I love the harvest, the preserving, the resting and the preparation for renewal that this Season brings. And APPLES! How exciting are the crisp, crimson, crunchy little bundles that hang from the great old apple tree, like baubles on the Christmas tree. It's such a versatile fruit that the options for what one can make with this amazing little Autumn gift are just endless; apple sauce, apple pie, apple and cinnamon muffins, Waldorf salad, toffee apples, baked apples with custard, apple slice.... and then there's everything yum they can accompany like; roast pork, morning porridge, red cabbage, hash browns, stir fry's, roast veggies... or how about an apple and raspberry frappe, some apple cider or a nice warm apple and ginger spiced tea to warm those cooling evenings. All the apple recipes you could EVER need can be found all over the internet - but this link has a great range of various apple recipes to inspire and delight. Over 350 of them! If you like to share stories with your family around your Seasonal baking, then The apple cake is a lovely story that follows the journey of an old woman who sets out to find some apples for her apple cake. It's a story about giving and receiving and the value that different things have to different people. The book also has a delicious apple cake recipe which can be easily adapted if you prefer more whole foods ingredients in your apple cake!
Yesterday we baked some apple and cinnamon muffins. They were so delicious that 4 hours later, I had to bake another batch because the first batch had just vanished! I thought I'd share the recipe with you;
::Apple and Cinnamon muffins::
(My recipe inspiration came from here, but as you can tell - the recipe is slightly adapted)
Ingredients;
• 2C freshly ground flour (you could soak this flour in 2C yoghurt or kefir for 12-24 hours and then omit the milk referenced if you are into the whole soaking of grains. We generally are - but this time, the muffins were needed in a hurry!)
• 1T baking powder
• 2T of ground cinnamon (plus a little extra for dusting)
• 1/2C rapadura
• 3 apples peeled, cored and chopped into small cubes
• 1/2C coconut oil softened, not melted
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 3/4C oat milk
• 12 fresh blueberries
Method;
• Combine flour, powder, cinnamon and rapadura
• Add wet ingredients; oil, eggs and milk - mix well
• Add apples and stir through
• Line a 12 hole muffin tin with environmentally friendly unbleached baking paper
• Fill each paper cup with muffin mix
• Dust muffins with cinnamon
• Press a blueberry into the top of each muffin
• Bake in 180ºC oven for about 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
• Enjoy with your favourite Autumn herbal tea or a frothy hot chocolate!
And do you know about the secret that hides inside every shiny apple? A favourite Autumn activity with children is to 'apple stamp'.
::Apple Stamping::
• Take an apple (Grown up's job) and cut the four 'cheeks' off the apple.
• You'll be left with a little cube that encases the core
• Be sure the children are gathered around as you tell the little story;
"Who would think an apple
Red, gold, green and round
Would have a secret deep inside
When cut it can be found!
(this is a nice time to cut the apple core across the middle to reveal the 'secret')
I thought this secret only shone
In deep and darkest night
But when I cut my apple
It shines with five points bright!
And now you know the secret
Where shining stars are found
In every crunchy apple
Red, gold, green and round."
(Apple Secrets by Betty Jones)
• Have some heavy card paper available as well as some Autumn coloured paints or inks
• Make sure the seeds have been removed from the center of the star and then dab the 'apple stamp' into the paint/ink and then stamp into any starry pattern you like on your paper.
Apple candles are also another great Autumn activity. It's alot of fun to let children decorate their own taper candle with decorating wax, to sit in their apple candle holder. Apple candles add a wonderful energy to a Winter Solstice celebration or are lovely just to even illuminate those lengthening nights and create a snuggly family space.
Blessings on your crunchy, crisp Autumnal Harvest Season.
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