Sunday Brunch

Good Morning!! I hope this Sunday morning finds you healthy and happy! I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today. I've talked about my grandmother in the past, she was such a great an influence in my life. A few years ago I was given her recipe box, a grand gift. As I've gone through the recipes, there have been moments of laughter. She loved sweet potato pie. There must be 100 recipes for sweet potato pi!. So many are repeats of the others. It was as if she was looking for the prefect recipe and she didn't dare let one go by as there just might be an ingredient that was a little different from all the others that would render the perfect version. There have also been moments of tears. She was such a gracious person. There was always a banana bread in her freezer, just waiting in case someone happened to drop by. Many did drop by. Her home was one of constant welcome. As I went through the recipes I found so many warm punch and spiced tea recipes. She loved to serve. Who she was is wrapped so neatly in this little recipe box. All one has to do is take a peak and you discover the woman.

When I lived in Houston, I would quite often go to spend the weekend with her. My bag would be packed on Thursday night so that all I had to do was throw the bag in the car on Friday morning and when the clock struck 5, I hit the road. An hour and a half later, I would be sitting at her little enamel topped kitchen table having dinner with her. Tears well in my eyes now as I think back to how loved she made me feel. So, let's move on.

A very simple recipe that my grandmother would make for me during the course of the weekend was what she called Apple Betty. This is her version.

Apple Betty

The ingredients are simple. Left over bread, apples, brown sugar, a little butter, raisins or your favorite dried fruit and chopped nuts if you like.

Begin by greasing your pan. What she used was a glass casserole. Tear up your bread and put a nice layer on the bottom of the pan. Slice your apples and add a layer of apples. 

 Sprinkle on a few raisins. I used dried cranberries as they are my favorite. Dot on a little butter.

Sprinkle on a little brown sugar.
Continue to layer in this manor, pushing down the layers as you go, until your pan is full.

Make sure the pan is fairly full as the mixture will compress as it cooks. The last layer should be a layer of torn bread, a little butter and some brown sugar. The final step is to pour a cup of water over the mixture.

Put the lid on the pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check during cooking. If it looks like it is getting too dry, just add a little more water.
Now my grandmother was the master of experimentation. She loved to try something new. If it worked, great, and if not, well, she knew not to do that again. I think she would be very proud of me today as I had some rhubarb sauce leftover from the pancakes I made this morning. So rather than freeze it for another time, I decided to add the rhubarb sauce to the layers of my Apple Betty.

Out of the oven, nice and moist.
Yum! This is perfect with a little ice cream or some whipped cream on the side. But, to be honest, I love it plain. My taste buds are happy and my mind as well as my heart are full of such sweet memories.
Enjoy!