4 t garlic powder (or more, if you're a garlic aficionado like I am!)
1 slice bread, toasted
4 t vinegar
2 t olive oil
1/3 c chopped bell pepper (any color)
2 T chopped onion
2/3 c chopped cucumber, divided

1/3 c chopped tomato

Put everything in the blender except for half of the chopped cucumber and all the chopped tomato.  Put the lid on the blender and puree until everything is well blended.  By the time you serve the soup, all the ice should be melted, and the soup should be good and cold.  You should be able to get 3 to 4 small bowls of soup from this recipe.  Serve the soup topped with the remaining chopped cucumber and the chopped tomato.  If you want, you can omit the toast and add some croutons to the toppings. although authentic gazpacho has bread in the soup.  Because I use ice as part of the water, you can serve this right away, instead of having to chill it for 4 or more hours before serving.


Here's the original recipe, as printed on the card from Campbell's:


Gazpacho (soups / sauces)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's Tomato Soup
3 cups cold water
1/4 cup wine vinegar
2 cups chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
Croutons

In a small saucepan, cook garlic in olive oil; combine in a large bowl with soup, water, and vinegar.  Chill for 4 hours.  Serve in chilled bowls.  Pass chilled vegetables and croutons for garnish.  Makes about 6 1/2 cups.

Blender Version:  Cook garlic as above.  Combine in electric blender with 1 can soup, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup cucumber, 1/4 cup green pepper, 2 tablespoons onion, and 2 slices toast.  Blend until smooth; combine in a large bowl with remaining soup, water, and vinegar.  Chill as above.  Garnish with remaining vegetables.

TESTED RECIPE / HOME ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT / CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY

Toys in the Kitchen Part 5, and Blender Quiche

My friend Karen, whose blog I follow, posted a recipe for quiche a few weeks ago (see it here) and I was inspired!  Oh, her recipe sounded so good, but it makes too much for my measly 9-inch, 1-inch-deep aluminum pie pan, as compared to her monster 11-inch, nearly 2-inch-deep ceramic one.  I guess I could scale it down to my size pan.

But then I thought - duh!  I have two perfectly good quiche recipes in my card file.  I haven't made a quiche in years.  I have two Real Men living here in the house, and as those of us of a Certain Age "know," Real Men Don't Eat Quiche!  LOL!  But they like eggs and cheese and onions and BACON (bacon makes everything better), so...

I got out my trusty old Black & Decker Crush Master blender and went to town.  Because this quiche is mixed in the blender, lots of air gets incorporated into the mix, which makes the quiche light and puffy instead of heavy and dense.  That Boy even ate his entire serving without picking out the vegetables!

I got in a hurry and forgot to
flute or crimp the pie crust!
It still tasted good!

Blender Quiche

4 eggs

1 c milk

1 T flour

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/4 t nutmeg

1/2 bunch of green onions, cut in 1"-2" pieces, including tops

1 1/2 c (6 oz) shredded swiss cheese

4 slices cooked bacon, cut into 1" pieces

1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and set the rack in the middle position.  Put the first six ingredients in the blender and mix well.  Stop and add the onions, cheese, and bacon.  Pulse until the pieces are about 1/2" in size (6-10 times).  Pour into pie crust.  Bake 35-40 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

TIPS:  You can just spray the pie pan or dish if you don't want the calories from the crust, add mushrooms, use a medium onion cut into eighths for the green onions, substitute light or whipping cream for the milk, or substitute cheddar cheese for swiss. 

For Quiche Lorraine, use 12 slices of bacon (1/2 pound before cooking), 1 c swiss (Gruyere) cheese, 1/3 c onion, light or whipping cream for the milk, no nutmeg, 1/4 t sugar, and 1/8 t cayenne red pepper.  Keep the eggs, flour, and salt.