I realized this week that I got kicked off a friend’s blogroll, which I assume is because this blog hasn’t been updated in several months.
Excuses abound for my absence, but the root of the problem is that I haven’t really known what direction I should take with House Spouse. The reason I started it was, frankly, so that I had something to do, to keep me motivated and, ironically, from feeling like a house wife. It made cooking feel more like an adventure than a chore that I assumed because I was the one at home during the day.
But things have changed. A lot. I’m working full-time now and writing a thesis. My office is downtown (photo above) and I commute for about an hour and a half total each day, a bit longer than the one and a half minutes it would take me to get out of bed, pour a cup of coffee, and sit down to a few hours of reading on the couch (which sounds much more luxurious than it really was).
I’m still cooking, though. I’ve been successfully making delicious loaves of bread, thanks to a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law and I took a break from writing the other day to make another attempt at a lemon tart that I can’t seem to get right (it failed, yet again, but I’m not giving up!). But Andrew has been doing most of the work in the kitchen. He makes coffee every morning, packs us lunches, and grocery shops and makes dinner most nights. I collaborate somewhat, but my head has been in a wintery mix of doubt and worry over my thesis.
I’m turning a corner, however, and the end is in sight! I still have my doubts whether or not I can finish in time, but I’m slated to turn in a draft of my completed thesis to my adviser March 26. I imagine that from there, even if there are requests for revisions, the sailing will be much smoother. The end of a long journey always seems to drag on the longest, which is only half true for me. These past few months have been flying by and I feel like I’m scrambling just to get a single page written each day.
So why am I updating this blog now? When I’m in the thickest and most urgent of thesis writing? If I have an hour for LOST on Tuesday evenings, then I can devote 30 minutes to an hour a week to some non-required writing. Plus, I’m all cooped up in a tiny apartment with the Chicago winter raging outside (it snowed again last night) and need a break from discussing the influence of hermeneutics and critical theory on Edward Schillebeeckx’s theological method.
While I still haven’t figured out a new direction for House Spouse, I do intend to keep cooking a major focus. So with that, here’s a recipe for a simple, spiced apple galette. If it doesn’t turn a gray winter day into cozy and comfortable afternoon, there’s probably something wrong with you.
Spiced Apple Galette
(Adapted from Alice Waters’ Apple Tart)
Crust:
(This makes enough for two galettes shells, so reserve half the dough in the freezer for a rainy day.)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Filling:
2 pounds apples (go with something tart for best results), peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (depending on taste)
1/8 – 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (again, depending on taste)
1/8 tsp salt
Start the crust in the morning or the night before you plan to make the galette.
Pulse together quickly in a food processor the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until small pea-size clumps form. Add 5 tablespoons ice water; pulse until the dough forms a ball. Divide the ball into 2 pieces and form each into disk and wrap in plastic. (I usually don’t even touch the dough, but shape it using the plastic wrap.) Refrigerate at least 2 hours for best results.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine the apples, spices, salt, and 3 T of the sugar in a large bowl, stirring gently to coat the apples evenly but being careful not to crush or break them.
Roll dough into a a round approximately 12 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
Carefully pour the apple filling into the center of the pie dough and spread it out to form a small, 8-9-inch circle in the center. Pull the dough up around the sides and crimp edges at 1-inch intervals. Brush the melted butter over the top of the galette and sprinkle the remaining sugar.
Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes, rotating every 15 minutes. When the crust is a deep golden brown and the apples are soft and darkened around the edges, remove and allow it to cool on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.