500 gram flour
100 gram raisins
25 gram preserved ginger, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cleaned and chopped
1 tbsp sugar
rind from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp yeast
150 gram beer
icing sugar

Mix all the ingredients together and stir in 350 gram water. Allow the batter to rise for one hour.

Use two tablespoons or an ice-scoop spoon to make balls out of the batter and fry 7 minutes at 160 degrees C°. Turn them halfway if necessary. Serve with icing sugar.

FOR THE PASTRY:
125 g – 4,4 oz. plain flour
120 g – 4,2 oz. butter
1 egg
Salt
Water
FOR THE FILLING:
3 cooking apples
1 can chestnuts “au naturel”
200 g – 7 oz. lean pork meat, minced
2 eggs
25 g – 0,9 oz. butter
1 dl – 3.3 fl. oz. port or madeira
Salt, pepper

First make the pastry: sieve the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Put in the butter cut in small pieces, the egg and a good pinch of salt. Work quickly together with the fingertips, then add just enough water to make the dough moist. Shape the dough into a ball, put it on a floured board and flatten it with the heel of your hand. Then shape it into a ball once more and repeat the process. Finally, shape it again, wrap it in greaseproof paper and put it in a cool place for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to a moderately hot temperature. Peel and core the apples and slice them thinly; drain the canned chestnuts and chop them up roughly. In a bowl, mix thoroughly but delicately the minced pork, the apples, the chestnuts, the port, and one egg. Season with salt and plenty of fresh-ground black pepper.

Break the second egg into a small bowl and beat it lightly with a fork. Butter the pie dish. Roll out two-thirds of the dough into a round shape about 5 mm thick and slightly larger in diameter than the pie dish, and line the dish with it, pricking the bottom with a fork. Spread the filling into this. Roll out the remaining dough in a round shape with the same diameter as the pie dish and cover the pie with it, pinching the pastry edges together. With a pastry brush dipped in the beaten egg, paint the whole surface of the pie and make a couple of long incisions in it to let the air in. Cook the tourte in a moderately hot oven for 45 minutes and serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: A Taste of the Belgian Provinces, Enid Gordon and Midge Shirley (published by The Tuesday Group, rue Frans Merjay, 1060 Brussels).

THE LITTLE GLUTTON

Oh! how this Mary loved to eat,–
It was her chief delight;
She would have something, sour or sweet,
To munch from morn till night.
She to the pantry daily stole,
And slyly she would take
Sugar, and plums, and sweetmeats, too,
And apples, nuts, and cake.

Her mother Mary oft reproved,
But, ah! it did no good;
Munch, nibble, chew, from morn to night,
The little glutton would.

One day, upon some bee-hives near
She chanced to cast her eyes;
“How nice that honey there must taste!”
She cried, and off she flies.
On tiptoe now the hives she nears,
Close up to them she creeps,
And through the little window panes
Quite cautiously she peeps.
“Oh, dear! how good it looks!” she cries,
As she the honey sees;
“I must, I will, indeed, have some;
It cannot hurt the bees.”
And then a hive she gently lifts,–
Oh, foolish, foolish child,–
Down, down it falls–out swarm the bees
Buzzing with fury wild.
With fright she shrieks, and tries to run,
But ah! ’tis all in vain;
Upon her light the angry bees,
And make her writhe with pain.

Four weeks and more did Mary lie
Upon her little bed,
And, ah! instead of honey, she
On medicine was fed.
Her parents grieved so much at first
Their child so sick to see;
But once more well, with joy they found
Her cured of gluttony.

Author: Heinrich Hoffman

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19915

3/4 c flour, all-purpose
1/8 t salt
1 egg – slightly beaten
1 tb vegetable oil
1 t rum
1/2 cup light beer
vegetable oil for frying
2 egg whites
4 medium apples
1/2 c sugar, powdered
Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Stir in egg, 1 tb oil and rum. Gradually beat in enough beer to make a medium-thick batter similiar to thickness of whipping cream. Cover bowl – let stand 1 hour.

Heat oil for deep frying to 350F. Immediately before cooking fritters, beat egg whites until stiff and glossy. Use a wooden spoon to fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Peel and core apples – cut into 1/4 inch crosswise slices. Dip in batter, 2-3 at a time, covering completely. Lower into hot oil – fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels – keep warm. Repeat until all slices are battered and fried.

Remarks: 24 fritters.

Source: Fidonet – Author unknown.