It’s Fall. Celebrate Apples!
Macoun, Gala, Red Delicious, Honey Crisp, Braeburn, a beautiful variety of apples you can only find at our Harvest Home Farmer’s Markets. Full of taste, from sweet to tart and crispy delicious. Eat them alone, create snacks, mix them with other fall veggies, add them to soup, salads or stews, bake them in desserts, like apple pies. While different kinds of apples are better in different dishes, they are all mouth-watering. Tasty and super healthy.
Packed with nutrition, apples help stabilize blood sugar, lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, satisfy hunger, and aid digestion. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Low in calories, apples are a “fill-you-up” snack. Easy to carry and eat alone. Slice them and add a peanut butter. Kids love it, you may like a little cheese or add a little cinnamon and sugar for a yummy dessert.
Make your own applesauce: Peel and slice 3-4 apples into a saucepan. Add about a ¼ cup of water. Cook on medium heat until apples are soft enough to mash. About 12-15 minutes. Stir frequently, checking that there is enough water. Add more if necessary. After apples are soft, mash them with a spoon and add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Yummy!
Mix apples with fall veggies:
Butternut Squash Apple Soup: Quick and Easy. Peel 2 butternut squash and 4 apples. Remove the seeds and cut into small square pieces. In a large pot heat two tablespoons of olive oil add 2 sliced onions, cooking for 10-15 minutes until onions are soft. Add apples and squash, 2 cups of chicken broth. Cook 20-30 minutes until veggies are very soft. Put in a blender or mash with a fork. Add ½ teaspoon of nutmeg and 1 ¼ teaspoon salt.
Don’t forget dessert: Apple pie, apple crisp and apple cobbler.
Unleash the power of Apple
RECIPE: Pan-roasted veggies and apples
INGREDIENTS:
16 Brussel sprouts, cut in half
½ red onion, sliced or cubed
3 cups of cubed butternut squash
2 apples, cubed
4 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoon brown sugar
Cinnamon, nutmeg, salt
TO MAKE:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large cookie sheet with oil. Peel and cube Butternut Squash and apples
In a bowl, mix Brussel Sprouts and onion with 2 Tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Spread on cookie sheet.
In the same bowl, mix together squash and apples with butter, brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon EACH of cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add to cookie sheet.
Bake for 40 minutes, turning veggies after 20 minutes
FOR A FANCY DISH: Add 2/3 cup of chopped pecans and 1/3 cup of dried cranberries in the last 3 minutes of cooking
Pan-roasting veggie tips: You can mix any veggies you want. It’s best to put hard veggies together and soft veggies together because the cooking times are different. Cook hard veggies for 40 minutes, turning at 20 minutes. Soft veggies will take about 20-30 minutes. Check after 15 minutes. Enjoy!
TIPS AND TRICKS
Different apples have very different flavors. Try several kinds to find the taste you like best.
Honey Crisp: slightly sweet, very crisp. Good for cooking or eating
Gala: Mild, sweet, crisp.
Cortland: sweet/tart, moderately juicy, all-purpose apple. Good for cooking or eating raw.
McIntosh: sweet, juicy, slight tang, lots of flavor. Good plain or in salads, pies or sauce.
Macoun: super crisp, don’t store well. Good for salads and applesauce or baking.
Fuji: juicy, very sweet, crisp. Refreshing snack by itself. Great in salads. Not good for baking, gets mushy.
Applesauce Baking Tip: Cut the calories: Replace ½ the fat (oil or butter) with an equal amount of applesauce. It’s an easy way to cut calories and keep the taste.
Apples for the future: You can freeze apples cooked or uncooked.
Applesauce: Stored in freezer container will last 6 months to a year. Let it defrost in the fridge overnight. Never refreeze anything.
Sliced apples: Slice and place on a tray in the freezer. Separate slices. When frozen slip into freezer container. Best used for cooking or smoothies. Freezing make them softer.
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