New Recipe Sunday - Apple Crisp

So today I decided to try another new recipe – apple crisp. I have made apple crumble before, as well as apple pie, and this one definitely leaned more in the direction of apple crumble, but it was a recipe I had not tried before. I got it from the Pioneer Woman from her US Food Network collection, and before I forget, here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/skillet-apple-crisp-3339175

It was tasty, like ridiculously tasty. As I did in last week’s recipe, I reduced the sugar, to be honest I left out the white sugar altogether (I didn’t have any…), using only the half cup packed brown sugar in the crisp topping part of the recipe, and I added some rolled oats for texture, and a smidge of extra flour. I also used gala apples instead of granny smith, for no reason other than – that is what I had here! Since I still don’t have my mixer, (I should confess that I can pick it up any time I want to, but it is nice having the challenge of making different recipes to the ones I normally make) – I dug the pastry blender out of the drawer again, and I used that to create the crisp topping. Eating it warm from the oven, it was juicy base of cinnamony apples (I added cinnamon as I was sauteeing the apples) topped with a crispy buttery crumbly topping, and it was delicious just on its own, or with a cup of tea. I actually took it to lunch at my sister’s house, and there were a few of her friends who joined us, so I felt a bit bad that I hadn’t also picked up some ice cream to go with it, but it was fabulous on its own.

The week was heavy, but I have started a little practice early in the morning, a mixture of some ideas I got from various self-help articles. One is to set an intention for my day, and I usually do this before I get out of bed – and for most of the week it was to be peaceful, focused and energized. It encourages a little bit of mindfulness during the day, and I definitely notice if I drift away from those feelings. The other thing is to do what one of the personal development gurus calls “getting into alignment” in the morning, and it simply means doing something I enjoy to put me in a good mood. For me, it could be reading, music or even watching something on Netflix – whatever catches my mood, for 20 minutes. Starting the day in a good mood seems like such a simple idea, but it is very effective, and I recommend it to everyone.

I hope that you all have a good week, and until tomorrow, I bring you big love from a small island.