Apple Chimichangas

Our apples are ripe for the picking on the apple trees.  If you are hungry for apple pie but don't know what you would do with a whole pie, try making some apple chimichangas.  Make a dozen or make one or two.  As long as you have apple pie filling tucked away in your fridge or freezer and small tortilla shells it is a quick dessert.    Choose apples that are local to your region so they are as fresh as possible.

Chimichangas

• small tortilla shells
• apple filling
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Place a few tablespoons of cool apple filling near the bottom of each tortilla and roll up burrito style, being sure to tuck in the sides. 
2. Brush each chimichanga with melted butter and place on a skillet on low heat, turning them until browned on all sides.
3. Combine sugar and cinnamon and spread on a flat bottomed bowl or plate. 
4. Remove from skillet and roll in the combined sugar and cinnamon mixture.  
5. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream if desired.

Apple Filling  ~ Makes about 5 cups

• 8 cups peeled and chopped apples  (about 8 apples)  Our apples are Jonagold. 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups cold water

1. Combine apples and lemon juice and set aside.
2. Combine sugars and cornstarch with cinnamon and salt in a large saucepan.  Slowly add water while stirring to eliminate lumps and bring to a boil.  
3. Add apples and stir until the mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until apples are tender crisp.  Do not stir more than necessary to avoid turning the apples to sauce. 
4.  Remove from heat and cool. Filling will thicken more once cooled.  Refrigerate in jars or portion and freeze in freezer bags.   

BFTJ - He Giveth More Grace

1. 
   
2. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
   He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
   To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
   To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
3. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
   When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
   When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
   Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
4. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
   Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
   Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
   The Father both thee and thy load will up bear.
5. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
   His power no boundary known unto men;
   For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
   He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
6. Annie Johnson Flint.
7. James 4:6
8. This hymn has played over and over again in my mind over the past while.  In all of our lives there are daily challenges, large and small which God in HIs mercy gives us the grace and strength to face and overcome. 
9.  I read up on the background of this hymn and found that the author experienced many difficult challenges throughout her life. She lost her parents as a very young child and as a teen was afflicted with arthritis. She loved music and pursued an career as a composer and pianist, however it wasn't long before the arthritis ended those dreams.  Ultimately, she took up writing poetry, often using her knuckles to punch the keys of a typewriter and put some of her poems to music.
10. Indeed, she experienced the grace of God throughout all her challenges and now we have this lovely hymn to encourage us in our daily walk.
11. 1. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
       His power no boundary known unto men;
       For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
       He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Apple Slab Pies for a Crowd - Serving the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

Every once in a while special opportunities come our way. Earlier this year we were asked if we would be willing to prepare and serve a meal to a group of musicians from the Ukraine...and we said yes. 

A week before the event we met in the kitchen of the Chilliwack Alliance church to pre make some of the meal we would be serving to the members and some guests of the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. This group arrived in Canada September 7th and September 9th was the date of their first Canadian Tour concert, and we had the joy of preparing and serving them dinner before the evening concert. We were so thankful that Kay joined us as this is a kitchen she is very familiar with and she was such a tremendous help.

This group of talented musicians has performed at 17 concerts so far. 
This evening they will be giving a concert at Knox Metropolitan in Regina. From there they will travel to Manitoba and on to Ontario,
You can find a list of all their upcoming concerts here.
We encourage you to attend one of the concerts in your area and please pray for them and the ministry of Music Mission Kiev.


At every concert across Canada there is a group of willing people who are preparing and serving a meal to these guests from the Ukraine. There is also a committee at each hosting venue who find a host home for these guests. Many have been so blessed through their music and many have been showing hospitality to these guests to Canada from the Ukraine. 

Our menu:
Cabbage and Swiss Chard Rolls
Farmer Sausage
Mashed Potatoes
Carrots with Dill and butter
Garden Salad
Fresh baked buns
Apple Slab Pie and ice cream

Back in the kitchen we were making Apple Slab Pies. There was lots of chatter and fun as we peeled and sliced up 25 pounds of apples.

Bowls were filled with slightly salted cold water to keep the apples from discoloring.

At another station in the kitchen pie dough was being made and rolled out.

Sugar, cinnamon and flour were stirred into the sliced apples and then placed into the pastry lined baking sheets. Pads of butter were placed over the apples.

Top crusts were added, edges were pinched, slashes were made, and an egg wash and sugar dusting made them ready to cover and freeze.

The morning of the event my friend Debbie also came to help us, and she and Marg kept watch. We were so thankful for everyone who willingly came to help.

Baked to perfection.

Recipe is for 4 slab pies. Each pie cuts into 24 pieces.

• 25 pounds apples
• 5 cups white sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 10 tablespoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter

For the pie crust: (Tip: When preparing this large amount of pastry make 1/2 a recipe at a time which is how the instructions are given below. If you still feel it's too big a recipe to work with divide the whole recipe into 4) 

• 22 cups flour
• 8 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 4 pounds Tenderflake, (lard)very cold 
• 4 tbsp vinegar
• 4 eggs
• cold water

1. Prepare 3-4 over sized bowls with cold water and a few teaspoons of salt. This will be used to keep the apples from getting brown while peeling and cutting.
2. Peel and slice apples. We used several apple peelers which peel, slice and core the apples quickly. Soak apples in slightly salted cold water. Set aside.
3. Stir together the white sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. To make the pastry divide the flour, salt, brown sugar and baking powder evenly between 2 large mixing bowls. Stir well to mix.
5. Cut 1/2 of the Tenderflake into each amount of flour until it resembles coarse oatmeal. (Tip: Using a large cheese grater works really well for this. Instead of using a pastry blender, grate your cold Tenderflake into the flour. This gives you small even pieces.)
6. Place the vinegar and eggs in a large glass measuring cup and whisk. Add enough cold water to make 4 cups. Whisk again.
7. Slowly pour 1/2 of this mixture into one bowl of flour/Tenderflake mixture and stir until the pastry comes together. With you hands pull together and form a ball. Add the remaining liquid to the other bowl of flour and Tenderflake. Again stir and then pull pastry together into a ball.
8. Divide each ball into 4 equal pieces. This will give you 2 pieces for each of 4 pans.
9. On a lightly floured board roll out pastry to fit a 13"x18" baking pan. Once the dough is rolled out, roll it around your rolling pin, place it at one end of the pan and unroll it onto the pan. Line all four pans with pastry.
10. Drain apples well. Add the sugar, flour and cinnamon mixture to the apples and stir well to coat.
11. Divide the apples between the 4 pans lined with pastry.
12. Cut butter into little chunks and 'dot' over apples.
13. Next roll out the remaining pastry to make the top crusts. Again the easiest way to place this large piece of pastry is to roll it up on your rolling pin and unroll it over the apples. 
14. Pinch the edges all the way around.
15. Brush pies with an egg wash mixture of 4 eggs and 4 teaspoons milk or cream. Sprinkle lightly with raw sugar. Slash top crusts.
16. To bake immediately, preheat oven to 375º F. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and you can see the juice from the apples bubbling clear and gelling around the edges. Poke a knife into one of the slash marks to make sure apples are tender.
17. To freeze and bake later: (this is what we did) Cover pies with parchment and then wrap with foil. Place in a large freezer bag and place in freezer. When ready to bake preheat oven to 375º F. Unwrap pies and bake from frozen for 1 1/2 hours. Poke pies to see if apples are done. If the apples are not soft and if the pastry is still light continue to bake checking every 10 minutes. 

Let us know if you were able to attend a concert. Maybe some of you helped make and serve a meal or helped out in some other way at one of the concerts. We'd enjoy hearing about it.

Leek and bacon smashed potatoes

With the cooler weather it's time to add some comfort food to the menu.

Here's a delicious way to dress up mashed potatoes.

• 4 medium potatoes partially peeled
• salt 
• 4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces and fried until crisp
• 1 large leek, white and pale green part only, washed, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced 
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• warm milk
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Partially peel potatoes. ( I like having a bit of the potato skins peeping through the creamy white.)
2. Place in a pan with cold water and salt to taste, bring to a boil and simmer until tender.
3. While potatoes are cooking, place bacon pieces in a fry pan and cook until crisp.
4. Remove bacon to a paper towel with a slotted spoon.
5. Add sliced leeks and minced garlic to bacon fat and saute over medium heat until leeks are soft and beginning to brown.
6. Drain potatoes and mash, add sour cream and butter and enough warm milk to make a rough mash.  For these potatoes, a rougher mash with a few lumps is desirable.
7. Add bacon, leeks, garlic and some of the bacon fat to the mashed potatoes and mix well.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Serves 3-4

Tuscan Tomato & Basil Soup

We have a favorite soup that comes from the Safeway deli...a zippy tomato and basil bisque.  Here's my version of that soup...one I make in fall when the tomatoes are plentiful.  I'm sure it could also be made with canned tomatoes...but fresh is always better.  It also freezes well...to be enjoyed later. 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 4 cups peeled and diced fresh tomatoes (or 4 cups canned diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme or oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup cream (or 1/2 cup milk and  1/2 cup sour cream)

Method

1. Heat olive oil in large pot, over medium heat.
2. Add garlic, onion and bell pepper.  Cook and stir for about 10 minutes, or until soft.  
3. Add broth, squash, tomatoes, basil and thyme (or oregano).
4. Cover and simmer for about 35 minutes, or until very tender. 
5. Purée soup in a blender (in small batches).
6. Return pot to stove and re-heat on medium-low heat.
7. Add seasonings and cream and heat until steaming, stirring as necessary.

 

Bread for the Journey

On his deathbed the famous evangelist Dwight L Moody told Will Thompson, the composer of this hymn, that he would have rather written this hymn than anything he had been able to do in his life. High praise from someone as accomplished as Moody.

1. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
   Calling for you and for me;
   See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
   Watching for you and for me.
   • Refrain:
     Come home, come home,
     You who are weary, come home;
     Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
     Calling, O sinner, come home!
2. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
   Pleading for you and for me?
   Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
   Mercies for you and for me?
3. Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
   Passing from you and from me;
   Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
   Coming for you and for me.
4. Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,
   Promised for you and for me!
   Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
   Pardon for you and for me.
5. This hymn is a calling from Jesus for all of us to come and accept God's mercies. It is our choice, no force, no harshness, only a soft and tender invitation.
6. He is waiting, He is watching for you and me.  

Brie, Pear, and Arugula Pizza

This Brie, Pear and Arugula pizza would be great for an appetizer. I used a pound of store bought fresh pizza dough found in the deli section which really made this easy to make. If you want to make your own dough here's a link to one of Kathy's recipes for pizza dough.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pizza dough
• 1/2 cup red onion sliced thin
• 1 small round of Brie (4 oz.) sliced.
• 2-3 fresh pears cored and sliced
• A handful of Arugula
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Olive oil

 Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Prepare pizza pan with a little olive oil to coat.
3. Prepare a surface with a little flour to roll out your pizza dough to fit your pan.
4. Transfer dough to pan and stretch to fit nicely.
5. Top dough evenly with the red onion slices.
6. Bake in oven for up to 12 minutes until the dough is golden.
7. Remove from oven and turn the oven to broil.
8. Carefully add the Brie and Pears evenly on the dough.
9. Salt and pepper these ingredients to your taste.
10. Scatter the Arugula on top of the Brie and Pears.
11. Sprinkle with olive oil.
12. Place pan back in oven set to broil and watch very carefully removing just after the Brie melts.
13. Cut into serving portions and enjoy.

Pie Pastry using Oil

There are always those times in the kitchen where the cook will scratch her head for ideas when she's run out of an important ingredient or is serving someone with diet restrictions. 

This pastry has no butter, lard or shortening but is made using vegetable oil. The pastry is easy to make, but there are a few tricks to rolling it out and fitting it into the pie plate. It bakes up tender and flakey. Once you've tried it...come back and let me know what you think.

This is enough dough for 2 single 9" pie crusts or one 9"with a bottom and top crust.

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, measure it loosely, do not pack it down
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup, plus 1 tbsp vegetable oil, I like to use a glass measuring cup so that the liquid amount is exact
• 4 tbsp ice water

1. Measure first three dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
2. Add oil and stir until the pastry begins to look lumpy.
3. Add the ice water and continue to stir forming a soft dough. 
4. IF the dough is dry and not coming together add 1 tsp more oil at a time. Do NOT add more water to make a wetter dough. 
5. Cut 2 pieces of wax paper that are at least 12" long. Sprinkle lightly with flour and place dough in middle. Sprinkle lightly with flour and top with second piece of wax paper.
6. Roll dough that is between the sheets of wax paper. Once you have your desired size of pastry rolled out, carefully peel back top piece of wax paper.
7. Pull the pie plate close to the pastry and carefully lift and flip it into the pie plate, moving it gently  to fit the pan. Peel back the wax paper.
8. Bake shell empty, or fill with desired filling, top with second crust if pie calls for a top crust and bake.

Pumpkin Pudding

Autumn is here and so is pumpkin season. So many ways to use pumpkin, here is a very simple dessert that should please the pumpkin lovers in your family.

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 package (4 serving size) instant vanilla pudding
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, I like freshly grated

1. Beat milk with dry pudding mix until thickened.
2. Whisk in pumpkin puree and spices.
3. Spoon into bowls and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. Serve with whipped topping and a dash of cinnamon or sprinkle toasted and chopped pecans over the whipped topping and drizzle with maple syrup. Both are delicious.
5. Yield: 4 generous half cup servings, in case you are wondering why I only display 3 servings is because I only have 3 of these fancy dishes, the last one was served in a plain dish.

Quinoa and Apple Salad with Curry Rice Vinaigrette

Autumn is only one week away and so it is time to think about ingredients that showcase the bounty that is ready to harvest. Our apples are ready to pick and so I'm happy to make recipes that include apples. My friend Jen made this salad last fall for us at a camping weekend. This delicious healthy salad can be easily doubled or tripled to feed a crowd.

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 1 apple, diced
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cups rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons curry powder (adjust to your preference)

1. Place quinoa in a fine sieve. Rinse and drain. 
2. In a medium saucepan add the quinoa to 1 1/2 cups boiling water, cover simmer about 12 - 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed.
3. Place the dried cranberries/raisins on top of the hot quinoa to plump them up. Put the lid back on allow to come to room temperature.
4. Add the chopped apple, the nuts and green onions and feta cheese.
5. Mix the curry vinaigrette, toss with salad and refrigerate.