Strudel gone wrong!
 

I found some frozen whole wheat Phyllo dough at PCC Natural Market so bought
it but didn't know what I would do with it.

Angela wanted a fancy dessert for Christmas and I don't usually do desserts
but somebody gave me the idea to do strudel with it. I have made strudel
many times before but could have sworn that I used either purchased puff
pastry or some kinds of pastry that I made myself. As a kid/teen/young
adult I was really into doing stuff like that. These days? Not so much.

Well... I should have read the instructions for defrosting. It has been a
good many years since I have worked with Phyllo and never with the whole
wheat kind. I should have taken it out a while ago! Says to thaw in the
fridge for 7-8 hours and then another 2 on the counter. I just don't have
time to do that!

Our plans for tomorrow have changed now. We're going to go pick up my mom
after our breakfast which will likely be late enough to count as lunch for
most people. Then go see my dad, then back to their house for dinner. My
mom really wanted to go out to eat tomorrow. Not only are few places open
but I already planned our meal. I know she won't eat tamales (what I'm
going to have) and she is less than thrilled with the tuna casserole with
peas that Angela wants but she said she would eat it. She has been eating
popcorn for her meals. I don't think she has gone grocery shopping except
for to pick up a few things at PCC. It's sort of like Whole Foods and not a
place where you could buy all of your groceries unless you're rich. But I
do like them for some things. Anyway...

I decided to make nests. Years ago, I thought I had invented these things.
I also thought I had invented Palmiers. Heh! And now I see that you can
even buy pre-shredded Phyllo. Anyway...

I proceeded with the filling I was going to make for the strudel. I didn't
exactly measure. 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored and cut into a
small dice. I only used 4 because I hate peeling and coring apples with a
knife. I do have a peeler/corer but I won't get it out unless I am making a
ton of apples like for sauce to can. So the way I do it leaves considerable
waste.

I put these in a deep sauté pan (non-stick) with a little Nucoa (less than a
Tablespoon), a good sprinkling of cinnamon, a light sprinkle of sweet rice
flour, a little salt and some brown sugar Splenda (less than 1/4 cup). I
stirred and heated this over medium heat until the apples became soft and
were coated with a sweet, thick, sticky, almost caramel sauce. Yum!

You could use butter if you can eat that, or even coconut oil. But if you
use another sweetener, you probably won't get the sauce like I did.

Meanwhile, I made some rather large nests. I cut off about 1/3 (3 servings)
of the Phyllo dough. Then cut that in thirds and then cut each piece into
thin ribbons. When you do this, it doesn't really matter if it breaks or
crumbles or if you ribbons aren't all the same. I then used some cups that
I made from a double layer of foil to shape the nests. I placed the ribbons
in there, separating them as best I could and spreading them out and up the
sides. You could use some kind of pan or oven proof bowl for this or you
could even use custard cups or muffin tins to make smaller ones.

Bake at 375 until just beginning to brown. Let cool.

I intend to keep the apples in the fridge until almost time to serve. Then
I will take them out so they're not quite so cold. I may even warm them
slightly. And then fill the cups just before serving.

I am not so sure that I actually like the whole wheat Phyllo. I didn't
sweeten it in any way because I am trying to keep the sugar down. It kind
of reminds me of a cracker...maybe a water biscuit. Just not very flavorful
to me. But we'll see how it goes after it's all put together. It will at
least add crispness to the apples. And if I were making this for me, I
would put walnuts in there. But Angela hates nuts so... Nope.

I used to make this sort of thing to use up scraps of Phyllo. You can use
any kind of fruit to make the filling, or even sugar free pudding. You just
don't want to fill the nests until serving time because they will lose their
crispness quickly.