Marriage

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

My Rock Through Sickness and Health

Posted on May 16, 2016 by jolynnpowers

If life is a river as Robert Redford narrates in his movie ” The River Runs Through It”…. then my husband is the river boulder that we all fly fish from.

rocks covered in moss by the river in Ten Mile. WV

As my life takes another unexpected turn I am so glad he is always so strong and steadfast.He is unmovable in his faith that we will get through any issue large or small. As I face another surgery, this one scheduled for Friday the 21st,to remove a cyst and ovary that have been causing me pain. I am so thankful to have someone to take over all the chores and child care for me. If all goes well you will be seeing several blog posts next week while I recover and try to catch up with all the stories I have been wanting to tell.

I did some traveling to my AmeriCorps Stakeholders meeting and that is a two-fold story. The first is about the work AmeriCorps is doing in that small town and the Second is about mummies… I know when you think of West Virginia you always include mummies, why wouldn’t you.

I also have a story about the 75th year of the city of Buckhannon’s Strawberry Festival where little Christopher is part of the minor court and is the crown holder for the king. He is so excited to ride on the official float in the Grand Parade.The fair lasts a week and we will get to take part in a lot of the events.Cute kid photos are on the way and fair food photos will be in the post for my friend Dan at No Facilities.

I have also wanted to write about the house and the bee projects and how this surgery is derailing both of them. I am not sure if the bee project will gain ground this year and the door should be ordered next month if nothing else goes wrong.We finally got a quote that we feel comfortable with and a door that we both like!

Christopher Power and Kaylee Hall leaving coronation of Strawberry Queen 2016

Christopher Powers and Kaylee Hall leaving the Strawberry Queens Coronation 2016

It has been a long year for the whole family, both Tom and I having surgery and Christopher needing to have a tooth removed have sidetracked just about everything I had planned for spring. The only thing that is going the way I planned is the garden. I hope get a chance to write about the newest addition “Garlic” soon. It is already doing well this year in an old flower bed that was amended with all natural Bunny Poop.

So now everyone is up to date and I have many more stories to write over the next couple of weeks. So if you get tired of hearing from me the next two weeks,forgive me. I will be back to my one blog post a week as soon as I return to work and get on my feet again.

As always thanks for stopping in it is always fun to share my stories with all of you,

Mountain MaMa

Categories: AmeriCorps, Beekeeping, Buckhannon West Virginia, Bunny, Christopher, DIY projects, Fairs and Festivals, Healing, Marriage, sickness, Uncategorized | Tags: AmeriCorps, DIY projects, Fairs and Festivals, Gardening, healing, surgery, Travel | 8 Comments

Happy Anniversary to me twice

Posted on February 14, 2014 by jolynnpowers

Funny how a life time slowly unfolds. I would have never guessed the my WordPress blog anniversary and my wedding anniversary would fall on the same day. I never planned it to happen like this but it is a great way to remember the things in my life that I enjoy the most.

This year Tom and are officially married 22 years but I do tend to think of it as 23 years mainly because I was pregnant with our first child most of that year. We were unable to get married because Tom was off fighting in the Gulf War and only returned a few days before my oldest sons birth in April of 1991. We finally made it official and chose to get married on Valentines Day of 1992. I could have picked any day and Tom would not have complained as long as we were all together. I chose this day because like this year it was a holiday that fell on a Friday and we could get married and have a long weekend and the court-house was open and Tom was able to get the day off work. Real romantic? Well, we were young and broke and had a baby to take care of so it was great fun for us even if it was not fancy, huge and expensive. It was a perfect start to a wonderful life together and some how it foreshadows our lives and how we would live them the next twenty years.

Tom and JoLynn Powers first wedding kiss 2-14 -1992

Over the years we have spent most of our time and money on outdoor adventures. We have traveled many miles to hunt, fish, camp, trail ride, and farm over 23 years. It has never been about who has the biggest house or nicest car it was always about learning and trying some thing new. I am so glad that I have found someone who, like me, loves to focus on what the next mountain has to offer and what we can learn from it. Life is a Journey not a Destination.

The other thing that I am so happy about is being a part of is the WordPress world. I actually started blogging a full year before I moved to Word Press. I found that the other web sites hard to manage and they did not have the space for large photos . I moved and never looked back . I have met so many wonderful writers and bloggers, that now just like my marriage, I can’t imagine my life with out all of you as part of it. I continue to work on writing better blog posts and learn more about writing. I have a dream that one day I will fill a canning cook book with stories and memories and recipes the you all help me to compose. I would have never known that their were people out their who love and live the same quite, deliberate way that we do with out my blog.

Word press anniversary-1

So thank you WordPress, it has been a great 1st year and I hope to keep working towards my dreams and sharing them here. Who knows, in about 20 more years Valentines day will fall on a Friday again and I will be a published author, a great Grandmother, a wife and a woman who is still trying some thing new!