Nicole









These apple rings came out of the re-prioritizing. They originate from a little pamphlet-type cookbook of maple syrup recipes that I bought years and years ago when living in Vermont. I'm sad to say I had never used a single recipe from this book until now, mostly because Vermont maple syrup is like gold out here in Utah, and I didn't want to waste any of it cooking something that might only turn out to be mediocre. I kept the book around since a lot of the recipes still look good and I think it's cute that all of them are named "Vermont Maple Something."





It turns out that the apple rings are a little gem of a recipe that I should have tried a long time ago. They're simple and fast, and they're a fun alternative to pancakes. Thin slices of apple are coated with a pancake-like batter and cooked on a skillet until they are a warm, soft cooked apple layer inside of a fluffy dough. Delicious sounding, right? I love that since the entire middle layer is apple, the apple flavor really shines through. I was also pleasantly surprised with how light and fluffy the dough layers turned out. Top it off with some maple syrup, and you've got one tasty breakfast.





Now, somebody please distract my husband while I "relocate" some old magazines.









Vermont Maple Apple Rings

Ingredients 2 medium apples, pared and cored

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (see note) plus more to adjust for consistency

Vermont maple syrup Directions Slice apples crosswise into 1/8" thick rings. (a mandolin slicer works great for this) Whisk together flour, baking power, baking soda and salt. Beat in eggs and buttermilk (or sour milk), mixing just until incorporated. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and grease lightly. Dip apple rings into batter and allow excess batter to drip off. If the batter is too thick, add more buttermilk, one tablespoon at a time, until it is thick enough to stick to the apple ring, but thin enough to have excess drip off. You might want to cook a test apple ring to make sure the batter is to your liking before adding too much milk. Cook apple rings on skillet until golden brown, turning once. Skillet temperature is important here because if the skillet is too hot, the outside dough will burn before the apple inside starts to soften. Once again, you'll probably want to try a test apple ring and adjust the skillet temperature before cooking a bunch of rings at once. Serve immediately with maple syrup. Note: To make sour milk, add 1 1/2 tsp vinegar to 1/2 cup regular milk



Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 10 min Serves: 2-3

Recipe Source: The Official Vermont Maple Cookbook, 2nd edition.







The nesting phase hit.And it's Spring Cleaning time.And we get to have my mom come and stay with us for two whole weeks after the baby is born.It's what I call a cleaning perfect storm.I'm normally a compulsive cleaner to begin with, but add those extra factors on and I'm a one woman, waddling, cleaning machine. My husband looks on with fear when he sees me eyeing anything of his for too long. He's justified, I think. He might never see those old issues of Wired magazine again. How can he expect me to bring a baby back to this house with 2 year-old magazines filling the bookshelves? Seriously.One of the latest victims of my re-organization efforts was my recipe binder. Maybe you have one - that binder full of your favorite recipes in some semblance of order, with clippings, copies and printouts from several dozen magazines, blogs and cookbooks stuffed in the front? Mine could hardly shut for all the extra pages stuffed in it. It got a much-needed makeover this past weekend as I tossed recipes I will never make again or even attempt at all, hole-punched the ones I will, and re-prioritized the recipes that I still need to try.