Apple Roses

Apple Roses

As Thanksgiving gets closer, I've been busy trying new recipes and desserts, trying to decide what to make for the actual occasion. Every year we host a mixture of family and friends and it makes for a different experience each time. This year we have other children coming and now that our son is old enough to have his own table, there are all kinds of treats and crafts to make. The first I'm trying out is the breaking the internet apple roses. I've seen these all over pinterest and facebook and every other social media outlet. Clearly, I had to see what the fuss is about. 

Starting out, there is a little prep that goes into them, but overall, they are pretty easy to make. I mixed a few recipes together and came up with the first batch. I could have baked them for about 5 minutes longer, but the taste was pretty epic. These might just be the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving desserts. Beautiful and tasty, yes! 

1. 3 large apples, I used Gala red.
2. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 1 tsp. cinnamon, I used Vietnamese fancy cinnamon
4. 1 sheet thawed puff pastry
5. 1/4 cup+1 tsp unsalted butter
6. apricot preserve, I used a homemade version 
7. 1 egg
8. 2 tblsp water

1.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees if using individual ramekins, or 375 degrees if using a metal pan. Butter each ramekin and dust with sugar.

2. Cut the apples into halves and then slice as thin as possible. Heat a tsp of butter in a sauté pan, lay the slices in the heated butter for about 30 seconds each side. The goal is to make the slices flexible to roll into the rose shape but not be soft. 

3. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.

4. Roll out puff pastry to 1/8inch in a rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to slice 3 inch rectangles. 

5. Melt the butter to brush over pastry strips. Then layer a thin layer of apricot preserve across the strip. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Place apple slices across the top inch of the pastry strip. Overlap the slices on each other till you get to the other end of the strip. Fold over the rest of the pastry strip over the apple slices like a pastry "folder". 

6. Mix the water and egg together to form a wash. Brush the outside of the pastry folder with the egg wash and seal the ends. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and sugar to taste.

7. Gently roll the folder into the rose shape, being careful not to tear the pastry or squish the apple slices. Finish the roll by sealing the end with the dough end. Gently put into the ramekin or metal tray. Sprinkle with remainder cinnamon and sugar.

8. Place tray in the middle of the oven. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove the tray from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let sit until fully cooled. Dust with confectioner's sugar if wanted. Enjoy!

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Homemade vegetable broth is one of the easiest things you can make. Keep a gallon bag in your freezer and any trimmings, scraps, or anything that doesn't look so hot anymore get thrown in. End of onions, leeks, carrot peels, celery, garlic, green onions, shallots. Herbs are really good like parsley, cilantro, rosemary, or thyme. Mushrooms, bell peppers, fennel work as well. Anything with a pleasant flavor. Leave out anything bitter like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, or brussels sprouts. Also, don't use anything that's starting to rot or mold. Ew. For this broth I used an assortment of vegetables but the color came out a dark red from the beets that were in there. A neat difference. I'm going to use the broth to make rice and hopefully it will turn out a pinkish red color. Holiday rice anyone?

Take all your scraps once your bag is full, boil them in a big pot with about 9 cups of water. Basically about 5 cups of scraps.

Once everything is boiling, take it down to a simmer and cover. Add a couple bay leaves if you have them and some salt and pepper, to taste. Let everything simmer for an hour.

Strain out the veggies from the broth and you're set! You can keep the broth in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for later.

Put your gallon bag back in the freezer and refill!

Harvest Quinoa Salad

  This salad has an assortment of fresh, seasonal veggies that remind me of why we live in California. Recently, on a trip to Tokyo, my family and I stayed for 10 days in the middle of the city. Japan has a reputation for being clean, fresh, and simple. The flavors are strong and pure, and al of our meals had an amazing purity to them. We ate ramen, soba, the best sushi known to man, an assortment of seafoods, and the yummiest treats. Everything was delicious, but one thing I noticed was a lack of vegetables. Ok, we were on vacation, and staying at a hotel, so our access to non restaurant food was at a minimum. I've had plenty of salads and fresh food there, just no so much of this trip. Bananas not included, we ate a TON of those.

  When we came home, the first thing I wanted to do was make something that had everything I was craving. I still threw in a little asian flare with the edamame and red cabbage, but everything was from the farmers market i had been missing. This recipe is great for lunches or a side for dinner. It's best room temperature or chilled, and will last up to a week. Add shrimp for a protein if you want it. Yum!

QUINOA SALAD

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped red cabbage

1 cup shelled and cooked edamame

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 cup diced cucumber

For the dressing

1/4 cup tamari sauce*

1 tblsp sesame oil

1  tblsp rice wine vinegar

2 tblsp chopped green onion

1/4 cup cilantro

1 tblsp sesame seeds

1/4 grated ginger

1/8 tblsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add water, quinoa, salt to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil fo r5 minutes. Turn the heat to a simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. 

Place the quinoa in a large bowl and add the cabbage, edamame, red pepper, carrots, and cucumber.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, green onoins, cilantro, sesame seeds, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and stir to combine.

*You can substitute soy sauce for tamari, however, make sure to stick with the tamari if you want to stay gluten free.