12/21/2023 flan

A perfect round egg-colored flan with an apple-tinted syrup in a white bowl with black stripe around the edge
Paula brought back eggs from her family’s chickens (very free range!) and the Chef decided to make flan. I’ve never had it before. I’m scheduling this to post after we visit home so Judy doesn’t guess we’re bringing her some of these eggs, haha!
A spoon slice of flan scooped away so you can see the silky interior
It was delicious! He topped it with a sauce made from the crabapple syrup (the less-jellied jars of jelly).

Turkey soup with garden flavors

Turkey bone and foot broth soup, with assorted vegetables. Spices from the garden are rosemary and culinary sage. Bread is made with crabapple “lees“, the yeast residue that accumulates during the cider fermentation. To me, it smells like cider pleasantly and tastes soft and chewy in the best way. Thanks, Paula, for a tasty meal!

Crabapple pastilas

I got the idea to make this fluffy pastry from an Atlas Obscura article.

Before the 10 minutes of whisking.
Just started.
Getting fluffy.
Sure glad we have a machine!
Essentially applesauce meringue!!
Paula smoothed them out with a pastry cutter (see top pan) and then we put them in the oven.
We did 6+ hours at 180°F. The two in deeper pans took longer even though I tried to make them about the same depth.
All baked!
Cut up. One had its crust flake off.
I forgot to keep some aside to paste together layers, so we get single layers.
It’s very nice! Like sweet tart astronaut food!

Generous neighbors

Our neighbors have a crabapple tree that is loaded with fruit, and offered us as many as we can pick.
Yesterday, with the Chef and Paula and me, that was about 50 pounds.
Paula and the Chef cut off the blossom ends and boiled them. More updates as they occur!
The Chef made tiny adorable ham croissants with lemon garlic aioli for dinner. Swiss chard (Fordham giant variety) from the garden is the green.