• Red Delicious: Large, firm red apple with a sweet flavor.
• Yellow Delicious: Large, firm yellow apple with a sweet flavor.
• Jonathon: Medium, crisp semitart apple, with red near the top, descending to green lower down the fruit.
• Granny Smith: Medium/small, crisp, tart apple with green color.
• Gala: Medium, crisp semitart apple with yellow skin blushed with orange to red tinge.

Choose a blend from the above list, or shop the local produce/fruit market or grocery store shelves. If you lean toward a sweet juice, use a 3 sweet to 1 tart combination, or for medium sweetness, use a 2 sweet to 1 tart mix.

Clean your apples thoroughly, cutting out any bruises or damaged parts. As a rule, it is not recommended to use any fruit for cider you would not eat as it is.

Quarter the apples, leaving the skins on them for color and the nutrients that processing will release.

Puree the apple quarters in a food processor or blender completely.

Squeeze the pureed apple through a cheesecloth, extracting all of the juice possible. Store the cider in a sealed container below 40 degrees F for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for extended storage.

Tips

• Choose a variety of apples, and process each separately, then combine the juice to sample different flavors and see the difference in the colors you may produce using golden, green, and red apples.
• Thoroughly process the apples and squeeze all liquid through the cheesecloth to get all the juice with its nutrients from your fruit. Some solids will get through the cheesecloth, and the juice will have a cloudy appearance.
• For large batches of cider, you may choose to buy a cider press.
• Caution: pasteurize juice by heating to at least 160 F but not more than 185 F to destroy harmful bacteria such as e. coli. Use a food thermometer to determine the temperature. Infants, the elderly, and anyone with immune system disorders should NOT drink fresh unpasteurized apple juice.
  
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• Apple Sauce
  
  

  Apples
  Cinnamon

  Choose apples that are sweet - NOT tart apples like Granny Smith or Cripps Pink.  Choose apples that are naturally sweet --Yellow Delicious, Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Rome and always use a mixture - never just one type.  Sweet apples means no added sugar.

  Peel, core and slice apples. In a pot big enough to hold all the apples, put an inch of water in the bottom, put all the apples in and cover with a lid.  Cook until apples are very tender and smoosh when you stir them.  Using a potato masher (or you can transfer the apples to a food processer, blender, or food ricer/mill), mash apples until desired consistency.  Season to taste with cinnamon.  Chill and serve. You may also freeze or can the sauce.

  
  
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• Aura's Raspberry Barbecue Sauce
  
  

  You can either freeze or can extra sauce. It keeps for at least a week in the fridge.

  20 oz frozen raspberries, thawed with juice
  ½ cup fresh ginger root, peeled and cut into about 1-inch
  chunks
  1 cup Molasses
  ¼ cup Agave
  ½ cup organic ketchup
  ¼ - ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste
  Ground cayenne pepper to taste

  In a food processor, finely mince the ginger. Add the raspberries and their juice and puree. Add remainder of ingredients and process until smooth. Remove mixture to a large glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Slit the top for steam release. Microwave on high for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce will be thick and ready to use. If you wish, instead of microwaving, you can simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes.

  
  
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• BBQ Artichoke
  
  

  5 medium green globe artichokes
  1/2 cup olive oil
  1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  3 cloves garlic, chopped
  2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  1 lemon, juiced
  Salt and pepper

  Steaming: This can be done in advance to save time. Steamed artichokes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To trim for steaming: Cut stem of artichoke. Cut 1/3 of top off artichoke off, discard. Clip off tips of each leaf with scissors. Stand artichokes in steamer basket with 3 inches of water, cover and boil until fork tender at base, about 25 to 40 minutes depending on size.
  
  Marinating: Split cooked artichokes lengthwise, scoop out "choke" (fuzzy center). Mix oil, balsamic, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice and salt and pepper, in the bottom of glass baking dish. Place artichokes, cut side down, in marinade. Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill, up to a day.
  
  Grilling: Remove artichokes from marinade, save marinade for basting, place artichokes on hot grill cut side up and cook until deep golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Brush with marinade and turn to cook other side until deep golden brown, brush again with marinade. Serve hot or at room temperature.

  
  
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• Berry Ice Cream
  
  

  This ice cream is made in an ice cream maker or it can be made into popsicles. You can substitute other berries in this recipe.

  2 cans full fat coconut milk
  2 to 2 1/2 cups frozen strawberries (about 1 pound)
  1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
  1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

  Put all ingredients in ice cream maker and follow directions for maker.  Or combine and pour into popsicle molds.

  
  
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• Berry Sauce
  
  

  Fresh or frozen berries (any kind)
  Sugar (to taste)

  For a very simple and fast dessert sauce or waffle topper, combine sliced fruit in a saucepan with sugar (approx 1 tablespoon per cup of berries, more if berries are tart, less if very sweet) and heat until berries break down about half way, stirring occasionally. 

  You can cook them longer, until broken all the way down, and run them through a sieve, pressing out the juice with a spoon, for a smooth seedless sauce.

  
  
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• Berry Syrup
  
  

  4 1/2 cups berries (1 1/2 pounds)
  1 cup sugar
  1/2 cup water

  Bring berries, sugar, and water to a boil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until fruit is soft, about 30 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing gently on and then discarding solids. Serve warm, room temp or cold over ice cream.

  
  
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• Blackberry Dressing
  
  

  1 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen, thawed) blackberries
  2 teaspoons minced shallots
  1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
  1 tablespoon honey
  1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  2 tablespoons blackberry vinegar (or substitute raspberry or regular balsamic vinegar)
  2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  1/2 cup olive oil
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  Combine 1/2 cup of the blackberries, the shallots, garlic, honey, mustard, and vinegars in a blender and process on high for 10 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides before continuing. With the machine running, slowly drizzle the oil into the blender until the mixture is slightly thickened and smooth. Adjust the seasonings with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Strain the dressing through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean container. Set aside until ready to serve, or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes about 1 cup. Serve over mixed greens with toasted walnuts.

  
  
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• Blackberry Iced Tea
  
  

  3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (if frozen, thaw before using), plus additional berries for garnish
  1 1/4 cups of sugar, or agave syrup (more or less to taste)
  1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint plus additional sprigs for garnish
  Pinch of baking soda
  6 bags of black tea
  4 cups boiling water
  2 1/2 cups cold water
  Ice

  In a large pitcher, combine the blackberries and sugar. Use a wooden spoon to crush the berries and mix them well with the sugar. Add the chopped mint and the baking soda. Set aside. Place the tea in a large heat-proof measuring cup. Add the boiling water and steep for 3 minutes. Spoon out the tea bags and squeeze them into the tea. Discard the tea bags. Pour the tea into the blackberry/sugar mixture. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Pour the tea through a mesh strainer and discard the solids. Return the tea to the pitcher. Add cold water and stir well to dissolve sugar. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Makes about 7 1/2 cups. Start to finish time is 1 hour and 10 minutes (10 minutes active). To serve, pour into glasses filled with ice and garnish with mint and fresh berries on short wooden skewers.

  
  
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• Blueberry Muffins
  
  

  1 egg
  1 cup milk substitute
  1/3 cup of safflower oil
  1 cup GFCF flour (Bette Hagman mix 2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part of potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca flour)
  1/2 cup of Bob’s Red Mill GF Flour
  1/2 cup sugar
  1 tsp. xanthum gum
  2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  3/4 tsp. salt
  3/4 cup of frozen wild Maine blueberries (I get the organic ones from Trader Joe’s)

  Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put cupcake paper cups in muffin tin. Beat egg with fork. Stir in milk and oil. Measure all dry ingredients in separate bowl and mix dry ingredient together. Add to wet ingredients and stir just to moisten. Batter should be lumpy. Do not over mix. At the very last add blueberries that have been rinsed until the water runs almost clear (I put the berries in a large strainer and gently rinse under faucet). Fill muffin cups 2/3 full (I use an ice cream scoop – perfect size). Bake 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

  Variations:

  In place of blueberries, you can use chocolate chips raisins, dates or whatever your kid likes.

  It works really great to make up a bunch of these mixes at the same time. I put all of the dry ingredients in a zip lock quart freezer bag with all the wet ingredients written on the bag with a sharpie marker and the baking temp and time. These can just be stored in the cupboard. In the morning you can have muffins in the oven in about 5 minutes or less. Yummy!

  
  
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