Apple Crumble Tart

Apple Crumble Tart, perfect for fika :)

For our weekly dinner at Racka, I made a pie from the apples I still had leftover from my overzealous picking day.  It's a really easy dessert to make, and when made with such fresh, apples as those in Uppsala, the taste is really fantastic.

Apple Crumble Tart (adapted from Canadian Living)

makes 8 servings

For the crust 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

1/2 egg, beaten

1/4 cup ice cold water (approximately)

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Stir in the egg and enough water to bind the dough together.  Knead slightly, flatten into a round disc, wrap in plastic wrap or parchment, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.

For the apples

6 cups thinly sliced apples

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Just before filling the pie plate, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.

For the crumble

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup cold butter, cubed

Mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon; cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board, until it is large enough to fit into an ungreased tart pan (9").  Fit the dough into the pan, removing any excess dough.

Pour the apple mixture into the pan.  Finish by sprinkling the crumble overtop.  Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and crispy.  

Holes

Jan, my professor, digging deep into the soil pit.

Do you remember Camp Green Lake? If not, you have not taken the time to read, "Holes," by Louis Sachar.  It's basically a story of a camp (Green Lake) where "bad" boys are sent to dig holes everything.  Obviously, there's a lot more to the story than what I just described, trust me.

How to fake your way through Sweden...

Not Swedish? Here are four things you'll need in order to appear like an everyday Swede:

I'm not going to lie, I'll probably pick up a shnazzy pair while I'm here.

1. Shoes.  Converse shoes.  Everyone wears them here.  It's either Converses or black leather ankle boots.

Jeggings.  Why...?

2. Skinny jeans.  If you're walking in town, 75% of the girls you see will be wearing skinny jeans, leggings, or  worse, jeggings.

Swedish, tall, but no blonde hair.  Also, not female.

3. Blonde hair.  The stereotype is kind of true.  No wonder people whom I can't recall having met at orientation remember me instantly.  I have to remind myself that I'm not at UBC/Vancouver anymore...

4. Height. Let's face it, most of the Swedes here are not shorter than 5''.

So long as you have skinny jeans and Converses, you're basically a Swede (even if you're not).

Numbers 3 and 4 are important, but not as important as numbers 1 and 2.  So if you don't have blonde hair and are short, you can still resemble a Swede, and maybe someone will even walk up to you and say, "Hej, Talar du svenska?"

It's raining apples!

Apples galore!

 
Studying at a smaller school definitely has its perks.  SLU delivers the same environment and feel as LFS does back at home.  Class sizes are smaller, I have the opportunity to get to know my classmates better, and since this is an agricultural sciences school, many students have the same values and interests as I do. 

How many schools have you attended where your housemates all compost and recycle willingly, and can have a conversation with you at breakfast about soil hydrology and their experience dissecting a cow udder? (Thankfully, cow udder dissections are not a recurring theme at the dinner table).

Ultuna apples

And did I mention that the campus has free and local food?  That's right, we've got an apple orchard on campus.  Jackpot!!

Ready to devour our desserts!

I went over to Lies and Laura's place for an ice cream party, so I brought over a Swedish Apple Pie.  Well, according to Allrecipes, this is a Swedish Apple Pie.  Regardless of its authenticity, it's simple and easy to make, and even more delicious with the freshly-picked apples from Ultuna :)

Swedish Apple Pie.  Or should I say, "Swedish" Apple Pie..

Swedish Apple Pie (is it really Swedish?)

1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced apples (or enough to fill the pan)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss the apples with 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.  Pour into a pie plate and spread evenly.
In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.  Spread the dough over the apples, pressing it firmly overtop to create a crust.
Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

All this apple pie and baking talk had some of my friends asking me what is a Canadian dessert?  To be honest, I could only think of nanaimo bars, beaver tail, and anything involving maple syrup.  So I have a question for all of you that I hope you can help me out with: what is a Canadian dessert?

I am Canadian!

I had an interesting conversation with a guy in my class last week.  It started like this:

"Where are you from?"

"Canada."

"Oh, but you don't look Canadian!"

"Right.  My ethnicity is Chinese, but I am Canadian."

It's funny how I always take for granted back at home that people understand that being Chinese doesn't mean that I'm not Canadian. What is the definition of a Canadian, anyway?

My classmate apparently has different ideals.  He told me that I should respect and acknowledge my ethnic heritage: "If your Dad is Chinese, you should say that you are Chinese."

Am I ashamed to be Chinese? Of course not!  I'm proud of who I am, my background, my family heritage.  However, my first time visiting China was not until this summer, and I was born and raised in Canada, with English being my mother tongue.  I suppose I could say I'm Chinese-Canadian, but why should I have to defend my reason for calling myself a Canadian? Legally, my birth certificate clearly states that I am Canadian. 

It is definitely an experience having to constantly explain to someone that I'm Canadian, followed by, "Oh, and I'm Chinese," since this will most often be the next question (or else the person will walk away looking slightly confused).   Many people who have not traveled to Canada don't have an understanding of just how multicultural our nation is.  And with that, I present to you a personal favourite Russell Peters clip (I hope you appreciate his humour!)...