Apple Butter

I spent an entire day one weekend this summer making apple butter. It is soooooooooo delicious with some good ol' hot biscuits. I used apples from the trees at my folks in Bamberg, SC. I am quite excited that the recipe turned out!!! Last summer, I had much poorer luck. Oh, and turns out it was a good idea for birthday presents this year... (since I made 12 half pints and 5 quarts). Thanks Sarah for the pictures!

Like always, I reviewed and merged several recipes to come up with this one.

4 cups Cooking Apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cups water
White Sugar
Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
Juice of 1 Lemon

1. Add apples (coated with lemon juice), vinegar, and water into a large pot. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until apples are soft (about 20 minutes).

2. Transfer apple mixture to a food processor, pulse until a smooth consistency obtained. Measure the puree.

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of puree. Add other spices. Mix until sugar is dissolved.

4. In a large, wide, uncovered pot, cook apple mixture of medium low heat, stirring constantly. The apple butter is ready when a spoonful placed on a frozen plate is thick and not runny. This process make take up to 2 hours.

5. You may choose to can the apple butter also... call me about this!


Enjoy~ Rach

Fish Sticks with Marinara Sauce

Fish Sticks with Marinara Sauce

• 2 cups buttermilk**
• 1 pound whitefish or other mild fish (I used Mahi Mahi), cut into strips, about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch thick
• 1 c finely grated parmesan cheese
• 3/4 c bread crumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• olive oil, for drizzling
• 2 cups marinade sauce (homeade or store-bought)

Put oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 500 degrees. Spray a heavy baking sheet liberally with vegetable oil spray. Set aside.

Put the buttermilk into a large bowl. Add the fish strips, stir to coat, and let stand for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together the Parmesan, bread crumbs and salt. Remove the fish from the buttermik, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl, and dredge in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated fish in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and bake until golden and crisp, about 14 minutes. Cool slightly and arrange on serving platter.

In a small saucepan, heat marinara sauce over medium-high heat untol warm. Transfer to a small serving bow. Serve along side fish sticks.

**if you don't have buttermilk, for every 1 cup of milk stir in 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice and let stand minutes.

~This was very delicious, inexpensive and healthy!

Lynn

Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis, Food Network