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)

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
  

Smashed Apples and Yams

Here is a fast and easy side that doubles as a use for a leftover baked yam when you need a snack.*

Smashed Apples and Yams

• 1 medium baked yam (to bake a yam or sweet potato, wrap it in foil and bake at 375 until soft, about 1.5 hours)
• 2 apples, peeled and cored (if you have apples that don’t break down into sauce easily, chop them up finely)

Put the apples into a microwavable bowl. Cook them on high one minute at a time, stirring after every minute, until cooked. Remove the peel from the yam and scoop the flesh into the bowl. Mash together with a potato masher and serve warm.

This is also good with a bit of cinnamon and/or butter thrown in. We made this for Thanksgiving (tripling these ingredients) and it was a big hit.

*For the snack sized version, I used half a baked yam and one apple.