Feeling nostalgic

2 1/2 weeks down, probably about 1 year to go. Oh Germany, how I miss thee.

Adventskalender

To sweeten the single life

Coming soon...

It's been in the works for quite a while, but I'm glad to finally announce a new little business venture coming soon. "Glueckskind" was founded by my friend Sophie and me, and offers fine handcrafted jewelry using sterling silver, Swarovski Crystals and semi precious gemstones. Even though the official store-opening is not until the middle of January 2011, we thought we'd already give you a little glimpse of what you can expect.

Boo!

OCPD*

*= Obsessive Compulsive Painting Disorder. That is what I have, according to my husband.
He might be right, but seriously, didn't this just turn out fabulous?

Chunky Sweet & Spiced Apple Butter

If you want to know how fall tastes, try this. It's perfect. Perfect on toast. Perfect with roasted meat. Perfect all by itself. Just perfect. AND: Not only does it use up a good chunk of apples, it's also made in the slow cooker, which means it's super easy, fast (at least the hands-on-part) and there is no mess to clean up. You throw everything in the pot before you go to bed and when you wake up the next morning it's done and just sitting there, waiting to be eaten.
Fall doesn't get better than this. Seriously.

Chunky Sweet and Spiced Apple Butter



4 cups (about 1 ¼ pounds) peeled and chopped apples
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
¼ cup butter, divided
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 ½ tsp vanilla

Combine apples, sugar, vinegar, 2 tbsp butter, cinnamon, salt and cloves in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours
Stir in remaining butter and vanilla. Cool completely.
Makes 2 cups

An apple a day

Or two. Or three. Or 35 pounds. Which is exactly how much we have standing around in our kitchen right now. Let's just say, the offer was so good, we couldn't say no. While looking at this huge box kind of scares me, it's also pretty awesome, since I finally get to try all those great apple recipes, that I've been collecting for years. So far I've already found some real gems. Like this one.



Bavarian Apple Tart




dough:
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup butter
1 egg
3 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt

filling:
3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 cup ham, sliced or cubed
1-2 cups sour cream
¼ cup white wine
2 eggs
Thyme
salt and pepper

For dough, mix together flour, butter, egg, parsley and one pinch of salt until it forms a smooth dough. Wrap in foil and chill for about 30min. In the meantime sauté apples, onions and ham until soft, about 5-10min. Season with salt and pepper. Add white wine and cook until completely evaporated, ca. 5 min. Cool and mix with sour cream, thyme and eggs. Roll out dough and press in tart pan. Top with apple-mixture and bake at 375 F for about 30 min or until top starts to turn golden brown.