Train Travel & Pumpkin Granola Bars

This week, work brought me to Washington, DC, a quick, two-hour train ride from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.

Opened in 1933, 30th Street Station is on the National Register of Historic Places and I am always in awe of the stunning architecture and sculpture that adorns the terminal.

(Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial)

Despite it being one of the busiest railroad facilities in the United States, the station retains its historic charm. While most departure boards have gone digital, I love that you still have to listen for the clickety clack of the flap display at 30th Street, waiting for your platform number and boarding cues.

 

As a frequent flier, I often forget how much I enjoy train travel. I can pack my liquids, show up minutes before departure,

use my portable electronic devices at any time (with an outlet to charge them!), enjoy adequate legroom, walk about freely,

and relax and watch the beautiful American landscape roll by outside my window.

And before I know it, a few hours have gone by and I'm in another city. This time, the nation's capital, with an equally beautiful train station

(Union Station Interior)

with gorgeous architecture 

and history right outside the station doors.

Next month, when I take the train again, the sights outside my window will include the changing fall foliage. Inspired by the new season and the ease of train travel, I wanted to bake a quick, portable, fall treat this weekend -- Pumpkin Granola Bars!

This recipe, with a substitution encouraged by its creator, is from My Baking Addiction.

Yield: 12-16 bars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 baking pan with non-stick aluminum foil, allowing for a 1 inch overhang on the sides of the pan. Lightly spray foil with non-stick baking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine oats, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla until smooth.

Pour wet ingredients over oats and stir until oats are moistened. Stir in cranberries, dark chocolate chips, pecans, and pumpkin seeds.

Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Cut into bars. Can also be enjoyed crumbled over ice cream or yogurt.

DISTANCE TRAVELED FROM PHILADELPHIA TO WASHINGTON, DC: 136 miles

Chester, NJ & Baked Apples

This weekend, the calendar said it was time to transition from summer to fall, so I headed to New Jersey to do just that.

On Saturday, I met my brother and friends at MetLife Stadium (better known to us as Giants Stadium or the Meadowlands) to see Bruce Springsteen. The ticket to the outdoor concert was a belated birthday gift and one last nod to summer. Turned out that mother nature was sad to see summer go, too, because it rained...hard! But three hours after the concert was scheduled to start, the Boss took the stage and rocked it until 2am. We rang in Bruce's 63rd birthday at midnight and ended the evening with fireworks and a 55,000 person-strong chorus of "Happy Birthday".

By Sunday morning, the rain had passed and it was a glorious fall day. Warm sun and a cool breeze, it was ideal weather to head to the farm for apple and pumpkin picking. Every year since I was a child, my parents and I have taken a trip to Riamede Farm in Chester, New Jersey.

Though I've grown taller and no longer need to take the hayride,

I still love getting lost in the orchard rows,

searching for perfect apples, and avoiding those that are

.

With a few bushels of apples picked, we headed down the hill to the pumpkin patch. We climbed into the vines to find a perfect pumpkin and unique gourds hiding under the leaves.  

A few clicks of the clippers later, our haul was complete and it was time to head home with our harvest.

My mom had found a wonderful baked apple recipe, so with freshly picked fruit, a family dinner planned, and a father who dices apples better than any kitchen appliance, I couldn't wait to give it a try. 

The recipe below slightly amends Chris Kimball's Best Baked Apples. 

Yield: 6 apples

Ingredients:

• 6 large Granny Smith apples and 1 Liberty (or other baking) apple
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped raisins
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
• 3 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup apple cider

Directions: 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat over to 375 degrees. Peel, core, and cut 1 Liberty apple into 1/4 inch dice. Combine 5 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, raisins, pecans, oats, cinnamon, diced apple, and salt in large bowl; set aside.

Shave thin slice off bottom (blossom end) of 6 Granny Smith apples to allow them to sit flat. Cut top 1/2 inch off stem end of apples and reserve. Peel apples and use melon baller to remove 1 1/2 inch diameter core, being careful not to cut through the bottom of the apple. 

Melt remaining tablespoon butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once foaming subsides, add apples, stem-side down, and cook until cut surface is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove apples, flipping them, and put them in a buttered 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Add maple syrup and apple cider to skillet to heat. Spoon filling inside, mounding excess filling over cavities; top with reserved apple caps. 

Bake until skewer inserted into apples meets little resistance, approximately 60 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with maple syrup mixture in skillet.

Transfer apples to serving platter. Pour sauce over apples and serve. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

DISTANCE TRAVELED FROM PHILADELPHIA TO CHESTER, NJ: 96 miles

http://www.riamede.com/