A is for Apple (sauce) B is for Baklava

   A IS FOR APPLE (SAUCE) B IS FOR BAKLAVA

   Now that Northshore has two weeks of school wrapped up,  and we anxious grandmas can breathe easy about our little kindergarten Zebras and Kittens getting on the correct bus, let's take a moment and say thanks to the school folks: bus drivers, aides, administrators, custodians, maintenance crews, groundskeepers, administrative assistants, crossing guards, cooks, recess teachers, nurses, coaches, librarians, volunteers, and of course: parents and teachers. If I left someone out, please know that it wasn't intentional. You all deserve an apple and an A+ for your efforts, because a successful school year takes all of us!

   Nowadays, teachers are more likely to receive a coffee card than an apple as a gift of appreciation, but we can certainly give ourselves an apple as a reward. Apples are beautiful and varied; apples figure in arts and literature. Apples are delicious and versatile and healthful. Apples are portable and practical. I'm even creating this document on an Apple.

   The start of the school year finds us in the season apples are harvested. This is the time of year you should be eating apples. This is the time of year that you should be cooking with apples, and preserving apples. 

   Not only are they absolutely fresh and at the peak of perfection,  you can find great prices on apples, too. I can't promise that they'll remain at this price for the rest of our season, but currently new crop, locally grown Golden Delicious are just 69 cents per pound, and the 22 lb. box is 12.99.  So, sauce?

   "What's the best apple for applesauce?" is a FAQ for which there is no single answer. It's like asking "Which is best: chocolate or vanilla?" It's personal preference; some people like sweet apples, some people like tart apples, and most apples make great sauce. Eat some apples, see which ones tickle your fancy, and use those for sauce.

   For silky texture and tart, complex flavor, you can't beat Gravenstein. They're an apple of late summer, and may be gone by the time you read this. Their season is fleeting because they aren't a good candidate for long term storage, so you need to enjoy them when you see them in August and September. I love sauce made from Gravenstein.

   My second choice for a sauce apple is Jonagold. Jonagold is everything I like in an apple: sweet with a tangy kick, crisp and juicy. Some people like to make sauce from a blend of apples, but in my opinion, Jonagold is the perfect sauce apple because it's pre-blended---it's a cross between two heirlooms: Jonathon and Golden Delicious, so the tart and the sweet are naturally present.

(ask Tyler about his favorite apple, it'll surprise you)

   But don't let my favorites deter you from experimenting! You can be a small batch, artisinal sauce maker quite easily, and put up batches of different varieties, sampling to see which you prefer. About 5 large apples yields a pint and a half of applesauce, so it's easy to do a batch a day, especially if you use the slow-cooker method.

   Another labor saver is the fact that applesauce is a great candidate for freezing, which couldn't be easier. Simply ladle sauce into freezer containers (bags, jars, plastic storage containers) and freeze. Quality will be best if eaten within a year.

                                                                      SLOW COOKER  APPLESAUCE

   I have a small size slow cooker, and it's perfect for small batches of sauce. Wash, peel and core about 5 large apples, chop into uniform chunks, about 1”. Place in slow cooker with a scant amount of water or apple cider (about 2 tablespoons). Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon if desired. If you think you should use sugar, might I suggest that what you really want is a sweeter apple? Personally, I don't think sugar belongs in applesauce.

   Cover cooker, set it on low, go to work, work hard all day, and come home to applesauce! Remove the lid of the slow cooker and carefully stir the apples to reduce the lumps. Perfectionists may like to run the sauce through a food mill or sieve, but that's not something you'll find me doing. Ladle into a container, cool to room temp, put a lid on it or zip it up. Label it with the date and apple variety, toss it in the freezer, and you're done. 

(ain't using this device)

Saucy Suggestions:

Sweet apples for sauce: Gala, Golden Delicious, Cameo, Transparents

Tart apples for sauce: Gravenstein, Granny Smith

Sweet/tart apples for sauce: Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Gingergold

                                                                                        BAKLAVA

   Whenever I have baklava, I remember the first time I ate it: in Everett on a 7th grade field trip to a Greek restaurant with our history teacher, Mr. C. Williams. That year at Canyon Park Junior HIgh we had two Mr. Williams, so when speaking about your teacher named Williams, you had to say Mr. C or Mr. T. Williams. 

   Mr. C. Williams was an Everett native and had been a firefighter who came to teaching in his 30s. He was so handsome, and such a mod dresser---plaid bell bottoms! A favorite with all the students, he was kind and thoughtful, a wonderful teacher and a great fit at CPJH. We studied under him for two years, until he lost his life  just before the start of the school year, in Venice, Italy,  drowning when a storm hit the town.

    Though our relationship was short and his life was too brief, he made a deep impression on a lot of us CPJH Knights of a certain vintage. Thank you teachers---you never know how long your influence reverberates down the life of your students. So, here's to you, Chester A. Williams III, and to the memories I revive every time I eat this treat.

                         

l lb. finely chopped walnuts (I used two of YFM's 7.5 oz bags of walnuts, close enough)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

phyllo dough (find it in the frozen dessert section in grocery stores; one 16 oz. package contains two tubes of filo sheets. You only need one tube.)

1 cup melted butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

preheat oven 350

   Finely chop walnuts, place in a medium bowl and toss with cinnamon, set aside. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl.

   Using a pastry brush, coat bottom of a 9x13 pan with butter. Carefully open and unroll one tube of filo sheets. Lay a single sheet in bottom of pan, brush with butter. Lay another sheet on top, brush with butter. Sprinkle with a scant 1/2 cup of nut mixture, repeat with  more butter brushed sheets (2 sheets each time) and nut layers, and continue alternating buttered sheets and nuts. For final layer, use 4 filo sheets.

   Before baking, cut baklava into diamond shapes, working on the diagonal. If you're a visual learner, sketch some diagrams for yourself on paper before cutting. It helps me to see it before I do it. There's 2 reasons it needs to be cut before baking: the filo shatters and is messy if you try to cut it after it's baked, and the syrup needs the cuts to absorb into the pastry. Bake 50 minutes at 350, check after about 10 minutes and cover with foil if necessary to prevent over -browning.

   Abut midway through baking time, combine water, sugar, honey and lemon zest in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for final 20 minutes of bake time. 

   When pastry is done, remove from oven, place on a wire rack. Stir vanilla into hot syrup and immediately spoon syrup over hot pastry. Let cool completely. Serve from baking pan or carefully remove diamond shaped pieces, place in cupcake papers and serve individual pieces.

*Baklava isn't difficult to make, it just looks complicated. Choose your favorite honey, light, dark, flavored. Pistachios are also a traditional nut, used in place of walnuts, and many versions are flavored with rosewater or drizzled with melted chocolate when cool. 

Enjoy apple season and back-to-school season! Here's wishes for a great school year!

Fruitfully yours,

KARIN