Apple Rolled Oats Streusel Cider Muffins - Twin Post

This is a twin post of An @bakerstreet29 out there in my parents birthplace, Mumbai, India, and mine here in the DC area. Before I embark on this post I got a confession to make. I was extremely suspicious of An when she showed up on the twitterverse radar interacting gingerly with all of us to a point of paranoia. Are we subjected to some kind of social media experiment? I was not about to be a guinea pig of sorts. Soonish after I discovered An is a lamb, the sweetest girl with the best intentions, exactly as she showed up on our twitterverse radar. A week or so ago might be longer, she had a bake sale fundraiser for street dogs in India and was baking up a storm. Some of her creations were blueberry cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate cookies and raisin cinnamon oatmeal cookies. What's not to like about this girl?!

Indian Inspired Apple Mango Relish (Chutney)

I have been a bit reluctant to call this condiment a chutney. Growing up I don't ever recall my mom making any sweet Indian chutney or pickles, they were always savory. If by any chance she added sugar for balance it would only be a touch. This particular relish or chutney can be used as a dash or more of garnish in a savory cauliflower potato soup, as sweet jam for breakfast or brunch or as a spiced condiment at the Thanksgiving table. It is quite versatile. Only the next day after making it did I realize how superb it did turn out. I used a lot of restraint with the ingredients as not to ruin the essence, integrity and character of the main ingredients, mango and apples. If you wish for the spices to be more pronounced feel free to make this original recipe your own and adjust the quantities, see note at the bottom. As you will notice I added whole cloves, whole cardamon pods and cinnamon sticks midway through cooking to keep flavors subtle and make sure the cardamon pods did not overcook and burst open. I also knew I wanted to can the chutney in the jar with the cinnamon sticks, cardamon pods and whole cloves, so I added them mid way through. It does look beautiful when you gift this canned chutney jars and make a breakfast or brunch gathering more festive and special.  Just make sure you tell your family and friends not to bite into the cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks or whole cloves, at this point they are not only serving for their everlasting aroma and flavor but their sheer beauty.

On a side note: A discussion ensued at 2am eastern time on twitter whether it is cardamon or cardamom. My spell checker said cardamom which I easily overruled and felt victorious though a tad annoyed. Most people (thanks guys) said cardamom and I have seen it spelled that way before, but my spice jar says cardamon, and this one wonderful Indian girl on twitter, named An (@bakerstreet29), said cardamon, and I didn't feel as though, I was alone in this world at 2am losing my mind. Besides, at home growing up, and in Israel in general, we call it *hel* which is altogether Middle Eastern as far as I can tell. No pun intended!

Apple Mango Relish (Chutney)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 medium red onion, diced

1 small fresh ginger, peeled and grated on micro plane grater

(tip: measure from the tip of your index finger to first crease. That is the size of the fresh ginger required)

1 green jalapeno, sliced into thin rings

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large green mango, peeled, flesh cut from pit and grated

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and grated

Few drops of fresh lemon

1 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or distilled vinegar

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash or two of red pepper flakes

2 cinnamon sticks

4 whole cloves

4 cardamons, whole in pods

Directions:

1. Over low/medium heat, sautee onions, ginger, jalapeno and garlic in canola oil until soft but not caramelizing

2. Immediately after grating apples add few drops of lemon to avoid oxidizing and browning

3. Add mango, apples with lemon, water, cider, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes, mix and cook uncovered on low/medium heat for half an hour, stir occasionally to make sure relish is not burning

4. Add cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamon pods and keep cooking for half an hour longer on low/medium heat, if water starts to completely evaporate prior to an hour passing, add some more water and continue cooking, stir occasionally

5. Relish/chutney has to cook at least for an hour or until very soft and most water evaporates. It will have a candied look to it

5. Can with or without whole spices (I did with) and save in refrigerator or follow canning instructions to save in a cool spot in the pantry

Notes:

1. You can cut down on the sugar or add more apples if using a whole cup of sugar. I found the best candied relish achieved with the above proportions. 

2. I would not add more vinegar.

3. You can absolutely adjust heat by adding more jalapenos or red pepper flakes. Play with the intensity of the spices by adding ground cloves, cinnamon and cardamon instead of whole.

4. The relish/chutney will still be pleasing to the eye but it won't have a detailed painted picture as it does with the whole spices, especially if you give them as presents.

5. Relish/chutney can be cooked longer than an hour.

6. The apples were picked fresh as you can see in my previous post found here.

Apple Picking at Larriland Farm

Last week as we were heading up to Pennsylvania, many of you on twitter tried to help but I came up empty handed at Penn State, State College, PA. Most of the surrounding farm land belongs to the college for purposes of research and learning. The one farm we came across was closed on Sunday the one day we had a moment as we were heading back. Then I went on twitter to find one organic orchard in the DC area. Thanks to several recommendations from FRESHFARMMktsDC, we found Larriland Farm. I have been looking for an organic orchard but after the seeing the crowds today I understand why purely organic orchards are not open to the public. Though it was as dignified as this type of harvest and Fall Festivals events can go, it was a matter of the waste that I am referring to. As you pick, some  apples just fall to the ground, some consumed and some destroyed accidently.  Larriland Farm farming practices are Integrated Pest Management, part of which is disease and pest resistant crop varieties. 

Honey, Agave, Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Rolls with Flax and Sesame seeds: My Tale of Becoming an American

My tale of becoming an American didn't instantly happen at the pledge of allegiance swear in but it started rather rocky and came full circle on Thanksgiving. I was fairly young at the time and stumbled quite accidently to live here in the United States. I didn't seek a refuge from dictatorship lands or escape from persecution. I had good future prospects as I was just out of the mandatory service of the Israeli army, getting accepted to Tel Aviv University. Yes, life growing up was challenging, in an east meets west worlds type of challenges many face and a tad more, but my future prospects were promising. If it were not for Jonathan, who would love me mentioning, that he is younger than I, I might have now not been an American. After so many years, friends back home say I am so Americanized. Well, I am!! Now that I no longer eat fast food, I am, I think, an American only in the most fabulous sense of the word possible!! Imagine me smiling now.