Canning Apple Pie Filling

In the Food Preservation workshop at Garratt Wellness Center, Karen DW shared an Apple Pie Filling recipe for canning. She has quite a bit of apples on hand.

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You will need 2 x 500ml jars (approximately 1 liter or 4 cups) of filling for a 9-inch or 24 cm pie.

Ingredients

  • 12 cups sliced peeled cored apples, treated to prevent browning and drained (about 12 medium size apples)
  • water
  • 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar (or same amount of brown sugar, not pack)
  • 3/4 cup corn starch
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 1/4 cups cold water
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 7 (16 ounce or 500ml) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands.

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P/S: Apple juice missing from the picture above.

Source: @2010 Hearthmark, LLC dba Jarden Home Brands via Karen DW

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Homemade Apple Pectin

Maria brought crabapples to make Homemade Apple Pectin in the Food Preservation Workshop. The crabapples were harvested from her neighbour’s backyard.

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Crabapple is also known as wild apple. They are rarely eaten raw as they are extremely sour and woody in some species. Crabapples are an excellent source of pectin. If you do not have crabapple, you can still make pectin with tart apple skin and core, just that you must collect enough of them when you make lots of apple sauce in the fall.

It is best to make pectin from apple in the fall when they are freshest as the pectin content decreases over time.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of crabapples (or tart apples, about 7)
  • 4 cups (1 liter) water
  • 2 tablespoons (25ml) lemon juice

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Source: Maria

Prep time: 1 hour;  Yield: 4 cups (1 liter)

One cup of apple pectin is good to make preserves for 3 pounds of fruit of low pectin like pear or cantaloupe.

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Indian Cuisine: Apple Raisin Curry Chicken

The main course for the Indo-Canadian inspired recipes cooked up in the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors is a curry chicken dish.

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This Apple Raisin Curry Chicken is an easy and comforting curry dish. It is a wonderful way to prepare using leftover cooked chicken breasts.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 2 large apples, cored and diced
  • 3 stalks of celery, diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup raisins or currants

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P/S: missing ingredient in the above photo: chicken breast (already in oven)

Source: this recipe is adapted from Alex Nixon

Prep time: 30 minutes;  Cook time: 20 minutes;  Serves 4

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Charoset

In the South Arm Community Kitchen, Minoo chosen a theme of middle eastern. The first recipe Minoo shared is called Charoset. It’s a Jewish dessert eaten during passover.

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Charoset is an apple salad with cinnamon, walnuts and sweet wine.

Ingredients

  • 5 large delicious apples, diced, approximately 8 cups
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 3 tablespoons sweet wine, such as Manishevitz Concord Grape
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

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The traditional Charoset is a sweet, dark-colored, lumpy paste made of fruits and nuts. Its color and texture are meant to recall the mortar with which the Israelite bonded bricks when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt. The word “charoset” comes from the Hebrew word cheres which means clay.

Charoset serves as dip for the bitter herbs eaten at Passover. The action of dipping the bitter herbs in Charoset symbolizes how hard the Israelite worked in gypt, combining a food that brings tears to the eyes (the maror). The color of charoset resembles the mortar used to build Egyptian cities and storehouses (the charoset).

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Some of the members asked if we can omit the sweet wine. It will not be a Charoset without the sweet wine.

Source: adapted from food network

Prep time: 20 minutes;  Serve 8

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How To Bake Apples

Besides all the dips, Minoo also demonstrated a dessert recipe in the South Arm Community Kitchen. It is simply Baked Apples. This is a great fall recipe when apples are in abundance.

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These Baked Apples will be heavenly with some vanilla ice-cream.

Ingredients

  • 4 apples
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries or raisins
  • 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • ground cinnamon to taste
  • nutmeg to taste
  • 1 cup apple cider or apple juice

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The aroma of baking with cinnamon is so enticing that your guests will feel hungry the moment they step into your home.

Source: unknown

Prep time: 20 minutes; Bake time: 20 minutes; Serve: 4

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Winter Coleslaw

Minoo made this Winter Coleslaw to tie with the winter vegetable theme. Cabbage is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables that contain potent anticancer components called indoles and isothiocyanates which can promote cancer cell suicide.

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This salad is called Winter Coleslaw as it is made with ingredients like purple cabbage and apples.

This recipe is adapted from Alive Magazine.

Prep time: 15 minutes; Serves 8.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium purple cabbage
  • 1/2 medium red onion
  • 1 large apple, peel left on, scrubbed well
  • 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, broken

Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons honey

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p/s: honey missing from the picture.

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Multigrain Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes

Kids love pancakes and this Multigrain Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes make a healthy breakfast.

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) multigrain flour
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 ml) baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon (4 ml) cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 to 3 1/2 cups (500 ml) buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup (50 ml) butter, melted
  • 1 apple, peeled and cored, grated and squeezed out excess liquid
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil

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Butternut Squash Apple Soup

This Butternut Squash Apple Soup is another great recipe in using winter produce. Cold weather calls for a hot bowl of soup.  This creamy soup is flavourful and heart warming.

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This soup can be prepared in 40 minutes or less.  The trick to a great butternut squash soup is the simple addition of one tart green apple to balance the sweetness of the squash.

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One of the better way to prepare the butternut squash is to roast it.  Simply cut the squash half lengthwise, lightly brush with vegetable oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes in a 350F preheated oven until it is softened.  Roasting brings out the sweetness of the squash as the sugar content is caramelized.

Butternut squash is a good source of fiber, vitamin C and A, magnesium, manganese and potassium.   This recipe serves 4 to 6.

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Toffee Apple Cake

Chris shared this Toffee Apple Cake recipe with the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors as dessert.  According to Chris, this cake is tops.  The best part is we can make most out the local apples in the fall.

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This Toffee Apple Cake is very moist and almost custard like.  The toffee bits topping add some crunch to it. This is certainly not a dietary kind of dessert.  Well, it’s ok to let ourselves indulge for a treat once in a while.

Chris and Paul worked on this dessert.  This recipe serves 24.

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Brown Basmati Apple Walnut Salad

If I remembered correctly, June shared this recipe of Brown Basmati Apple Walnut Salad.  Brown Basmati Rice is gaining popularity for it’s higher nutritional values.  It also tastes nuttier than regular white rice.  A friend told me that after a few months of changing from white rice to brown rice, she is actually losing weight.  I may try to include some brown rice in my regular rice and my family will slowly accept it.  I’m sure Ben is going to make a fuss of it as he hates grainy stuff  like whole wheat or whole grain bread.

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This Brown Basmati Apple Walnut Salad can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days, which makes it the perfect make-ahead dish for company.  You may add the apples and toasted walnuts just before serving.  In fact, this salad tastes better the next day.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup toasted walnuts
  • 4 cups cooked brown basmati rice
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries, raisins or cranberries
  • 1 apple, sliced
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 5 to 6 celery leaves, chopped
  • 4 sprigs parsley, chopped

Dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

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You may toast the walnuts in the microwave. Microwave them on high at 45-seconds intervals, smelling for doneness. It takes between 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

June and Frances make this healthy and nutty salad.

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