Oatmeal Apple Crisp

Fall colors, cooler temps and apples — a perfect trio, especially when the apples are what’s for dessert, which isn’t something we enjoy every night at The Frog & PenguINN. Treats are always welcome and we spread this one over 2 nights.

Most apple crisp recipes advise using firm apples like Granny Smith or combining a couple of different varieties. Instead, I used a couple of golden delicious and Gala apples combined with oatmeal, sugar, brown sugar (Splenda ® brand), butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange juice, flour, and salt.

Add-ins, like raisins or dried cranberries would have been added if thought of beforehand, but there’s always next time. Also, I  left the peel on and diced not sliced unlike in some recipes that advise peeling and slicing. 

Oatmeal Apple Crisp

• 4-5 apples
• 1/2 C orange juice
• 1/4 to 1/2 C granulated sugar and brown sugar mixed together
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/2 C dried raisins or cranberries (optional)
• 1/2 C chopped nuts (optional)

Topping

• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1/2 C sugar divided: 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 C butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9-inch square or 2-quart baking dish.

1. Core apples and cut into pieces. Add apples to a large bowl with orange zest, orange juice, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir then add to baking dish.
2. To make the crisp topping, combine flour, oats, sugar in a bowl. Add melted butter and stir to moisten flour. Topping should be crumbly before spreading over apples. This can be a “hands on” task.
3. Bake 45-50 minutes until juices thicken, apples are soft, and topping has turned golden brown. If the topping browns too fast, cover with aluminum foil bake until apples are done.

Top with ice cream, whipped cream, or Cool Whip®. This time, we substituted vanilla flavored yogurt as ice cream isn’t a staple here. No topping is OK too, but life’s too short not to treat ourselves. Next time it’s vanilla bean ice cream!

Still Simply Strawberries

It's August already and we are still harvesting strawberries with NO complaints.

The berries now are smaller than the first harvest in early June, followed up by more in late July. Still, they have been simply wonderful to add to other fruit for breakfast, especially in smoothies.

Any unusual happenings in your backyards or gardens? 

Not Quite Ready . . .

That's the best way to describe the fruit growing in the F&P orchard, which includes peach, pear, and apple trees.

While this year's fruit output is uncertain because of lack of rain and extremely hot temps, we're hoping for enough fruit to make a cobbler or pie. The peach trees are overloaded now, but none are ready for picking and quiet a few have already fallen off. 

This week, we gathered up most of those and placed them in a paper bag, hopefully to promote ripening.

And, when (and if) we get enough for Grenville to bake one of his specialty peach pies, y'all are invited for dessert. (Just let Grenville know who's bringing the vanilla ice cream.)

Berry Berry Good (Again)

We SURE do enjoy strawberries at The Frog & PenguINN. Nope these are NOT store-bought or even from a local produce market. These are freshly picked from our own small strawberry patch.

Earlier this season, we enjoyed a LOT of fresh strawberries with breakfast every morning. Then, there were none. It looked like  the patch was done for the season. But, in the past couple of weeks new flowers appeared, then green fruit, and now ripe strawberries have started once again.

These were picked today — delicious sprinkled with some sugar and whipped cream for dessert.

Life is a Bowl of . . .

STRAWBERRIES

Maybe you were thinking cherries?

Grenville is already thinking pies – here’s how the apples are doing . . .

The peaches are coming in fast as well . . .

Peaches and Apples

Last week Grenville posted photos showing the Frog & PenguINN veggie gardens, wildflowers and the orchard. This overview shows the peach and apple trees.
As Grenville said earlier, the peach tree is LOADED this year. We’re planning to freeze some peaches for winter use. Over the weekend, Grenville made a delicious pie with peaches frozen from last year’s harvest. Sorry, we finished the last couple of pieces tonight – they were wonderful served with peach ice cream !

And, a closer view  . . .

The apples are also doing well . . .

Grenville makes a great pie with these too.

And, if any one reading this post is planning to visit the VA eastern shore in late summer, let us know. We’ll save you a piece of pie and some ice cream too. Sorry, no take-outs so you’ll have to come to the Frog & PenguINN  to enjoy this treat.

Grenville’s Peach Pie

Veggies are not the only things that Grenville grew this season . Last week, he harvested peaches from the  dwarf Georgia Belle peach tree planted 3 years ago. Last year, we had a few peaches – enough for a small peach cobbler. This year’s harvest produced enough for a deep dish fresh peach pie. The peaches were small in size, but so sweet in taste.

Grenville’s peach pie that topped off our dinner of freshly made gazpacho. Sorry, you couldn’t be here to enjoy either the soup or the pie., but here’s the pie recipe. And, we know it’s not the same as enjoying a warm slice topped with vanilla bean ice cream. But, if you let us know when you plan to visit, Grenville can bake another one. Of course, you’ll have to wait until next year’s harvest.

Grenville’s Peach Pie

This recipe is adapted from The Old Farmer’s Almanac Best Home Baking cookbook with some TLC preparation by Grenville.

Boil peaches to soften skin for easy removal. Grenville will tell you this is not an easy task – peach pits DO get HOT.

• Prepare pastry for a double crust 9-inch pie or open a box of Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, like we do.
• ¾ C sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• ¼ - ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Dash of salt
• 4 C peeled and sliced peaches (skin peaches)
• 2 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a deep dish pie plate with a crust.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add peaches and toss gently to coat.
3. Pour into bottom crust and dot with butter.
4. Top with either a plain or lattice crust.
5. Sprinkle in a little more sugar and cinnamon – on top too.
6. Bake  40 - 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and peaches are tender.

Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream.
Got milk?  This dessert tastes great with a cold glass of milk

Enjoy ! (we did)

Peachy GA Facts

• The first peaches were planted in the state in the eighteenth century, and the first commercial production occurred in the mid-nineteenth century.
  
• Georgia ranks 3rd nationally in acreage devoted to peaches with more than 15,000 acres and in production behind California and South Carolina.
  
• The Belle of Georgia peach, also called the Georgia Belle peach, was named after Mrs. Belle Hall of Ft. Valley, Georgia.
  
• Samuel Henry Rumph, a Marshallville peach grower, discovered a new peach variety in 1870, which he named Elberta for his wife. The Elberta peach was the leading Georgia peach until 1960. Newer varieties, the J. H. Hale and Belle of Georgia, replaced the Elberta in commercial use.
  
• Rumph is considered the father of the Georgia Peach Industry due to his use of refrigerated rail cars for rapid shipments to northern markets on a large scale.
  
• There is no significant processing of peaches in Georgia. Nearly all peaches grown there are sold in the wholesale fresh market, with a small percentage sold at roadside markets.
  
• Augusta National Golf Club, home to the annual Masters Tournament is the former site of Fruitland Nurseries. This 365-acre site was the old Berckmans nursery, which introduced  fruits, including peaches, for statewide distribution.

Pineapple-Orange Smoothie

What would you think about a shake to start the day?

Sounds like a good idea to Grenville and I too. So smoothies have become a breakfast staple here. This one was  Grenville’s birthday treat last week.

Blending fruit together is way more fun than fixing a fruit cup. You just toss everything together and blend away – easy! Our Braun® stick blender was feeling neglected with the recent purchase of a new Kitchen Aid® immersion blender, so it was the “tool” of choice.
We always have several types of fresh fruit at the F&P. 

This one was made with: 1 C orange juice,
1 banana, ½ C  canned pineapple, ¼ to ½ C vanilla yogurt.

I’ve been tastily experimenting with smoothie ingredients and found out that amounts can vary – according to what’s in the house, and personal taste too. And, if the fruit is sweet enough, there’s no need to add sugar. The canned pineapple added enough natural sweetness to this blend. Vanilla flavoring is a nice additive too.

My smoothie ingredients have included:  bananas, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, kiwi, yogurt (vanilla usually) and either orange juice or milk – usually 1 C.

Fruit milkshake for breakfast!

Works for us . . . How about You?

Smooth & Easy Breakfast

Breakfast the past couple of weeks has been a variety of breakfast smoothies using the immersion blender  bought this month with proceeds from a May yard sale.

With the recent HOT weather here, these smoothies have been  delicious and easier than making a fruit salad, which is the way we used to enjoy fruit at breakfast – BIB (before immersion blender).
As for recipes, there are countless variations available in books or on the Internet. A few were included in the blender booklet, but it’s usually been a case of what’s in the fridge or on the countertop as far as the ingredients list.  Some basics include” blueberries, strawberries, banana, yogurt, vanilla, honey or sugar or sugar substitute (optional). Depending on the sweetness of the fruit, the sweet items can be left out.

Here are some Frog & PenguINN favorites.

Orange Banana-Berry Smoothie

• 1 large banana, peeled and cut up
• ½ C hulled and halved strawberries
• ¼ C orange juice
• 1 tsp honey

Strawberry, Blueberry, Banana Smoothie

• ¼ C strawberries, hulled and halved
• ¼ C blueberries, washed and de-stemmed
• 1 C cold milk
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Peach, Strawberry, Banana Smoothie

• 1 large banana
• ½ C strawberries
• 1 large peach cut up
• 1 tsp sugar or honey

With all the above variations:  Place ingredients in blending container. Blend for a few seconds to chop and then an additional 10-15 seconds until smooth.

Update:  It sold – the Nordic Track, that is, NOT the house. An earlier blog post told how the posting of a For Sale by Owner sign brought unexpected reactions at the yard sale.

Breakfast  Smoothies – Perfect for Summertime

Immerse Yourself…

In a good stick blender, hand blender, wand blender, or what some celebrity chefs call  it – a  boat motor.
This is this one handy kitchen tool.  We had an older one in our  appliance collection that was part of Grenville’s contribution when we combined household goods over a decade ago. This past fall I “discovered” it when pureeing butternut squash soup. It  was made Braun® and is shown on the left and we still have it.

But THIS week, we upgraded to a Kitchen Aid ® immersion blender. Yes, here at the F&P we have brand loyalty as far as some kitchen stuff goes – the blender, food processor, stand mixer, hand mixer are ALL Kitchen Aid and the coffee pot too. We’ve never had a problem with KA ever received a new coffee maker when there was a product recall. So, do we stick by this product line – YOU BET!

Remember that yard sale a couple of weekends ago?  Some of the dollars (and there weren’t many) went for this NEW unit.  This  week we used is to make smoothies on mornings when Grenville can't decide what he wants for breakfast. We just gather whatever fruit is around – blueberries, strawberries, bananas – add some milk, sugar (or honey), vanilla, a  couple of ice cubes and blend away.

Next week we’ll add yogurt because a friend told me it makes thicker smoothies. (It’s already on the shopping list.)

Here’s the blueberry – strawberry smoothies we enjoyed this morning.

Banana Bread Redux

Banana bread is fast becoming a favorite easy recipe because, Yes we have some bananas and overripe ones too in the F&P kitchen. And, just like meatloaf recipes, there are lots of banana bread recipes. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a "quick and easy" banana bread recipe, but Grenville, the F&P official taste tester, thought it needed to be moister, so here's an updated recipe. This one includes some things the earlier one didn't include: baking soda, yogurt (plain), and oil. If you don't like nuts, then skip them.

One more thing, we had LOTS of ripe bananas (6), so this doubled recipe makes 2 loaves. One to give away and one to keep because we had to taste sample one - it passed!

Banana Bread Redux (makes 2 loaves)
5-6 ripe bananas, well mashed
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 C canola oil
2 C flour
1 1/4 C sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 C plain low-fat yogurt

OPTIONAL: 1 C chopped nuts - any type: walnuts, pecans (your choice)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 loaf pans (8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ in.). Mash bananas, then add eggs, vanilla, oil and sugar. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add banana mixture - then add nuts and blend. Divide batter between loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Remove and cool on rack.

Going Bananas and Nuts

There they were just sitting in the fruit bowl – 3 slightly overripe bananas and I could almost taste them in a freshly baked loaf of bread. But, Grenville had just used the remaining milk on his cereal, so I had to find a recipe which did not use milk...here it is from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Banana Nut Bread
3 ripe bananas, well mashed
2 eggs, well beaten
2 C flour
¾ C sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan (8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ in.). Mix bananas and eggs together in large bowl Stir in flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add walnuts and blend. Add batter to pan and bake for 1 hour. Remove and cool on rack.

F&P variation: Reduced sugar and added ½ C of homemade applesauce, also ½ tsp vanilla flavoring, and ¼ tsp cinnamon and nutmeg.

Delicious served warm or cooled with a cold glass of milk. (And the F&P kitchen smelled wonderful while it was baking)

Applesauce - Homemade, Easy and Good

The applesauce jar said it was “all natural” which was not entirely true, unless you like corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, both of which we want to avoid. Apples were on sale in the produce section, so homemade applesauce seemed a better idea. To say this was easy is putting it mildly. It’s SO simple: core, peel and cut apples, add water and sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook down. Some cookbooks suggest using a food mill to process the cooked apples, especially if cooking them unpeeled (this way is supposed to produce a better taste). My version used about 8 apples (mix of granny smith, gala and white delicious), added some sugar and spices and added a half cup of cranberries, just because it made for a colorful applesauce. The cinnamon stick is optional too. We enjoyed the applesauce on oatmeal cereal today (not the instant version).

Easy Homemade Applesauce
6-8 apples, peeled, cored, coarsely cut up
½ C sugar
¼ C brown sugar
¾ to 1 C water
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon (to taste)
Cinnamon stick broken up - optional (wondered what to do with these)
½ C cranberries - optional (had some frozen)

Put all ingredients into a heavy duty pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. I used a potato masher to mash the apples and cranberries as they cooked. Remember to remove the pieces of cinnamon stick.