no bake apple walnut tart

This apple tart is a Reader favorite. The healthy date and nut crust allows you to indulge in a delicious healthy dessert without compromising flavor. And one serving of this tart provides an excellent source of those hard-to-find, healthy-promoting omega-3 fatty acids. Enjoy!
No-Bake Apple Walnut Tart Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes, chilling time: about 1 hour

Ingredients:

* Crust
* 2½ cups walnuts
* 1½ cups dates (Medjool dates work well)
* sea salt to taste
*

* Filling
* 3 green apples, such as Granny Smith, sliced
* juice of 1 lemon in 2 cups water
* ¼ tsp cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp allspice
* 1/8 tsp ground clove
* 2 TBS honey
* ½ cup apple juice
* ¼ cup raisins

Directions:

1. Combine walnuts and dates in food processor. Make sure you remove pits if dates have them and cut off end where stem was. Process until well mixed and ground, but not smooth (about 40 seconds). It should be a coarse texture when done. Press evenly into a 9-inch tart pan. Set in refrigerator while making the filling.
2. Slice apples by cutting into quarters. Cut out core and slice crosswise in ¼ inch thick slices. Put into lemon water while you finish cutting apples. Drain well in colander when done.
3. Place apples in a large skillet with rest of the ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently on medium heat.
4. Remove apples with a slotted spoon from hot pan to a bowl and cool completely.
5. Reduce liquid to about half the volume and then cool.
6. Spread apples evenly over crust. Brush apple-juice syrup over apples. The tart can be served right away or it will keep in refrigerator until needed. Keep tart covered in refrigerator so it doesn't pick up moisture. Top with a little vanilla yogurt if desired.

Serves 8

Healthy Cooking Tips:

This crust is fantastic if prepared correctly. First of all, it is important to choose dates that are firm and not too gooey. Zahidi dates are usually good for this. When processing your crust you may have to do it in two batches. Combine half the dates and half the walnuts in each batch. Process well, but do not make the mixture too smooth. You should not process more than 40 seconds for each batch. You want to have a coarse texture that is ground enough to hold together when pressed. Take a pinch of crust between your fingers and press it together. If it is over processed the crust will end up pasty and will not be good. If it is not quite ground enough it won't hold together. You can get a good idea of the consistency by looking at our photo.

jalapeno apple jelly

from Simply recipes/Elise:

i am making this now. used habaneros instead of jalapenos, and one small green pepper with one red banana peppers. no cranberries available. all peppers from the backyard. i used about half of the seeds, or a third. it tastes spicy but not alarming. no food coloring. it's a light grass stain in color.

****I cooked this too long, waiting for the wrinkled effect on a cold plate. obviously the wrinkle is fainter than i'd expected.********

Tart green apples have more pectin in them than sweet apples, so use tart green apples for this recipe, earlier in the season the better. This is especially true if you are not also using cranberries, as cranberries have their own natural pectin as well.
Ingredients

* 4 lbs of tart apples (e.g. Granny Smith), unpeeled, chopped into big pieces, including the cores
* 6 jalapeño chili peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, the seeds and ribs removed from 3 of them (for mildly hot jelly. If you want a hotter jelly leave the seeds and ribs in all of them.)
* 1 green bell pepper (or red if you want the color), seeds and ribs removed, chopped
* 1 cup cranberries (optional but recommended, will help with color and with setting)
* 3 cups water
* 3 cups white vinegar
* 3 1/2 cups sugar (7/8 cup for each cup of juice)

Equipment Needed

* One 6-quart pan (Stainless steel or copper with stainless steel)
* A candy thermometer
* A large fine mesh sieve (or several layers of cheesecloth, or a muslin cloth jelly bag)
* 4-5 half-pint canning jars

Combine the apple pieces, apple cores (needed for their pectin content), jalapenos, bell pepper, cranberries (if using), water and vinegar in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low, simmering for about 20 minutes, or until the apples, cranberries, and peppers are soft. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan where it might burn. Use a potato masher to mash up the apple pieces to the consistency of slightly runny apple sauce. If the mash is too thick, add more water.

jalapeno-jelly-6.jpg jalapeno-jelly-7.jpg

2 Spoon the mash into a fine mesh sieve, muslin cloth, or a couple layers of cheesecloth, suspended over a large bowl. Leave to strain for several hours (even overnight). If you want a clear jelly, do not squeeze or force through the mesh. Just let it drip. If you want a fuller flavor jelly and don't mind that the result won't be clear, you can force some of the pulp through the mesh. If your pulp is too thick, and nothing is coming out, you can add an extra 1/2 cup or cup of water to it. You want to end up with about 4 cups of juice.

3 Measure the juice, then pour into a large, wide, thick-bottomed pot. Add the sugar (7/8 a cup for each cup of juice). Heat gently, stirring to make sure the sugar gets dissolved and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

4 Bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes, using a spoon to skim off the surface scum. Continue to boil until a candy thermometer shows that the temperature has reached 220-222°F (8-10°F above the boiling point at your altitude). Additional time needed for cooking can be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or longer, depending on the amount of water, sugar, and apple pectin in the mix.


Jelly is wrinkling when pushed, which means it's ready.

Candy thermometers aren't always the most reliable indicators of whether or not a jelly is done. Another way to test is put a half teaspoonful of the jelly on a chilled (in the freezer) plate. Allow the jelly to cool a few seconds, then push it with your fingertip. If it wrinkles up, it's ready.

5 Pour jelly into sterilized jars* to within 1/4" from the top and seal.

Makes approx. 4 half-pint jars.

Serve with cream cheese on crackers.

*There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

Note that jalapeno jelly can be pretty "hot" if you have included a lot of the seeds in your cooking. The fat molecules in the cream cheese absorb the hot capsaicin of the jalapenos, reducing the heat, but leaving the flavor of the chiles. This is also why sour cream tastes so good with spicy Mexican food.

10-Minute Apple Sundae

This is a great way to start the day or end a meal!
10-Minute Apple Sundae Prep and Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

* 2 apples
* 2 TBS almond butter
* 1/4 cup maple syrup
* 1-1/2 tsp almond extract
* 2 TBS sliced almonds
* 2 TBS grated coconut

Directions:

1. Coarsely chop almonds and set aside for topping.
2. In a small mixing bowl, blend the almond butter, maple syrup, and almond extract until smooth. It should be the consistency of caramel sauce.
3. Cut the apples into quarters and core. Then cut the quarters into 3 pieces lengthwise and 1/4-inch pieces crosswise. Place in two serving bowls.
4. Drizzle the suace over the two bowls of apples and top with almonds and coconut.

Serves 2

Huguenot Torte

1965 article in NYT ran this receipt from "Charleston Receipts," and someone tracked down the contributors in a nursing home in the 80's. Her name had been Mrs. Cornelius Hugenin. She made pastries for a restaurant in Charleston, had tasted and liked Ozark Pudding in Texas in the 30's, fiddled with the recipe and created this. It's not really Hugenot, but named after the restaurant.


By AMANDA HESSER
Published: September 9, 2009

This recipe from “The First Ladies Cook Book” appeared in The Times in an article by Craig Claiborne. The original recipe said that the torte could be served warm or chilled.I like it best warm and cut into squares. The torte has so much sticky sugar in it that when it’s cold you have to do battle to cut it. Either way, I suggest adding little or no sugar to the accompanying whipped cream.In fact, I’d fold in some crème fraîche.
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Related
Food | Recipe Redux: Huguenot Torte, 1965 (September 13, 2009)

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup peeled and chopped tart cooking apples

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup whipped cream, barely sweetened and flavored with 1 teaspoon almond extract.

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Beat the eggs and salt with a rotary beater until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar.

3. Fold in the apples and pecans with a whisk. Add the vanilla, flour and baking powder. Pour into a well-greased baking pan about 8-by-12 or 9-by-9 inches and at least 2 inches deep. Bake for 45 minutes, until sunken and crusty. Serve warm or chilled, with whipped cream. Serves 8.

stuffed pork chops

david didn't want me to make this but he lapped it up like a puppy. i didn't have an apple or apple jelly! oh, the pitfalls of a husband working at home. he got hungry and the apple tempted. I found a sub: maybe dried fruit? and fig preserves. I browned the chops in a skillet in a little olive oil, then finished them by pouring in 1/2 c white wine and covering the skillet.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup apple jelly
2 tablespoons orange juice
3/4 herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1/3 cup finely chopped, unpeeled apple
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons raisins, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 center-cut pork chops, cut 1-inch thick
PREPARATION:
In a small saucepan, combine jelly and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Cook over low heat until jelly is melted; stir until smooth. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine stuffing mix, apple, onion, raisins, 1/4 cup orange juice, butter, orange rind, salt and cinnamon; mix well. Cut a pocket in each pork chop. Spoon one fourth of mixture into each pork chop pocket. Secure opening with wooden picks, if necessary. Place chops on black metal tray. Cook for 39 to 41 minutes at U=Hi, L=Hi or until done. Turn chops over after 15 minutes of cooking time. Brush with jelly mixture during last 10 minutes of cooking time.

looks good for erin's baby shower

Unfussy Apple Cake Recipe

A big, floppy dollop of boozy, slightly sweet whipped cream takes this cake over the top. Wanting to keep this cake simple, I also had to restrain myself from adding any extra ingredients although I had a block of quince paste (membrillo) that would have been nice cut into tiny cubes and mixed into the batter, or caramel cut into little cubes, or toasted walnut or pecans, or, or, or.....I used a huge, flaked Japanese sugar on top of this cake (you can see it in the photo), but any big-grain sugar will help lend a nice crunchy, sweet, sugar crust. If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour, unbleached all-purpose flour will work as a more conventional substitute.

2 cups sweet, crisp red apples, cut into 1/4 cubes (peel on)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup dark Muscavado sugar (or other fine-grain natural cane or brown sugar), lump-free
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled a bit
3 tablespoons large grain sugar

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees, racks in the middle. Butter and flour (or line bottom with parchment paper) one 9-inch square baking dish or tart pan, you can also bake it in a 9x13 pan but really keep a close eye on it after 20 minutes - it will be quite thin.

Place the chopped apples in a bowl of water along with the juice of one lemon. Set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a large bowl. And in a separate smaller bowl whisk together the eggs and the buttermilk. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined - try not to over mix. Now drain the apple, shake off any excess water, and fold the apples into the cake batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, pushing it out toward the edges. Sprinkle with most of the large grain sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cake is just set and a touch golden on top. I like this cake every-so-slightly under-baked, just barely, remember it will cook for a little while after you remove it from the oven.

Serves about 12.