Oven Baked Apple Chips

So I was out in the rain doing a little photoshoot when Fly Guy wandered off and came back eating a large shiny red apple.  "Hey, where did that come from?  I thought you were just peeing in the bushes!"  Apparently several feet from a pecan tree we discovered there is also a tree loaded with delicious apples.  This is the best Fall ever!

Now what to do with all our apples?  And how to incorporate them in brown bag lunches?

Apple chips!  Crunchy, sweet, crinkly chips.  As a bonus they make your house smell like Christmas while baking.

Now there are several recipes for these chips but you just have to play with cooking times.  Different apples have different amounts of moisture.  I discovered this when I baked two kinds at once and one variety burned.  My final chips are almost identical to the Italian Dish's Apple Chips.  Check out how she gifted hers instead of just stuffing her face when she was done.

You don't have to add any flavor.  My apples were not sweet or tart when I baked them plain but still tasty.  The unflavored ones also seem to cook faster (or it could be my imagination).  My kids like the sugar spice variety best. 

Several cooks claim to cut these apples by hand.  Eh, not for me.  I use a mandoline slicer very similiar to this.  Easy peasy.
 

Oven Baked Apple Chips 

A few thinly sliced apples  (5 for me)
A handful of brown or white sugar (1/3 cup brown)
A few teaspoons of spices  (1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves)

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper (I baked 3 pans at once).  Mix you sugar and spices in a small bowl then lightly dip one side of each apple slice before laying then on prepared baking sheets.  You can lay them close, but don't overlap.

Bake between 200 and 225 for 2 to 2.5 hours flipping once after the first hour.  The chips will be a little crunchy when done and further harden as they cool.  If they do not seem to be crisping up as desired you can turn off the oven after the initial 2 hours and leave the pans in for the slices to dry out.

Healing Turmeric Yogurt Bowl with Ginger Granola

Ever cook with turmeric?  You should.  You really really should. 

The Huffington Post states that turmeric "has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities."

So your like "Whaa? How do I get some of THAT"  At least that's what I said.

My favorite current recipes with turmeric are

Cashew Corn Chowder by My New Roots
Spinach and Mung Bean Soup by K. Orahsoi
Chickpea Spinach Turmeric Curry by Fugal Cook
Calming Creamy Turmeric Tea by Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Dr. Gupta's tea is also known as Golden Milk and can be found on various food blogs that extoll it's healing properties and remissness about their mothers giving it to them when they had colds.

I love golden milk in the same way I love hot cocoa.  A late night way to top off the sleepiness and send you into dreamland.  Yet it does have a little grittiness.  The spices never quite meld with the milk.  Not to mention it's hard to pack in a lunch.

So I present Healing Turmeric Yogurt Bowls!  Which include all the other things I seek out when I don't feel good.  Coconut oil, ginger,cinnamon,  honey...  The sweet ingredients balance out the slight bitterness of the turmeric.  This would be good with fruit also.  Berries maybe?

 

Healing Turmeric Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients
(per person)

2/3 cup full fat unsweetened yogurt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric*
honey for drizzling
ginger granola for sprinkling (recipe below)

* try 1/4 tsp if you are unsure of this new flavor and work your way up.

Stir the spices and honey into the yogurt in a circular pattern and pack the granola separate until time to serve.

Ginger Granola
makes 1 1/4 cups

1 cup regular rolled oats
2 TB ground flax seed
1 TB unsweetened applesauce
1 TB honey
1 TB molasses
1 TB coconut oil, melted
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Granola Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix all ingredient with a fork or hands.  Bake in the oven, stirring occasionally, for around 20 minutes or until it's starting to brown and crisp. It will continue to crisp as it cools.  Let cool completely then store in an airtight container.

Potato Soup

This is one easy and economical make ahead soup. I know it's August, but make it now and pop it in the freezer for your thermos this Fall.  Chop, Boil, Simmer.  That's it.  One pot.  30 minutes.




Potato Soup
Fills 4 Pint Jars or 8 Half Pints

Ingredients 

2 yellow onions, diced
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
4-6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1-2 tsp salt (depending how salty your broth is)
1/2 tsp fresh ground peppercorn
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TB extra virgin olive oil

Garnish options include fresh chives, fresh herbs, additional olive oil or hot pepper flakes.  For a richer soup add in 3 or four tablespoons butter to the pot at towards end of cooking and stir until melted.

Directions

Add all the ingredients to a large pot saving the broth for last.  Pour in the broth until almost covering the diced veggies but not quite.  Usually about 5 cups does it for me.
Bring to a boil then cover and simmer on medium low for 20-25 minutes or until veggies are soft.
With a large spoon or potato masher, mash up a bit of the soup to create a creamier texture is desired.

If freezing for later cool completely then freeze in wide mouth mason jars leaving a little head space on top.