Recipes

Over the weekend I visited Stephen in State College and we went apple picking at Way Fruit Farm!!! I was so excited. I’d been wanting to pick apples for at least a month and couldn’t find a farm I was sure offered it. We went to Way Fruit Farms because I discovered they had a Fall Festival day and pumpkin patch picking IN THE FIELD. When we got there the line for the truck that takes you to the pumpkins was soooo long & my greater desire was apple-picking anyway so we got a 1/2 peck of a variety of about 4 apples. It was so much fun! I highly recommend it!

After we picked our 1/2 peck of apples we went inside to grab some of the BEST APPLE CIDER EVER. I’m telling you, Way Fruit Farm makes the best apple cider I have ever had. I don’t like my apple cider too sweet and theirs is just perfect. There are no added sweeteners or preservatives so you must keep it cold and it doesn’t keep for very long but we drink it pretty fast. Hot or cold, it is divine. Stephen has taken to adding a splash of Cinnamon Whisky which is also a delicious touch. I don’t usually prefer whiskey but that stuff tastes like pure cinnamon yumminess.

When we got back to the apartment I picked which apples I wanted to use for my first ever apple pie. I was so excited.

As you can see, there are a variety of apples there. I also borrowed (stole, although I guess he got some of it back when he ate the pie) one HoneyCrisp from a 1/4 peck Stephen had bought at the Farmer’s Market.

Anyway, onto the pie recipe!!

Kelley’s First Apple Pie:

For the Crust:

1 3/4 Cups AP Flour
1/4 Cup WW Flour
3/4 Cup Crisco Vegetable Shortening
1/2 TSP Salt
1/2 TSP Cinnamon
7 TBSP Ice Cold Water
Extra Flour for rolling out dough.

For the Filling:

6 (apprx.) Large Apples – a variety of handpicked local apples : D
1/4 Cup AP Flour
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 TSP Cinnamon
1/4 TSP Fresh Ground Nutmeg
3 TBSP Salted Butter (Earth Balance)

PS- I don’t have a camera right now so all of the pictures are coming from my phone camera! This shall be changed soon!

This is my first post on Pumpkin Honey and I’m extremely excited to write it. I’m especially excited because my first post is also about my FIRST attempt at Angela Liddon‘s famous Green Monster.

I’m trying to transition to a healthier and increasingly plant-based diet, cutting down on the dairy until it’s gone. As for now, I still have milk and yogurt in my refrigerator and I cannot just throw them away!

My first Green Monster:

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup raw kale, massaged with fresh lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp ground flax meal

1/2 cup 100% apple cider (no sugar or preservatives added)

1/4 cup greek yogurt

1/4 cup blend of 6 grain organic rolled cereal flakes (oats, rye, spelt, wheat, barley, kamut)

Directions: Add in blender with liquid on bottom and blend for several minutes until all ingredients are smooth. (For kale, i merely cut the end off of one lemon and rubbed the kale leaves into the pulp.)

In retrospect I should have either softened the cereal flakes or blended them into a powder before adding them to the smoothie. They did add a nice chewy texture if you’re into that but I would have preferred something smoother. Overall the flavor was delicious and I could hardly believe there was any kale. You definitely could not taste it. What an ingenious way to get all the benefits of the wonderful leafy green without the bitterness or rough texture.

I highly recommend you make your own Green Monster ASAP!

Cheers,

Kelley

And her boyfriend who loves her very much, Steve