Apple pear walnut salad

For the second day of Blogging Marathon #58, I have a fruit and nut salad. This was relished as an after school snack by my daughter. The walnuts and apples provide a crunch to the salad and are the perfect foil to the soft, ripe pear. Lemon in the dressing gives the salad a slight tanginess which, I feel, sets of the sweetness of the fruit perfectly.

What you need :
Apple - 1, chopped
Pear - 1, chopped
Walnuts - a handful, toasted and chopped into large chunks

For the dressing :
Honey - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - to taste (I extracted juice from about 1/4 of a lemon)

Mix all the ingredients for the salad and the dressing together. Serve immediately or chilled.
Enjoy.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Apple crumble - the easiest and best dessert ever

Like I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I came home with a whole lot of apples after we went apple picking recently.  I've wanted to try an apple crumble for a long time and this seemed to be the perfect time to do it. I like to think of my version as a healthy one as it uses whole wheat flour for the topping, and very little fat in the form of butter. The smell while this is being baked in the oven is absolutely delightful and makes you want to keep opening the oven and breathing it in.

What you need :
For the bottom layer :
Apples - 2 medium sized (with peel), diced
Sugar - 2 tsp
Maple syrup - 1 tsp (optional)
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

For the topping :
Whole wheat flour - 4 tbsp
Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Cold Butter, cut into small pieces - 2 tbsp 

Take the chopped apples in a large baking dish. Squeeze lemon juice over it and mix well. Add the sugar and maple syrup and stir.

Take the ingredients for the topping in a mixing bowl. Mix with the tips of your fingers until it becomes crumbly. Evenly distribute the topping over the apples.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until the topping becomes dark brown and most of the moisture has evaporated. The mixture will bubble a lot once the apples start releasing their juices. So make sure your baking dish is big enough. Switch off the oven and let the dish remain in the oven for another 15 minutes. Serve warm as it is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Note:
This, served with ice cream, makes three small servings. It is easily one of the easiest and best desserts I have made to date. The topping is crisp and offers a wonderful contrast in texture to the soft, cooked apples.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

Whole wheat eggless apple walnut banana squares

Some days back, I went apple picking. Apples, fresh off the tree, are so delicious, so crisp and so juicy - the store bought ones cannot hold a candle to these. Seriously, they are so juicy that even if you were to accidentally scratch one with your nails, you can see the juice spurt out. I came back home with a huge bag of apples that we picked and other than eating them as is, have been trying them out in various bakes. This week's theme for the Blogging Marathon is baking with veggies/fruits and this healthy apple square fits the bill perfectly.

What you need : (Recipe adapted from here)
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups, leveled
Apple -  finely chopped(with peel), 2 cups (I used about one and a half medium sized apples)
Walnuts - 1/2 cup, chopped
Over ripe banana - 2, mashed well
Yogurt - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1 cup * (see notes at the bottom)
Baking soda - 2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

In a mixing bowl, mix together, the mashed banana, oil, sugar, yogurt and vanilla essence. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar and salt to this.  Mix in the chopped apple and walnuts. Pour into a 15x10x1 cookie sheet, spread evenly with the back of a spatula or wet hands and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees farenheit for 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once cool, cut into squares and store in an air tight container.

Note :
The apples I had were sweet in themselves. Plus, I do not like my bakes to be overly sweet. One cup of sugar makes these squares only moderately sweet. Add up to half a cup more of sugar if you want it to be sweeter.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

Apple semiya payasam

My little girl would be content if I fed her only fruits all day - no rice, no rotis, no spicy curries. That, I think, would be an ideal day for her. However, I am the proverbial monster-mother who forces her to eat rice, sambar, veggies and rotis every single day. It is amazing to see how the nose that wrinkles up in disgust at the sight of rice will excitedly sniff out a perfectly ripe chikoo or papaya.
Today's dish incorporates fruit into payasam - a dessert that is usually made during festivals.

What you need:
Vermicelli/Semiya - 3/4 cup
Apple - 3/4 cup, peeled and cut into tiny pieces
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup (adjust to taste)
Milk - 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashews, raisins - a few, fried in ghee till golden brown

Take the chopped apple and water in a pan. Stew on low heat for 10-12 minutes until the apples are soft. Add the vermicelli and milk. Continue to cook on low heat until the vermicelli turns soft. Add sugar and stir till it dissolves completely. Remove from heat and add the fried cashews and raisins.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14