February | 2021 | West Virginia Mountain Mama

Monthly Archives: February 2021

Apple Raisin Strudel

Posted on February 18, 2021 by jolynnpowers

Apple deserts of any kind are a family favorite at our house and apple strudel is one of the easiest to make. My family is not a fan of the white icing that is usually drizzled on top of a strudel or danishes so I have omitted it. The flavor of this strudel is crip, sweet and spicy so no one complained about missing the icing. The raisins add a fruity sweetness to the tart apples, making a nice balance, that can get lost in apple pie. This was my gift to my husband for our 29th Anniversary.

Homemade Apple Raisin Strudel and carrot cake for our Anniversary Dinner.

This strudel was made with 1 box of store bought puffed pastry that was allowed to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The dough needs to be cool and not frozen to seal it together. I started my strudel by peeling, coring and slicing up 5 snack size apples. I used gala apples for their tart taste and crisp texture. They hold their shape well when cooked and are not too sweet when mixed with sweet raisins. I sprayed a 13×9 Pyrex pan with cooking spray and placed the puffed pastry up the sides of he pan cutting off any that overhung the edge. I needed a few more inches of pastry at the bottom to cover the whole pan. So, I placed the remaining pastry at the bottom pinching it together at the overlapping seam, cutting away about 3 inches of extra pastry. I let this warm while I cooked 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and 5 apples together in a cup of water in a large skillet. I allowed the apples to stew for several minutes. When the apples appear to be softening I added 1/2 cup of raisins,pinch of salt, cinnamon, and allspice and stirred together well. I allowed that to simmer for 4 minutes until the remaining water evaporated off the apple mixture and added 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Letting the sugar melt and mix in, I cook it down syrup until it is thick and dry.

This is the apple raisin and spice mixture before adding any sugar. It could be used as is but the apples were a little tart.

When the syrup is thick and apples are translucent but not completely soft remove from heat and spoon on to the puffed pastry. I then folded the soft pastry over the apple/raisin filling. Pulling one side over and then the other, pinching together the top as I went. I then folded up the ends and pinched them together also. I placed the strudel in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Until the pastry puffed up and turned golden brown but not dark. The syrup didn’t leak out of this one because I allowed it to get thick before placing in the dough.

When ready the top crust will form air pockets and appear flaky. At this point you can allow the pastry to cool and drizzle with powdered sugar icing made with milk and vanilla or leave plain. This makes 8 servings about two inches wide and keeps well overnight and can be a nice sweet treat to go with coffee in the morning.

Apple Raisin Strudel

5 tart apples (galla) peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 Cup raisins

1 Box of puffed pastry thawed but cool

1 1/2 Tablespoon salted butter

1 Cup water

1/4 to 1/3 Cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Pinch of salt

Cooking spray

Bake strudel in oven at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until puffy and golden brown.

This can be served with ice cream like pie, a touch of whipped cream, or like us we eat it warm from the oven plain with a glass of milk.

Categories: Apples, breakfast food, cakes and family deserts, Marriage, puffed pastry, raisins, strudel | Tags: apples, easy desert, family deserts, puffed pastry, raisins | 2 Comments

Tygart Lake State Park, Beach Glass and the Winter Blues.

Posted on February 2, 2021 by jolynnpowers

I often suffer from seasonal depression. I have to fight everyday to get out of bed, drag myself out of the house and I generally don’t want to do anything. Over the years I have discovered that just getting outside really helps my winter blues. I don’t get out as often as I should in winter, but when I start to feel drawn into my grumpy hibernation state I try to get moving outside. Christopher and I headed to Tygart Lake State Park last month to see what we could find. We had no plan or even a good idea what we would find, so it was exciting to see what the park had to offer. I was also nice to take a homeschool day and actually learn something new about West Virginia.

Tygart Lake State Park is described by the West Virginia State Park System as, “Located in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains in scenic north-central West Virginia, Tygart Lake State Park provides guests with a quiet vacation spot and breathtaking views. Just four miles south of Grafton, Tygart Lake State Park is known for its 10-mile long, 1,750-acre lake, which offers water activities like boating, water skiing, scuba diving, swimming, kayaking, canoeing and fishing. The park is surrounded by beautiful mountain views and provides lakeside lodging perfect for relaxation and unwinding after a full day of play.”

In the off season the lake is drained for flood control. It is not uncommon to have winter floods in West Virginia. The worst happening on Nov. 4th, 1985, a night time flood destroying many of West Virginia small towns. So Christopher and I took the opportunity to explore the lakes bottom. Something that I have never done before and in some ways found extremely enjoyable. It brought back memories of reading the children’s story, The Five Chinese Brothers. I loved this story so much as a child I can almost still tell the tail today. In the story one of the Chinese Brothers is gifted with the talent of being able to swallow the sea and uses the gift to help a younger boy collect fish for his family. The illustrations in the story of the bear bottom of the sea stuck with me all these years. The illustrations show ships that had sunk, dead fish bones, ankers lost from the boats above and fish flopping on the sand at the bottom of the sea. When Christopher and I arrived at the resort building, all of the joy I had in reading that book as a child came rushing back to me. We were going to see the bottom of a 1,750 acre lake and I was going treasure hunting.

We began our search for sea shells and broken bottles just below the small Tygart Lake State Park Resort building walking down to the water’s edge. It was a cold day only 40 degrees and near the water it was colder. So, both Christopher and I bundled up against the wind off the lake and got busy looking for treasures.

While walking the bottom of the lake we found many beautiful things coal, broken jar lids and bottoms, shells and rocks, but the most intresting was the lighting glass. Formed when lighting strikes the sand.

While walking the waved sand we found a most unusual treasure. A piece of Frugilrite (lighting beach glass) that was partly buried in the sand. Beach glass is formed when lighting strikes the silica sand of the beach. The appearance in our case is much like a blob of green and clear liquid glass that was burnt into the beach. Attached to the Frugilrite is the iron and other minerals that surrounded the strike area. It is ruff in some parts and very smooth and shiny in others. Christopher found it in a shallow area of the lake only about 50 feet from the normal edge. I am guessing their was more to this piece of glass at one time, but water and erosion has taken its toll on the arms of the glass.

After a couple hours,the sun began to set on us, as we wondered closer to the dam that created Tygart Lake.The sun’s reflection on the water in the lake was amazing. Blasts of silver and gold shone across the water like sequins. I wanted to stay until the very last minute but knew better. We had to climb a very steep hill to return to the lodge and we wanted to get warm inside. I reluctantly told Christopher it was time to leave and begin the 1 1/2 hour drive home.

The lake bottom looking at the Dam the forms Tygart Lake State Park, WV.

Sunset on Tygart Lake near Grafton, West Virginia

Winter sun set on Tygart Lake West Virginia Dec 2020

Tygart Lake State Park lodge above the lake winter 2020

We returned up he hill to the lodge and stepped inside with our muddy shoes and cold hands just in time to get a few things from the gift shop and head home. We took the long way home, driving around the edge of the lake to see what other thing we could find. The park offers an outdoor pool, lake swimming, a camp ground, boat docks, a picnic area and trails for hiking. You can also see the Dam from above and see the water outlet area with a visitor center. Everything at the park was closed on this trip. So, now I have a reason to return this summer.

I never realised until this drive to he lake that even just a few hours away from work and the darkness of the winter would raise my spirits so high. Just skipping stones and taking photos, had broken away my gloom. Who knew that an afternoon with my son and a piece of glass would make me so happy again.