Mary's Pad

A few weeks ago Mary and I braved some nasty weather and went apple picking up near the New Hope area. When we got there it was wet and muddy, and most people were opting to just buy already picked apples. Not us though. Together with one of our friends and her two kids we bravely went in and picked a variety of really fresh and delicious apples. We also bought some pears to throw into the mix.

Fast forward a week later and we still had many many apples left over and some pears. Nothing sucks more than food going bad, so I got adventurous and went recipe hunting. Here are my first two finds:

Momma’s Apple Cake

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup soft butter
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 6 North Carolina Apples-peeled, cored and medium diced
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Combine the sugar in cinnamon – set aside.
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until blended-do not over beat.
Add walnuts and apples by hand.
Pour batter into greased 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over top of cake.
Bake 350-degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

http://www.ncagr.gov/markets/commodit/horticul/apples/recipes.htm

Yum!! This cake turned out sooo good. And yes, the barter may look weird with all those apples in it, but it bakes perfect and moist. I think I baked this one three times!

For the pears:

Pear Cake

This pear cake recipe can be baked in a tube cake pan or rectangular baking pan.

Ingredients:
• 4 cups finely chopped pears
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a bowl, mix pears with sugar and nuts; set aside and let stand for 1 hour, stirring frequently. Add dry ingredients to the pears; stir to combine. Add oil, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Stir to blend. Pour batter into a generously greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. This pear cake can be baked in a 9×13-inch rectangular pan for about 45 to 55 minutes.

http://southernfood.about.com/od/pears/r/bl50221b.htm

Mmhhh… tasted very good. Since I don’t particularly like eating pears in cold weather, this was a great way to utilize the pears before they went bad. I went two rounds with this one.

The rest of the apples and pears found their way into salads and snack platters, with not a fruit wasted, which made us both very glad.

I can’t wait to go fruit picking next fall!