Caramel Apples

I love the idea of caramel apples, but hate the corn syrupy, sticky, impossible-to-eat apples on a stick that you see everywhere this time of year. Dipping slices of apple into caramel seems superior to trying to eat the whole thing off of a stick. It's still messy, but your face is spared. Rosemary caramel goes perfectly with crisp apple slices- the tarter, the better- worlds better than that fake corn syrup goo.

ROSEMARY CARAMEL

Combine 1+1/2 cups sugar + 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and let boil until it becomes caramel colored- remove from heat immediately and pour in 1+1/4 cups heavy cream. Return to heat and stir to break up any sugar. Once it's smooth, remove from heat, add 2 sprigs of rosemary for 20 seconds, remove the rosemary, stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice and let cool.

Goodbye Summer

Summer always seems to go faster than any other season, and no matter how unbearable the heat and humidity can be, I'm sad to see it end... And whenever I'm a little sad, a bit of baking will generally cheer me up. So here's an easy galette with what may be the last nice white peaches and blueberries of the season. I added rosemary and ginger to give it a little kick towards those wintry flavors. If you mix a little pinch of the fresh ginger, rosemary, and lemon zest into the dough before it chills, it'll be even more delicious. Enjoy.

TINY WHITE PEACH & BLUEBERRY GALETTES WITH ROSEMARY AND GINGER

FOR THE CRUST: mix together 1+1/2 cups white flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and a pinch of sea salt in a mixer. Add 6 tbsps butter, and mix until the butter is somewhat incorporated. Then add 1 egg (beaten) and 1 tbsp of heavy cream and continue to mix until dough comes together. Refrigerate and chill for at least 90 minutes.

FOR THE FILLING: Chop 2 white peaches and sit them in a bowl with 1/2 pint of blueberries, drizzle with honey, lemon zest, a pinch of fresh grated ginger and chopped rosemary. Let sit for at least an hour so the flavors can combine.

Preheat oven to 375. When the dough is chilled, divide into 6 balls and roll them each out into little disks- about 4-5" diameter. Then place a small amount of the peach-blueberry mix into the center of each one. Leave about an inch and a half of space around the edges and then fold the crust up over the fruit to create little open-faced pies. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and fruit is bubbly.

Homemade Soda

 

It's fair to say I drink a lot of sparkling water. So much in fact, that my boyfriend, recently pointed out that our amount of weekly recycling has quadrupled—ever since I discovered you can buy it by the case at Trader Joe's. So, in an attempt to sweeten the deal for him (as he's the one on recycling detail) I occasionally make homemade soda, which is basically just any sort of flavored simple syrup added to sparkling water. 

You can do a great spicy soda with cinnamon sticks, cardamom, ginger, star anise & a couple of peppercorns; or any sort of citrus-y soda- just simmer the peel in the syrup. Homemade ginger ale is infinitely better than the bottled kind. Just a simple cinnamon soda is pretty damn good too, as is a vanilla one, or a rose one. Follow your tastebuds and use your imagination, the choices are infinite.

So here's a vanilla soda with fresh mint to add a herbal, fresh note. Could not require less effort- in honor of not laboring on labor day.

VANILLA SIMPLE SYRUP/ SODA BASE

Combine 1 cup of sugar (I used brown this time) and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, add 1 vanilla bean, split open. Let the syrup come to a boil and then simmer for ten minutes. Pour in glass jar and cool in refrigerator. When cold add to sparkling water and ice for homemade soda.