Getting a batch of cooked apples going, like I've been wanting to do for a while now!
Still slightly amazing, just how much easier prep work like this can be, if you actually have a workstation set up at an appropriate height! 😊 One of the reasons I put off doing this, tbqh, with as much of an awkward hassle as it was, trying to get much done in our cramped much less accessible old kitchen. You were either trying to do stuff sitting sideways to it, on a cluttered too-high counter surface, or working in your lap. Also, naturally I was still in the earlier stages of trying to adjust and figure out how to get much of anything done as a new wheelchair user.
I mean, picking up that more ergonomic peeler (for like £2 at Tesco!) has made a huge enough difference to trying to get some basic prep work done, without ending up with seriously cramped-up hands/arms and aggravating pain from these wonky bendy joints. You can maybe imagine how much good the full-body awkwardness trying to do pretty well any kitchen work kitchen was doing my carcass.
Of course, having at least one handy accessible working surface set up to fit my needs better was one of the major reasons I did make sure to set up thar table there in this new place. But, I can't help but still get impressed at how much easier that makes so many things on the daily. And, I am so glad to have (a) enough space available to set things up better, (b) a cleaner slate to work with, moving into this previously empty apartment, and (c) both the means and support to, like, totally reasonably just pick out a new IKEA table to suit my needs. (As just one example.)
Anyway, these Mystery Swedish Apples had been sitting around at cool room temperature for maybe a week and a half, two weeks waiting for me to get around to dealing with them--and a couple of them were starting to look the part. That chunk of an apple waiting to the side was the result of a couple of bruises I'd missed earlier, plus needing to sample one for quality control purposes. 😁 Yep, pretty tasty! Maybe especially as the first fresh apple I'd tasted in the better part of a year.
(No idea what variety these even are, just that there were several prominent "Svenska äpplen" signs around them. Still not sure after the taste test, though very possibly some Swedish variety--even better! Looked nice and fresh then, and pretty promising as cooking apples. Maybe a little more toward the sweeter side than I would normally look for, but still looking pretty damned good compared to much of what I could readily find around London.)
All done! And just about ready for the stove.
I was craving some pretty basic stewed apples, with basically just a hint of spices. Already added to the pan: the fruit tossed with a spoonful of lemon juice, about a tablespoon of honey for the hint of flavor more than sweetness, and maybe a couple teaspoons of butter. Yet to go in: a dash of pre-ground nutmeg, plus bigger sprinkles of ground allspice and cinnamon. No ginger here right now, or I would also add (preferably) a couple of fresh slices of that too.
Now on and simmering away under a lid!
Stirring about 5 minutes in. Did I add too much water to keep it from sticking? 🤔 Anybody's guess!
Also, waiting to the side, for flavor adjustment as needed at the end:
I was so glad to spot some granulated Splenda-alike at the nearest grocery store this evening! For whatever reason, any form of sucralose seems way less popular here than I would have expected? 🤔 This is actually the first I've found at all, just sold as a sweetener. It's a pretty common ingredient in prepared stuff, but not so much on its own. It's also the main artificial sweetener that doesn't taste actively gross to me.
(Stevia isn't nasty, but just doesn't taste like anything. My mom was exactly the same way with it. Guessing it's some genetic variation, like with soapy cilantro or bitter brassicas. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Could be much worse! Just not helpful with so many products using stevia extracts now. Juice drinks are just very tart at worst, but one essentially unsweetened chocolate-coater wafer protein bar was disconcerting as hell.)
I was actually considering buying some maltodextrin as a base and trying to figure out decent proportions for mixing up my own granulated version with that pure sucralose powder which I ordered basically as soon as I saw how hard it is to find in stores here--for easy baking substitution, especially. But, glad to see that I can indeed find some! And without, like, paying extra to order the stuff from Germany for the convenience value.
