Grandma D's apple cake

I mentioned yesterday that it felt like Fall in the morning. And, as part of that, apple season appears to be coming in full force - or so says the grocery store where they have apples pretty much everywhere. I fell victim to their marketing tactics and bought a bag of apples (Paula Reds, I think...)

So, I used some in the sauteed apples I made yesterday with my pork chops. That took 2. And because I had a whole bag (minus 2) I needed to find a way to use the rest... so I pulled out the church cookbook for some inspiration -- and found it in Grandma Diersen's entry for "Roman Apple Cake". 

The recipe had all of the ingredients listed out, but was missing a few minor details: temperate at which it should be baked and for how long. Uh oh. Keith was the one by the cookbook, so he looked up some other recipes for cakes, and they all bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, so we went with that. I guess Grandma just knew what she was doing. :)

Some of you have had Grandma's apple cake, and I remember eating it growing up, too. Even though we had a little improvisation figuring out the baking logistics, the rest of it was all hers and it's so totally worth it. When we tried it last night Keith said: "Mmm... this is good. Grandma really knew her cakes!"  Indeed she did...

It's one of the moistest (is that a word? most moist?) cakes I've had and it doesn't hurt to add a scoop of ice cream. So, if you find yourself with an apple surplus sometime this fall - try this. It's amazing.

Grandma D's Roman Apple Cake
1 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 c. chopped apples
1 c. sour milk (or buttermilk)
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt

Topping:
1/2 c. white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. nuts (chopped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, cream the shortening and sugar together. Mix in the eggs, then the apples and milk. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt - mix into the batter. In a separate bowl, mix the topping. Spread into a 9x13 pan, and sprinkle the topping ... well, on top. :) 

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Use the "toothpick test" to make sure it's done.

See? It's easy. Here are my notes:

• Shortening: used Crisco -- 1/3 c. butter flavored to use up what I had left, and 2/3 c. plain for the rest.
• Sour milk: the recipe called for sour milk, but I used buttermilk - I think it's pretty much the same thing. 
• Nuts: used pecans - but I bet it would be good with walnuts, too.
• We baked for 35 minutes, but we had something else in the oven for about 10 minutes at the beginning, so we kept opening it - which I'm sure wasn't helpful. I bet 30 minutes without doing that is fine.

What are your favorite apple recipes? Dessert or otherwise. 

a nice fall day

OK, so maybe it's not fall, yet... but it sure felt like it this morning. It was a little dreary and cool enough so that I needed my sweater. I'm going to be sad to see summer go, because I know that winter is coming then... but Fall is my favorite, so I'm looking forward to it!

So, (unrelated) I learned a lesson on this nice fall (feeling) day: Always dress in a way that you're prepared for the unexpected. I couldn't sleep last night until about 3 a.m. and, consequently, I was a little late getting up to get ready for church this morning. So, I got up, put on jeans (nice ones, no rips, holes, or the like) and a black sweater, threw my black flip flops on and ran out the door. Oh, and I did comb my hair and put it in a ponytail. I showered late last night, so I was not the smelly kid, either.  But, when I got there, Pastor stopped me on the way in...

(I'm paraphrasing here)

Pastor: We have another family joining - do you want to do the new member welcome in front of church with them?

Me: Today?

Pastor: Yes - sorry for the short notice.

Me: Um... (looks down at what I'm wearing) I probably would have dressed a bit differently if I would have known...

Pastor: It's OK, we can do yours another time if you want. Just thought I'd see if you wanted to do it with them.

Me: Ummmm... that might be a good idea.

I started to walk away and turned around and went back to him.

Me: You know, why not... I think I'm OK.

Pastor: I think it's fine - and it's a small crowd this morning.

Me: Let's do it.

And, it was fine. I wasn't dressed like a hobo, or anything, but I probably would have forgone the jeans and flip flops had I known. Argh... lesson learned.

Anyway - back to how it was a fall (feeling) day - the grocery store had apples on sale because it's getting to be that time of year so I bought some, some pre-cooked smoked pork chops (awesome) and some green and yellow zucchini. Here's what I ended up with for lunch:

I grilled the pre-cooked smoked pork chop to heat it up - these things are awesome. They're delicious and don't take very long to make since you just have to heat it up. I cut the zucchini up and sauteed it with some olive oil, salt, and pepper - and it was mighty tasty. My typical mistake with this kind of stuff is being too light on the seasoning, but today I did well. :)  And the apples, I sauteed in a bit of butter with honey, and sprinkled with cinnamon and a tiny bit of nutmeg. I went light on the seasoning with the apples, but that worked out well, too. I'm not sure what it is about apples and pork chops, but they are delicious together. And the meal seemed very fall-ish to me.

I also got a roast to make a Coke roast in the crock pot tomorrow. Yum!

What do you think? Are you dreading summer ending or looking forward to fall? As for me - I'm looking forward to it, along with the seasonal yumminess that comes with it.

the great minnesota get-together

Growing up I don't really remember if we ever went to the State Fair (aka the Great Minnesota Get-Together) - but now that I live only about 30 minutes from it, I think it's a must-do every year. The people watching is amazing, the company is excellent, and it's one time of year when it's perfectly acceptable to have everything you eat all day to be deep fried and/or on a stick. What's not to like?

Maybe the crowds - but the glass-half-full in me says: more people watching! I have the glass-half-full approach for the first 4 or so hours. Then glass-totally-empty kicks in and I hate pretty much everyone that I'm not there with. (I exaggerate just a bit.)

Fortunately (for the glass-half-full me) I was only able to go to the fair for about 3 hours this year. However, unfortunately (for the I-want-to-eat-deep-fried-everything-because-it's-the-state-fair me) I was only able to be at the fair for about three hours this year. The company was definitely the best part of the day, so thanks to the Hanson's, Storlie's, and Gavin's for letting me hang out with them again over the weekend.

Meeting up with them worked out swimmingly because the shuttle I was on dropped off by the Haunted House, across the street from the Horticulture building - and they were right behind it. I'm glad I didn't have to try to find them in the mess.

One of the first things we came across after I got there was - you saw it - the Spring Grove Soda Pop stand!!! If you haven't had it, or don't know why I'm excited, you're missing out totally. Spring Grove is one small town over from where I grew up and it was always a treat to get Spring Grove pop. I had strawberry, because it's the best. It's even better over ice cream - but they didn't have any.

Then we hit up the animal buildings. First, the miracle of birth center which is always fun. I think I mentioned in last year's post that the animal barns are probably more fun for someone who didn't grow up on a farm... but how can you resist this face?

After the miracle of birth center, we walked through the coliseum to see what was going on. They were showing cows. Then Kyle, Reagan, Harlee, Joan, and I walked through the cow barn and talked about our favorites. The others went cowboy/girl belt shopping.

Then, of course, the pig barns. Harlee petted a pig (don't worry, we know that pig). And we saw the largest pig in Minnesota (we do NOT know that pig.)

We ended the time at the animals there and went to the heritage area - and had some deep fried mushrooms.

While the girls went to pick up their aforementioned belts, I went to the deep fried pickle stand (I'll have two, please.) Don't worry, I shared with the group. Love. I can't believe the kids don't like these. Oh, well. More for us. I agree with Kyle, though, that the stand needs to be bigger - it's always SUPER busy.

Harlee and Carson were having a good time, I think. Aren't they awesome? I think so, too.

Time for a beer. The crowds are starting to get to me. (Grainbelt Nordeast - a nice local brew.)

Unfortunately, I had to leave shortly after that. :(  But I did pick up some deep fried cookie dough on the way out. Turns out I like cold cookie dough more than deep fried. Also, I like my cookie dough in balls smaller than a golf ball dipped in funnel cake batter. Disappointed, but glad I tried it so I wasn't left wondering what could have been!

Sadly, that was the extent of my food at the fair this time due to the time limitations (happily for my heart.) The state fair is full of mixed feelings. However, if you want to see what a real champ can do at the fair, check out last year's post. Last year, I was a champ. And irresponsible, fulfilled champ.

Sometime after the cow barn and before the pig barn, this is what happened to Reagan -- and it lasted at least until I left. She must have still been tired from last night's turkey.

Laura and I decided that it would be awesome to make strollers for adults and have a stand at the fair. People could rent one and have someone walk them around for an hour or two if they needed a nap during the middle of their time there. How awesome would that be if you could "sleep and rally!" at the fair?

I also liked my friend Janine's idea that she posted on facebook - she said that after all of that walking, she could have used an ibuprofen on a stick. Or even better, deep fried ibuprofen on a stick. I like where your head is, Janine... I like where your head is.

My only regret is not getting the cheese curds (mmm......) Maybe I'll have to go back.

Did you go to "the fair" this year? What was your favorite part?