The final appletastic recipe is for something rather simple: applesauce. It’s made as follows.
Ingredients:
-6 tart apples (Granny Smith or McIntosh)
-2 sweet apples (Golden Delicious, Gala, etc)
-1/4 cup water
-2 tbs. maple syrup
-1 tsp. cinnamon
Peel and chop the apples into 1-inch cubes. Cook on low heat with the water for approximately 30 minutes or until the apples start to fall apart. If you live at higher elevation or are cooking at too high of a temperature, you will need to add more water. I added my cinnamon once I put the apples in the pan, but you can easily add the cinnamon at the end. Once the apples are softened, mash into a pulp and add the syrup and if you haven’t do so already, the cinnamon. Enjoy! Makes approximately 3-3 1/2 cups of autumnal goodness!
These recipe is a preview for something I am sure you will see soon enough – excessive quantities of cranberries. My family is from Wisconsin (Cranberry Land, as it is called in my culinary dreams) and every time my Dad goes up there, he gets me some dried cranberries to tide me over until they are available fresh. This recipe has another personal connection in that it is a mock-up of a recipe from the restaurant where I work. We have a turkey wrap there that has cranberry mustard, avocado, bacon, etc, which is just delicious [I get it with extra mustard on the wrap and two sides of the stuff]. Let me show you how this works:
Ingredients:
-1 lb of chicken, cooked and cubed
-1 or 2 pieces of celery, diced
-1/2 cup of dried, sweetened cranberries
-2 pieces of diced bacon
-1/3 cup sunflower seeds, chopped almonds or pecans
-1 diced green apple
-2 tbs. plain yogurt or mayonnaise (for a tangy salad)
-1/3 cup dijon mustard (I think. I just squirt enough on until it’s coated).
-Optional: add a few shakes of curry powder for a kick
Combine all ingredients and use as a filling for sandwiches, wraps, etc. It’s very good, but different.
Something to keep in mind: if you really feel adventurous and have a blender or love using your mortar and pestle, blend your cranberries into your mustard and release all that yummy flavor! Plus, you’d have a slight pink tint to your salad, which sounds good to me.
In the latest issue of Eating Well magazine (which is my food bible), they posted many recipes that demonstrated how the fall’s harvest of apples could be utilized in creative and delicious ways. With that idea in mind, I made three recipes. The first one is gloriously delicious, yet quite decadent. It, as you can see, is what I like to call Cider-Soaked Potatoes and Onions with ______ (insert meat here). It’s not a one pan meal, but could easily be done so. Here’s how I make it:
Ingredients:
-2 large red potatoes (Russet would work, too), cut into 1-inch pieces
-1-2 bottles of hard cider This is sort of extreme. If you are averse to extreme flavor, just use one and add a bottle’s worth of water. If you are making the potatoes and onions as a side dish, feel free to bulk up the flavor and use the two.
-1 medium sized onion, chopped I use sweet most often
-several strips of cooked bacon, chopped 2 works, but I used 4 to heighten the level of artery-clogging goodness and flavor
-1 lb of pork, chicken, or other meat. In all honesty, I don’t use much meat. I had four thinly sliced pork chops that I cut into 1-inch pieces.
In a large pan heated low-medium, add the chopped bacon and allow the fat from the bacon to bubble up and get a little crispy. Add the diced potatoes and onion. Stir to coat. Add a bottle of cider and reduce heat to a very low level, just keep it barely simmering. Meanwhile, brown the pork or chicken in another pan. Then, add the meat to the other pan and let everything cook together until the cider has evaporated and the potatoes are cooked thoroughly. You could, actually, heat the bacon, cook the pork in that pan, and then add the rest of the ingredients and then you would have a one-pot dish. Also, the amount of potatoes, onions, and meat is all dependent on how many people you need to feed. The above recipe serves two (or a really hungry one – this is using 1/2lb of meat), but with more potatoes, etc, you could make this feed many. Feel free to make the pork or chicken separately and serve the potatoes and onions as a delicious side dish (but don’t forgot to add another side! Maybe asparagus? Brussel sprouts? Vegetables are good.).
After moving to New Mexico, I quickly realized that the ubiquitous state question of “‘red or green” would indelibly affect my tastebuds. When I lived in Tennessee, I was going crazy without fresh, delicious green chile stew or sauce or any of its other physical manifestations of yum. About two years ago, I came up with an idea when my attempts at rolling enchiladas failed horrifically. I don’t even bother trying to make enchiladas anymore, just this stuff. There are so many variations possible, but I will only talk about my favorite two.
Ingredients:
- 1 large can of enchilada sauce (green or red – I always use green; I believe the can size is 19 oz. If you do not have large enchilada cans available, feel free to use two 10 oz cans. Down here, we even like to mix red and green chiles and call it Christmas!)
- 1 pack of corn tortillas (you’ll need around 6-8 of them, so don’t buy a massive pack, and you can easily use white or yellow corn tortillas)
- 1 pound of chicken or beef
- a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped (or about 1.5 teaspoons of the dried…never tried it this way, but that seems like a good estimation)
- 2-3 cloves of freshly pressed garlic (or several shakes of the powdered stuff)
- 1 large onion, diced or sliced thinly
- 2 cups of Mexican cheese (honestly, I used the shredded cheese packs)
- If you like heat, feel free to add your favorite heat intensifiers. I love using a can of chopped green chile when I can’t get the fresh stuff, or some powdered red chile.
- To begin, sautee the chicken or beef. After about 5 minutes, add the onion, garlic, and some of the cilantro. Stir to incorporate all of the items together, and then cover with a lid to keep the moisture in. Cook until meat is fully cooked and the onions are softened. When I use chicken, I tend to buy boneless thighs solely because of the low cost and then shred the cooked meat with two forks.
- If adding any heat intensifiers such as chopped green chile or powdered red, add now with half the large can of enchilada sauce or one 10 oz small can and the rest of the cilantro. Keep covered and let simmer while preparing the rest of the meal or for about 6-8 minutes longer [This might be a good time to preheat the oven to 375 degrees].
- Add a couple tablespoons of enchilada sauce to the bottom of a baking dish to keep the bottom from drying out and hardening. Place two corn tortillas next to each other. If you want the entire layer covered with tortilla, feel free to tear another tortilla into pieces to make a uniform layer. Place about a third of the meat mixture over this layer. Sprinkle with a handful of cheese and then make another tortilla layer. Add another third of meat and more cheese. Add one more layer of tortillas and meat, but then pour the rest of the can of enchilada sauce over the top (while cooking, the sauce will work its way down the pan to keep everything moist and delicious.
- Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees to bring all the flavors together. This can easily be made the day before and then baked for the same amount of time. Letting it sit does allow the flavors to mix together nicely and leftovers are delicious. Unfortunately, I never have leftovers when the pan hits the table.
Here are a few updates:
1) The plants are growing quite well, but the basil is the only one large enough to actually consume still. The squash are all sprouting these beautiful blossoms, which is lovely. There is a vast plethora of bugs that have decided to take over, however. Radish leaves are currently as holey as an old afghan of mine and I keep seeing crawlies all over…it’s kinda gross. But I’ve decided that whether they produce fruit or not, I’ve had a good time.
2) Things are a little crazy right now since it’s the summer semester. I’m working quite a lot and taking one class, which is surprisingly dull for what it is (Sociology of Gender). Living on my own is okay. I like my roommate and love her dog, which is nice, but it’s all taking some getting used to.
3) Beyond work and school, I spend my time reading cookbooks and watching too much tv online (I think I’ve exhausted my resources though).
Things are okay.
Well my friends, the plants are growing like crazy! Yesterday my yellow beans and several more squashes sprouted and the roots of the beans were so invasive and enormous that I transplanted them already. I have to say, I think that the yellow beans are my favorite plant so far because they are just so exotic looking! They have these beautiful light purple stems, speckled bean thingies, and pretty leaves. I’ll upload a picture soon. And FINALLY we have a zucchini squash coming in. The yellow and butternut squashes have been sprouting for ages, but not the one I’ve been waiting for- zucchini. Oh yeah, and it looks like I’ve got a green bean plant about ready to pop up, which should be great! Even the tomato seeds have sprouted, which surprised me.
The weirdest thing: I’m having more success getting sprouts from the second batch of seeds I planted compared to the first 30. How strange.
My plants are growing so nicely! The squash, though, are total beasts. I’ve only got two sprouted so far (yellow and butternut), but their roots are already attacking the neighboring villages of broccoli and whatnot. Because I completely underestimated their size, I’m thinking of giving some away and planting one in the backyard of the house I’m about to move away from (who wouldn’t love squash???). I’m doing container gardening for everything at the new place and will definitely need more 5-gallon buckets if they all sprout nicely. Also, I’m contemplating putting a trellis in the bucket with the squash plants to promote upwards sprawling instead of falling out of the bucket and everything.
There are two tomato sprouts growing right now, which is really great because I would love to have tomatoes all summer long! I’m contemplating the benefits of the Topsy Turvy, which seems like it might be a good idea in the super hot Albuquerque summer sun, but I’m not sure. After doing some research, I’ve learned tomatoes like slightly acidic soil environments and that they also need calcium. So, I’m collecting coffee grounds and clean egg shells in a container so that I can crush and incorporate them into the soil when transplating time comes. A friend of mine raised tomatoes in a raised bed last year and used composted bunny poo and household stuff with some fish emulsion to grow out-of-control plants that bore tons of food. She assures me that the soil is still packed full of nutrients, so I’m pretty sure I should be getting some delicious decaying bunny poo for my tomatoes!
Sad news: I had to pluck a super tall radish sprout because the stem was slightly broken (my bad) and I think a broccoli sprout that is about an inch and a half taller than all the rest might have to go because he is “leggy.” Poor plants.
More bad news: I took the plants outside today for a little while and a beet committed suicide (roots up in the air and everything) and one radish flipped out about a little wind. Everyone else had a good time, though!
Well, last night I planted the rest of the spaces in my 72-spot plastic greenhouse since it seemed like a good idea. The new seeds planted are mostly just dup/trip/quadriplicates of other things previously planted, except chives- they’re new. And I checked for new growth today and we’ve now got yellow squash sprouts! That was really fast for squash…I expected a 10-18 day germination, but it only took 5 days. How strange is this business?!? I’ll take pictures soon.
There is wonderful news from the homefront. I’ve started planting seeds in a big starter greenhouse I paid a whopping $6 for. I planted lots of goodies Sunday night and noticed growth starting yesterday (Wednesday). What over-achievers! Actually, I talked to the plants and asked them, “Now aren’t any of you going to be over-achievers and pop up quick??” and they did. Yay for plant talk.
What’s been planted: broccoli, green beans, tomatoes, beets, basil, zinnias, aster, shasta daisies, pumpkins, marigolds, carrots, zucchini, yellow beans, coriander, radishers, yellow squash, and butternut squash.
What’s sprouted: broccoli (4/29), radishes (4/29), beets (4/29), zinnia (4/30), and basil (4/30).
This is as exciting as Christmas morning! With such success so soon, I feel a little silly not planting seeds in all 72 spaces so I might be doing a little more this evening. If you’re also planting, let me know what you’ve got growing and how it’s going! I’d love to know.
