Recipe of the Week: "Strapping" Fruit Snacks

Now that the holidays with their blended egg nog drinks are behind us and smoothie season seems so very far away your blender may very well have the blues. So bored, so lonely, tucked in the corner of the kitchen counter behind the bread box or - worse yet - disassembled and hidden away in some seldom-used lower cabinet.

Well it's time to bust this overlooked appliance out of its winter doldrums and put it to work making a healthy snack which can do the same for you! With a little help from the puree button, you and your blender can whip ordinary apples and pears into some rather strapping fruit leather. (Get it? Strapping? Leather? OK, we won't be quitting our day jobs.) The prep time is quick, but the cook time is rather extensive, so make sure the oven is free for the day/evening. The whole endeavor will be worth it, though, as you get 16 servings of a nutritious and delicious snack and your blender gets to be the star of the kitchen once more!

Strapping Fruit Snacks

You need:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 4 cups apples peeled, cored and chopped
• 4 cups pears peeled, cored and chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees
2. Cover a baking sheet with a layer of plastic wrap
3. In the container of a blender, combine the sugar, lemon juice, apple and pear
4. Cover and puree until smooth
5. Spread mixture evenly on the prepared pan
6. Place pan on the top rack of the oven
7. Bake for 5 to 6 hours, leaving the oven door partway open
8. Fruit is ready when the surface is no longer tacky to the touch
9. Remove tray from oven, roll up on the plastic and store in an airtight container

Find more great fruit recipes on Ruma's web site!

_____________________________________________________

Always have fresh fruit on hand - join Ruma's Royal Fruit Club or purchase a monthly plan for a friend! Shipping is FREE!