Apple crumble

So I thought I would begin my post in March with phrases like "spring is in the air" or "we can feel spring approaching" BUT it's a different story altogether. SPRING is already here and I find it hard to believe. Last Monday we woke up to thick blankets of snow and today we wake up to new life sprouting from the ground. After six long months we were greeted with a gorgeous sunrise and blue skies. I went out for a long walk and spotted the first spring flowers in private gardens. I could have done a little jig at the first sight of colour!!

Coming back to this recipe, we had first tasted it in the plum form at a friends home two years ago. I had blogged about it here. The fruit crumble is a dish of British origin where fruit either in the raw form or stewed is topped with a crumbly mixture of flour, butter and sugar and then baked in an oven till the topping is brown and crisp. Some of the fruits used in a crumble are apple, plum, peach and blackberry.  The crumble is then named after the fruit which is used in it, as mine would be an apple crumble.
This particular dessert is fast to prepare, can be had as it is or served along with custard, whipped cream or ice cream. It sure is a winner when served at a gathering.

A serving of golden brown apple crumble.

Pictured with a topping of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

• 750 gm or 5 apples
• 50 gm brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

For the crumble:

• 300 gm plain flour
• 175 gm brown sugar
• 200 gm unsalted butter cubed at room temperature
• knob of butter for greasing

Method:

1. Wash, peel, core and chop the apples into small cubes.
2. Mix the chopped apples with the sugar and cinnamon powder. 
3. Sieve the flour. Place the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour sugar mix. Keep using all the butter and rubbing till the mixture resembles crumbs. 
4. Preheat the oven to 180C.
5. Grease a 26 inch ovenproof dish. Spoon the fruit mixture at the bottom of the dish, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.
6. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes till the crumble is browned.
7. Serve with custard or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Poached pears in spiced red wine

One thing we miss big time here in Germany is Indian food and going out to eat. It's not that we have no restaurants out here. Oh, there are with lots of beer overflowing. To me, eating out is not just about taking leave from the kitchen and relaxing, it's also about feeding my taste buds with delicious delights. Somehow, we have not been able to achieve the latter. The best restaurants that we have come across have been during our travels. So, while in Lohr we rarely venture out to eat. While I do have one particular restaurant in town which is my favorite, thats about it! This means that I need to get that eating out feel at home...:-)

For the past month, lots of Birnen(pears) are being sold in the market. The kids especially sonny loves having a pear daily after dinner. Hubby had picked up the Feb issue of Good Food India during his unexpected trip back home which featured this recipe. The tingling wine soaked in the juicy pear turned out to be one royal dessert for me.

Ingredients:

• vanilla pod 
• red wine 750 ml
• caster sugar 225g
• cinnamon 1 stick halved
• fresh thyme 1 sprig 
• pears 4, peeled but kept whole with stalk intact
• sprigs of thyme or mint for garnishing.

Method:

1. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears. 
2. Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 minutes, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will vary much depending on the ripeness of the pears. They should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
3. Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that its syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a stir of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme or mint sprig.(I used only the mint)

Strawberries in Chocolate Sauce!!!

I know Valentines day is over, but I couldn't resist myself from buying these succulent strawberries at the market. Having read a lot about the health benefits of chocolate, it being considered a food of love and having seen umpteen pictures of strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce, I decided to get into action and surprise not only my loved one but also the little ones!!!!

                To make the sauce, take 200 gm cream and 100 gm sugar in a vessel and gently bring it to boil, stirring continuously. In a separate steel pan, take 500gm of bitter sweet chocolate broken into pieces. Pour the boiling cream onto the chocolate and keep stirring continuously till a thick sauce is formed. I also added a tsp of liquor(Grand Marnier) which otherwise is optional. The above sauce can be kept for 2 weeks in a refrigerator. Reheat over simmering water before serving. Enjoy and a BELATED VALENTINES DAY!!!!!