Apple Breakfast Muffins

Hey Rach-
You should be on the ferry right now - en route with the rest of the clan for the big baptismal celebration in the 'Wack this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing you. I was missing my sisters yesterday - this baby-induced sleep deprivation has the affect of making me more sentimental than usual. I find myself getting emotional at the slightest provocation - a cuddle with Finn reminds me that one day he will be a pimply 15 and won't want a snuggle with me; I couldn't tell you why, but a Tim Horton's commercial made me teary eyed a few days ago; so yes, yesterday I was missing you. Hmm.. now it seems like I've framed this as an irrational thought. No, it just means that we are due for a good hangout; which I realize this weekend won't be - with everyone rolling in for just over 24 hours I suspect that things will be busy. In preparation for a house full of people Finn and I have been doing some baking. Yesterday was the day of apples. We hauled out the apple peeler/slicer thing-a-majig and got to work. Finn is getting to be much easier to be with in the kitchen. We haven't had a tantrum over chocolate chips for a few weeks now (you might recall from your visit that Finn and I don't see eye to eye on how many chocolate chips the sous chef merits).

We made a few apple-based products - apple sauce, apple oatmeal muffins, and an apple crisp for tonight. I made sure to write down what I put in the muffins this time - I tend to stray from the recipes but can then never quite re-create the same muffin. I tend toward making hearty muffins: in my mind cookies are more indulgent, a muffin should be tasty, yet should also be able to stand-in as a healthy breakfast option. Here is the apple oatmeal muffin batch that we concocted yesterday.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins
(This makes 18 muffins)

Combine dry ingredients:
cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup oatmeal
4 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine wet ingredients:
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk

Add ins:
2 cups finely chopped apples (I peeled mine but you could leave the peel on)
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or raisins or both

Optional streusel topping- Combine 1 T oil or melted butter with 3 T brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 2 T flour and 1/4 cup oatmeal. If too dry add a very small amount of water (1 tsp or so).

Stir dry and wet ingredients together. Add apples and raisins or nuts. Sprinkle with streusel topping if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 min.

OK, I'll see you soon - did you bring a costume? It's Finn and Atley's first trick-or-treating experience tonight- I just have to figure out a way to sneak away the candy for mommy..

Rach, I'm just having a chuckle about your latest post. You aren't a cranky person.. though it has been common Reems knowledge that you are best left to your self for a bit first thing in the morning.. I also have to agree with you on the work front- maternity leave agrees with me for all the reasons you cited: A leisurely breakfast with tea mug in hand, some paper reading, followed by a coffee and a walk to the park..these are all important parts of my morning. I know you're possibly wondering how Finn and Coby fit into that picture -they are there - the trick at the breakfast table is to find all the sections of the paper that will keep the little man occupied - any fliers with colour, the sports section. The Vancouver Sun is currently doing a pet series that I am getting lots of mileage out of. I try not to view this as neglectful parenting, more of teaching independence and self-discovery. Anyway, I am rambling, I just wanted to let you know that I too was somewhat evil this morning. After a 4 am hangout with the Cobester my first loving comment to Mike this a.m. was "When are you clearing out your laundry?" In my defense I didn't have an omelet waiting for me.

You're wondering about the reason for my post? It's purely a responsive piece. Although I should let you know I made a lovely pumpkin-chocolate chip-walnut-cranberry loaf yesterday. Scrumptious. I love the idea of freezing the pie crusts pre-made; you're so clever, we must share the same genes. Oh, and something else exciting. I often google Reems Eats to find our blog, simply because I never bothered to bookmark our page on our laptop.. today something amazing happened. I came upon a Reems Eats blog reference. Yes, this was an epic moment in our blogging career.

OK, hang in there. If I still lived in Victoria it would definitely mean a pint of Merridale Cider at the 5th street grill this evening, but alas I will commiserate in spirit.

P.S. Mike's school is cancelled due to H1N1. Every time Mike feels a tickle in his throat, or hears Finn cough he's convinced that he and Finn are going to be stricken. Strangely he thinks that Coby and I will somehow be immune to this. I suppose that I should interpret this as an acknowledgment of our more resilient, and therefore superior gender.

Lemon Balm

Hi Haley,

It's Thursday morning and I'm cranky. To all appearances it's been a perfect morning. My little hubby made me an omelet for breakfast. Then he drove me to work, where I said a curt goodbye and pecked him on the cheek. I'm a terrible person. Well, no, not really. But I am cranky. I think it might be the whole 'work' thing that's getting me down. You and I aren't really ones for work. In the mornings we'd rather stay home and bake bread and go for a walk on a leaf strewn path as it rises.

But life goes on.

And on.

But I did read the blog, see your pumpkin pie, and smile. I have also had pie on the brain. While I haven't been utilizing a pat in crust, I have been taking a short cut. Mine is to make a big batch of dough, enough for four single crust pies, and then put three disks of dough in the freezer.

Victoria's been a little gloomy lately, lots of clouds, and the sun's been disappearing very early. Too hang onto that sunshine just a little longer, I made a lemon meringue pie on Sunday. Caleb's parents were away. They asked us to come by and let the cat our (or was it in?). Either way, the cat needed attention. So on Sunday night we took a couple of slices of pie and a bottle of wine over to the Speller residence. We lit a fire in the hearth, pulled the couch up and close and played house. Suddenly, October didn't seem so gloomy.



Sunny Lemon Meringue Pie


I used the Better Homes and Gardens lemon meriangue pie recipe. It is a classic. Many lemon pie recipes use lemon curd, which is very nice. This one is a rift on lemon curd, and includes the addition of water, which makes for a lighter pie, both in taste and calorie/fat content.


1 9-inch Baked Pastry Crust
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups water
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter, cut up
1/2 to 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
6 tablespoons sugar



First, seperate your three eggs and beat the egg yolks. Set them aside.



Then, combine the sugar, cornstarch, flour, and water in a saucepan. Now pop it onto the stovetop and bring to a boil. Be sure to stir constantly to avoid sticking. Boil for two minutes. The mixture should get nice and thick. Take the pot off the stove and spoon aproximately a cup's worth into the egg yolks.


Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pot and mix it into the cornstarch and water mixture. Put the pot back on the stove. Bring it to all to a gentle boil and boil for two more minutes. Stir all the while to prevent sticking.


Take the pot off the stove. Stir in the zest. Stir in the butter. Slowly stir in the lemon juice. Put a lid on the pot to keep it all warm while you focus on the meringue.


Meringue:

Beat the egg whites and cream of tarter on meduim speed for about a minute. Soft peaks should start to form. Now crank your beater into high and add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Beat about four minutes until stiff peaks form.


Assemble:

Pour lemon filling into your pie crust. Spoon the meringue overtop, spreading it out over the edge of the crust because it will shrink back a bit.


Now bake it in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until the tips of the meringue are lightly browned.


Variation: For a low fat version, omit the crust and pour the lemon filling right into a pie plate before topping with the meringue and baking according to the recipe instructions. It still tastes great!

Pat-in Pie Crust

Rach-

It's a great day in the 'Wack, the sun is shining, the trees are a patchwork of colour..but the best parts of my day? Finn and I have worked out a deal - if he wants to go to the park with slides and swings he has to sit in the stroller. To walk at a normal pace - without having to stop at every rock, to actually feel like I might be getting a bit of exercise? Fabulous. Another memorable part of the day? Leftover pie.

I know that this comes as no suprise, but I love to eat pie - though, really, who doesn't. The problem is making it. Making a pie crust is too much like work: the rolling, the floury counter (and floor, and cupboards, and fridge handle..). I love food, I like to eat, I like to cook but I admit it, I'm lazy. In the kitchen I like to take as many short cuts as possible to get to a delicious outcome. On our Thanksgiving trip to Victoria I left the parents' with two pumpkins from their garden. Now, with all my bravado about short-cuts I have to say that making pumpkin puree is not a shortcut. In fact, I can't say that I notice a difference in the pumpkin from the can and the big bowl full that I have in my fridge. The shortcut that I discovered this round is a pat-in-the-plate pie crust. No more rolling for me. This is an oil based crust so it loses that flaky quality, but for my pumpkin pie it was fabulous (and for those who care, trans-fat free!).

Cooking pumpkin isn't rocket science but my method is to use the microwave. I cut the pumpkin (or squash) into a few big pieces, scrape out the seeds, and then put the squash into a glass pyrex in the microwave. I microwave until soft and then set aside until cool. When cool, I peel the skin off, and puree the pumpkin using my brand new food processor. You want to make sure that the pumpkin is really soft so that the pureeing is quick and easy. Hard pieces make for chunks which makes for scraping down the sides of your blender/processor. The microwave method is convenient when Finn and I are puttering around in our PJs in the morning, but another great trick is just to chuck your pumpkin in when you already have the oven going with some other baking - pureeing pumpkin is all about stages, that way it seems like less work.

The pumpkin pie recipe I used is pretty standard - I won't post it because most pumpkin pie recipes are the same - the difference is that I used regular milk instead of the recommended evaporated milk or cream. I didn't notice a difference and suspect that the evaporated milk is a big marketing ploy - beyond the need to have access to canned milk, let's say while in the wilderness with no cows in the proximity- why is evaporated milk out there? If more people discovered this conspiracy, however, then Carnation would be out of business. Hhhhmm.. would anyone be interested in my latest inspiration: Food X Files? I digress, here is my new crust short-cut. I'm thinking of trying an apple-crumb topped pie variation.

Pat-in-Crust

1) Combine: 11/2 cup flour, 11/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt.
2) Make a well in the dry mixture and add: 2 T milk and 1/2 cup canola oil
3) Pat into a pie plate.

There you have it. Pie crust. It's that easy!

Before I sign off I need make a second request for your apple bread recipe (sadly we just finished your last half loaf from the freezer). A little birdy told me you might have a new teaching job? Drop me a post!

Buns and more buns...

Dearest Rach (or should I say Smokin' buns?),

A lot has happened since my last blog - I traded cooking in for nursing for a few weeks, but now I'm back and ready to multi-task. Actually, while eating the great meals made by thoughtful friends and our lovely mother, I was inspired and more than a little ready to get back into the kitchen.

To follow on your bread theme (can't wait to try that foccacia!), I kicked homemade burgers up a notch and made my own buns. Hamburgers have been a favourite of mine since our childhood. Friday nights were burger nights in the Reems household, we were a crew that thrived on routine in our food- burgers on Friday; pancakes on saturday morning; muffins made by Guy before church; eggs for Sunday dinner; and the most important tradition of all? Ice cream during The Magical World of Disney/Road to Avonlea Sunday night specials. We were nothing if not structured. So there is still something familiar and expectant about sinking my chomps into a big 'ol burg.. the week is over, let's get on with the weekend!

I used this Canadian Living recipe with great results. This is definitely slated for many frequent repeats. I stuck to the recipe this time and used white flour - I am going to try a third whole wheat next time. These buns flew off the table. I caught Mike eating a few extra without the patty; they were also delicious the next day.

It was good seeing you this weekend - how was that second Thanksgiving dinner with the Speller clan? Aside from ferry craziness we had a great time in Victoria. The company was lovely as always, the food was great... though Joan if you're reading this I would rethink the homemade plum juice addition to the punch bowl.
(Couldn't resist sneaking this pic in - isn't she a beauty?).

Love Haley

Bread Again

Dear H.

As youknow, I've been into bread lately. Something about the change in season has me baking bread and simmering soup. Perhaps it's the plethora of squash and apples, both inspiring fruit and veg. The new chill in the air has cooled down the apartment considerably. In August, and for most of September, it was sheer torture to have the oven on for any length of time. With the extra heat put out by the oven, the temperature felt well over thirty degrees. We could pretty much strip to nothing and fire up the hot yoga. Hmmm. Hot bread, hot yoga. Possible enterprise? We could call it smokin' buns.
Anyways, I've been messing around with sour dough and doughs with higher moisture content to get nice big holes in my bread. I recently picked up a book at Russels, that great used book-store, called "No Need to Knead." There's a recipe for focaccia that you should try. Only you must swear not to reveal how absurdly easy this bread is to make. It is perfect for serving with pasta, or bringing to a dinner party just to show off.

Focaccia
2 cups warm water
2tsp active dry yeast
4 cups flour
2 to 3 tsp salt
topping:
2 to 3 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 tsp kosher salt
(I also used a TBSp cornmeal and half a tsp fresh ground coffee. Feel free to play with the toppings. That's the fun part,)

Measure water into bowl then add yeast. Stir until dissolved. (I used instant yeast. I mixed it with the 2 cups flour and salt, then added the yeast. Remember, if you use instant yeast, your water needs to be hotter, about 110). Stir in 2 cups flour and mix until smooth.
Add the rest of the flour and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a loose, messy ball. The dough will be wet and sticky. That's okay.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled. It should take 30 to 40 min. (Mine took over an hour).

Shaping: Pour the dough onto a cookie sheet. Push and stretch it to fill the sheet. Or, do as I did and pour your dough into a skillet or two. I used a cast iron dutch oven. A corning ware would also work well. There is no need to shape the dough. Just let it lie as it falls into your chosen vessel. This is a very forgiving dough so don't be afraid to experiment a little. Sprinkle with olive oil and other toppings.

Let the dough rise for another half hour.

Bake the dough in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let cool on a wire rack.

Baptismal Chili

(Haley and I have decided to write our blog entries to one another. We hope this format will bolster our self confidence by guaranteeing us a sympathetic audience of one sister who truly cares about the ins and outs of preparing a batch of biscuits.)

Dearest H,
I pictured you and Finn this morning, big and small, at the breakfast table. Likely, Finn took a peek under your shirt at your pregnant belly and said good morning to baby Cobie. Have you and Mike agreed upon the spelling of Coby's name? Notice that I have used both possible spellings. Perhaps looking at your options in print will clarify your decision.

You are probably wondering how the baptism lunch went, so I will tell you. The day started perfectly at Pease Lake. The sky was clear. The lake was still, the mountain reflected on the water. We sang, Caleb dunked with the help of Pastor Harv, we prayed and sang again. It's impossible form me to convey the beauty and simplicity of the experience.

After the church service we took to the Speller residence for a family lunch. In typical form, the Reemes arrived early, talked loudly, and waited impatiently for the food. Actually, lunch was ready, but in typical form, the Spellers trickled in slowly, calling for rides, toting laundry, and disappearing into places like the bathroom just as a blessing for the meal was about to be said.
Interestingly, between us, Caleb and I have created a balancing point between the propensity for punctuality and the inclination to arrive at least a half hour late for every appointment. I no longer fret and fuss over time and Caleb is occasionally early.

The lunch was nice. I called upon mother and mother-in-law for help, playing to their strengths. Sheilah baked two fruit pies and Joan provided a Greek salad, of which the primary ingredients were gleaned from her garden. Rachel (sister-in-law) brought an enormous bread-bowl dip. Hence forth I vow to always call on others to fill in the odds and sods for a group meal. This way, I was able to focus on the chili and bread. This was a white chili, with pale beans and chicken, forgoing the typical tomato based sauce. It is really quite good. Sadly, I have no photos so you'll have to make it to see it. The bread was also a success. Actually, it led to a lot of binging amongst the guests. Rachel scoffed when I hinted that I hoped for leftovers to take home. The loaves were based on the no-work recipe. I tinkered with the flours and threw some raisins and spices into one. The recipe for the no-work bread is located in our archives.

The recipe for White Chili was created by Jacqueline McMahan. I paired down on the chilies, tinkered with the beans, and made a few other alterations to suite my ingredients and ease. Otherwise, I followed her directions

White Chili

Beans
1 pound combination of dried pale coloured beans of your choice
5-8 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
pepper
salt
Combine these ingredients in a big pot. Simmer them until the beans are soft. This will probably take one to two hours. If you want to speed up the simmer time, pre soak your beans over night or for about 8 hours.

Drain the beans and reserve a cup of liquid

Chili
One bottle light beer
1 cup diced onion
2-3 minced garlic cloves
2 jalapeno chilies, seeded and diced (use one, or half, if you want a mild chili)
4 Anaheim chilies roasted, peeled and seeded (you can skip theses and just use jalapeno chilies but the roasted chilies don't add heat to your chile, they merely add to the complexity of the flavour, which is a good thing)
1 to 2 tsp cumin
Combine these ingredients in a large pot and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add these ingredients to the pot:
1 and 1/4 pound chicken breasts, diced
1 tsp chile powder
1 cup reserved bean liquid
Simmer for at least 15 minutes or until you have the tomatillo sauce ready.

Tomatillo Sauce
1 pound tomatillos, husks removed (or subsitute roma tomatoes for the tomatillos)
1 bunch cilantro
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
Place the ingredients in a food processor and process until the consistency of salsa. Stir into the chili. Add the beans. Simmer for 20 min.

Serve topped with grated cheese if you would like. I prefer the chili without cheese.

Variation: Quick Method: Use canned beans and skip the bean preparation step. Add the beans and their liquid along with the chicken.