Bobbing for Apples - Apple sauce

Last summer I had tried my first apple sauce recipe. As I was going through some of my cookbooks lately, I found another apple sauce recipe, but the lazy version, which is always a plus in my book. Time to break out the slow cooker!



Ingredients
5 apples of choice, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.)

1. Combine apples and water in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.
2. Add spices and sugar and cook for 30 more minutes.

And serve!
To give it a little kick, replace water with orange juice. Or add orange zest.

Wine of the Week - Bellwether Spyglass

A most enjoyable entry from Bellwether's line of ciders. This one has fresh cut grass on the nose. The taste is surprising all throughout: there's a little bit of a bite up front; mellow drinkability in the middle that is actually refreshing in a thirst-quenching sort of way; and a tart, sour apple finish.
This would pair well with any white meat or fish meal, or any non-red sauce pasta dish.
In case you couldn't tell, this is my favorite of the Bellwether ciders so far. I highly recommend it.
6.9% alcohol

Vegetable Barley Soup

I asked my husband if he'd like soup this week. He responded "I like soup." But when I showed him various recipes, the feedback I got ranged from the specific ("I don't like tomatoes in my soup") to the vague ("That's not what I had in mind"). Finally he asked for "something with barely in it." Okay, that I can work with. A quick search on food.com (formerly recipezaar) got me to this recipe. He was worried that it wouldn't have enough flavor, but I held strong. In the end, as usual, I was right. You will have leftovers (hooray!), but as the days go by the chunks will melt and the soup will become even creamier. It freezes very well.

Ingredients:
4 carrots (1 grated, 3 chopped)
1 onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 potatoes, chopped (I used 4, because they were small and who doesn't love little potato bits in their soup?)
2 sweet potatoes, choped
2 zucchini, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup split peas (I used yellow)
1/2 cup red lentil
dill, to taste
parsley, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste



Directions:
1. Soak split peas until partially soft, or boil
2. Saute onion, garlic and grated carrot (I added some olive oil for this step even though it was not in the ingredients or directions.)
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and cover with water.
4. Cook for at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

I think it would work with any number of vegetable combinations would work. Next time I'm going to add some cut green beans.

If you have young children, feel free to serve this soup while singing Raffi's "Oats and Beans and Barely Grow."

Bobbing for Apples - Apple Rice Salad

Based on a recipe in my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, a delicious sweet and tart sidedish to any meal! And quick and easy to prepare:



Salad Ingredients
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup cooked wild rice
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, shelled

Dressing
2 tbsp basalmic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 clove garlic, diced

1. Combine all the salad ingredients and set aside.
2. In a jar with a lid, combine the dressing ingredients. Close the jar and shake up. Pour over the salad mix and serve!

Wine of the Week - AM/FM 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

I bought this bottle at the same time as last week's cab.  Between the two, I expected to enjoy the AM/FM more; the producer has made some of the best wines I've ever tasted.  Unfortunately, this one was a letdown.
Spicy black cherries on the nose with some strawberry underneath.
On tasting, the first thing that hit me was the alcohol, which is not a good sign.  Combined with dryness and bitterness, the experience was not going well.  There was a very slight strawberry taste in the mid-palate, but it was overwhelmed by a bitter finish.
Wanting to give it a second chance, I chilled the wine overnight.  Chilling it definitely dampers the alcohol taste, but you're still left with something a little too dry and bitter for my liking.
Look, I've had bad wines, and this one isn't bad.  But I can't recommend it, especially knowing what this producer is capable of.
14.5% alcohol