Cranberry apple tapenade

This recipe was inspired by a Pampered Chef tapenade, this delightful cranberry salsa idea, and my love of cranberries. It’s light and refreshing but still feels seasonal.

Cranberry Apple Tapenade

• 1 sweet apple (I used Jonnagold)
• 1/2 C fresh cranberries
• 1/4 C walnuts
• zest of half a lemon
• 1 T lemon juice

Chop apple, cranberries, and walnuts. Combine all with lemon juice and zest. Serve on buttery crackers, like Ritz.

Make sure to use a sweet apple that will offset the tartness of those raw cranberries. Otherwise, you can add some sugar.

Apple Sauce Add-ins

Apple sauce works as a perfect base in which to mix other seasonal ingredients. Mix one in, and get a whole new side dish. Here are my favorites:

• Cranberries (last time, I cooked about 1/2 a cup of these with a splash of orange juice and a few teaspoons of sucanat over medium heat until their skins burst and they made that wonderful popping noise. Good mixed with apple sauce, also good plain.)
• Sweet potatoes (bake them at 375 until soft. Cool, remove from skins, puree, and mix in. Excellent just like that, but also good baked with a little added butter and walnuts on top. Like traditional sweet potato casserole, only lighter.)
• Butternut squash (cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast them cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet at 400 until soft. Scoop out the flesh when cool, puree, mix in)

Apple Cranberry Walnut Muffins

I created these because I wanted to use some of my apple sauce and because I get excited about baked goods with cranberries in them. I also like the satisfying crunch of a toasted walnut.

Apple Cranberry Walnut Muffins

• 1 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 C sucanat
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 1/4 C Apple Sauce
• 1/2 olive oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• 3/4 C cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, salt, sucanat, and baking soda. Mix applesauce, oil, eggs, and spices together. Combine with dry ingredients – do not overmix. Mix in cranberries and walnuts. Pour into a lined muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Apple sauce

When I first think of apple sauce, my mind immediately goes to that grainy jarred stuff that you eat cold. A last minute side dish for when you’ve forgotten to serve any fruits or veggies with your dinner. Ick.

But this is apple sauce of a different variety. Served warm and sprinkled with cinnamon, it’s a delightfully light counterpart to all the heavy dishes that we seem to favor at this time of year.

Apple Sauce

• Apples, any variety – peeled, cored and sliced

Place all your apples into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave them until they are tender, 5 – 10 minutes depending on the amount of apples you have. (Today I did about 8 cups worth and it took the full 10.) Place into a food processor and puree until smooth.* Serve warm.

*Note that I like my apple sauce the consistency of baby food. If you prefer a bit more texture to yours, you can pulse your food processor instead of an all out puree, or pay more attention to your apple variety. Choose one that cooks down into sauce well, and skip the processor altogether.

What to do with CSA this week: 10/9/10

What a gorgeous fall weekend here in Central Ohio

• Squash – I’m going to see if I can’t concoct some kind of quick bread or pancake that uses squash puree. These guys are starting to stack up.
  
• Green peppers – pasta salad made with feta, peppers, and bowties.
• Swiss chard – Spinach Dip (chard makes a good sub for spinach in most everything that calls for cooked spinach)
  
• Apples – I’m going to make an apple pie with the Golden Delicious and snack on the fujis. mmmm
  

Crockpot Apple Pear butter

I LOVE my double fruit share from Wayward Seed. But since I’m the only one who eats most of it, it can be a challenge to use up all the apples and pears every week once I get sick of eating them plain. While discussing this with a friendly stranger* at the N. Market, she suggested that I make apple butter. What a phenomenal idea. I decided to throw in my pears as well, since they were well on their way to over-ripeness. Note that you could make this with any amount of apples or pears that you have on hand. (The latest issue of Edible Columbus even suggests using sweet potatoes.) The cooking process is what’s important.

Crockpot Apple Pear Butter

• 6 apples, peeled, cored, cooked and pureed if chunky (I just pop mine in the microwave for 5 or so minutes til they’re soft)
• 8 pears, peeled, cored, chopped, and pureed
• Spices, if you like (I used a cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, and about 1/2 t of nutmeg)

Add all to a crockpot. Turn on high. Put the lid half on, or prop part of it up with a wooden spoon. You will need to give the steam a way to escape, since you want it to cook down nice and thick. Cook for 4-6 hours, or until thickened to your tastes.

Note that some recipes call for additional sugar. You may want this if you are using apples that are especially tart, but the fruit I used was very sweet, so there was no need. This is delicious spread on some warm sourdough toast.

*I figure I’m old enough to talk to them now. She did not offer me candy.

What to do with CSA this week: 9/25/10

After a week of travel and exciting new jobs, I’m trying to get back on track this week. Thanks to my three good friends who went to North Market to pick up my CSA for me last week!

• Sweet potatoes – I’m going to add these to the potato basket in the pantry for future consumption
  
• Corn – Smoky corn salsa
  
• Cantaloupe – snacking
• Swiss chard – Sausage and potato soup with greens
  
• Apples – make sauce and/or freeze
• Pears – These juicy delights are for snacking
  

What to do with CSA this week: 9/11/10

This week marks the last week for corn, but the first week for potatoes. Mixed emotions!

• Sweet potatoes and white potatoes – I’m going to let these guys sit in the pantry this week. I’ve got a lot of food to eat that will perish before them.
• Corn – To the freezer with you, to savor later in the fall
• Bell peppers – snacking, cole slaw
• Hot peppers – cole slaw, cornbead, omelettes
• Carrots – I’m going to try to make some carrot bars or muffins. These are starting to pile up and I need to use a bunch of them in one shot.
• Tomatoes – Roast for pasta
• Apples – make sauce and/or freeze
• Pears – These juicy delights are for snacking
  

Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

Cake for breakfast? Yes, and yes again.

Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

• 1 – 2 apples, peeled cored and sliced thinly
• 1 C all purpose flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t baking poweder
• 1 stick butter, at room temp
• 1/4 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla extract

Crumb Topping:

• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 C flour
• 1/4 pound cold butter.

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk dry cake ingredients together in a bowl. In a mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth and add vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix to form a thick batter.

To make crumb topping, mix flour and sugar. Then cut in butter with fingers, knives, or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

Spread half of the batter into a 8″ round cake pan. (You should either butter and flour the pan, or line the whole thing with parchment paper to make it easy to lift out.) Sprinkle half crumb topping over. Spread remaining cake batter on top. Arrange apple slices on top, then sprinkle with remaining crumb topping. Press topping and apples gently into batter. Not too deep.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes in pan, then remove and serve. Yum.

Mindful Menus – Week of 9/6/10

Rees menu for week of 9/6/10

• Monday: Out, after a day off visiting with old friends and their new babies
• Tuesday: Pork Chops and beans
• Wednesday: Luna Burgers
• Thursday: Potato cakes with homemade applesauce
• Friday: Shepherd’s pie