Wow! I tell ya. I go from feast to famine when it comes to posting content. This seems to be a feast week. In other words, I've either had much to say, or much to happen. I'm glad! I too read blogs and love it when there are new things to read.
So if that's you, this is your week!
As seen in my last post, the Mock Apple Pie went very well. I tweaked a few things before I posted the recipe, so it should work very well for anyone daring enough to try it.
With the pie's success, I turned to making up Mock Apple Pie filling with the other half of the watermelon rind. The basis of my recipe was the apple pie filling recipe from the Ball canning book. However, it had to be tweaked as well because:
A) not using Apples
B) didn't have Clear Gel, nd didn't really want to have to buy any.
C) wasn't planning on canning it
So I began the process of making up the pie filling. I started the task of peeling the watermelon rind. Now I want to set something straight here. If you decide to try this, make sure you are only using a vegetable peeler. Don't, I repeat, don't use a knife. Watermelon rind can be tough to peel. Even with the peeler, I had to work it back and forth to get it thru the peel. It wasn't too hard, but when I used a knife....yea, the knife jumped and I cut my thumb; both when I peeled rind to make pie, and when I peeled rind for the filling. I'm left handed, so not sure if this is a lefty problem or if it's universal for right or left, but consider yourself warned. If you must use a knife, protect your thumb! Another little tip for doing this is to cut the rind into blocks first, then cut the blocks into strips about 4-5 inches long and maybe 1-2 inches wide. It makes it easier to hold in your hand to peel. Much easier.
Okay, on with my story. I put all my ingredients into my pan and started making the filling, but I needed something to replace the Clear Gel I didn't have. Hmmmm.... Oh Google!
Well the nice voice of my Google Sp.. uh Assistant told me I could use Tapioca Flour as a thickener. Hmmm. Well I didn't have Tapioca flour, but I did have Tapioca grains...and a grain mill. HEY! So I put my Tapioca Grains into my grain mill. Great idea right!? Well, if you've ever seen Tapioca grains, they are very tiny. Because they're so tiny, they got caught in the grinding wheel of my grain mill. It started making a funny noise. I turned off the grain mill, opened it up, and took out the tray that holds the grains to investigate. I saw what was wrong, and that it looked as if most of the rest of the grains had fallen thru to the tray below. I adjusted the coarseness of the mill to loosen things up a bit (you see what's about to happen don't you?) and Switched on the grain mill. SHOWERS OF TAPIOCA GRAINS! Hence the title of this post. I know you were wondering.
So after all of that, plus an impromptu clean up and sweep, I put it all back together and finally made Tapioca flour. Note to self: next time just buy Tapioca Flour. Then I proceeded with the recipe and managed to successfully make Mock Apple Pie Filling! Yay!
So, as promised, Here is the recipe:
Mock Apple Pie Filling for the freezer
12 cups peeled and diced watermelon rind- you can also use peeled and diced green pumpkin if you so desire
2 3/4 cups sugar
5 Tbs Tapioca Flour- or you can use the Clear Gel
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cups unsweetened apple juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
Combine Apple juice and Lemon juice in a good size stock pot. Add the 12 cups of diced melon rind or green pumpkin. Cook on Med/low heat, Don't boil, for 10 minutes until the pieces are fork tender. Add the spices, and sugar. Stir well until the sugar is well dissolved. Bring to a boil and add the Tapioca Flour, Stir until thickened. It won't be super thick, kind of syrupy. Now if you're using the clear Gel you will want to bring it to a boil on high heat, add the Clear Gel, Stir well. Bring back to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat regardless of Thickener used, and let cool. Once cool you can spoon into freezer containers and place in the freezer to use at your convenience.
I actually like this filling better than the recipe for the pie. It's good, and you can't tell it isn't apple. Promise!
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