Fall back food

The day we set our clocks back as come and gone. I hope everyone enjoyed there extra hour of sleep (or fun, depending on what you were up to). Now it's growing darker even earlier making the days seem shorter. Time for some indoor activities, such as cooking. In the past I haven't had the greatest interest, although I love a finely prepared dish. I was trained however to look at every project's process. Thus, I decided to shine some light for myself into this 'cooking'. My attainable goal is to master 7 recipes I'd like to enjoy often. They should be fairly easy to prepare, using ingredients I can access locally. I want to be really good at a few recipes so I can take pleasure in preparing for myself, and sometimes others, fresh delicious meals daily. Ok there is the goal- I'm giving myself the winter season to work on it. I'll keep you posted. Tonight: I'm baking cinnamon apples. Yeah that's right, I'm starting with dessert. {this recipe makes two apples}

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Remove stem and wash apples thoroughly. Core apples, removing center down to within 1/2 to 1/4 inch of the bottom.
• Peel and remove skin from top quarter of apple.
• Using a knife, score lightly through the skin, moving knife in a circle around outside middle of apple. Scoring will help prevent apples from splitting apart while baking.
• Evenly space apples in baking dish. I used a muffin pan, giving each apple a space.
• Mix 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 tablespoon of orange juice together. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
• Pour into and over apples letting excess go into baking dish.
• Add 1/4 tablespoon of olive oil into each apple.
• Combine 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon almond, mixing together thoroughly. Sprinkle into apples, allowing excess to fall into baking dish.
• Bake uncovered 35 to 45 minutes or until apples are soft.
• As apples bake, baste 2 to 3 times with pan juices.
• Serve warm.

photograph by Gina Houseman