Apples in autumn

Sydney weather has not been so kind of late. Rain has been falling for the past week, and sunshine has become so rare. My mood, too, has not been in its best form. However, I have recovered a bit. Sometimes it takes ages for me to get over one particular ‘issue’ even though the answer might be real simple. Patience is what I am still learning the hard way. But setting aside, I have discovered some really beautiful angles of Sydney in autumn. And trust me, they look particularly beautiful in the rain…

I am enjoying autumn produces a lot these days. Persimmons are real love. And also apples. I am re-discovering the love for them after sampling some gorgeous crunchy ones at the farmers’ market. As I am trying to find nice words to describe the, I stumble into these sentences in a gorgeous cookbook by my favorite chef Skype Gyngell:

Apples are so versatile, I am sure each of you has one or two much loved recipes featuring them as the main ingredient. My current favourite is apple chips. A perfect snack which is particularly nice with a cup of warm tea, a book and some nice music.

There are a lot of apple chip recipes out there and all of them use sugar. Well, personally, I believe that if you are able to get some flavoursome apples, sugar is entirely optional. Baking will only intensify the apple flavours. Cinnamon (or other spices for that matter) is a must though.

I am sending this entry to Weekend Herb Blogging. During my time away from the blog world, it has changed a bit. Kalyn has entrusted Haalo with the event. And our host for this week is Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs). Do go to her blog early next week for the round up.

APPLE CHIPS

Ingredients: apples (unwaxed ones if you can buy them), cinnamon powder

Tool: a mandolin (my cheap plastic one works like a charm)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to the lowest setting.

Put some lemon juice in a bowl of water. We will dip the apple slices in here to avoid discoloration.

Slice the apples thinly using the mandolin. Place them in the lemon water mixture.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pat dry the apple slices and place them onto the baking sheet, avoid overlapping. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder.

Place the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for 1-1.5 hours or until the apple slices are crispy. Transfer the chips onto a cooling rack.