Vanilla Apple Sauce - More Apple Picking Spoils

After apple picking at Smolak Farms we knew we had enough apples for an apple and pear crisp as well as something else delicious.  After seeing Jen's vanilla spiced applesauce I knew I had to make it, especially since I still had some vanilla beans from the spice souk in Dubai!

Delicious Apples

The Necessities (recipe adapted from Beantown Baker)

• 6 Apples, roughly peeled and chopped
• 3 Vanilla Beans
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon all spice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup water

After preparing the apples I put them in a large dutch oven and then turned my attention to the vanilla beans, which looked and smelled incredible.  There was no doubt that they were packed with so much flavor!  I sliced open the vanilla beans, and using my knife I scooped out the seeds inside and added them to the pot.  I then tossed in the beans themselves for a little extra flavor.

Vanilla Beans from Dubai!

I then added the remaining ingredients to the pot, gave it a big stir and brought the water to a boil.

All in the pot

All stirred up

Once the water reached a boil, I turned the heat down to medium low, covered the pot and let it cook for another 20 minutes.  Our apartment smelled amazing - ll of these spices were so fragrant even through the cast iron dutch oven!

After 20 minutes

Twenty minutes later, the apples were nice and soft.  I first removed the three vanilla bean pods and then stirred up and mushed the apples up a bit with a wooden spoon.  I then brought out the big guns and used the potato masher to make sure the consistency of the apple sauce was nice and smooth.

All mashed up

After letting it cool, we grabbed a bowl and dug in!  I will say, the left-overs - about 2 or 3 days later - were ever better.  I think that all the spices sitting together for sometime allowed the dish to come together amazingly well.  The vanilla was definitely the strongest flavor but was so delicious!  I think the vanilla flavor was even more prominent when the apple sauce was cold.

Final Product

This was my first time making applesauce and I was surprised by how easy it really is.  There are so many ways to dress up applesauce in general, so I cannot wait to play around with some new ingredients!

Have you ever made a dish that was easier than expected?

Camel Trek in the Desert!

Nick and I only had a day and a half in Dubai, but we made the most of our time, and after the Burj Khalifa and an afternoon at the Souks, we had seen a lot of the city.  Having just spent 10 magnificent nights in the Maldives, we did not really feel the need to spend much time exploring the beaches of Dubai - we wanted the city!  A few months before the honeymoon Nick saw an ad for Desert Safari Dubai in his office's elevator, and with dune crashing in 4 x 4's, camel rides, and a BBQ with native entertainment, it was an opportunity we really could not pass up!

Camel Rides!

At around 4:00pm we were picked up at our hotel by a representative of the group in a Land Cruiser and headed west.  What was interesting was that as we traveled kept thinking we were entering the desert, but then you would see a little community that looked straight out of Weeds (the first season) or Arrested Development!  There were also a few areas blocked off with billboards showing pictures of a brand new city to be completed within years - this place is just growing at a rapid pace.

Burj Khalifa - Dubai

When you think of Dubai (or one of the main reasons people even know of Dubai) you think immediately of the Burj Khalifa.  It was definitely on our must do list.  Luckily we ran into another couple in the Maldives who warned us to buy tickets early because they sell out in advance, so we jumped online and purchased ours for a Saturday morning.

On the observation deck of the Burj Kkalifa - with a camera (how I spent most of our time in Dubai)

The Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world.  It stands at a staggering 2,723 feet with 163 habitable floors plus another 46 maintenance floors on top of that - needless to say it's huge!  To get to the entrance you actually have to walk through the Dubai Mall, giving you a nice view of the building you are about to explore.

An Afternoon in the Souks in Old Town Dubai

When you go to Dubai there are two very different sides - the new and the old.  When a city, like Dubai, is going for the biggest and newest of everything sometimes the original city can get a bit lost in the shadows, especially the big one cast by the Burj Kalifa!  After we landed and got settled in our hotel, we jumped in a cab and headed to the Dubai Creek, and shopped at the Souks (where the gold, textile and spices are).

At the Dubai Creek

Based on the layout of the area, we first checked out the gold souk.  With tax free shopping and people ready to bargin there are deals to be had.  I did not indulge, though, since the gold was just a bit too much, and with this being my first time bargaining I did not bring the prices down (at all!).  It definitely was fun to look at all the inventory, that is for sure.  Some of the jewelry was so beautifully intricate.

Around Dubai!

After 10 nights in the Maldives (aka, the definition of paradise), we needed to somehow slowly reenter civilization.  Since we were already on the other-side of the world and had a layover there, it seemed like the perfect idea to extend our layover for two nights and check out Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates.  I have a few upcoming posts that detail a couple of our adventures, but in the meantime, here is a sampling of photos from this fantastic city.

Burj Kalifa, view from our hotel balcony

Around The Palace Hotel

Burj Kalifa at Night

Dancing Fountains!

Around the new downtown area

More Dancing Fountains

Aquarium inside the Dubai Mall (with candy store reflection)

More Aquarium  (and Gap ad reflection)

Pee Wee Hockey Inside of the Mall!

They had every American chain imaginable!  

Dancing Fountains During the Day

En route to the Souk Al Bahar

More Burj Kalifa

Entry to The Palace Old Town

Inside The Palace

Being over in Dubai, we wanted to experience new restaurants that were native to the area.  However, with all the chains, it was actually really hard to do!  For lunch we managed to find Shakespeare and Co (partly because it was right next to our hotel), which is a chain, but native to the area at least!  With simple sandwiches, Shisha (hookahs) and outdoor dining, it was a pretty fun early afternoon!

Shisha!

Dubai has tons to offer and things to see that are completely different from what we see in the States, whether it be old or completely new!

Getting In and Around the Indian Ocean

One of the most fun parts of any wedding is that after an amazing day with those nearest and dearest, you head off into into the sunset on what could be the most amazing trip ever.  Nick and I decided to go a little crazy and planned a trip of the lifetime - to the Maldives and Dubai!

For Nick and I, we took off out of Boston for JFK where we spent the night at the Hampton Inn, ensuring we would not miss our flight for Dubai the next morning at 10:40am.  This plan seemed very smart during the bookings when we thought that New Years meant extreme cold with the possibility of ice and snow!  Little did we know that that would so NOT be an issue this year!  Nevertheless, after an anxious sleep we awoke and arrived at the Emirates Air terminal of JKF.  After waiting in line, negotiating for an upgrade (didn't happen), and some major suitcase shuffling (only 15 pounds for a carry-on!) we were checked in and ready to head through security.

Emirates Check-in Counter

While we did not get the upgrade, we did have a pretty good entertainment system that had plenty to keep us busy for the eleven and a half hour flight to Dubai.