Lacto-Fermented Apples

Another great recipe for the bounty of summer's and fall's harvest!

Ingredients:
3+ cups peeled, cored and cubed apples
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 Tablespoons whey
Filtered water

Method:
Fill a quart jar with the apples, making sure there is at least an inch of space between them and the top of the jar.

Mix remaining ingredients, minus the water, and pour over the apples.
Add enough filtered water to cover the fruit, still keeping the level an inch below the top of the jar.

Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 2 days.
Transfer to the fridge.

**Fermentation instructions say that these will keep for two months in the fridge.  I have had them keep for 6 months with no difficulty.  Just give them a sniff before eating.  If they smell bad, they are bad, and toss them out.  If they smell fruity-fizzy-sharpish, they're good to go.

Baked Apples

This is a great one for fall!

This can be done in the oven or the crock pot.

4 baking apples (Cortland, Empire, Honeycrisp, Idared, Northern Spy, Rome, Winesap)
4 teaspoons lemon juice
4 Tablespoons raisins or Craisins
4 Tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons butter, divided in 4 parts
1 cup water

Peel the apples about one-quarter of the way down from the top.
Core the apples.
Put them in an 8x8 baking dish.
Sprinkle lemon juice in each apple.
Mix raisins or Craisins with nuts and cinnamon and stuff in the hole in the apple.
Drizzle 1 Tablespoons of honey over each and top with butter.
Pour water in around the apples.

Bake at 375* for about 60 minutes, or on low in the Crock pot overnight.

Dutch Baby

I don't often make this anymore because of gluten issues, but my son does!

This is a table that gives the different proportions for various servings.

Pan                  Butter           Eggs                 Milk            Four          Salt

1 Quart             3 T                2                  1/2 cup        1/2 cup          1/8 t
2-3 Quart         1/4 cup          3                  3/4 cup        3/4 cup          1/4 t
3-4 Quart         1/3 cup          4                  1 cup           1 cup             1/4 t
4-4.5 Quart      1/2 cup          5                  1.25 cups     1.25 cups       1/2 t
4.5 - 5 Quart    1/2 cup          6                  1.5 cups       1.5 cups         1/2 t

I like to use cast iron skillets for baking them.  I use a 15" for the 6 egg version.

Melt the butter in the skillet or baking dish in the oven while it's preheating.

Meanwhile, mix the other ingredients well, but leave a few flour lumps in the batter.

When the butter is melted, add the the batter to the pan and put back in the oven.

Bake at 425* for about 20 minutes, until it is puffed and beautifully golden brown.

Additional possibilities!

After the butter has melted, I like to slice apples in on top of it in the pan and then sprinkle with cinnamon.  Let them cook for 10 minutes of so in the oven while preparing the batter and then just pour the batter over the apples and bake as usual.  It's a real treat!