Tipsy Baked Caramel Apples--Oh My!

Sometimes when I'm experimenting in the kitchen, things go terribly wrong. I just don't tell you about them. Yet every so often, my experiments turn out better than I'd expected and today's recipe is one of those.

Last week I baked some apples. They were plain old apples done the plain old way. And while I thought they were delicious, I began wondering if I could step them up a bit. Later in the week, I bought a caramel apple and enjoyed every sticky bite. Then I got to thinking. Could I come up with a baked caramel apple? How would I go about it? Would it be successful or toss in the garbage bad? The only way to know was to give it a try.

I thought on it for three or four days before I decided to try my luck. Surprisingly, I came through with a happy discovery that I'm passing on to you. And even though I'm still trying to figure out how to step-up the caramel taste, this is as close as I've gotten for now.

I would have to say that if you are a baked apple lover, you're going to like this recipe. Those wanting more caramel can experiment themselves or wait for me to come up with a better plan. In the meantime, try these apples that are stuffed with fruit and nuts, topped with gooey caramel, and baked in rum-infused apple cider. You won't be sorry. I promise.

This is NOT my baked caramel apple but a stand in. I cannot find my camera, though I've looked everywhere. Imagine this apple covered in caramel. Can you see it?

BAKED CARAMEL APPLES

Mix  together in a small bowl:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped nuts of choice, lightly toasted

1/4 cup raisins

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

Core 8 apples of your choice; I used Fuji. Stand them in a baking dish that is no more than 2" high. Fill each apple with the brown sugar/nut mix. If some falls to the bottom of the pan, leave it.

Pour 2/3 cup of apple cider into the bottom of the pan along with 1 jigger of rum. I used spiced rum. Toss about 6 whole cloves into the liquid. They won't be edible, but they'll give the juice a lovely fragrance.

Top the apples with a spoonful of the vegan caramel sauce (recipe follows)

Cover with foil, bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes. To serve, ladle some of the cider/rum sauce into a bowl, add the apple, and top with a bit more of the caramel sauce. Add vegan whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Serves 8

VEGAN CARAMEL SAUCE

Into a saucepan put:

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup agave nectar or white corn syrup

Bring to a low boil, swirling to keep things moving. Do NOT stir with a spoon. Cook about 12 minutes.

When the mixture is a golden brown, stir in:

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 Tbs. vegan margarine

pinch of salt

Stir carefully as the golden caramel mixture will bubble up. That is how it should be. Turn off the heat and let the caramel cool a bit before using.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."

Psalms 100:4

Vegan in New Zealand

Since New Zealanders call themselves and their money kiwis, I was determined to see one while I was there. I quickly found out not only are they endangered and extremely rare, but they live deep within the forests and only come out to forage for grubs at night. I couldn't imagine myself traipsing alone in the wilderness with night vision goggles, so here is a picture of one taxidermied in the Domain Museum. I hope this doesn't offend vegan pacifists. We'll never know if this bird suffered when it died. I was impressed with their size though. Like a big chicken or rooster. Another interesting fact, their breast bone is flat, allowing no air born wings to attach themselves there as with all other birds.

We flew direct from LA to Auckland (12 hours and pictured below, right). My companion's sister and hubby picked us up and took us to stay at their place, in the Mount Albert neighborhood. Most everyone I was with were ova-lacto vegetarians. The first meal Nick made us fooled me into thinking they were gourmet cooks. As it turned out, he bought frozen soy "chicken " nuggets which he fried and skewered on sticks. Heated up canned peanut Thai satay sauce to go with. He pan fried ready to serve udon noodles with another store bought jar of pad Thai mixed in. We were hungry and it was delicious. Later when I offered to cook, I noticed they didn't even keep fresh garlic on hand! It is always fun to check out foreign markets, in your home country but especially abroad. I got familiar with their corner grocer pretty quick and delighted with Lim's Asian market a few blocks away. On the way to Lim's there was a Vegetarian grocer as well. Down their hill, a yummy organic breakfast house, Trinity of Silver beckoned us more than once.

I was very fortunate to have a friend to visit way up north, with whom I spent 5 days with at the bay of Hourhora, a very small village. They started out in 1974 as fisherman and women. Then they got into Avocado farming. Now they are in semi-retirement, which worked great for me. After showing me the northern most tip of their country, pictured below, they took me to Ninety Mile Beach, which everyone drives on. Think of Pismo Beach, Ca on steroids. Vast hard sand, large surf from the Tasman Sea, usually windy too. They cooked every night. When I offered to take them out to dinner, they laughed. The only take away (take out) in their village wasn't worthy of their interest. The nearest town was a 20 minute drive south to Kaitaia and since I couldn't offer to drive, (I'm not brave enough to rent a car when they drive on the other side of the road from us) it made perfect sense to hang in and enjoy the local fare. We dined on the local yams, and salad with fish and meats. they used to be vegetarians when they were young hippies, but that was a long time ago. They grow their own herbs and summer veggies like tomatoes, but August is winter down under. We ate a really lovely and easy cabbage salad that lasted several days in the fridge.

Cabbage Salad

Cabbage 1/2 head

carrots 2-3

one red bell pepper

one apple

a couple of sprigs mint (or cilantro or parsley)

1 tablespoon olive oil

the juice of one lemon or lime

Garnish with avocado slices (optional)

Shred finely the cabbage. Grate the carrots. Chop the red bell, apple, and fresh herb into small pieces. Throw into a large bowl. Add the oil and juice and toss together. Garnish with thin avocado slices. So refreshing and delicious!

Soy Chick'n versus Soy Kielbasa

I was in such frantic state of mind as I left town a few days ago that I came home to quite frantic state of my house. After righting all the wrongs my husband committed in the kitchen, I cleaned out the refridgerator on Sunday. Here I found these baby kohlrabi and decided to pair them with sauteed onions and apples in a skillet with olive oil. Then I steamed white potatoes in the microwave oven. Now I needed a quick fix for the main dish, since I had my sides in order.

Not sure of the many soy ready "meats" out there, I hedged my bets with offering two choices. First, Tofurky Kielbasa, it should go with the potatoes and the rest, but the last soy sausage I tried really lacked something. In case these tasted flat, I also pan fried Gardein Chick'n Filets. Happily, they both were edible. In fact we found the Chick'n quite good. If I hadn't told anyone it was soy, they may not have noticed the difference!