Caramel Apple Sangria

Caramel Apple Sangria

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Recently, I had a choir board meeting at a local restaurant. I got there a little early, and on the way in the door, I noticed their blackboard with all the daily specials. The drink list for that day included Caramel Apple Sangria, and that sounded really good to me on a cold dreary night, when I was going to have to face the board with some controversial questions and proposals. Since I WAS early, I had time to hit the bar before our reserved room was ready, so I ordered a glass of this lusciousness! It did not disappoint! 

As usual, I decided I needed to be able to reproduce this at home, both for myself, and to wow dinner guests, given the opportunity. I set about, first, doing lots of research online, comparing recipes, and then making sure I had the necessary  ingredients to test this out. Our dinner guest Monday was apparently not disappointed either, nor were my wife and myself! 

I had a few requests for the recipe, so here it is. I hope you try it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Ingredients

• 2 firm, ripe apples, cored and diced
• 1 bottle dry white wine (I used a good Pinto Grigio)
• 2 cups caramel flavored vodka
• 2 cups apple cider (I like using clear apple juice)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Prepared caramel dip or ice cream topping
• A tablespoon or two of organic raw sugar crystals (on a flat saucer)

Instructions

1. Place the diced apples in the bottom of a large pitcher. Pour the wine, juice, and vodka over the top and stir well to combine. Drop in the two cinnamon sticks.
2. Refrigerate overnight, or until chilled.
3. Rim the glasses lightly with caramel dip and roll that rim in the crystal sugar
4. Serve the sangria poured over ice.

Plum Upside-Down Cake

Plum Upside-Down  Cake

I am a basic cook and baker, for the most part. I love doing both. I love learning about flavors that go together well, and I love the creativity of layering compatible flavors to make something beautiful and tasty! 

This, like many of my creations, was an experiment...one that, happily, turned out really well! Using a boxed cake mix (we love Trader Joe's brands!) makes it really simple! Mixing it up took me about 10-12 minutes probably. The hard part, as always, is smelling the deliciousness and waiting for it to be done so one can EAT it!

I hope you try this one, and I hope you like it as much as we do! The topping is just tart enough to balance with the sweetness of the cake. A little ice cream or whipped cream would also compliment this cake well.


 

Topping Ingredients:

½ sticks butter, cut into smaller pieces for melting

¼ cup sugar (more or less to taste)

½ tsp. vanilla

½  tsp. almond extract
8-10 small to medium plums (I used yellow flesh plums), sliced in wedges

Cake Ingredients: 
1 box Trader Joe’s Vanilla Cake and Baking Mix

1 stick butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 cup cold milk

½ tsp. vanilla

½  tsp. almond extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a 9-inch square or a 10-inch round baking dish, place the half-stick of butter, the sugar, and the two flavorings, and set the dish in the oven as it’s preheating. Set your timer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the stick of melted butter (not hot), the two eggs, and the milk in a large bowl. This can be beaten or whisked, but mix until the batter is smooth. Mix in the two flavorings thoroughly. Add the baking mix and stir or whisk until smooth.

At the 5-minute mark, remove the melted butter mixture from the oven and stir until mixed will. Arrange the plum slices in the bottom of the dish directly in the butter mixture, in whatever design you like. Carefully pour the batter over the plum arrangement so as not to move them around.

Bake in the 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven when golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool a bit before slicing.

ENJOY!

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY GOLDEN MILK

(With special thanks to Vince Lombardi!)

My friend, Vince shared this with me almost 7 years ago. I started using it, and in a couple of weeks, I noticed how my hands and feet had stopped hurting…almost completely! Before that, I had basically learned to live with almost continual pain in both hands and both feet all the time. I  have also proven to myself that this stuff, when I  use it properly each and every day, keeps me from getting diverticulitis. I am also convinced it boosts my immune system incredibly, because I don’t get colds, the flu, etc., even when it’s all around me. I will also tell you that I tried, on several occasions, to take turmeric pills or capsules…even the ones with black pepper….to replace this mixture, but it wasn’t nearly as effective! In a few days, my pain would return, and on two different trials of the oral medication, I actually got diverticulitis.

This recipe is actually doubled from the original. I guess it lasts me a bit more than 3 weeks. Most research says that turmeric has to be heated to be effective, and it should be mixed with black pepper to make it more bioavailable to our bodies. Ginger is added here for its anti-inflammatory properties as well as its flavor.

 Ingredients:

• 4 cups of filtered water
• 1/2 cup of turmeric powder (I use organic or high quality brand turmeric powder)
• 4 TBS of dried ginger powder (optional, add more or less to taste, another great anti-inflammatory)
• 2  teaspoons of ground black pepper
  
  
• 1 cup honey (raw, organic and unfiltered)

Directions

Step 1: The Concentrate

1. Bring water to a boil in a sauce pan – then turn to slow boil.
2. Add all ingredients to slow boiling water, except for honey, and mix well.
3. Maintain a slow boil and stir periodically as the mixture thickens a bit.
4. IMPORTANT:  It is important that the water slow boil / cook for about 20-22 minutes to allow the curcumin to go from 1% in solution to 12% in a bio-available solution. You may notice that every few minutes, you will need to drop the heat back a bit, since the bubbling can create quite a mess on the stove around your pot.
5. After 22 minutes, turn off the heat, allow the mixture to cool to lukewarm, and add the 1/2 cup honey, and mix well. 
6. Place in a 1 quart glass mason jar and allow to cool then store in refrigerator. (Note: I usually stir the mixture really wall, and then run it through a larger mesh strainer before putting it in the jar, just to be sure there are no large lumps.)

Step 2: Golden Milk (good hot or cold!)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup of almond milk (I use an unsweetened organic almond/coconut milk)
• 2  TBS (tablespoon) of the turmeric-honey concentrate from mason jar (provides nearly a tsp of turmeric– stir before dispensing from mason jar).
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. organic agave syrup

Note here that I have, for the last couple of years, doubled up the mixture in my almond milk each morning. So, I use the same 8 oz of almond milk, but I mix it with about 4 tablespoons of the golden milk mix. I stopped using the vanilla and agave some time ago, because I found I really don’t mind the taste of the golden milk at all, and I can save calories and money!