Apple Bread

Last Christmas we stole a juicer from Colby's mom. They never used it and I really wanted one, so it was a win-win situation. We made a bunch of different juices, most of them revolving around apples and pears, but I never knew what to do with the remaining pulp. We don't compost (yes, I know, this makes me a bad person but I can't convince Colby to do it), so we mostly just threw it away.

Since it's fall and there is an abundance of really good apples shipped across the country, I've been craving apple cider. No, not the alcoholic kind, the stuff that's made from pressing apples into, quite possibly, the most delicious beverage ever. I've posted about making apple cider at home before, but Colby wasn't so much a happy camper about the large amounts of work and extended amounts of clean up required. Enter the Jack LaLanne Juicer. We used some odd combination of apples (Granny Smith, Gala, Empire, crabapple, Margil, King David, and Pinata), which resulted in a really sweet, drinkable cider. I was a bit disappointed that it lacked sharpness, but next time I'll tweak the combination. I should also note that for whatever reason, this doesn't taste exactly the same as pressed cider, but it was a lot easier than doing it by hand.

This left me with a whole lot of apple pulp (or pomace), so I decided to make maple apple bread.

1 c rolled oats (not instant)

2 c AP flour

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 T cinnamon

1 t kosher salt

1 c vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)

2 c maple syrup (the real deal)

3 large eggs

2 1/2-3 c apple pomace

1 c chopped walnuts (optional, but encouraged!)

Preheat oven to 350 and generously grease two loaf pans. In a large bowl whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl whisk the syrup, oil, eggs, and apple pomace (and walnuts if you're adding them) until well mixed. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold in. Pour into the loaf pans and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until you can cleanly remove a toothpick from the center.