Photo | Adventures in Thyme

Fried-Apple Pie

September 17, 2014 by Dan 1 Comment

Fried-Apple Pie

Fall is in the air and apples are proving gravity does exist and falling in great abundance so catch a few and make a delicious apple pie!

Ingredients:

6 medium to large, tart baking Apples
Butter
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Molasses
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
handful Raisins
1 to 2 tablespoons Raw Sugar
Pie crusts for a 9 inch pie

Instructions:

Peel and slice the apples. Fry the apple slices in a skillet with a pat or two of butter. I fried them about 2 apples worth at a time. You will need 4 cups of fried apples per pie. When done, set aside and let the apples cool until they are warm, not hot.

While the apples cool, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and begin to assemble the rest of the filling.

Beat two eggs. Add the sugar and molasses and stir until well combined. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg stirring to incorporate. Now add the raisins and stir. Add the fried apples. Toss to coat with the egg and sugar mixture.

Using a 9 inch pie pan place one pie crust in the bottom of the pan. Add your apple mixture. Add a top crust (if solid, slit to allow steam to escape.) Beat your remaining egg and brush the crust with the egg. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Place the pie on the middle rack in the oven and bake 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Now you can say you DO follow your Mom’s advice and eat an apple a day, okay there’s some sugar involved, and a wee bit of spice, but still – it’s fruit!

Taco Casserole

September 10, 2014 by Dan Leave a Comment

Taco Casserole

Today we offer you a dish that can be thrown together with little fuss and can easily feed unexpected guests that drop by around meal time. Enjoy!

2 lbs ground Bison (ground beef or ground turkey will work just fine)
1 bag Tortilla Chips (family size, not the individual bags)
1 8oz can Tomato Sauce
1 16oz can Refried Beans
Taco Seasoning (use your own or our recipe here)
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 or 2 fresh Tomatoes, diced

Brown your ground meat. Once it is browned, drain off the fat. Add your favorite taco seasoning (no water) and the 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer. Let cook a few minutes and then remove from heat.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.

Take a 9×13 baking dish and spread the 16 oz. can of refried beans evenly in the bottom. Take two large handfuls of tortilla chips, break them up and incorporate into the meat in your skillet. Take this mixture and spread evening over the top of the refried beans. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the oven and top with tortilla chips. Liberally sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the tortilla chips. Place under your broiler for a few minutes until the tortilla chips begin to toast and the cheese melts. Remove from the over. Top with diced tomato and freshly chopped cilantro. (You could also add avocado, sour cream or your other favorite taco toppings.)

Serve hot. Enjoy.

Fig and Nectarine Tart

September 3, 2014 by Dan Leave a Comment

Fig and Nectarine Tart

This week we have a simple dessert that takes advantage of late summer’s bounty – nectarines and figs. It’s a simple tart that is not only delightful to look at but super yummy too!

1 large Nectarine
2 or 3 ripe Figs
6 ounces Chevre (if you want sweeter, use cream cheese) at room temperature
Pie Dough (homemade or from the grocery store)
1 Egg
Honey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel and slice the nectarine into thin slices (for 4 tarts you will need about 20 slices). Cut the figs into wedges (for 4 tarts you will need about 20 wedges).

Beat the egg until well blended.

Roll your pie dough into 6 inch circles. Onto a parchment covered baking sheet lay the circles of dough. Spread 1.5 ounces of chevre onto each circle, leaving about 1 inch of clean dough around the edges. Lay out your nectarine slices and fig wedges on the cheese. Now, carefully fold the clean edge up and over the fruit and cheese (see photo above). Use a pastry brush and brush all of the exposed pie dough with the egg.

Place your baking sheet in the oven and back for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool until they are warm. Drizzle with honey and serve immediately.

Lamb Tagine with Cherries and Mint

August 27, 2014 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Lamb, Cherry Tajine by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

Lamb, Cherry Tagine

We recently celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary, and what better way to say “I still do” than the gift of a cooking pot. Certainly it fits in with the old saying that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. So here’s to many more years of good loving, and good eating!

A tagine references not only the earthenware pot the meal is cooked in, but the meal itself. Our recipe can also be cooked in a dutch oven or a crockpot, so just use whatever you have on hand.

You will need:

Fresh ginger – 1/2 inch up to 1 inch finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
pat of butter
2 cinnamon sticks
~1/4 cup of honey
~1/2 cup dried cherries
~1/2 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
~1/2 cup pitted dates cut into 1/2 inch pieces
~3 lbs lamb (or beef, or chicken, etc) cubed evenly; if you are using chicken pieces like thighs, just leave as is.
several sprigs fresh mint chopped coarsely
slivered almonds are optional

With a mortar and pestle, carefully grind the ginger and garlic into a paste. Once it has reached the right consistency heat the oil and butter in a fry pan (if you’re using a crockpot) or heat directly in your tagine pot. When the oil is hot, add the paste and incorporate into the oil, then add the cinnamon sticks. After a few minutes the cinnamon aroma will get stronger and the paste will begin to change color, add the meat and sear the outside.

Now add the honey and the dried cherries. Mix gently and then place your dates around the outside ring of the meat, then add enough hot water to fill the bottom of the pot but not to cover the meat. Once the pot begins to boil, turn the heat down, cover and cook approximately one and half hours or until done.

Garnish with whole dates, slivered almonds, chopped mint and pitted, halved fresh cherries.

Serve with couscous or wild rice. Enjoy!

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

August 20, 2014 by Dan Leave a Comment

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

Ever have one of those days where a comforting breakfast after work is just what you need to unwind? Well, we had one of those days. So what better to forget the stress of deadlines and ease “ruffled feathers” then a blueberry pancake with warm maple syrup. Oh, and I did I mention the ricotta? Silly me…

This pancake recipe is based on a standard recipe in many old cookbooks. We’ve modified it for our use here.

Ingredients:

4 cups Flour
2 tablespoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Sugar
4 Eggs
3 cups Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Ricotta (we used ricotta made from sheep’s milk)
1 pound fresh Blueberries
Maple syrup, warmed

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Form a bowl in the center of the dry ingredients.

Lightly beat the 4 eggs and combine the wet ingredients, except for the cheese. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Gently mix the cheese into the batter. Be careful not to over mix the cheese, just gently fold it into the batter. You’ll want some lumps to retain their plumpness – this will make for a yummier pancake later.

Let the batter stand for a few minutes while your griddle heats.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to measure out your batter onto your lightly greased griddle, spread slightly as you pour it on. Immediately place some blueberries into the batter for each pancake (this keeps your pancakes from turning blue.) Cool until golden brown on one side, flip and cook on the other side.

Serve hot with butter, fresh blueberries and warm syrup; and don’t forget your fuzzy slippers. Enjoy!