One day, I'd like to live in the country and have a vegetable garden bigger than the two modest 4' x 4' raised beds and long, thin asparagus bed that I now tend in our little suburban yard. This future garden will be big enough to grow all the things that won't fit now, the space hogs, the sprawling vines and all those things I'd like to try because I've never tried to grow them before. Somewhere by the garden an orchard will fan out over a hill, lines of fruit trees that turn to a blizzard of white and pink in the spring. I will have apples.
Apples are fruits that speak of autumn, heaping baskets of greens, golds, and reds capture the colors of the trees as they turn and hold them for us to contemplate through the winter. Apple cider is a distillation of the crisp and snap of chilly days. Also a comfort from the cold, heated and spiced cider warms you on a bitter night like nothing else, except perhaps for a roaring fire, a soft, thick blanket and a couple cats.
In the fall and winter I usually eat an apple a day. This year I'm spending time getting to know apples and other fruits and vegetables that I know of but never come across in the supermarket. Apples are in high season at the farmers market. Early in the season, I tried a couple Ginger Gold apples, a pale yellow skin blanketed a spicy and delicately sweet fruit. They only appeared for a week or two and as soon as I tried them, they were gone.
Winesap, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and Stayman apples are some I've recently sampled. This week I plan on trying some Mutsu apples, their bright green skins reminding me of tart Granny Smiths. Granny Smith apples are my favorites to use when baking and my favorite treat to make I stumbled on years ago in The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic German Cooking by Mimi Sheraton. Using Pumpernickel bread crumbs adds a heavenly richness to the tang of the apples.
Apple and Black Bread Pudding
For making crumbs out of a moist and chewy bread, toast and cool 6 to 8 slices of pumpernickel then run through a food processor using the chopping blade until you get fine crumbs.
1/2 cup raisins
4 T dark rum
1 1/2 cups pumpernickel bread crumbs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 T butter (4 T melted butter & 2 T butter to dot top)
4 or 5 tart cooking apples
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 1 1/2 quart souffle or pudding dish. Soak raisins in rum for about 20 minutes. Peel, core and slice apples lengthwise, making slices about 1/4" thick. Mix breadcrumbs with sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle with rum that has been drained off raisins and melted butter. Stir well, adding a couple drops of water if necessary to make a mixture as moist as wet sand.
Place about a third of the breadcrumb mixture in greased baking dish, followed by half of the apples. Sprinkle with half the raisins and nuts if you are using them. Add another layer of breadcrumbs, apples, raisins and nuts, topping with everything with the remaining crumbs. Dot well with butter. Bake about 30 minutes or until apples are tender and crumb topping is crisp and brown.
Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream. Makes a stunning side for roast pork.
After the excited rush and colorful bustle leading up to Christmas, the final week of the year is a dull stretch. Once all the presents have been opened and the holiday feast is over, a disappointment sets in. Suddenly all the best cookies are gone, the greens are looking dry and tired, and we all just want the new year to begin already. There is a weariness palpable in the people in this last week, as if these days were the last days of a punishment. It has reminded me of how winter can feel for the gardener sometimes, like something to be endured with a resigned sigh.
