CARAMEL APPLE HALF-MOON HAND PIES

Moving overseas has been a challenge in the food department. Our pantry is full, but we seldom make dinner at home (If you could get a great dinner for $1.50 at a restaurant in walking distance from your house, you wouldn't cook either). Baking, though, has been a challenge, but not because of time or money. The oven we have is similar to a toaster oven. We make eggs in a microwave because getting our stove to work is an ordeal. I can't really find whole wheat flour and the real good baking stuff I used at home in the grocery store here. So it's been fun. There's no question about it, though, I have been baking.

I actually had the chance to bake some the first week I arrived here, and I got a message from my mom not long after that said, "Oh! You're baking! That says a lot about the state of you."

These hand pies are loosely based (or tightly based, based on what I could scrounge up in Thailand) on the Oh, Ladycakes recipe for the dessert of the same name. I am allergic to raw apples, so I enlisted the help of my hypo-allergenic roommate to chop up these babes for me. We were so excited to find Granny Smith here in the Land of Smiles. What we couldn't get in whole wheat we made up for in tart fruit.

Here's the ingredients list as I was able to forage:

Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 12 to 14 tablespoons water, ice cold
Filling:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup caramel sauce (I used Monin caramel-flavored sauce)
Topping:
- Almond milk
- Sugar
Preheat oven 350º degrees.
Makes about 20 pies, but really, it depends on how you make the dough stretch. 

Crust In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar and salt. I used a fork, but a whisk is probably best. Drizzle in the coconut oil, one spoonful at a time, and use your hands to mix it into the dry mixture. Once you've added all the oil, continue mixing for another minute or so until it looks sandy like above. Freeze for 15 minutes, then break up all the frozen chunks of coconut oil with your fingers and add the water, a third at a time. Continue gently kneading without overworking the dough. Form into a disk and wrap in parchment paper. Let sit for about 45 minutes.

Filling Combine sugar, starch and cinnamon in a bowl. In another mixing bowl, toss the apples and lemon juice, then add the dry mixture you just made until the apples are covered. Add the caramel sauce. Chill them in the fridge for about half an hour, you may want to freeze them if you are using a caramel that is on the thinner side. Let's not try to make a mess.

Crust When it's time, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lay out some parchment paper and sprinkle that junk with a ton of flour. Unwrap the dough and roll it out until it’s about 1/8″ thick. I used a mug because I haven't found a rolling pin here and I could also use it as a makeshift cookie cutter. Cut the dough (3" cutter will do) and transfer the pieces to a baking sheet lined with more parchment paper. Collect scraps and roll out the dough again to make more circles. Get the caramel apple mixture from the refrigerator and place a bit on one half of each round, folding each in half and pressing around the edges (use a fork, it's way easier to seal the pies this way).  Use a toothpick or some other sharp tool of your choosing and poke holes in the top of each pie. Do this or they will explode, and that will not be good for you.

Topping Brush (I just dabbed it, honestly, because it's impossible to find a cooking brush here) with milk then sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes, check them and then give them a minute or two more if you think they need it (they won't be brown, but you can tap the crust to see if it's firm and dry). Repeat with the rest of the dough that you have. These can stay good for about week.

I made these for Thanksgiving at the office, and let me tell you: I am so glad I ate one of them when I baked 'em, 'cause they were gone in a hot minute.

MAE SA VALLEY, THAILAND

When living in Thailand, it's imperative that one takes some time to play the tourist. And that is what I did when my friends Alex and Liz came to town. We spent a beautiful Sunday morning in Mae Sa Valley riding and playing with elephants, tigers and touring a beautiful orchid and butterfly farm. There's really not too much more I can harp about without giving up my local card, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

And it wouldn't be a true blog if I didn't post the wrap-up coffee we had after getting back to Chiang Mai. Touristing is pretty fun, and that's saying something from a girl who avoids as much kitsch as possible.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND • LOY KRATHONG

In the past year I began making a bucket list. A friend asked me why (on Earth!) I hadn't already made one, and encouraged me to come up with a few things. Well, after a little while the list grew, and at this point I feel that I have a pretty hefty set of goals ahead of me. I have only been able to cross a few things off, but each one has been an accomplishment or something I will never forget. For example: Loy Krathong.

To be honest, I didn't know it was called Loy Krathong. I had no clue that this happened in Thailand, actually. Yes. I will admit it. I watched Tangled and was smitten with the pretty lights and knew I wanted to do something like it or at least watch. Low and behold, I move to the city with the grandest celebrations of this beautiful lantern festival.

On the full moon day of the 12th month (according to the Thai lunar calendar), Thais float a krathong (a lotus-ish-shaped boat) down the river or pond to pay respect to Buddha, and to seek forgiveness from the goddess of water for any misdeeds against her. Several Thais today send the floats as wishes or to bring good luck. Loy Krathong coincides with another Northern Thai festival called Yi Peng, where thousands of sky lanterns are launched into the air in hopes of earning merit to repay karma. These two traditions are celebrated together at Loy Krathong festivals in Southeast Asia.

Our home here is close to one of the best spots to see and send off these lanterns. We walked about two miles to get to the Iron Bridge, where we were able to see hundreds of folks getting ready to set off their lights. I also discovered (I'd heard it before) that Thais love fireworks. I feel like I musta jumped outta my skin at least twenty times because someone standing right next to me set off a firework. The bridge was crawling with tourists, locals, vendors, you name it. Nonetheless, cars were still crossing, hot on the heels of those eager to get out of the way. We'd been hearing fireworks near our house for days, but this is a whole other story. In the video below you can see one of the displays at the bridge, which is the closest to a display like this I've ever been. Ash in my hair, the camera is pointed directly skyward we were so close. We are still hearing fireworks in our neighbor's backyard two days later, and those aren't just little sparklers.

On the way back to our place, we stopped at a smaller celebration near one of the army bases. There were crepes and smoothies to be had, but what really caught my attention were the groups of people kneeling and offering gifts of incense and prayer to Buddha, another way to earn merit. It's interesting to see something so beautiful as this festival and the intricacies of Buddhist tradition celebrated so fervently, when the purpose of it all is so empty. On the other hand, it's obvious to me that the lanterns and beautiful displays of light are perfect examples of the Lord's beauty in the midst of all the world's dark. 

This festival was not the largest group of lanterns sent up. A couple weekends before was a festival where thousands of lanterns were sent off at once. I can't begin to imagine how that looked, whether you were on the ground with the launchers or watching from farther off. Well, there's always next year.

Checking this off the list. What a beautiful way to open the portion of the year where most of the world opens their hearts, their eyes and their mouths to be thankful (It doesn't help that I'm listening to Christmas music at the moment). Praising the Lord for his incredible gifts, impeccable timing and indescribable grace.