Just Teasin’

Before…
 
 

… and After.

This was my dessert today.

I hope these pictures will make you go running to your kitchen and munch on something yummy.

Because that is the point of this blog …to keep you (and me too) well fed.

Have a nice Sunday.

Love,
Petra

 

Cherry Obsession

Let the cherry obsession continue…

To me cherries look like the most optimistic fruit there is.

Kiwi, for instance, doesn’t look so optimistic – it looks rather geeky and obscure.

And bananas – they look mischievous, I think.

To me, at least.

Oh, and then there’s a pineapple – a little ‘show-off’ (don’t you think?) but very friendly looking.

I could go on like this…

Because I’m weird.

And now you know it.

But what I really wanted to do was to praise cherries here.
 
 

The greatest benefit of cherries is that you can use them to prepare the most delicious Cherry Pie.

Are you with me?

Are you?

Do you love fruit most in a pie form?

Of course, then there are other great benefits too.

Cherries contain pectin (a soluble fiber) that reduces cholesterol level.

They also are an abundant source of antioxidants – and these are good.

They slow down the aging process.

And we all want that, right?

On top of that, they are rather strong natural painkillers.

 
 

I hope I’ve teased you enough to go and get yourself some cherries at your earliest convenience.

They’ll make you happy.

I just know it.

And have a wonderful, cherry-full week.

Love,

Petra
 

Apple Galettes

apple-galettes-on-wood-II

I have stumbled across this wonderful recipe on Foodgawker.

The little cuties looked very yummy, fun to make and their individual serving size seemed to make them perfect for sharing.

I opted for an apple filling (instead of the grapefruit one) because it’s my favorite these days. I just love that wonderful moment when apples become hot and intimate friends with cinnamon!

Of course, to satisfy my curiosity I went searching for where the word gallete came from and what it meant.

No surprise dear friends, it comes from French.

Galette is a general term to designate various types of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes. There are two most famous galette types – the galette des Rois (King cake) and the Bretton galette which is a a large, thin buckwheat flour pancake.

~~~

To make the pastry you need:

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 cup (230 grams) cold butter, cubed

1 teaspoon vinegar

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

To make the filling you need:

4 large apples; peeled, cored and sliced (or cut into cubes)

1/2 cup (110 grams) butter

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

~~~

1. Preheat an oven to 356 F (180 C).

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

apple-galettes-flour-mixture-and-butter-in-electric-mixer

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the flour, salt, and sugar.

4. Add the butter.

apple-galettes-electric-mixer-in-action

5. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

apple-galettes-mixture-in-mixer-final

6. Then sprinkle the mixture with the vinegar and add milk gradually.

Pulse for about 4 more minutes until the mixture becomes smooth.

apple-galettes-dough-ball

7. Place the dough on a well floured surface and form a ball.

If the dough is too sticky keep adding flour.

apple-galettes-cutting-dough

8. With a floured knife keep cutting the dough in halves until you have 16 even pieces.

apple-galettes-small-balls

9. Shape the pieces into balls and put them in a refrigerator (the dough is easier to work with when cooled).

apple-galettes-butter-and-sugar-melting

10. Melt the butter and sugar in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently for about 2 minutes.

apple-galettes-apples-caramelizing

11. Add the apples.

Stir frequently, for about 4-5 minutes, until they just start to turn tender.

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12. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Toss the mixture gently and cook over medium heat for additional 2 minutes, until the sugar begins to caramelize and the apples are crisp-tender.

Place the apples on a plate.

apple-galettes-apples-on-dough

13. Remove a ball from the fridge and roll it out into a 5-inch (13 cm) circle (remove one ball from the fridge at a time).

Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the circle.

apple-galettes-folding

14. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling in a crimped pattern, leaving the center uncovered.

apple-galettes-folding-final

15. Gently, but firmly, push down on the crimped edges to help prevent the crust from opening up during baking.

apple-galettes-on-baking-sheet

16. Place the pastry on the baking sheet.

Brush with melted butter.

apple-galettes-out-of-oven

17. And bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool.

Yummy!

This recipe was adapted from the blog of “LaFujiMama” .

Apple Turnovers

apple-turnovers-fork

What kind of fall would it be without delicious apple turnovers.

These are juicy, full of walnuts and have that great christmasy taste of cinnamon.

When I tasted them they left me completely and utterly speechless.

And the same happened to my boyfriend.

So it has been a pretty quiet household today.

~~~

Ingredients:

3 frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

3 larger apples, peeled, cored

6 tablespoons chopped walnuts

3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon corn starch

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

~~~

1. Preheat an oven to 350 F (176 C).

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

apple-turnovers-dices

3. Cut apples into tiny little dices (about 1/4 inch – 0,6 cm).

apple-turnovers-filling

4. In a bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and corn starch.

apple-turnovers-squares-with-filling

5. Unfold the thawed pastry sheets on a floured surface.

Cut them into 5-inch-by-5-inch (13cm) squares.

Place about 3 teaspoons of filling on each square leaving about 1 inch (2,5 cm) border.

apple-turnovers-egg-edges

6. Use a pastry brush to brush the lightly beaten egg on the border of the pastry.

apple-turnovers-folding

7. Fold each pastry into a triangle.

Try to give the filling no chance to leak. (But still it will, that’s the rule.)

apple-turnover-on-baking-sheet

8. Crimp edges with a fork.

Brush the tops with the egg.

Cut 3 small steam vents in the top of each turnover. (Do it after you’ve applied the egg, otherwise you would seal the vents shut again.)

apple-turnovers-on-plate

9.  Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Enjoy!

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