Nectarine Bourbon Galette & A Galette Party!

Recently, Kingston and I threw a little party for a couple of preschool friends that he's stayed in touch with and seen often this summer.

Everyone needs friends, but before I had a child, and a boy no less, I didn't spend much time thinking about how children actually develop relationships with one another. It's been fascinating, though, to watch Kingston -- and his often rough-and-tumble guy buddies -- create relationships filled with a lot of visible tenderness.

It's been an important reminder to me of how real, sustained connection with others allows us to truly thrive. To kick your feet and swing together toward the sky, laughing and calling out to each another with joy. Or, to hold hands just because you're happy to see each other. Does it get any better than that?

The day of our party, the boys came over with their moms and we quickly got going. I had set up three stations on our dining room table where we could work together. Mamas paired up with their boys to roll out dough that I had made ahead of time. Sure, there was some manhandling involved. Dough was squished with warm hands and much enthusiasm. But, it was all okay.

We filled our rolled-out dough with different types of fruit: blueberries we'd picked together a few days earlier at a farm in Ferndale, pears that one smart mama had preserved with a dash of brandy last summer. Then, we made a couple of galettes with nectarines from Eastern Washington.

Which brings me to the nectarine. Why is it that I've never heard anyone gush about eating the "perfect" nectarine? Usually, that sort of praise is reserved for summer peaches and jewel-toned plums. I mean, listen to Mark Bittman in his book, How to Cook Everything. He writes, "The peach is not only delicious. It can be downright erotic. Nectarines, good as they are, are not in the same league."

Pretty gushy.

But the nectarine! Let's not forget about its virtues. I get woozy from their sweet aroma as they sit nonchalantly on the kitchen counter. The smooth-skinned fruit doesn't have to be peeled like its fuzzier relative. When I eat a juicy nectarine out of hand, I don't wince when I eat the skin, like I do with many types of plums. In my mind, it is equal to any peach.

But back to the dough squishing.

I have to admit that I was very surprised once I pulled our first tray of goodies out of the oven. The "well-handled" dough had become transformed into golden, flakey crust. What a surprise! 

To me, this proved a couple of important things. First, that anyone can bake a beautiful free form galette or tart. And second, that if you are going to let anyone, including a bunch of preschoolers make pastries, this is a good dough recipe to use.

Even if you are only four years old, baking and creating together offers a lot of positives that go beyond pleasing the palate and the belly. Our activity that afternoon let both kids and grownups work and learn together in a joyful, fun and tactile way. It also gave us a chance to strengthen connections and deepen friendships.

After everyone ate, helped clean up and then went home, I found another round of dough in the fridge, along with extra nectarines. I rolled out the dough, sliced the fruit and tipped in a bit of Kentucky bourbon. As I put my own grown-up galette into the oven, I felt content. Full of the sweetness of fruit, buttery crust and the tender kindness of friendship.

Nectarine Bourbon Galette
Here's my ode to the nectarine. Since I was going for quickly making a lot of dough for the party, I used my food processor. You can use the food processor method here or also make this by hand. If you want to make a larger quantity of dough to throw your own party, simply multiply the amounts. In my 14-cup food processor, I am able to make up to four times the amount of the dough below.

Makes one large galette.

Ingredients:
Crust
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup spelt flour (or use all-purpose)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup ice water

Filling
5 cup nectarine slices, about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely minced
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/4 cup natural cane sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup natural brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 c almonds, coarsely ground
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

To finish
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse together flour(s) and salt. Add butter, pulse for no longer than 10 seconds. The mixture will look like coarse cornmeal. Turn processor on then add water in a steady stream. It will become incorporated within 15 to 20 seconds and you'll see the dough come together. Don't process it longer, or your dough may become tough. Remove dough from bowl of processor and onto a lightly floured board or counter top. Form into a flat round, about 1 1/4-inch thick. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator while preparing the filling.

In a large bowl, toss together nectarine slices, bourbon, sugars and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix together ground almonds, flour and sugar. Set aside.

On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out chilled dough. Use light pressure, rolling from the middle toward but not all the way to the edge. Give the dough quarter turns as you go. When the dough is about 10 inches in diameter, dust lightly with flour then flip over. Continue rolling your circle of dough until it is 12 inches in diameter. Fold dough into quarters and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Spoon almond mixture onto the middle and spread into a thin, circular layer. Spread nectarine mixture on top, leaving a 3-inch edge of uncovered dough. Fold edges of dough over the filling, leaving the center part exposed, and forming a more or less circular shape.

Beat together egg white and water. Brush egg wash all over the dough. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Place on center rack of preheated oven. After 20 minutes, rotate the galette and bake an additional 25 minutes, or until crust is golden to golden-brown and juices are bubbling.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rhubarb & Wild Rose Galette

However damp the days are here, they have also been sweet with the fragrance of wild roses. About three weeks ago, the buds began their ephemeral bloom, first slowly and shyly, before unfurling their petals all at once in a show of pink exuberance. 

There are two varieties that I've seen growing right behind our house, at the edges of the woods and along trails all ever town: Woods' Rose (Rosa Woodsii) and the Nootka Rose (Rosa Nutkana). These flowers grow wild (and tall, up to four feet) around the Northwest, including along the Columbia River, in areas traversed by Lewis and Clark. In fact, these sweet, old-fashioned blooms, always demure and never too showy, are mentioned in the journals of their expedition.

Meriwether Lewis writes on June 10, 1806 that "there are two speceis of wild rose both quinquis petallis and of a damask red..." with quinquis petallis referring to the bloom being five-petaled rather than many-petaled like the cultivated roses we are more used to seeing.

The petals of the Woods' Roses are a much deeper pink than those of the Nootkas, which at times can be found in a blush hue so pale that it seems merely a variant shade of white. It seems to me that the flavors of the darker blooms are stronger in taste as well. I discovered this a few days ago when I was walking the dog, tasting the velvety petals as I came across them.

That's when I thought the roses might be perfect combined with rhubarb. They could add dimension to rhubarb's enthusiastically sour flavor, which I've always found to be one-note on its own. I think rhubarb does best in the company of friends, like a scrape of vanilla bean, a handful of strawberries or strands of citrus zest.

I decided to gather some petals and blooms before they were gone. I climbed onto a cherry log pushed up against our back fence and reached outward and upward toward a Woods' Rose shrub that was growing from the highest part of the drop where our retaining wall ends. Somehow I managed to pluck whole blooms and catch petals in my bucket without falling overboard! Success. 

You'll want to make this galette as soon as possible to catch the end of the wild roses and rhubarb. Or, if the bounty where you live stretches into June, you can wait until the 10th to commemorate Lewis and Clark's first encounter with these beautiful roses in 1806.

Rhubarb and Wild Rose Galette
Tart, sweet and aromatic with each bite, you can adjust the rose flavor with the amount of petals you use. Just be sure not to overdo it! You can also make this with petals from cultivated, pesticide-free roses, though you'll have to play around with how much you use. For a gluten-free version, use this crust from Aran, and then substitute white rice flour in the filling.

Adapted from Alice Waters. 

Makes 1 galette.

Ingredients
Dough for 1 pie or tart, such as the one here.

For the filling:
1 lb. rhubarb, all leaves and ends trimmed off
3/4 cup natural cane sugar, divided
generous pinch of kosher salt
6 tablespoons unbleached all-purposed flour, divided
1/4 cup almond meal
2 to 3 generous handfuls of wild rose petals (depending on how much rose flavor you want)

To finish:
1 tablespoon melted, unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Turbinado sugar

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash and dry rhubarb. Cut stalks into pieces 1/4" thick and about 2" long. In a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the flour, 1/2 cup sugar and the salt. Set aside.

Roll crust out to 1/8 inch thickness to form a 14" circle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet to finish assembly of galette. 

In a small bowl combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the almond meal. Spoon mixture onto the middle of your circle of dough then push out toward edges leaving a 1 1/2 inch border uncovered. Place pieces of rhubarb at the edge of the circle of dough and roll the dough over the rhubard and crimp, turning the pan as needed to form a rim which will prevent juices from flowing out of your galette during baking. 

Toss rose petals over the almond meal mixture. Place the remaining pieces of rhubarb on top, in whatever pattern you like, covering everything up to the edges. Brush rim with melted butter then sprinkle with the Turbinado.

Place in middle rack in oven. Turn tray after 15 minutes of baking. After another 15 minutes turn again. Do this again a third time, for a total of 45 minutes of baking time. 

Cool competely then sprinkle with more rose petals, if you like. Serve alone or with a dollop of whipped cream. 

Japanese Curry: My Ultimate Comfort Food

This month five years ago, Marc and I pulled into my brother's driveway here in Bellingham, our truck packed tightly with everything we thought necessary plus the poor dog who was allotted about one square foot of space for the 2,000-mile journey. All along the way, boxes kept falling down on his hairy head and not once did he complain.  

We had, after some deliberation, decided that this was the place where we were going to put down roots. Marc and I didn't know where we would exactly live in our new town, but a month later, after I'd started to settle into my private practice, we found a house next to the woods. We have been here since. 

Two or even three years in, there were moments where I would suddenly forget where I was. I would open my eyes in the morning, feeling disoriented at seeing the walls of a room other than those of our old bedroom in California. Or, I'd be driving along by the lake and take a turn, expecting to arrive somewhere in L.A. 

Somewhere in the middle of living my life, though, that unsettled feeling drifted away. It took a while. My former life in Southern California feels like a dream and now my roots reach down, firmly anchoring me to this place of clouds, rain and wetland woods. 

I don't miss the heat, the perpetual summer. What I miss most about my hometown is people -- friends I haven't seen in so long, family I no longer get to spend time with on a regular basis.

There are a few other things, like food, for instance. I know L.A. has changed so much since we left, and the food with it. Just today, I was listening to Evan Kleiman's Good Food on KCRW. She was talking about the rise of Latino coffee houses all over Southern California, including Tierra Mia a few blocks from my old high school. I hadn't heard anything about that before turning on the podcast.

When it comes to food and my hometown, I miss Little Tokyo, or J-Town most and the yummy stuff we'd regularly eat there. Like mochi and mochi ice cream from Mikawaya and warm red bean cakes from Mitsuru Cafe called imagawayaki (see video below) that are cooked in rows of copper pans.

Most of all, I miss our weekly, sometimes twice-weekly visits to the Curry House.

Have you ever had Japanese curry? It seems not that many people up here in our town, at least the ones I've talked to, know about it. In many American minds, Japanese food equals sushi and not curry. But in Japan, it's a comfort food cooked at home, one of those well-loved dishes where each family makes it their own way. Everyone loves it, kids included.

It's my ultimate comfort food.

Kare raisu, as it is known, falls into the category of yoshoku. This style of cooking takes Western ingredients and transforms them into something to suit Japanese tastes. Though most of us think of curry as an Indian spice, rather than something from the West, it's thought to have been introduced to Japan by the British. Hence, kare raisu's yoshoku status. At its most basic, kare raisu is a curry-flavored gravy with onions and may also contain beef, pork, chicken or veggies. As the raisu part of the name points out, it's typically served over rice. 

At Curry House, you can order your dish in many different ways. You can get a deep-fried meat cutlet over it, or a ground beef patty. You can have it topped with tofu or boiled egg. It's completely customizable.

Here's the version we cook in our house. It's the one we like and now eat at least once a week as we hold onto memories of friends, family and visiting our favorite place in Little Tokyo. 

Japanese Curry (Kare Raisu)

Adapted from Serious Eats.

Ingredients
For the roux:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (such as sunflower), OR unsalted butter
1/4 cup rice flour (or all-purpose)
1 tablespoon hot curry
1 1/2 teaspoons mild curry
1 3/4 teaspoons garam masala
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (use more if your prefer your curry more spicy)
1/2 teaspoon mild honey OR half a finely grated apple

For the curry
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, halved then thinly sliced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 pound firm-fleshed potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup peas

Instructions
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until they turn golden and are just beginning to caramelize, 10-12 minutes. Add carrots, then vegetable broth. Bring to a boil then add potatoes and salt. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

In the meantime, make the roux. In a large saucepan or a wide skillet, heat oil. Add flour, both curry powders and garam masala. Stir for a minute or two, incorporating the ingredients together. Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, cayenne and honey, stirring and pressing mixture together. You will have a dry paste. Turn off heat. Set aside.

Once your vegetables are done, ladle out about 2 cups of the liquid. Turn heat back to low for the roux. Add a small amount of liquid to the roux at a time, stirring after each addition, until all of the broth has been added.  You will have a very thick gravy. Add all of this back to the pot with the vegetables and stir gently, until a rich gravy develops. Add peas and allow to warm through. 

Serve over rice. I like my curry garnished with red pickled ginger (beni shoga). And here! Come watch how they make goza soroh (another name for imagawayaki). They are delicious!

Chocolate Granola Bars and Feeling Grounded

On Friday mornings, Kingston and I often join Holly and Lauren from Wild Whatcom, along with a gaggle of small nature explorers for walks along various trails in our town. It is always enjoyable, even on the rainiest of days.

Being Bellinghamsters, we're used to gearing up in our waterproof pants, tall boots and raincoats. A friend once advised me that to make it in a place where it rains about nine months out of the year, you can't let a little moisture stop you from living your life. So we get out. Every day. Besides, there is always so much to see and discover all around us, especially on these walks. We don't want to miss any of it, including the time to chat and play with friends. 

Kingston and I always learn just enough so that we can go home and discuss it for a few days. This past week, we talked a lot about the salamander eggs the kids found. We imitated the call of the male red winged blackbird all throughout the house. We even made up a story about our new favorite bird. In it, his name was Red.

During last week's walk, Holly pointed out the pronged, lobster-like ends of the red dogwood branches, the female hooded merganser and her "permanent bad hair day" (Holly's exact words). This week, Lauren helped us identify a steller's jay and explained that it is a corvid, which means it is related to ravens, rooks, magpies and other intelligent and curious birds. So interesting!

It is amazing and grounding to see changes from week to week, especially lately, as Spring emerges and flora and fauna awaken. This beautiful natural world is steps away and easily accessible through the many trails and greenways that wind their way through town. We are very fortunate.

I can't help but think about the word "grounding" because that's what being in the natural world is about for me. It holds me to a place, helps me send roots down. Makes me feel that this is exactly where I belong. To see the plants and trees change throughout the seasons and to have the birds return with their song in Spring heightens my awareness of this world that I live in. I wish everyone could have this.

If you live in a big, busy city, why don't you come along on a walk with us now? We're going to meander along the Railroad Trail across Lake Whatcom, about a mile from our house. 

Come. It'll be fun. Ready?

We start at Scudder Pond, near the corner of Alabama and Electric. The pond is currently filled with last year's cattails. The male red winged blackbirds like to sit on the tops and call to each other, "Ca-ca-ca-CAHH-ah!" The females are brown and stay lower down in the reeds, looking for nesting materials. 

At the edge of the pond, Nicole finds two different jelly clumps (sorry, I don't know the actual scientific names!) of frog eggs. These are a dark green, rather than the black spots we saw in last week's clumps which were definitely filled with salamander eggs. Both frogs and salamanders like to attach their eggs to twigs or reeds, something sturdy to hold onto. All the little fingers and a few grown up ones in our group can't help poking at today's jelly clump, which is cold and feels pretty sturdy. Our fingers don't leave any dents, which surprises me.

With all the rain and moisture we get, this is a mossy place. Moss and lichen are everywhere. Sometimes as we walk, I like to go up to the trees and just pet them. So soft. There are many, many different kinds of moss. Lauren has told me about step moss, which is super interesting. Yes, it grows in a step type of pattern. Based on the number of "steps," you can tell how long the moss has been growing in a particular spot. 

Catkins are everywhere and we step on lots, from all kinds of trees including alder, black cottonwood and big leaf maples. They grow downward from the tree branches and dangle there. Holly makes a crack about which human body part they resemble. It makes sense then that in many plants and trees, catkins are male. They contain yellow, powdery pollen which is released and dispersed by the wind. 

Here's a cottonwood catkin. Many of us on today's walk are absolutely taken by the vibrant color and the interesting way it grows out in a curve. Nicole tells me that the buds of the cottonwood can be used to make a Balm of Gilead salve, among other things. Apparently, the sticky resin inside the buds (which I have been cursing every Spring and Summer, for falling onto my deck) is anti-bacterial and can be used for various medicinal purposes. Who knew. She gives me the basic recipe as we keep walking. No longer will I curse the cottonwood bud even as I am scraping dried resin off my patio table!

Then, everyone's favorite moment is upon us. Some yelling ensues, little voices shouting out, "Log snack! Log snack!"

We find a log to sit on, open up our backpacks, and pull out snacks to share. Today, I've brought some Chocolate Granola Bars. 

"Sometimes you've gotta have chocolate," I tell Kara, opening the container and plopping it down.

"Uh, like all the time?" She responds. She opens up paper bags filled with pretzels and popcorn. Lauren offers some almonds while Abbey hands out cups of trail mix. Nicole cuts up oranges. Of course, Kingston eats almost all of someone's box of duck-shaped cheese crackers.

Pretty soon, here's about all that's left. 

Thanks for walking with us today! Hope you had fun. See you next time, and don't forget to bring some snacks for sharing! A shout out to Holly and Lauren. Thanks for making our backyard truly come alive for us. 

Chocolate Granola Bars

Adapted from the New York Times.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup (or substitute honey)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips

Instructions
Preheat oven to 300° F and grease an 8x8 inch baking pan. Set aside.

In a skillet, melt butter then add oats. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until oats smell toasty and are slightly golden. Remove from heat. 

In a large bowl combine oats, flax, cinnamon, and salt. In separate small bowl combine honey, brown sugar, brown rice syrup, and vanilla. Pour over oats mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. If it is still very warm, wait a few minutes to allow to cool more. Add chocolate, stir to combine. Place mixture in prepared pan. Use a spatula or the bottom of a measuring cup to press mixture down very well.

Bake for 17-18 minutes. Make sure to not bake longer otherwise bars will be hard, not chewy. 
Cool completely before flipping out of pan onto a cutting board. Cut into 15 pieces. These will keep in a sealed container for about a week.

Apple Buns & the Specialness of Boys

The day started out in a mood, the fog thick and low to the ground. 

Though some might find this objectionable, I always welcome these cool, damp mornings. It's as if Mother Earth has something to say.

She speaks at low volume, so we tilt our heads and open our ears, listening. We might hear whispers or nothing at all. But it's still important to try and keep our hearts open. On this particular morning, her every breath exudes mist that swirls in barely visible droplets. I only really notice it when I look up at one of the kid's faces.

We've gathered out at an apple orchard just north of Bellingham, about five miles from the Canadian border. It's Kingston's preschool's first field trip of the year and we're here with the children, their families, Ms. Sarah and Ms. Gregory to pick the last of the Jonagolds. 

Ms. Sarah explains that with our hands, "we twist, then pull," to remove each apple. Almost as soon she finishes speaking, it seems her wagon is nearly filled to capacity with fruit from her eager helpers.

The fog has an odd effect. The light remains bright yet diffused. Sounds seem muffled or distant yet immediate and close. I'm not sure how the science of this works, but there is something both magical and vaguely unnerving about it. You can't see or hear clearly. You remain slightly disoriented.

This suits me fine, as lately I've been in a reflective mood. Today happens to be Kingston's fourth birthday and I've been thinking a lot about him growing up, about what kind of boy and eventually, young man, I hope for him to be. 

It's been on my mind a lot because the past month has been especially challenging. Throughout most of it, I couldn't help but think about a friend of mine who said that when her son was around this age, there were days when she was ready to run away and join the circus.

I get it. 

The time between the tail end of three and the start of four has been the toughest. That will! And the force of it! The assertion of independence. The quick change of feelings and volatile behaviors. 

At times, walking a tightrope or flying through the air on a trapeze seemed like it had to be easier than this.

And yet, it was all basically normal, what these boys go through trying to make sense of a world where so much is new and beyond their understanding. It's as Ms. Gregory puts it, an awakening. 

I have a lot of empathy for boys. When I worked as a child therapist, the "wild," under-fives were the ones I really enjoyed.

I was that little girl who was always expected to sit still and be quiet (basically, to act like I didn't exist) while the adults were speaking. So, as an adult, I came to love the boldness of these boys. Their willingness to just be who they were and act upon every feeling as it occurred -- that felt like freedom to me.

I knew it was so hard on their parents and I felt for them, but I still cherished the spirit and physicality of the boys. I still do. But as a mom in the thick of awesome displays of preschooler power, I've had to pause and remind myself of the specialness of these little guys.

I've had to rememember that in their early years, their right brains - the side focused on spatial concepts - are much more richly developed than the left side. This explains their interest in the way blocks and pieces fit together and why they need to spread out their toys (AKA a big, huge mess!) over a large area. They just need more room to play, to move.

It also means they tend to take longer to develop verbal skills. Girls are way ahead here. There have been times when watching a group of little girls chatting and holding hands would elicit a feeling of envy in me because my child wasn't one of them. A girl.

I know how it sounds, but I would guess that nearly all parents have had some similar feelings during the course of their child-rearing careers. I've had to learn to accept these sorts of passing thoughts in myself.

The main thing I have learned from our three-going-on-four experience though, is just how much our little boys need us. The caring, loving adults who can remain solid with them when they are stomping their feet, hurling hard objects, or shouting angrily at the world.

When I say solid, I mean non-reactive. Ever-patient. Wise enough to know that this moment will blow over and that afterward we'll have a calm chat about it, exploring different ways to handle our feelings next time no matter how overwhelming they are.

For a little guy to know that it is okay to fall apart, to feel sad, confused and yes, fragile, is just about the greatest gift we adults can offer up. If we can also demonstrate that we will still love them, even like them, not in spite of who they are but because of it, that's even better.

It's taken a lot of reflection on my part to understand that I have to be willing to weather the storms with Kingston if I want him to grow into a young man able to cope with what's inside. I want more than anything for him to live authentically, fully in touch with himself. Deeply connected to the people in his life.

Apple Buns
These are simple and comforting, just what is in order during quiet moments of thought and reflection. They are toothsome and not too sweet with apple flavor brought out by the addition of lemon and cinnamon. These are to be enjoyed by all, whether wild boys, well-behaving little girls or bewildered parents. No matter what, a bite of this will set everything to rights again.

Adapted from Bon Appetit.

Makes 10 buns.

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole milk, warmed
1- 1/4 ounce package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour

Filling and Finishing
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2-3 medium apples (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4" chunks
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

A smidge of all-purpose flour for work surface

2/3 cup whole milk yogurt
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the two flours. In a large bowl combine milk and yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, until mixture is foamy. Add egg yolks and vanilla, combining well. Stir in butter, then salt and sugar. Add the flours into the wet mixture and combine until a shaggy dough forms. 

Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is no longer shiny. Form into a ball and return to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel. Set aside in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the dough is twice its original size.

In the meantime, toss apples with cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice. Set aside.

Shape dough into a 15-inch log, then roll into a rectangle 6 inches wide and about 1/4 inch thick. Spread butter over dough. Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the rectangle. Roll lengthwise away from yourself to form a long log. Pinch seams to seal.

Cut log at 1 1/2 inch intervals. Separate pieces and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Some apple chunks may fall out. Just press them back in. Cover with plastic wrap then a towel and set aside in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until they are about 1 1/2 times larger. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together yogurt and maple syrup. Set aside.

Uncover buns and place on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes until golden, or slightly darker if you like. Allow to cool slightly then spoon yogurt mixture over the buns. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.