Apple pie

Yes, apple pie: never forget to take care of your mood with a good treat!

Oct 8

It is getting suddenly very cold here in South Tyrol, Italy. We are reaching 5*Celsius in the mornings. Apples harvesting is done.

Apple pie is a favorite since the times of knights and dragons. Illustration from my book “King Pellinore and the Questing Beast”, available on Amazon and Kindle

This is my granny apple pie recipe: it’s timeless, it’s easy, and you cannot get it wrong. And if it is already in your usual repertoire, well, treat yourself and bake it. I wish you a sweet weekend!

Ingredients:

2 or 3 apples
125 gr of butter
150 gr of flour
80 gr of sugar
1/2 sachet of baking powder (8 gr)
3 eggs

Procedure:

1. Take your favorite baking tray and use it to melt the butter on the stove, with a very light heat (the butter should never start to fry)

2. If you have a patient husband, ask him to slice the apples. Ask him for the thinnest slices possible (3.)

4. In a clean container, mix the flour, the sugar and the baking powder

5. Add the eggs

6. Add the melted butter

7. Add some flour in the tray to prevent the cake to stick there

8. Mix the compost until it’s smooth (9.)

10. Put the mix into the tray

11. Mark the fourths of the cake with four slices of apple, and then start to form a circle

12. Fill also the center (if you don’t have enough apples, fill it with yummy banana slices!)

13. Bake it! In my oven (electric) it’s 30 or 35 min at 180*C

14. Enjoy it!

News from da Spalla world

Sergey Malov’s recording of Bach’s cello suites on Violoncello da Spalla won the Opus Klassik Prize! Stay tuned for the streaming of the ceremony, on 9 Oct. evening!

Updates from our workshop

This week I was busy with some emergency bow rehairing. I finished to shape corner blocks, so I am ready to bend and glue the ribs (the CCs are already in place).

Alessandro completed his scroll and is happy with it. Now gluing linings!

Violoncello da Spalla being a baroque instrument, has the neck nailed onto the ribs. Hand-forged nails are much stronger than modern ones, and we have them!

We had a special package in the mailbox this week: hand forged nails for the neck of our instruments! Made by Adelheid Snel, from Holland, on Instagram @judastojudith.

As my Violoncello is made for the Celebrating Women in Lutherie exhibit that will take place in March, the fact that they are hand-forged by a woman adds value and excitement!