Cave troll cooks

10 minutes out of the oven

My new name is Grumpy Cross the Cave Troll. Why? Because I've been laid-up at home with a fractured foot and beginning to get what a sharp-eyed friend of mine calls 'cabin fever'. 

The fracture happened in Bodrum. Who, what, where, when, why, how don't ask. It's enough to say that I was having too much fun and was looking forward to more delights when I hurt the foot. (Turkey has lots of eye-candy and good-quality alcohol)

I still managed a short (very short) walk in Soke on the way back to Izmir; a cooking class; some shopping in Cigli; a 14-hour flight home; three days of work; a batch of Lahmacun and trying to drive twice before I took myself to the hospital to get it checked. Then of course I panicked when I found out it was a fracture. Fracture at the base of the fifth metatarsal to be exact. 

Since then it's been Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. The swelling has settled somewhat yet still lingers ever so slightly in certain areas. The doctor says it will only all go down once the foot is completely healed, which can take anything from 6 weeks to 3 months. 

Meanwhile, I figure maybe if I look at it hard enough for some time every day it will get better. Growing bones is a worrisome business. 

I hobble around preparing my own meals, washing my own clothes and basically being as normal as possible during the times it is necessary to walk; while the rest of the time my foot is kept up. Several trips to the grocer have been necessary as well as I'm at home the whole day with nothing else to do other than think of the next meal. 

Still, being in the house all day has made me grumpy and cross. I suppose I'm not quite used to depending on others to get things done. It's also been a harsh reminder of two things - One, that I do MANY things by myself for myself and Two, that I cannot depend on anyone else entirely. It's been rough to say the least.

Some very thoughtful friends sent me gorgeous flowers and fruit baskets. I'm busy making inroads into all that fruit. I must say that since I'm now in the business of growing bones I've been disciplined about eating great amounts of the 5-a-day pedigree. That and drinking copious amounts of powdered Anlene milk. God, I hate powdered milk!

Crisp, warm and fragrant Apple Crumble

To cheer myself up today, I took an apple and quickly whipped-up a real cheat's recipe of Apple Crumble, all in the name of soothing the Troll. Considering I'm feeling better, I'll say it worked like a charm!

What I adore about these Crumbles are that while they're warm, they're nice and crisp on top with a soft, stewed inside; fragrant with apple juices, vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. 

Apple Crumble

10 1/2 measured tablespoons of Plain Flour

7 measured tablespoons of Light Brown Sugar

6 measured tablespoons of cold Salted Butter (you can eyeball the Butter measurements)

A little Vanilla Essence

1 large red Apple

Cinnamon Sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven at 160 Celsius. In a bowl, place the Flour and Sugar. Mix through. Sprinkle in the Vanilla. Cut in the pieces of butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse, largish breadcrumbs. Set aside. 

Cut the Apple into small cubes and divide into either 2 or 3 ramekins depending on their size. Sprinkle a little of the Cinnamon Sugar on top. Then smother the Apples with the Crumble. 

Put all ramekins on a baking tray and bake at 190 Celsius just until the tops turn a golden colour. Remove from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes and then eat while still warm with or without a luscious Vanilla Ice-Cream. 

*The recipe makes more Crumble than necessary for just one Apple. I simply put the access in an airtight container and in the fridge for another day of fruit Crumble later this week. It also depends what crumble to fruit ratio you prefer. I like mine slightly heavier on the crumble. Delicious!

Baker's Gold

I've run out of butter for the first time in many, many years. The freezer - where I keep my stash - is well and truly empty. Horror of all horrors! I'm beginning to have withdrawal symptoms from not having butter around. Why? Because I cannot bake, that's why! What a predicament.

I do love butter. Yes, yes, all skinny bitches say it's chock full of fat. I say *eff* off. I just might outlive you lot. I heard of a little old English lady once who lived to a hundred and when asked how she did it, replied she had a bacon breakfast every morning. Hah! So you stick to your plasticky margarine, while I stick to utterly buttery natural goodness.

Source - kerrygold.com

Being a butter fanatic comes with a price (I know I'm not alone). We watch the price of butter closely. When it goes up 10 cents we cringe, 50 cents up we wring our hands in despondence and anything beyond that is just plain daylight robbery.

Where do we buy our precious golden treasure? Baking supplies shops. We get 250g packs for less than what it would cost to buy 227g packs from the grocer. The rule of thumb - for the Australian or New Zealander you head to the baking supplies shop; for the Irish or French you go to your upmarket grocer. Selling price point determines where they are sold.

Source - The Internet

We may switch brands... if ever! May being the keyword here, because we have our loyalties and they lie in the direction of specific brands or countries.

Source - The Internet

My love for baking means I bake all sorts of goodies imaginable fairly regularly. In my kitchen, different bakes call for different types of butter. For instance, I use Anchor for all types of baked goods, Golden Churn for a rich golden Butter Cake, Kerrygold for simple bakes using very few ingredients i.e. Butter Biscuits and Lescure for French delights. On bread it's Kerrygold all the way.

Source - The Internet

Have a look at this article on 30 Great Butters by Saveur. Three of the four mentioned above is on that list.

One last thing - I like my butter SALTED, or Demi-Sel s'il vous plait.