Crockpot Apple Butter

This is one of the many recipes that I wanted to try since moving to the Pacific Northwest. The bounty of autumn produce includes apples, pears, grapes, chestnuts, etc., and are really inexpensive to get a hold of. Apples keep for a long time in the refrigerator if they are stored properly. I keep mine in plastic bags, the kind that you get from the grocery store, not the kind you take groceries home in from the grocery store. There is a tiny difference and that is the ability to keep air and moisture out of the bag.

I picked up a varity of apples and pears earlier in the month from Portland Nursery's apple tasting event. Depending on where you shop, apples can be as cheap as $0.30/lb if buying directly from an apple farm in WA or OR state, about $0.70/lb from a retail grocer that is able to move large quantities of local produce, like Gateway Produce, or up to $1.49/lb if buying off-season.

For this recipe I used a 6-quart programmable crockpot and let the apples cook overnight on the 10-hours low setting. The next day, it had the consistency of applesauce so cooked it on the 4-hours high setting to simmer off the excess liquid.

Depending on the sweetness of the apples, you'll need to vary the amount of sugar in the recipe. This batch used red winesap apples that aren't terribly palatable as an eating apple. Winesap apples are very firm when ripe and are typically used to make cider. They're also tart and slightly sour when not quite ripe. Any sweet or mildly sweet apple of mixed or single variety can be used.

Ingredients

8 small-to-medium red winesap apples
1 c. granulated unbleached sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom (or allspice)
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of salt
3/4 c. water

This spice ratio accommodates up to 3 lbs of apples. I just used the apples I had on hand.

Directions

1. Wash, peel, and core all apples, then dice into chunks.

2. Add prepared apples, water, and spices to crockpot. Mix until the apples are all coated with spice.

3. Set crockpot on low and cook until apples are soft. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to remove chunks of apple so that it has an applesauce consistency.

This can keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.

Canning instructions

Pack into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. This batch made three 8 oz jars + one 12 oz jar.

Kitchen notes:
2010: used Red winesap apples, made 3 pints
2011: used Virginia winesap apples, made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars)
2012: used organic winesap apples, unknown variety from Tonnemaker Farms; batch #1 used 8 apples and made 2 pints (4 half-pint jars); batch #2 used 10 apples and made 2.5 pints (5 half-pint jars) with about a 1/2 c. leftover. Also, batch #2 had a half cup less granulated sugar. Total so far is 9 half-pint jars.
2014: used Red Rome apples; made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars) of apple butter and 2 pints (4 half-pint jars) of apple sauce
2014 (Oct): finally got a hold of Red winesap apples.. yay! Batch1 6 half pints (from 5 lbs), Batch2 2 pints + 6 half pints (from 6 lbs)
2015 (Oct): 8 pints from 13 lbs of Red winesap apples
2016: 6.5 pints from 10 lbs Red winesap apples
2017 (Nov): __ pints from 8 lbs Red winesap apples

Kitchen Note: dried fruit rehydration

Years ago I bought a small bag of unsweetened, dried blueberries from Trader Joes and they aren't very good to eat, probably because they're all really dried out now. I had been experimenting with mirin (rice wine for cooking, slightly sweeter than sake, much less sweet than Chinese xiaoxing red cooking wine) this summer since procuring a bottle of it from Uwajimaya's Seattle store.

I wondered if using mirin to rehydrate dried blueberries would impart its flavor to the blueberries when used in another recipe. Well, I can't tell the difference. Perhaps in part because the blueberries were used to make blueberry pancakes. This batch turned out to be pretty tasty.

Method? I heated the dried blueberries with mirin in a small saucepan for a few minutes, then scooped out just the blueberries and put them into the pancake batter.

Asiago Cheese Crackers

In my attempt to make flat bread crackers, I added grated asiago cheese to the dough and used some on top of the cracker. However, seeing how today is a 100% humidity day (raining), these crackers came out really tough to chew and not crunchy at all. The crackers with cheese on top taste significantly better than the plain ones. I had hoped to use these in place of the multi-seed flatbread crackers I get from Trader Joe's, but alas, this recipe still needs tweaking.

Ingredients

2 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. grated asiago cheese
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar

Seed topping (on a plate, combine):

grated asiago cheese
black sesame seeds
white sesame seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.


1. In a cup, add butter to warm water until butter has melted.

2. Sift the flour, salt, sugar together.

3. Gradually add the butter/water to the flour mixture and knead until smooth.

4. Place in a clean lidded container and let dough rest for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

5. Take dough out and roll it into a 12" log. Slice in half, and slice the halves in half until there are 30+ pieces.

6. With each piece, flatten dough using the bottom of a 4 oz ramekin or other sturdy flat-bottomed container. It should come to be about a circle, though, it doesn't have to be uniform.

7. Moisten one side of the circle with water and dip into seed topping. Set onto parchment-lined baking tray.

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until bottoms and edges are lightly browned.

9. Let cool on a rack. If the crackers are still soft, place all the crackers on the baking tray and let cool in the oven after the heat has been shut off.

Potstickers, Gyoza, Wontons, oh my!

Depending on which culture your eating perspective is from, these meat and vegetable filled dumplings can be fried, boiled, or steamed. Wikipedia would have you believe that the names have different meanings, and they do, but the differences are so insignificant that it really doesn't matter what you call them. On the contrary, gyoza skins are much thicker than wonton wrappers and can hold up to frying a lot better.

The base mix of my family's recipe is ground pork, chopped spinach, and minced chives. Ground pork can be substituted with ground chicken or ground turkey but the latter is leaner than pork. Water or broth has to be added to the mix so that the meat doesn't taste as dry; and ground beef is never used, at least not in any of the restaurants I've been to. My garden's chives aren't all that robust so I didn't cut them for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork
1 lb chopped spinach, drained
1/4 c. minced water chestnuts
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 small shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and minced

a small bowl of water

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

I used round gyoza wrappers for this batch. I like the taste/texture of the thicker wrapper (compared to wonton wrappers). If you work quickly, the wrappers won't dry out.

2. In the palm of your hand place one wrapper. Place 1 tsp of the mix into the center of the wrapper.

3. Wet half the edge of the wrapper so that when the wrapper is folded in half, the water helps to seal the edges. Starting from the far right (or left) of the folded over wrapper, crimp the edges by pushing in the wrapper to form valley folds (like origami, only with gyoza wrappers).

Every crimping/sealing style is different and varies from shop to shop. All that matters is that the edges are sealed so that when the dumpling cooks, its juices do not spill out.

4. Set aside on a plate or tray and complete the rest of the wrappers.

All lined up and ready for cooking

To cook by boiling:

Bring a pot (with a lid) to boil. Add the raw dumplings and boil until all the dumplings float. It is possible to overcook the dumplings (the dough starts to disintegrate). Take them out after the pot returns to a full boil.

To cook by frying:

In a skillet or frying pan (with a lid), heat 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil until hot. Turn heat down to medium and add the dumplings in a single layer. After 2-3 minutes, check the dumplings and see if the bottoms are lightly browned. If so, turn every dumpling to an un-browned side.

Add about 1/4 c. of water to the pan and quickly cover with a lid. The hot steam will cook the dumpling. When the frying sounds less fierce (e.g., the water has mostly steamed off), remove dumplings when the water has mostly boiled off.

Remove dumplings from pan and serve. About 8-10 dumplings is a typical serving size.

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Tofu Dango

It's hard to not try a new recipe when you see the food item raved about on an anime series. Part of this recipe is about curiosity and seeing how there are so few ingredients for it, the dumplings practically begged to be made. Depending on the sauce used on the dango, it can be sweet or savory. It's pretty easy to make.

Dango (dumplings) coated with black sesame,
vanilla sauce, and a savory sauce

Prep/cooking time: 20 minutes
Cuisine: Japanese
Food type: appetizer or dessert

Tofu Dango

Ingredients

6 oz tofu (roughly half a box of Silken tofu, firm)
2/3 c. glutinous rice flour

Directions

1. Mix ingredients together in a bowl. If it is too dry, add a little bit of water. If it's too wet/sticky, add a little bit more rice flour.

2. Form into a log and separate it into equal portions. Half, then quarters, then smaller pieces from the quarters.

3. With the smaller pieces roll each into a ball. You may coat each with a some rice flour to keep it from sticking to your hands.

4. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the dumplings. Boil for 2-3 minutes or until the dumplings are floating on the water.

5. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to take the dumplings out. Immerse in a cold water bath to stop the dumplings from cooking.

6. Spear three dumplings onto a bamboo skewer. Set on a plate.

At this stage, I don't advise eating them. They're really, really bland.

Dango Sauce Variations

(savory)

1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar

Bring to a boil and let cool in a small bowl. Spoon over dango.

(simple vanilla sauce, not vegan)

1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp flour
1/4 c. milk

Bring ingredients to a boil. Let cool and serve over dango.

(sweet, black sesame)

1/4 c. black sesame seeds
1/4 c. brown sugar

Grind seeds until powdery in a suribachi or food prep. Coat the dango and serve.


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