And more apples!

… The kind you can eat.

We have a bunch of apples form the half-dozen apple trees in our backyard, and we’ve been trying to use as many as we can. has made a lot of apple sauce in different flavours (e.g., with cranberries, currant, or apricots). I pulled out a couple of booklets of recipes from home, since I come from Rougemont, apple-growing capital of Quebec, made a shopping list, and went to stock up on ingredients at the Co-op. Here’s the plan: all but one recipe come from Chef Louis Tremblay, who catered for our wedding party back in 1996.

Crispy Lettuce and Summer Apples Salad

1 Boston lettuce (I used a mix of greens, but butter lettuce is also very good)
4 summer apples
1/2 lemon
1 small celery heart
1/2 cup (125 mL) freshly whipped cream
1 tablespoon (15 mL) mild curry
3 tablespoons (45 mL) apple juice
Freshly ground pepper

1. Pare the salad, break off the leaves, wash them. Cut them in bites.
2. Peel the apples, core them, cut them in quarters, and slice them. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Clean the celery and slice it fine.
4. Pour the cream in a bowl. Add the curry; then, with a whisk, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and the apple juice. Slat and pepper to taste.
5. Mix the lettuce, apples and celery in a big wineglass or dessert cup; pour the dressing and serve immediately.

Potage Rougemont

This apple soup can be served hot or cold. 8 portions.

2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
1 cup (250 mL) diced potatoes
1/2 cup (125 mL) diced celery
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped onion
1/2 cup (125 mL) leek, sliced thin
1 lb or 2 cups (450 g or 500 mL) diced apples
A few sprigs of parsley
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pepper
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
4 1/2 cups (1 L) chicken broth (I used ‘s home-made broth)
3 tablespoons (45 mL) heavy cream

1. Sauté the celery, onion and leek in the butter in a big pot for 5 minutes.
2. Add the apples and potatoes, broth, and seasonings.
3. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Puree through a blender. Add cream before serving.

Pork Noisettes with Apple Sauce

6 portions.

18 noisettes (bites) of pork loin, 1 in. (2.5 cm) thick
unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb or 2 cups (450 g or 500 mL) quartered apples
2 tablespoons (30 mL) green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) mild cider
2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
1/2 cup (125 mL) heavy cream

1. Sauté the pork noisettes in the butter, on each side, for about 5 minutes. Season and keep warm.
2. Put the apples green onions, cider and butter in a pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Keep the apples warm and add the cream.
4. Pour half the apple sauce mix in the bottom of the plates. Place 3 pork noisettes in each plate and a scoop of more apple sauce. Serve immediately.

Salt Pork and Apple Omelette

4 portions. (That’s for tomorrow’s breakfast.)

1/2 lb (225 g) salt pork, sliced thin (or uncured bacon)
6 tablespoons (90 mL) flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt
1 cop (250 mL) milk
4 eggs
2 apples, sliced thin (the peel can be left on)
1 tablespoon (15 mL) icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) cinnamon

1. Place the salt pork in a pan and cover in cold water. Take to the boiling point, then pour out the water.
2. Cook the pork slices until they are crispy.
3. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Mix in the milk without allowing lumps to form.
4. Add the eggs, still beating with a whisk.
5. Pour the preparation into the pan containing the salt pork. Add the apple slices.
6. Cook either on the stove or in the oven.
7. Slide the oven into a pre-warmed plate. Dust with the mix of icing sugar and cinnamon.

Apple Cake “Mignonne”

This is the only recipe that is not from Chef Louis Tremblay; it comes from my neighbour and classmate from elementary school, Johanne Jodoin. I’ll be making that tomorrow as well.

1 cup (250 mL) sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) oil
1 egg
2 cups (500 mL) sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground clove
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped walnuts (I used almonds)
1 cup (250 mL) raisins
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) apple sauce

1. Mix the oil and sugar.
2. Add the egg and vanilla.
3. Add in the other ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour in a square baking pan (9 in. x 9 in. or 225 mm x 225 mm)
5. Cook in the oven at 350 F (175 C) for 30 minutes.
6. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Oh, and I’ll give the Apple Gratin recipe some other day.

Update: We had the salad, soup and pork noisettes tonight, and I was pretty happy with the results. I was overly cautious and overcooked the pork a bit, but it still tasted good. I know a lot of people who don’t eat meat, or at least not pork, but the salad and soup are certainly worth anyone’s time. All three recipes are ridiculously easy to make, and the soup can be made well in advance and kept in jars. I think it’s my favourite of the three recipes.

The magic steampunk apple peeler-corer-slicer which we bought a few weeks ago made the work super-easy. I even verified that it works beautifully on potatoes; you merely have to pull out the “core” and slice it by hand. That was $20 well spent.

Prop. 8 is enough

Just after I had my bit of mild ranting after California ballot Proposition 8, which would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry, Apple announced that it officially opposes this piece of crap proposition and donated $100,000 to help fight it. My next computer is going to be an Apple.

Also in theme, this morning at 10AM a couple of smiling Jehovah’s Witnesses rang our doorbell. I was still in my PJs and robe when I answered; through the screen door, I politely informed them that I was not interested, and they didn’t insist. Maybe the “No on Prop 8” sign in the front lawn tipped them off to the fact that we were unlikely to see eye-to-eye.