Apples star in fall baking

Finally, fall is here, thank goodness! It was a long hot summer way into September and I'm ready for a seasonal change. Apples, pears, pomegranates, pumpkins, soups, stews, chili, turning on the oven and welcoming the heat it produces. Baking again, yeah! Good-by summer, hello autumn with winter peaking around the corner, I'm ready for life to slow down a bit and a few soaks in the hot tub.

It was a good year for apples in Nevada. Our little dwarf tree had over 40 apples this year, a record. We had no pears but our neighbors tree was loaded, go figure. I spotted lots of late peaches and a few Dansom plums around town.

Speaking of apples, if you wanted to stay in town to pick your own instead of driving over to Apple Hill, give Agape Organics in Washoe Valley a try. Their varieties include Braeburn, Gala, Cameo and Golden Delicious at $1.50 per pound. They are open Saturdays 9-5 and Sundays 1-5. The orchard will be open till the apples are gone. Bring a lunch or snack and enjoy their new picnic area with lots of grass. They'll take groups by appointment; call 885-1988. Their address is 7425 Franktown Rd. The orchards are owned by the Pennington's and Mrs. Pennington was my grandson Elliot's third grade teacher in Dayton.

I don't do a lot of browsing on the internet for recipes. I just can't seem to find the time, but one of my favorite sites is www.kingarthurflour.com. It seems like I can always find something good that I want to bake there. It offers lots of explanations and tips and what I really like is a critique of the recipes from people who have actually made it, very helpful in deciding if it's worth your while. I get a catalog in the mail from them and it always has a couple of good recipes too.

The recipe I'm going to share with you today is from King Arthur Flour (their unbleached white flour is great) with some minor changes. This cake tastes good, not too sweet and would be great for breakfast, snack or as a dessert. Another one of my favorite products this time of year is the Gravenstein Apple Juice that Trader Joe's carries. I use it a lot in my cooking and for hot apple cider. It's not nearly as sweet as some of the other brands.

On a last note I'm going to take a couple of months off. We have some new columnists so we will be sharing our space. I welcome all of them to the Wednesday Food Section.

• Linda Marrone has been a Carson City resident since 1973 and together with her husband, Ralph, formerly operated Marrone's Restaurant in Carson City and Somethin's Cookin' Catering.

Apples:

4 or 5 large green or tart red apples cored and sliced, about 51⁄2-6 cups

1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoon boiled cider (you can take any apple juice and boil it down to 3 tablespoons, I used TJ Gravenstein Apple Juice, it becomes thick like syrup. Start out with about 2⁄3 cup

1 teaspoons apple pie spice or a combination of sweet spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger)

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

Cake:

11⁄3 cups flour (I use unbleached)

1⁄2 sugar

11⁄2 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

2⁄3 cup warm milk

1 large egg (one large egg should measure about 1⁄3 cup)

6 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, butter a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet or a 9-inch square cake pan. They should be 2-inches deep. I greased and floured my square 9-inch pan.

Combine the apples, brown sugar, boiled cider, spices, salt and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Mix the warm milk, egg, melted butter, vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, stirring to combine. Pour into prepared skillet or pan. Spoon the apple mixture onto the batter making sure the apples are distributed a little more toward the edges of the pan. You can stir some into the batter too at this point. Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, till it's light brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake from the pan and cool for another 20 minutes. I inverted my cake but you can also leave it in the pan and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Serves 8-10

Applesauce

If you find yourself with an abundance of apples you can always make applesauce. The easy way to do this is peel, core and slice or chop your apples, toss with some fresh lemon juice and don't quite cover them with apple juice, (once again I use Trader Joe's Gravenstein Apple Juice). I use apple juice because it helps keep your applesauce from turning brown and I feel it cuts down on the sugar you are going to add at the end. Cook over low heat stirring occasionally. When the apples are done (at least a couple of hours) add your sugar (to taste) at the very end. As you cook the apples and they reduce down they will get sweeter on their own. You can also add a little cinnamon at this point and either can or freeze your sauce.