In Season

APPLES!!!!

Some apple facts:
1. Apples contain Vitamin C and antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of cancer by preventing DNA damage; an apple a day just might keep the doctor away.

2. The seeds of the apple are mildly poisonous, from a chemical called amygdalin, but large amounts of seeds would need to be consumed for any effect to take place.

3. Medium sized apples have approximately 50 calories, 2.5 grams of fiber and 0.2 grams of fat. Not a bad deal!

We went apple picking last weekend, and came home with over 10 pounds of apples, Japanese pears, and yellow peaches.



What to do, what to do.

I was inspired to make an apple tart today. It is extremely easy to do, using store bought puff pastry.
The basics:
Roll out the pastry, cutting 2 lengths vertically, placing them on either side of the pastry to make walls as they puff up.
Brush the middle with melted butter.
Place the cut up apples in the middle, and brush with butter, then shake cinnamon/sugar over them.
Butter the sides as well, and shake cinnamon/sugar over them as well.
Bake at 400 degrees.

Here is the result:



It is delicious.
The apples soften up so the texture is pleasing against the crisp and flaky pastry. Truly a treat, taking copious amounts of self control to not eat the entire thing. Right after I took the pictures, you know I took a huge piece....

Next up, Vanilla Apple Sauce, and my first stab at apple "chips", thinly sliced apples that are baked with a bit of confectioner's sugar in a low oven.