Autumn is apple season!
Wherever you look these days, grocery stores and farmers’ markets are brimming with bushels of apples – sweet, tart, yellow, red, green, pink.
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| (Photo from www.vegkitchen.com) |
With so many delicious apples and ways to prepare them, one must decide which type of recipe to make– pie, tart, strudel, cake, muffin, sauce, chutney – and – which type of apple best-suits that particular recipe.
I’m a woman who enjoys eating a good, crisp apple – almost any variety will do. I eat it one slice at a time – no frills. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a good mile-high apple pie (ala mode), and strudel (with whipped cream). Mmmm!!
One of the easiest cooked apple recipes I like to make is the old-fashioned baked apple, without using the oven. I’m too impatient to wait 45 minutes for the apples to become soft enough to eat. Instead, I ‘bake’ apples in the microwave. This is not a revolutionary idea; it’s just one that makes sense. The apples cook in record time and come out great!
Serves 4
4 medium-sized apples (I prefer Fuji apples.)
Filling Ingredients:
3 to 4 Tbsp. brown sugar (amount will depend on the sweetness of the apple)
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. raisins or currants (I use currants)
4 Tbsp. walnuts or pecans, finely chopped, optional
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4 small pats of butter
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Apple Directions:
1. Wash and core the apples. Do not cut completely through the bottom. With a sharp paring knife, cut off a ring of the apple’s skin at the very top.
2. Prepare the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, currants or raisins and nuts, if using. Set aside.
3. Place the cored apples in a glass pie plate or other suitable microwave-safe dish. Fill each cavity of the apple with some of the filling mixture until all filling is used. Add a little water to the bottom of the pie plate. This will create a nice juice.
4. Place a pat of butter on the top center of each apple.
5. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes.
6. Cover lightly with plastic wrap, and microwave for another 4 to 8 minutes, checking after every four minutes. Apples will be ready to serve when a knife can easily be inserted into it. Allow apples to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
NOTE: The amount of cooking time will depend on the size of the apples. Larger apples might need to cook for 12 minutes.
To Serve: Place each apple in a bowl. Drizzle a little of the juice that collects in the bottom of the pie dish. Serve just as it is, or with whipped cream or a good-quality vanilla ice
cream.