Ajsmama, it wasn't dated. I think that's because I put in a special order for the date of the hog roast. It was pasteurized. Following your link, I processed it. I did boil it to reduce it somewhat first. Then, I found an additional four and a half gallons of apple/raspberry cider in the basement refrigerator. Good grief... Now what can I do with it, apart from just canning it as juice? We had more people at the fundraiser than I anticipated. No food left, just cider. This never ends. Thanks for that link; it was a lifesaver. Deborah

Two of my favorite fall vegetarian soups---peanut soup and corn chowder. Both can be made 1 day ahead. Peanut Soup ----------- 1T peanut oil 1 onion, halved, sliced 3 garlic cloves, minced 3T curry powder 4C chicken stock (I use veggie stock) 1/3C rice (uncooked) 3 carrots, peeled, sliced 1/2C creamy peanut butter 1 1/2t sugar Chopped green onions and/or chopped cilantro Heat oil in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and curry powder and sauté until onion is translucent. Add 4C stock and bring to boil. Stir in rice and carrots. Reduce heat and simmer until rice is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Puree about half of soup in blender with peanut butter. Return puree to saucepan. Stir soup until heated through, thinning with more stock if desired; do not boil. Mix in sugar. Just before serving, garnish with green onions and cilantro. Corn Chowder ------------ 1/2 stick butter 1 small onion, chopped 1/2C diced red bell pepper 1/2C diced green bell pepper 1/2t ground cumin 1/4t cayenne pepper 1/4C all purpose flour 1C canned chicken/veggie broth 1C milk (don't use skim) 1 16- to 17-ounce can whole-kernel corn, drained, liquid reserved Minced fresh cilantro (optional) Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and bell peppers, cumin & cayenne and sauté about 8 mins. Add flour and stir 1 more minute. Gradually mix in broth, milk and reserved corn liquid. Bring mixture to boil, whisk until smooth. Mix in corn and stir until corn is just heated through. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve. (This is also good topped with sour cream and/or shredded cheddar cheese).

Trudy, the beauty of only a bottom crust is that if it looks ugly or tears or whatever, you patch it and cover it with apples. If you want a top crust and it doesn't go well, just cut circles or diamonds or strips or little apples or whatever and put them on top and pretend you meant to do that! Those tiny cookie cutters are finally good for something, LOL. mare, thank you. It did taste as good as it looks and didn't last as long as I thought it would. (grin) I did post the recipe for Trudy on another thread but I'd be happy to post it again. I made it from this recipe, but skipped the top crust and instead of the powdered sugar/milk glaze made a maple glaze from powdered sugar, maple syrup and some maple extract (to taste). I also left out the cornflakes as I didn't have any and usually don't have any. It's good with or without them. The extra crust makes a second slab, or a top crust, your choice. It keeps for a couple of days in the fridge. Mine became a second apple "slab" as the first one was so good. The original recipe, I think, came from Midwest Living. Apple Slab 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup shortening 1 egg yolk Milk 1 cup cornflakes 8 -10 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (8 cups) 3/4-1 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1 cup powdered sugar 3 -4 teaspoons milk In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a liquid measuring cup, beat egg yolk lightly. Add enough milk to make 2/3 cup liquid. Stir well to combine. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture with a fork until combined (dough will be slightly sticky). Divide mixture in half. On a well-floured surface, roll half of the dough to a 17x12-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Transfer to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan and unfold dough, pressing to fit into the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle with cornflakes. Top evenly with apples. In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Roll remaining dough to a 15x10-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Place atop apples and unfold dough. Crimp edges or use the tines of a fork to seal. Cut slits in the top. Brush top with beaten egg white. Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 50 minutes or until golden and apples are tender, covering with foil after the first 25 minutes of baking time to prevent overbrowning. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar and 2 to 3 teaspoons milk to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm bars. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars. Annie

Maybe try these: Apple Cider Caramels recipe from: http://sugarpunk.wordpress.com/ 2 c apple cider Reduce to 1/3 cup, set aside. [I used apple cider from Hickory Nut Gap Farm, which we found last weekend when we were in Asheville. It's a cider made from a variety of apples, but the primary flavor seems to be winesap, which gives it a nice bite.] 2/3 c cream [I used local cream here, from Maple View Farms. The best!] 6 tbsp butter Heat to boil, then set aside. [Again, I re-heated this just before adding it later. Also, when I make this next time, I'm going to infuse the cream with a cinnamon stick, as these caramels really love having cinnamon with them] 1 1/2 c sugar 1/4 c corn syrup 1/4 water Cook to light brown [I have found that my idea of "light brown" and what works with caramel aren't at all the same - I generally heat it to something more like medium-dark amber] Add cream, butter and reduced apple cider all at once, stirring constantly (it will foam up – use a good size pot). ]Oh boy, they’re not kidding! I always, always scald myself when doing this step. ] Cook to 250 degrees, using fairly low heat – you want to take about 10-15 minutes to get it up to temperature. [Now this, I just find to be incorrect. The sooner you can get it up to the mid-range of soft-ball, the better. I do use medium heat, but it has never taken longer than 5 minutes to get to temperature.] Pour it into a 8 inch square baking pan that’s been lined with two pieces of oiled parchment paper, one in each direction – this creates a “sling” to pull the caramel out of the pan. [This has always resulted in a layer of caramel approximately 1/2 inch thick. If you want thicker caramels (and I usually do), you can use a smaller pan, or I've made a spacer from cardboard that turns my pan into approx an 8x6 pan.] [I also sprinkled a little fleur de sel over the caramels at this point, as I find them far too sweet if they don't have a hint of saltiness about them] [My final step: Cover the pan with plastic wrap, not touching the caramel (it'll melt)]. Wait until entirely cooled. Then cut with a sharp, oiled knife into pieces. These caramels, made by the recipe above, basically tasted like a caramel-dipped apple. But why leave it there? Jeff suggested brushing on cinnamon, and that was really tasty. So we did that. I wrapped about half of them in wax paper, and dipped the rest in tempered dark chocolate (70% Callebaut), sprinkling half of those with toasted ground pecans. Because Caramel dipped apples are even better with chocolate and nuts, in my opinion! Reviews have been great so far! Hopefully, some will survive to go to work tomorrow. ----