Tasty Tuesday - Uncle Ted's Apple Butter

When Larry & I go on vacation one of our favorite things to do is find ‘mom & pop’ restaurants where we can experience the local fare. Last week in Michigan we hit a winner three times! We were in search of apples and found the best of both worlds when we stopped at Crane’s Pie Pantry & Restaurant AND Crane’s U-Pick Orchard. Lunch was homemade vegetable beef soup with a slice of fresh from the oven, made from scratch, bread! Served alongside that warm and yummy bread was the most delectable apple butter I think I have ever, ever tasted. (Made from scratch right there in their kitchen, of course!!) I’ve been thinking about that apple butter ever since. (BIG smile).

So I’m thinking that the next best thing would be to cook up a small batch of my Uncle Ted’s Apple Butter. I haven’t made it in years but with the weather turning cooler and the memory of Crane’s still making my mouth water, I plan to cook up a batch this weekend. (By the way, this would be a great recipe to get your kids to help with!)

Uncle Ted’s Apple Butter

Ingredients:

2 cups unsweetened applesauce         

¼ - ½ cup sugar (depends on your taste for sweet!)

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. all spice

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/8 tsp. ginger

Put applesauce in a medium saucepan. Add spices and stir well to make sure they are blended. Bring to boil over medium high, reduce to medium. Allow to cook for 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.

Makes approximately 1 ½ cups apple butter.

Uncle Ted was my Dad’s younger brother. He lived on the New Jersey shore, yet he still managed to come back home to W. Va. for regular visits. Although I call this his apple butter, the original recipe actually came from his mother-in-law. Just goes to show you that cooking gets passed down through the generations no matter who the original ‘cooker’ was!

Happy Cooking,

Molly

Tasty Tuesday - Mexican Cornbread

Fall is in the air and I am ready to get back in the kitchen! For me, a big pot of chili is the official kickoff to the season. Many times we simply eat crackers, corn chips or tortilla chips with our chili. However, when I have more time in the kitchen this cornbread with a Mexican twist is our must have side dish. It is more like a spoon bread than regular cornbread but I guarantee you won’t mind not being able to hold it in your hand! As we Viars like to say, “It is SOME kind of good!”

Mexican Corn Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow corn meal                         1 small can green chilies, chopped and drained

2 eggs                                                  1 can cream style corn

1 tsp baking soda                                 ½ tsp salt

4 oz grated cheese                                ½ cup buttermilk

½ cup vegetable oil

In a medium bowl stir together corn meal, baking soda & salt. (You could also use a corn meal mix that already has those ingredients. I done both with good results.) In a separate bowl beat eggs, then add corn, buttermilk, oil, and chilies. Mix well, then stir in grated cheese. Pour into a well greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

*I inherited this recipe from my husband’s Aunt Helena. We had dropped by for a visit when she shared some with us and, like many good cooks, she was happy to pass along the recipe. I still have the original small slip of paper I scribbled it on and think of her every time I pull it out of my recipe box. It’s like I can go back to her kitchen and feel the love. That piece of paper somehow connects me to her and that precious memory which probably explains why I have never written it down anyplace else.

For me, that’s what cooking is all about….making memories and sharing life and love.

Happy cooking,

Molly