APPLE PIE....a must have in a recipe book!!!!

I believe that the tastiest healthy pie is the apple one!
Apple pie makes me think of orchards and country style kitchens,
brings back the smell of childhood,
feelings of joy and happyness and
makes me smile!!!

Yesterday, at my son's request, I prepared this special, simple
but powerfull sweet delight!

Here comes the recipe!!!

CARME'S APPLE PIE

Ingredients for crust:

150 g whole wheat flour
150 g white unbleached flour
100 g granulated sugar
1 pinch salt
1 egg
2 TBS Martini liquor (instead you can edd another egg)
150 g butter (1 stick abd 2 spoons)

Ingredients for filling:

4/5 golden apples
half tsp cinnamon
1 TBS sugar (optional)
half lemon lemon juice
2/3 amaretti (almond Italian cookies)crushed

To prepare dough, put flours and salt on a wooden board and form a well.
Inside put sugar, egg and liquor and start mixing them with your hands.
Add room temperature butter and mix all the ingredients well to obtain a
soft ball.
Transfer in a bowl, cover with cling paper and refrigerate.

Meanwhile peel and slice the apples, mix them with lemon juice,sugar and cinnamon.

Take out the fridge the pastry dough and cut three quarter of it leaving the other part to rest.
Flour wooden board and with a rolling pin make it flat and round to fit a round baking tray.
Butter and flour baking tray base and transfer dough in it.
Cover bottom with amaretti, then add the apples.
Flatten the other part of dough to make it round and big enough to cover pie.
Close border well folding pastry, make small cuts on top of pie and bake at
375 F or 180 C for 40 minutes or till golden.

Cool down and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy it!!!!

BACK HOME!

This summer I spent a long time away from home!
I was very lucky to be able to go on a cruice in Greece and explore some of
the Egean islands; to travel through Italy where I visited amazing places in
Puglia, Lazio and Umbria and, once back in the US, to drive all the way down
from Ney York to South Carolina crossing many American States for the first time.
I feel so gratefull!!!

I'm back home now and I must say that I'm really happy
to be back in my kitchen!

The most enjoyable activities I have done since coming home are:
grocery shopping and cooking!

Yesterday I had my dear girl friends over for lunch and, among other dishes, I prepared for them a Lasagna with Pesto filled with lots of love.

I'm sharing this light, easy recipe with you all!

Ingredients for 12 people:

1 packet of lasagna (I prefer Barilla)
2 cups of basil leaves
2 cups of arrugola
half cup pine nuts
3/4 spoons extravirgin olive oil
2 cups of cherry tomatos
2 cups of feta cheese (2 pieces)
salt and pepper

Prepare pesto chopping in a blender the leaves and the pine nuts,
then add a pinch of salt and enough oil to blend all the ingredients
in a smooth paste.
Put pesto in a bowl and cover with oil so the top doesn't become brown.
Prepare tomatoes washing them and cutting them in halves.
Put 2/3 spoons of olive oil in a pan and sautee tomatoes for 5 minutes
or till they soften. Add salt, pepper and put them aside.
Boil water, add salt and a bit of oil then cook 5/6 lasagna sheets at
the time for 2 minutes.
Remove the lasagna sheets from water, transfer them in a container with
cold water, then drain them and let them dry on a cloth.

Switch on oven to 375 F or 180 C degrees.

Now you are ready to assemble the lasagna!

Put one full spoon of pesto in a cup and add enough water (half cup) to make
it liquid and runny. Spoon some pesto at the bottom of a rectangular baking
dish, then lay the lasagna sheet in order to cover all the bottom of the dish.
Spread the liquid pesto(when this ends prepare another batch)on top of
lasagna, then top it with some tomatoes and feta cheese.
Form another layer of lasagna sheets and repeat the sequence till you finish
all the ingredients.
Possibly end with a layer of lasagna sheets topped with pesto and some cheese.

Cover the baking dish with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After then uncover the dish and bake for other 5 minutes.

Remove dish from oven and let it cool down for 15 minutes.

Serve this tasty lasagna with a spring mix salad.