Hurray for Apple Dumplings

In my family, while growing up, when Mom made Apple Dumplings they were our supper, not a dessert. I guess Mom and Dad felt the sheer volume of calories and such were worthy of consideration as a "meal." For me, that was never enough. I have mentioned my sweet tooth in past, but it is still going as strongly today as I am approaching age 70 as it did at age 10. Mom made enough that we all had one. Possibly, Dad was allowed two, though I am not certain. But I always wished there were more, because they were one of my favorite of many favorite desserts.

These days, I know how much time it takes to prepare them, and just how far they (don't) go. I can certainly sympathize with Mom's efforts to feed a big family. But, I don't think there has ever been a time when I didn't wish for more than there were. These days, if I don't keep a close eye out, my husband will just polish off the whole of the remaining dumplings in the pan. Horrors! Because that means I won't get another one!

Apple Dumplings

Okay, I might be exaggerating. A little. Well, a teensy bit, maybe. But I just love Apple Dumplings. 

Rice Pudding

Coconut Milk and Saffron Rice Pudding

There are other things Mom made for us, that still, to this day, I crave and make. I recall Mom making rice pudding from leftover "Minute Rice." She used tapioca for the thickening. I love rice, and I love rice pudding. I do not use "Minute Rice," but when I have leftover rice (usually made with saffron in it) I make rice pudding. For myself only, as my husband is not at all fond of plain rice, and something about rice pudding (despite the fact that he has a sweet tooth nearly as big as mine) is a no-no for him. So, I do not have to share, when I make rice pudding. I do, however, have to make sure there is something else that he will eat, for dessert. 

To make my version of her rice pudding, Combine about 2½ to 3 cups of milk (or substitute a can of coconut milk, adding enough water to make the amount of liquid needed) in a medium saucepan with 3 tablespoons of minute tapioca and ½ cup of sugar. Let stand for a few minutes, then stir and combine with 2½ cups of leftover rice. Bring the mixture to boil, stirring and once boiling, reduce to simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool. Optional is adding in raisins, or cinnamon, or cinnamon stick while cooking. Add in vanilla, if desired, once off heat.

Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes

Mom also made what she called "Potato Pancakes," when she had leftover mashed potatoes. They were more like a freshly hand-patted corn tortilla in texture and style. Certainly they bore no resemblance to what is termed "Potato Pancakes" in restaurants. These were made and to me, were a most particularly special treat for lunchtime next day. As we grew older, my sisters and I would beg Mom to make lots of extra mashed potatoes, so we could have Potato Pancakes for lunch next day. And preferably, more than just a couple! She served these to us first just sprinkled with salt. Then as "dessert" a second with jam spread in the center and rolled up. Yum!

But Apple Dumplings? Oh me, oh my!

Apple Dumplings

Apple Dumplings

Makes 6 Dumplings

SYRUP:
1½ cups water
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

DUMPLINGS:
pie dough recipe for double crust pie
6 medium sized baking apples, pared, cored
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut in 6 pieces 

For the syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a boil, ensuring the sugar is dissolved completely. Add the butter and set aside.

For the dumplings: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pie pastry as for pie, keeping it in a relatively rectangular shape. Cut the pastry into six (7 to 8-inch) squares. Set one apple onto each square. 
 
In a small bowl, combine the ¼ cup granulated sugar, teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg, tossing well to evenly distribute the spices. Using a small spoon, place about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg mixture into each core of the apples. Place one small pat of butter on top of the sugar mixture in each core. Have a small bowl of water at hand. Bring one corner of the pastry to the top of the apple (I usually start with a corner that may not be quite perfect). Dampen the top, then bring up the next corner of the dough and press into place. Repeat with the last two corners of the dough. Repeat this for the remaining 5 apples. If desired, cut little leaves out of the dough scraps and dampen the backs to adhere and decorate the tops of each dumpling. Set the dumplings, preferably not touching, into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Pour the syrup over all. 

Bake the dumplings for approximately 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the pastry is golden. Serve the dumplings warm or cold, plain, with milk or cream, or with vanilla ice cream.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Rice Pudding Guatemalan Style

Cover of Cookbook for my children

I have mentioned in a few posts about making a Guatemalan cookbook / memoir for my children. They were all born in Guatemala during the 1970s, and while the youngest was only turning 3 years old when we came back to the US to live, Guatemala is a part of their heritage. I figure if I, a mid-western girl, could come to love Guatemala and all its diverse food, fantastic scenery and varied seasons, surely some of this should stay with them, even if they are no longer attached to the country in any real way. 

In making this cookbook, each version I have printed has been just a bit better than the previous. The first I made was exciting, in that I was actually putting all this information into one place. It still had a lot of errors, lousy grammar and very few of my own photos. As I go through with the next child in mind, I change family photos to gear them more to that particular child. Since realizing how very few photos I had ever taken of the foods that I actually had made, I began rectifying this. As of the last child's book printing, I had amassed 80 recipes, and had photos of 40 of them. This job of putting together the book and printing is all done here in my own little home office. I have a binding machine, so I make a nice job of it, if I do say so.

Arroz con Leche

A few days back, I made a tabled list of which foods were already made and had photos taken, and which still needed to be made and have photos taken. Some of the foods are ones I have made in past, but maybe not for over two years, since that is when I started photographing everything I made. Others are foods I have slim chance of ever making properly due to lack of available ingredients. But on my list of needed recipes to photograph was Arroz con Leche, which, translated, just means rice with milk. Not as exciting in English, for sure. Obviously, in all the 45 years since first going to Guatemala, this rice dessert was never interesting enough, to me, to actually make it. I always just made my Mom's Rice Pudding, with tapioca, milk and sugar added to leftover rice. Yesterday, finally, I made Arroz con Leche, and found it is not dissimilar to Mom's Rice Pudding! 

I had assumed (never a good thing) that since there was nothing in this recipe that would thicken the pudding, that it would take a long time cooking and stirring for the milk to thicken. In essence, it took no longer than it takes to make Mom's Rice Pudding with tapioca! The tapioca needs a few minutes cooking to expand and thicken. In the case of Arroz con Leche, which is made with freshly cooked rice, it took about 15 minutes of cooking for it to thicken down. Once cooled, it thickens far more. And so, at last, I have made Arroz con Leche. 

Arroz con Leche, made as Atol beverage

While researching recipes for the cookbook, many were of foods I had tasted, but never had a recipe for. I added a lot of these extras to the book. Atol is another that though I had tried some of the variations (and there are many), had never really written down what I did. An "Atol" is nothing more than a (usually hot) thickened beverage, sort of a pureed soup style. It can be made with almost anything; for example, hominy, sweet corn, rice, plantains, or anything else that will lend itself to pureeing. Just in the making of various plantain dishes, I have on occasion pureed a few pieces into a thick drink. These beverages can be sweetened or not, according to personal taste. Though the beverage is generally pureed, in part, often there are some bits of such things as corn kernels, pumpkin seeds, or other things used as garnish. In some cases, the beverage is left slightly runny, but with more "bits" left in, and a spoon is needed. Arroz con Leche is one of these types of Atol. It can be heated through with the sugar, cinnamon and milk and drunk runny, with rice in it. Yesterday, I photographed Arroz con Leche in both iterations.

Arroz con Leche

Arroz con Leche

About 6 - 8 servings
 
1 cup plain medium or long-grained rice
2 cups water
1 stick (4-inches) true cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
2 cups milk, or part half & half or cream, as desired
½ cup raisins, optional

In a medium-large saucepan, cook the rice with the water, cinnamon and salt: bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Milk just added          |          after 15 minutes

Add in the sugar milk and raisins and bring back to boil, stirring, then lower heat to medium-low and stirring constantly (to avoid scorching the milk or milk overflowing), cook until the mixture is thickened to taste. In my case, it took 15 minutes for the milk to thicken down from the photo on the left, to the photo on right. Serve warm with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.