Kay Wheeler Moore

Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Fun cones piled with healthy apple filling

I’ve had this one in my “Kid Fun Ideas” binder for many a day. Just completing a visit with those “kids” for whom I keep the idea file, I had to put together these Apple Pie Cones for them, especially since I still had numerous apples from my apple bushel basket that I acquired on our recent farm-stand visit.

The idea behind this treat (courtesy www.foodnetwork.com) was to use some fresh apples to bake up an apple filling and then to stuff it into an ice-cream cone. Sugar-free whipped topping went atop the whole assemblage.

I used 8 large baking apples (a combination of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious) that were peeled and chopped, then stirred with cornstarch, vanilla extract, apple-juice concentrate, brown sugar, and raisins. All this cooked in a baking dish in the oven for 40 minutes—the first 20 of that time covered with foil and the last 20 uncovered. By the time 40 minutes have passed, the mixture is the consistency of regular apple-pie filling. At that point it’s ready to fill up the cones. (The website says this recipe is courtesy Wayne Brachman, Retro Desserts, Harper Collins Publishers 2000).

We shared these finished cones with the grandkiddos, but cones bring out the kid in any person, so the big kids—Hubby and I—enjoyed this healthy treat as much as any younger person could.

Apple Pie Cones

8 large baking apples 
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup dark or golden raisins
8 ice-cream cones
whipped topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core, and cut the apples into 3/4-inch chunks. In a medium bowl whisk together the cornstarch, vanilla extract, apple-juice concentrate, and brown sugar. Add the apples and raisins; toss. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 minutes more. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking. The mixture is done when the apples are just tender and the filling is clear and thickened. Set aside to cool a bit. Scoop warm filling into the ice-cream cones and serve, topped with whipped topping.
 

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