Day 95 - Laura's Apple Ginger Crisp

 

Laura likes to cook and bake.  It makes me want to fill my plate and lick it clean for goodness sake.  Baretta was played by Robert Blake.

Baretta had a cockatoo named Fred.  It was a cool looking bird.  I don't think I'd like to own a bird, filthy creatures really.  In 1990, the cockatoo who played Fred was stolen from the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  He was found safely and went on to live a long life.  He celebrated his 100th birthday in 2014, wow, very old for a cockatoo, average life expectancy 50-70 years.  I don't know what age he lived to but I digress. 

I am lucky that my wife enjoys cooking like she does.  She feels true joy in the process of figuring out what to make, gathering and prepping the ingredients and finally, presenting the finished dishes in all their glory!  I reap the benefits for sure.

I'm not much of a cook myself.  We did Plated for 2-3 years.  They send ingredients and detailed recipe cards for 2 meals a week.  We were quite busy at the time and thought it would save some meal planning/shopping time and also give me a chance to work on cooking.  I made some meals successfully but I have to say the actual process of cooking gave me no joy.  The eating is always good but thank you Laura my dear for thoughtfully filling the bellies of your loved ones!

Laura's Apple Ginger Crisp was dynamite!  It was made with Liberty and Crimson Topaz apples, cut up candied ginger, sugar and spices with a delicious, buttery streusel on on top.  The tart apples were cooked just right and were a great compliment to the spiciness of the ginger, the sweetness of the gooey stuff and the crunch of the streusel.  I had it with a little vanilla ice cream and some whipped cream, YUM!

Next time, I review the Crimson Topaz.  Crunch on!

Day 94 - Liberty

Liberty 

Liberty has it's blemishes.  It can be sweet, it can be sour.  We refer to our cat Eliza as sweet and sour.  She's a sweet girl but sometimes she turns on a dime and claws your face off.  We put up with it because it's what we know.  America is sometimes like this but I'm talking about an apple, the Liberty apple.

The Liberty apple was first developed in 1955 in New York state, a mix of the Macoun and the Purdue 54-12 with the Macintosh as a grand-parent but was not available to the public until 1978.  It is a small, uniform shaped apple with a mostly dark red color.  It was developed to be resistant to disease (like America?) and therefore, yields a good harvest but only lasts a couple months after being picked.

I bought a half peck of these at Peck and Bushel Organic Fruit Co.  It has a crisp, white flesh, a juicy bite and is fairly sour.  My wife made an apple crisp (see future review) with these and some Crimson Topaz apples.

Liberty has a short growing season but is supposedly an easy apples to grow so if enough of us work together, maybe we could have enough liberty for all!

Next time, I review Laura's Ginger Apple Crisp.  Crunch on!

Day 93 - Honeycrisp Apple Spumante (Non-alcoholic)

I did not drink alcohol for almost 4 months starting in Mid-February, what a year to go sober!  It was the longest I've gone without drinking since my freshman year of college.  On November 22nd 2019, I went to the doctor because I had some soreness in my chest and some dizziness.  They sent me to the hospital.  It turned out I had a blockage in one of my arteries and I had to have a stent put in.  I was put on a few different meds after, some that I need to take for life, one was a blood thinner called Brilinta (later it changed to Plavix) that I need to take for at least a year.  This was all quite a bummer so I was determined to get healthy.  I started eating better and exercising regularly.

Early February, Laura and I went on a lovely trip to Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean.

It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen but I was scarily out of breath while we were down there.  I thought it was a side-effect of the Brilinta, which can sometimes cause shortness of breath.  When we got back, I went to the cardiologist to switch from Brilinta to Plavix.  They suggested I get a chest CT to check for possible blood clots and lo and behold, I had 'em, a pulmonary embolism, hooray!  So then I had to start taking Eliquis to break up clots in my lungs.  I would need to take it for 6 months.  I was now taking two major blood thinners so would need to be very careful about getting hurt so I wouldn't bleed out, and I bruise like a bastard.  My doctor said I should stop drinking while on Plavix and Eliquis because alcohol also thins the blood.

I did not make it the whole 6 months without drinking.  As a world-wide pandemic kicked in and things were stressful, I started drinking a little the last couple months but during the sober period, I experimented with non alcoholic beers, cocktails and wines.  It was a learning experience.

There are a lot more NA beers than there used to be.  There are NA versions of every style: Stouts, Porters, Lagers, IPA's, Weiss beers, Radlers, ect...  I tried several.  Unfortunately, most of them taste like a watered down version of the real thing.  I found two German options that were pretty good, Buckler Lager and the best one, Paulander Weizen-Radler.  I am not usually into Radlers (more commonly known as Shandy) but this is the only NA I have tried that tastes like a High-Octane beer.

I tried some NA cocktail mixers:  Seedlip Grove 42 Citrus and Ritual Whiskey Alternative.  They have a variety of ingredients that try to mimic alcohol, heat from peppers, citrus, herbs and I made some cocktails.

Now for the review:  Lautenbach's Orchard Country Honeycrisp Apple Spumante (Non-alcoholic).

It is from a vinyard in Fish Creek, WI.  It is very sweet, not very exciting.  I would rather go for Welch's Sparkling Cider than this.  As a kid, I would sometimes have Welch's sparkling cider or grape juice for occasions like Thanksgiving and that stuff is pretty good!

Live and learn and then get Luv's!  Next time I review the Liberty apple.  God bless us, every one.  Crunch on!

Day 92 - Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Organic Apple Fruit Spread

Organic, what else you got?  Honeycrisp, the days of that being the best apple around are over!  I saw this whopping 42 oz jar of Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Organic Apple Fruit Spread at Costco for $3.97 so why the hell not!

It's pretty good stuff, 35 calories per serving.  It has a smooth texture and some light spice.  It's good on toast, waffles. ice cream, your lover's skin.  I put some on my Costco Apple Crumb Muffin, as seen in my last review.

My first problem with it, however is the word organic is on the jar, I kid you not, 12 times!  Depending on how you read it, it actually uses the word organic twice in the name.  Check out these previous blogs discussing the pros and cons, the mystery and grandeur of organic apples: 

https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-78-crimsoncrisp-apple-cult-and-is.html

https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2017/03/day-26-organic-honey-crisp.html

If the best you can do to make this jar look appealing is to print organic on it 12 times, that's lame.

Next complaint, the Honeycrisp name is used too much to sell apple products.  I have reviewed Honeycrisp Apple Tea, Honeycrisp Apple Chips and my next review is actually for Honeycrisp Apple Spumante.  The Honeycrisp was the rockstar of the apple world for several years but there are lots of great choices now and specifically, in regard to what it added to these products, I don't think it was that significant. 

In conclusion, Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Organic Apple Fruit Spread is fine and certainly a bargain at $3.97 a jar.  My favorite product like this is Musselman's Apple Butter.  See review: https://mikegrunertblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/day-59-musselmans-apple-butter-and.html

Next time, I review Honeycrisp Apple Spumante (non-alcoholic) and discuss my current period of sobriety.  Crunch and drink on!

  

Day 91 - Costco Apple Crumb Muffin and Family Conflict

The Costco Apple Crumb Muffin!  It is HUGE!  You could share it with a friend or family member if you like but that's no fun.

I had the muffin in the freezer for a while, saving it for the old apple product review.  My daughter, we'll call her Kat, kept bugging me that she wanted to eat it.  I said no.  How can I review a muffin without eating it?  If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!  How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

We argued, furniture was broken, harsh words were spoken.  The fighting continued until finally, I kicked her out of the house.  She built a small lean-to out of sticks and leaves in the backyard where she has been living for the last week.  We have lot's of bunnies in our yard.  She caught some and cooked them in our fire pit.  She came to me yesterday and asked if we could just split the muffin.  I thought that was a great idea so I invited her in and we did!

Costco muffins come in packages of six.  It costs $9.99 for two packages of six.  They come in a variety of flavors.  Each Costco Apple Crumb Muffin is 680 calories.  They are spiced with a crumb topping and a light drizzle my izzle of glaze.

There are apples listed among the ingredients but I don't really taste the apple.  Some apple pie filling or something in there would have been a good touch,  Show me the apple, what are you afraid of!  I have to say, there is a Costco Coffee Cake Muffin that looks almost identical.  I wonder if it is!

The Costco Apple Crumb Muffin still tastes good.  I like it with a little butter or with some of the product I review next:  Walls Berry Farm Organic Honeycrisp Apple Fruit Spread.  That's a mouthful!  Do I care that it's organic or Honeycrisp?  Stay tuned and crunch on!

 

Day 90 - Mrs Prindables Gourmet Caramel Apple

That's one fancy caramel apple, a Mrs Prindables Gourmet Caramel Apple!  From their website:
MRS PRINDABLES invented the Gourmet Caramel Apple over thirty years ago using the finest ingredients – orchard-fresh Granny Smith Apples, decadent homemade caramel, premium nuts, and the finest chocolates – to create a truly unique and indulgent gift.  They are hand-made in small batches to ensure quality. 

They have 8 regular flavors to choose from.  The one we got was the Milk-chocolate Walnut Pecan.  The chocolate tasted like the good stuff.  The balance of chocolate, caramel, nuts and tart Granny Smith apple was just right.

It was huge.  The website claims they feed 6-8 people!  I wouldn't go that far but my family of 3 did not finish it in one sitting.  They also are available in a small version that feeds 1-2 people.

They come in a fancy blue/purple box with a purdy bow and a high quality, thick stick. (That's what she said!)  They ain't cheap, $26.99 each from the website, $29.99 with a flower or holiday extra fancifying details.  Those are some good margins!

My mother-in-law, we'll call her Mary Tessier is the master of the deal and I'm sure she found this gift to us for a good price.

Here are some pics from the website: https://www.mrsprindables.com/

There you have it, yum and such.  Next time, I review another large item:  Costco Apple Crumb Muffin.  Crunch on!

Day 89 - Honeycrisp Apple Green Tea and Brontosauruses

Do you fancy a spot of tea?  How about DAVIDsTEA  Honeycrisp Apple Green Tea?

The first ingedient is dried Honeycrisp apples followed by sweet blackberry leaf, green tea, hibiscus, apple pomace (the solid residue left after milling and pressing apples) citric acid and pears.

This is a good apple forward tea.  I can barely taste the green tea.  I enjoy it with a little honey.

Isn't this tea steeper fucking adorbs!  It looks like a Brontosaurus.  The Brontosaurus (Apatosaurus) was a herbivore, subsisting on large quantities of leaves and ferns.  They did not chew but swallowed their food whole. 

There is evidence of apples in prehistoric times so Brontosaurusessssss may have eaten apples but not Honeycrisp apples.  I think they would have enjoyed DAVIDsTEA  Honeycrisp Apple Green Tea.

Next time, we get decadent with  Mrs Prindables Gourmet Carmel Apples.  Crunch on!