Flooded

This week I've been flooded in more ways than one. First by torrential rain and then with ideas on how to increase market sales. Here's what went on....

The July 9th flood has kept me busy, not only at our place but also by taking pictures and writing a story about it for the Galion Inquirer. The timing of such things is never good, but it made this week especially challenging for me because our Lodi and Yellow Transparent apples are ready to harvest. I set up at two farmers markets; NorthSide Farmers Market in Galion and Lil' Farmers Market in Bucyrus.

Above is one of 13 pictures that I tool for the paper. It was taken this morning, 3 days after the flood. You can see that the waters cut a river through a field that ran from one road, on the north, clear to the next road south. During the highest water level, the water crossed the road and continued on through the next field.

For tomorrow's market in Bucyrus, I baked 8 pot-pie sized apple crisps. This is a test to see if people will buy them, and how many I should plan on making if they do. I have mixed feelings about it; on the one hand, it would be great to have people love my food enough to buy it and will increase my market sales (of which I am planning ways to double the amount that we sold last year..no small feat for sure!); on the other hand, peeling that many apples is very time consuming and tiresome. If the idea works out, I will definitely have to adjust my time management in order to get everything done that needs taken care of before a market. But, as they say..."nothing ventured, nothing gained". I won't know if I'll be bringing crisps home with me or if the crowd will gobble them up. Either way, tomorrow is going to be an interesting day. And at least we can now safely drive around in our county again.

Marcheta *flood gates open and going with the flow

Easy Apple Crisp

 
It may seem early in the season to most people for apples to be ready to harvest because we think of apples as an autumn crop. Here in Ohio, we have two early varieties that ripen in July: Lodi and Yellow Transparent.
 
 
This year we have a good crop of both Lodi and Yellow Transparent. I have to hustle fast to get them used up and sold because these apples ripen fast and are not keepers. The best uses are for applesauce, pies, and crisps. Both are very tart. If you like extremely tart apples, these will definitely pack a punch in a salad or eaten raw!
 
 
Here is the recipe that I am going to use to make a crisp today with a few exceptions. I found it at Island Hearth and Handicrafts.  The only thing that I will do differently is to simply mix the topping ingredients together in a bowl and cut in the butter with a knife. Oh, and I also add a teaspoon or so of cinnamon in the topping mix. :)

If you have apple pie spice in your cupboard and that is what you like better, then substitute it. This is the glory of making crisps, we can customize them to fit our tastes.
 
 
Easy Apple Crisp
 
Fruit layer:
3 - 4 pounds of fresh apples, peeled and sliced, tossed with a blend of 1 - 2 teaspoon of cinnamon and  1/2 to 1 cup of sugar (depending on tartness of apple and how sweet you like your dessert to be).
 
 
Topping:
 
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. flour (can use whole wheat pastry if you like)
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt OR 1/2 teaspoon table salt
 
Pulse the ingredients in a food processor until combined.
Next add
1/2 c. butter that is chilled and cut into small pieces.
Pulse until butter is cut into flour/oat mixture
 
Grease a 9 x 12 baking dish. Layer apples into dish and cover with topping.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes - one hour, until apples are soft in the middle and bubbling at the edges.


A side benefit to making this crisp is the wonderful aroma that will fill your home :)

Marcheta * putting on baker's hat

 

Easier than Pie

Car troubles caused yesterday's plans to take a different direction, so I am a 'day late and dollar short', as they say, in posting the recipe that I like for apple crisp.

I love making crisps because they are not fussy. In fact, you don't really need a recipe because, like soups, stews, stir-fries, etc., making a crisp is a process:

Core and slice apples and put in a greased or buttered pan
Sprinkle brown sugar, maple sugar, or drizzle maple syrup or honey over apples (but not all of them..LOL)
Add a small amount of liquid, such as apple juice, cider or orange juice
Dot with a small amount of butter
Sprinkle your favorite spice mix on top, such a apple pie spice or simply cinnamon and nutmeg

Make a topping by cutting oatmeal into a stick of butter or margarine
Add spices and/or sweetener to the mix

Put mix on top of apples and bake in a moderate oven until apples are tender, in my oven it takes about 45 minutes.

Here is a detailed recipe from All Recipes, a website that I refer to often.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Apple-Crisp-with-Honey/Detail.aspx

This same process works for peaches, pears, any fruit, really. I also use this recipe when our pears are ripe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Cranberry-and-Pear-Crisp/Detail.aspx

Marcheta *bon appetit

Cryogenic Apples

 

Apples do well in deep freezes. For instance:

 



 

From This:

 

 

 

 

To  This:

 

 

To This:

 

 

 

Here's part of the path:

1. buds are hibernating in winter's frigid temperatures
2. harvested apples are sliced and stored in a freezer
3. TA DA!  while new buds hibernate, we enjoy a hot apple crisp!

The months between sleeping buds and hot desserts include a lot of work, of course. Pruning, spraying, mowing, harvesting, freezing.

Is it worth it?

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!


Marcheta *smacking lips

P.S. need to leave now, will post an update later today with apple crisp recipe. Promise.