Mad About Maida

Fresh Apple Bread (S ource:  Maida Heatter's Cakes  (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed. , pg. 262). Our poor bedraggled apple tree has a bumper crop of apples this year. Actually, it did last year too but the squirrels and birds got most of them before you could blink an eye. This poor tree, which has never looked that great, stands along the back border of our property, growing tall with long, draping branches that are now weighted down with apples. I pruned the heck of it last year and if it weren't for the fact that it provides a little shade, it would probably have been removed entirely.  It is earning its keep though and the apples seem to be nicer this year and it has been possible to get some good ones that haven't been touched yet by wildlife. That is saying a lot since our back garden is a virtual Grand Central Station for birds. There are even unblemished apples lying on the ground although you have to get them quickly. I have mad...