RECIPE SWAP: AN APPLE RECIPE A DAY...

It is certainly apple season again. Daycares and kindergarten classes are visiting the orchard, and my two children are cooking with apples in their classrooms. It thrills me to death to see the teachers interested in cooking and trying to bring that interest into the classroom.

Our Ross is in the first grade, and last Friday they made fried apples. Mrs. Schniepp had the children start with Granny Smith apples, and they made a wonderful side dish that would accompany any pork dish very nicely. My husband especially likes these fried apples with a grilled ham steak.

Also last Friday, our Lexie spent the day with Mrs. Donna and her class made a delicious apple cake. It is a stir-together cake that the children can do and be so proud of their finished product. Lexie loves to be with me in the kitchen and she wants to do everything I do and more. It is wonderful to have children in the kitchen.

First Grade Fried Apples

2 tablespoons butter

2 Granny Smith apples, sliced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 pinch salt

Heat skillet, place butter in pan. Once melted add apples, sugar, cinnamon and salt, coating apples well. Saut in skillet for 10 minutes on medium heat. Yield 4 servings.

The Red Room's Apple Cake

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg

4 cups diced apples

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 cups flour

Pinch salt

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

Cream sugar and eggs. Add oil and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to batter. Mix well. Fold in the apples. Sprinkle 1 cup brown sugar on top. Bake in a greased 9x13-inch pan at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. You may wish to drizzle with a powdered sugar icing.

Continuing with apples, Annis Heuring of Scott City makes her apple pie filling and uses it in apple enchiladas.

For the pie filling she uses Golden Delicious apples. Both recipes sound very good.

Apple Enchiladas

1 can apple pie filling, or homemade

6 8-inch flour tortillas

1/3 cup margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Put apple filling down the center of tortillas and fold over. Place in a lightly greased pan. Bring margarine and the other 4 ingredients to a boil and simmer 3 minutes. Pour over enchiladas. Let stand 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Homemade Apple Pie Filling

18 cups peeled, sliced apples

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cups sugar

1 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

9 cups water

Put apples in a large pot. Mix with lemon juice. Mix sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir into apples and let come to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Mix cornstarch with a small amount of water. Stir into apples and cook until thick. Let cool for 30 minutes. Ladle into freezer containers. Cool and freeze up to 12 months.

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Mrs. Melvin Fiedler of Altenburg has an apple cake that is short on sugar but certainly not on taste.

Sugarless Apple Cake

1/2 cup margarine, softened

2 eggs

3 tablespoons sweetener

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups chopped red apples

Mix margarine, eggs, cinnamon, flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla and sweetener until smooth. Add chopped apples and raisins. Bake in a greased and floured 9-inch square pan at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

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Recipe Swap had another great week with a lot of mail. I want to get as many of those recipes in as possible, so let's get down to recipe swapping.

A Cape Girardeau reader has sent in a celery bisque recipe that is good served either warm or chilled. With the weather turning chilly the thought of soup is pretty inviting.

Celery Bisque

2 pounds celery, chopped, leaves and stalks

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup potato, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning, or to taste

1 cup cream

Simmer all ingredients, except cream, till vegetables are tender. Blend well. Return to pot. Add cream and heat just until hot but not boiling. Serves 8.

The same person shares a chicken recipe she borrowed from a book while vacationing in Los Angeles.

Chicken and Tomato Gratin with Fresh Basil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 garlic clove, minced

3 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into slices 1/2-inch thick

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pound the thicker ends of the chicken gently with the side of a large knife to flatten evenly. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. In a bowlor heavy-duty 1-quart plastic food bag, combine the chicken, lemon juice, olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the basil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the garlic. Marinate at room temperature 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a lightly greased 12-inch gratin or other shallow baking dish, arrange the tomato slices, overlapping as necessary to cover the bottom of the dish. Drizzle with the cream and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Scatter the remaining 2 teaspoons basil over the top.

Arrange the chicken breasts in a single layer over the tomatoes. Bake until the chicken is white throughout and still juice, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese on top and bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes longer. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs. Yield 4 servings

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Some time ago, we had requests for corn and flour tortillas and a recipe for soft molasses cookies. A reader from Jackson, Mo., has found both recipes and would like to share them with you.

Corn Tortillas

2 cups corn flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lard

1 1/2 cups water

In a m mixing bowl, combine the flour, lard and salt. Mix well. Stir in the water. The dough should be slightly wet. Form the dough into a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Place a little water on hands and form the dough into small balls. Place the balls on a piece of parchment paper 12x8 1/2-inches. Using your hands, flatten the dough and form into a flat circle. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the circle. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 6 1/2 to 7-inch circle, 1/8-inch thick. In a medium non-stick skillet, over medium heat, brown the tortillas for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove and place between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Repeat the above process with the remaining dough. Yield 12 tortillas.

Soft Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 cup water

Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. Stir flour with ginger, cinnamon and salt. Dissolve baking soda in water. Add flour and soda mixtures alternately to butter mixture, blending well after each addition. Drop by tablespoons onto greased and floured baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Makes 3 dozen.

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I can't believe I'm out of room already. There will be many more recipes to share with you next week. Until then, we have three requests from people who are needing help locating a particular recipe.

Nadine Quentin of Cape Girardeau is looking for a recipe for pulled taffy like we are able to buy at the fair. Many years ago she had a taffy pull party and it was a big success. She has misplaced her recipe, but recalls it used vinegar, water, sugar, cream of tartar and vanilla. They had fun pulling it until it became white and shiny. That would be a great youth group activity for our church kids.

Dortha Halter of Perkins, Mo., is needing a recipe for making tomato preserves using the little Tommy Toe tomatoes. She and her mother made this years ago when she was a young girl and would like to do so again.

Our last request is from my fourth grade teacher at McClure Elementary School, Rosetta Johnson. She is looking for a recipe for a tomato relish that has jalepeno peppers in it. It also has all of the usual ingredients like vinegar and some spices. She has a jar of commercially produced relish and would like to make some on her own.

I have fond memories of Mrs. Johnson in the fourth grade. Some of which are she always chewed gun, when we weren't allowed to and spelling bees. She would take those of us who made the team to KFVS radio on Broadway for the spelling bee. Then after we were finished, she would treat us to pizza at Tony's Pizza just up the street. Since one particular spelling bee day, I have never misspelled the word niece again.

That's all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend ahead, and happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan, an administrator at Cape Senior Center, can be reached at Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699. Recipes published are not kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.