Gingerbread apple butter

While produce shopping to make my ginger pear butter, I also picked up a peck of Cortland apples to make apple butter. I had some fresh ginger left from the pear butter, but I didn't just want to make the same recipe with apples. So I thought, what else can I incorporate into the butter? Add molasses to ginger and you have classic gingerbread flavors! Gingerbread apple butter is the perfect fruit butter for the winter holidays.

 Gingerbread apple butter

4 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2" thick pieces
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses

Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat until the pears begin to break down, helping them along with a potato masher if you wish. After about 30 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cook for about another hour. Puree in the pot with an immersion blender, or transfer in batches to a blender. Return to heat and continue to cook, if necessary, to desired consistency, which should be thick enough to mound on a spoon. Transfer to sterilized jars and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes to make butter shelf stable, or allow butter to cool in jars and store in the refrigerator, treating as a perishable.

Makes 5-6 half pints. 

Ginger pear butter

I learned how to can using a water bath back in the spring, and now I'm hooked. Making jams and preserves is fun and rewarding, and I know what I'm giving everyone for Christmas this year! If you want to try your hand at making preserves, fruit butter is a great place to start. When you make jam, you have to worry about getting it to set properly, using the correct amount of pectin and cooking it for the right amount of time. Making butter is simpler, no pectin needed, you just cook it until you reach the consistency you want. To keep your precious butter in your pantry, you'll need to ladle it into sterilized jars, knock out the air bubbles, process it in a boiling water bath canner. Want more information on water bath canning? I picked up a book on small batch canning called Tart and Sweet, which has a great step-by-step section on canning basics and some tasty recipes. Also check out Food in Jars, an amazing blog and canning resource.

 













Ginger Pear Butter 
4 pounds pears, washed, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 ground cloves
1/2 cup honey

Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat until the pears begin to break down, helping them along with a potato masher if you wish. After about 30 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cook for about another hour. Puree in the pot with an immersion blender, or transfer in batches to a blender. Return to heat and continue to cook, if necessary, to desired consistency, which should be thick enough to mound on a spoon. Transfer to sterilized jars and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes to make butter shelf stable, or allow butter to cool in jars and store in the refrigerator, treating as a perishable.

Makes 4-5 half pints.

Peanut Butter Cup Fudge

 

 I was the lucky winner of the Swerve Sweet-stakes on their Facebook page. I shared my New Year's resolution to keep off the pounds I lost in 2011, and lucky me, I get help doing just that with my winnings: a year's supply of Swerve!
Sunday we had some friends over for dinner, so I had my chance to try out Swerve for the first time. I got home from a day of shopping, and had picked up some peanut flour while we were out. I wanted to make a quick, no bake dessert, because we were hungry and I needed to get dinner in the oven. I thought of the fudge recipe that my grandfather used to make for us grandkids when we were little. The original recipe called for a whole pound box of confectioners sugar! My new version is sugar free and low carb, but just as delicious as the fudge of my childhood memories.

Peanut Butter Cup Fudge
Low carb, sugar free 

Peanut butter layer
1 1/2 cups natural chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup peanut flour (PB 2 powdered peanut butter)

3/4 cup Swerve Confectioners Style 

1/2 cup butter, melted

Chocolate layer

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup Swerve Confectioners Style

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup milk 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Combine peanut butter layer ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spread in a 8x8 square baking pan. Put in the refrigerator to chill while you make the chocolate layer. 

Combine chocolate layer ingredients in a medium size microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high about 1-2 minutes, or until butter is melted.  Stir until smooth. 

Remove peanut butter layer from refrigerator. Pour chocolate layer on top and spread over the surface evenly. Return to fridge and chill until set, about 2 hours. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Custom hot cocoa by the mug

It is bone chilling outside this week. Dry, windy, and cuts through four layers of warm woolies cold. It may not look like winter without any snow on the ground, but it sure feels like it. This is hot cocoa weather. I like my cocoa rich, dark, not too sweet, and ready as soon I crave it. Hubby, on the other hand, likes his sweeter and less chocolatey, but also right away. How to please us both? Custom hot cocoa in a mug! You are less than 5 minutes away from your own chocolate bliss.

Basic cocoa by the mug
sugar free, low carb, gluten free

1/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
10-15 drops liquid stevia
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together cocoa powder and half of water in a mug until smooth. Add remaining water, milk, stevia, and vanilla. Microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until hot. Careful not to overheat, as the cocoa could boil over. Stir well and serve.

This basic recipe is more hubby's style of beverage, and makes enough cocoa to fill a standard coffee mug. My favorite mug holds about one and a half times that amount. I use 1/2 cup water, 1 cup of milk, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (really chocolatey!), about 20 drops of stevia, and the extract. Of course, I don't limit myself just to vanilla extract! I like variety in my cocoa. I recommend substituting raspberry, orange, almond, or peppermint extracts. Not a fan of liquid stevia? You can use your favorite sweetener: start with the equivalent to 1 tablespoon of sugar and go from there. Experiment and make the perfect cocoa for you!

Cool cucumbers

It's a bumper crop year for cucumbers in my garden. I've been picking 6 to 8 a day for the last few days. That's a lot for two people to eat, especially when one of them is not really fond of cucumbers. Luckily, I love pickles! These are easy to make, small batch pickles, for when you have a few too many cukes in your garden. 

Refrigerator Pickles

1 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar (or cider vinegar)
2 teaspoons pickling salt (kosher salt or sea salt work, too)
4 sprigs fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon freeze dried dill)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
4-5 small to medium sized cucumbers, cut into spears
1 quart canning jar (or reuse an old pickle jar or pasta sauce jar)

Clean jar well with very hot soapy water, rinse well, and dry. Put dill, garlic, and peppercorns into jar. Pack in cucumber spears. Combine water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan or microwaveable dish (a large glass measuring cup is ideal, the spout will make pouring easier later). Bring to a boil on stovetop or in microwave, stirring to dissolve the salt into the vinegar mixture. Pour the hot vinegar mixture into the jar, filling to the bottom part of the lip (leaving ½” to ¾”space on top. Depending on the size of your jar, you may not need all of the mixture.)  Put on cap and allow the jar to cool to room temperature, and then move into the fridge. Allow at least 2 days in fridge to pickle before serving. Pickles will keep in the refrigerator up to two months. 

To top it off: Hot Fudge

I went to a lovely ice cream social last weekend, and was inspired to make something special with which to crown my sundae.

I spy with my little eye a sundae topping that is low carb. I also spy one that is low carb and vegan. Can you guess which toppings I spy? The cashews and the strawberries are both contenders, yes, but I'm talking hot fudge! 

One is full of cream and butter for the traditionalists, and the vegan one is made with coconut milk. They both tested well at this little ice cream party. I love dairy, but I actually favored the vegan version, which is redolent of a mounds bar. I was too busy stuffing my face to get a sundae photo, but I can assure you it looked (and tasted) amazing.    

Traditional Hot Fudge

Sugar free, low carb, gluten free

1 3/4 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup Truvia

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon  salt

4 ounces unsweetened (baking)  chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla

1o drops liquid stevia extract 


Run truvia through a coffee grinder until it resembles super fine or powdered sugar. Combine heavy cream, butter, powdered Truvia, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth and the Truvia dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate until completely melted. Stir and vanilla and liquid stevia. Serve immediately or pour into a mason jar or other covered container and refrigerate until needed. Reheat over low heat in a saucepan or at 50% power in a microwave.

Vegan Hot Fudge

Sugar free, reduced carb, gluten free, dairy free

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 fl oz)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2  cup agave nectar

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 ounces unsweetened (baking) chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

20 drops liquid stevia extract

Combine coconut milk, agave, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth and consistent. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate until completely melted. Stir and vanilla and liquid stevia. Serve immediately or pour into a mason jar or other covered container and refrigerate until needed. Reheat over low heat in a saucepan or at 50% power in a microwave. 

Doin's

What I've been up to so far this February:

Got the Urban Bone Crusher and its sign hung. Used a coworker's suggestion (thanks, Sam!) and attached the machete to the wall with magnets for quick access in case of apocalypse.

Very nearly done crocheting the Icelandic Turtleneck from Crochet Me, which I started in October 2007. Only a few more inches on the second sleeve and sewing up ends to finish. That's right, Mary, you may get your sweater before it's too warm to wear it!

Also working on a little mural for the Steampunk Library. I'll be painting the right wall Voodoo like the rest of the room, and gears will transition the purple library color into the cream color of the stairwell. So far I've just gridded out and started transferring my design onto the wall. Stay tuned for more progress pictures!

The pie is taunting you

Mmm, homemade apple pie. I made this one last weekend. So good. I love it, but I hardly ever make it. Why? Well, it's not exactly instant. Takes a good hour of prep plus an hour to bake. Sure, I can manage that occasionally on a lazy Sunday, but here's the real problem: once you make a pie, there's whole pie to eat. That's a lot of pie for two people. Solution? Single serving pies in a jar. Genius. Make a bunch now, freeze them, bake two at a time. Bonus, I already have some of those squat half pint jars around here from last Christmas' sugar body scrub. Pie, you can taunt me no more. Via Craft and Gifter's Log.

View from the sewing machine

My parents stayed over last weekend and helped us fill gaps in the foundation and clean the gutters. Thanks Mom and Dad! It rained all day yesterday, and the basement stayed completely dry.

They also brought some home grown produce, including the blueberries for this cereal box photo- worthy breakfast. Only those ads have orange juice and milk, not pink lemonade, right?
I was off work until Thursday, I took vacation time to see Ana off on Wednesday. Hope her return to Brazil and her family if going well. Then I had to work a whole three days. Such a long week.

This weekend, I've been hanging out with Dan on his first day of vacation and sewing Megan's first Halloween costume, a little brown bear, Simplicity pattern 7317. So far it's coming out just like I'd hoped.

I have the bodysuit completely done, and started the hood. The fabric is fleece, so she can wear it instead of coat. Or whatever babies use for outwear. Hopefully it fits!

Snow what?

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
but cookie baking is so delightful.
So as long as I have some dough,
let it snow let it snow let it snow!

Extra gingery gingersnaps

Peppermint candy canes

Cashew butter cookies

I kept myself way too content and cheerful baking cookies all day on Sunday.

Brezeln

In honor of Oktoberfest, I present-
Homemade soft pretzels!
These are so delicious and not hard to make at all. I used this recipe from the October issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I used the same ingredients as in the recipe, but made the dough in my breadmaker. Just popped everything in, pressed a button, and walked away for an hour.

Then I shaped the dough and let it rest for a bit.

Next, a two minute bath in boiling water, drain, a sprinkle of salt, and into the oven. I didn't have the pretzel salt specified in the recipe, so I used coarse sea salt.

Fifteen minutes later, fresh hot soft pretzels. These would be great for a party. Unfortunately, Dan and I had to eat them all ourselves. Darn.

Add a bit of mustard to dip in, and you have the perfect snack for a chilly fall afternoon. All you need is a good Bier aus Deutschland, and it can be Oktoberfest anytime.