Apples, More than Apple Pie

 

According to the calendar, it's fall.  According to the temperature, it's fall. 

For me, when fall rolls around, it's time to cook heartier dishes.  I want to cuddle up with warm food.  Turning on the oven means I don't have to turn on the heat.  Killing two birds with one stone.

Last week my local newspaper ran an article on the health benefits of apples.  If you need more reasons to eat apples here are few.

• They are low in calories.  A medium size apple has only 80 calories.  They contain no fat or sodium.
• They are a good source of vitamin C. 
• About half of the fiber in apples is in the peel.  An apple with the peel contains about 3.3 grams of fiber, whereas, one without the peel has about 1.7 grams of fiber.  Applesauce and apple juice contain even less fiber.
• Consumed whole, apples are a convenient and mess free snack. 

It seems that when we think of apples, we immediately think of pie, crisp and maybe applesauce.  That's too bad.  Apples work well in savory dishes.  They are a nice accompaniment go meats such as, pork and chicken.  Give them a try.

I decided to pair apples with sweet potatoes for an easy fall side dish.  Apples play a supporting role in this dish.  Stay tuned, we will cook apples again.  In the meantime, try this recipe for candied sweet potatoes with apples.

Candied Sweet Potatoes with Apples

Serves 4. 

Ingredients:

⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tablespoons water or apple juice
1 Tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 pound sweet potatoes, about 3 medium
1 large apple
¼ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions:

1.  In a small saucepan combine, brown sugar, water or apple juice, butter, and cinnamon.  Heat on low heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts.

2.  Coat a two-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

3.  Wash and peel sweet potatoes.  Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices.  Wash and core apple.  Cut into 12 wedges.  Layer apple and sweet potato slices in baking dish.  Pour sugar mixture over apple  and sweet potato slices.  Cover with lid or foil. 

4.  Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F for about 45 minutes.  Remove covering and cook for an additional 15 minutes.  Top with pecans and serve.

When the Neighbor Gives You Kale

I like kale. O, you know, kale, ham hocks and corn bread.  Lately kale has been all the rage.  It seems to be everywhere, from grandma's garden to the fancy restaurant. 

Kales chips were a new thing for me.  I saw them at a fancy organic grocery store and the price! Won't be purchasing those.  A very nice colleague brought a package of kale chips to work.  I was hooked, except for the price. 

 

One evening a friend called to say that she had received kale as a 'gift'.  Sounded good to me.  With so much free kale, why not make chips.  We didn't have a recipe, so we did what any good cook would do.  We googled it. 

This is essentially how you make kale chips.

Firstly, wash kale.  Remove the center vein.  The center vein and the leaf do not cook the same.  Cut kale into bite-sized pieces.

Secondly, dry kale.  This is a good time to break out the salad spinner.  Place kale into a bowl and  coat lightly with olive oil. Hint: Too little oil and the chips burn.  Too much and they are a touch greasy.  But greasy beats burned.  Season kale as desired.  Seasoning salt or other flavored salts are good choices. 

Thirdly, place kale on a large baking sheet, in a single layer.  Bake at about 275°F for about 20 minutes.  After 10 minutes, flip the kale and cook the second side for an additional 10 minutes.

Summer, Tomatoes and Fish

Several years ago a colleague asked me to make tomato jam to be served with ice cream.  I thought this would be the worst thing I had ever made.  But I grudgingly agreed to make tomato jam for ice cream.  Being the food person that I am, I knew this would not work.   Ha, to my surprise, it was wonderful!  It just goes to show one should always keep an open mind.  You never know what your next surprise might be.

After nursing my bruised ego, I started to think about what a tomato really is, a fruit.  Why not make a jam with it?  While summer is rapidly coming to an end, tomatoes are in full swing.  Your local farmers market should still have a plethora of tomatoes.  Why not grab a few and make tomato jam.

Tomato jam can be spicy, with hot peppers and vinegar and served with meat dishes.  It can also be slightly sweet and served for dessert. 

A note of caution, these jams should not be canned for later use.  It can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

This is my version of spicy tomato jam that I serve with meat dishes.  If you would like other recipes using seasonal produce, check out Discover Seasonal Cooking on the UNL-Extension food website.  You will lots of great recipes for seasonal produce as well other food information.  We aim to be your one stop source for food information.

Tomato Jam

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2½ cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes or
     1 can (14 ounce) diced tomatoes
⅓ cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoon minced garlic
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

2.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes.

3.  Remove pan from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

We Want Breakfast!

According to a recent report from the Mintel Group, consumers consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day, even more than lunch or dinner.  Specifically, a 2009 International Food Information Council Foundation's Food and Health Survey found that 93% of Americans consider breakfast to be the most important meal.  In contrast, 87% feel this way about dinner and 81% say the same thing about dinner.  Even though 93% of consumers believe breakfast is important, only 44% eat breakfast everyday.

Now here is a little info to help those non-breakfast eaters think about that morning meal.

An NPR story reported that people who consume breakfast have reduced risk of heart attack.  A study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health, finds that men who routinely skipped breakfast had a higher risk of having a heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease compared to men who ate breakfast.  Even when the researchers accounted for differences in diet, smoking patterns and exercise patterns, there is still an elevated risk of heart attack among the non-breakfast eaters. 

It seems that most Americans want  breakfast-on-the-go.  Hand-held breakfast food is the fastest growing segment of the frozen food market.  Below is a recipe for blueberry muffins to help you get an on-the-go breakfast.  They can be made a head of time, frozen until you are ready for breakfast. These can be made as muffins or muffin tops.

Blueberry Muffin Tops

Makes 12.

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons butter
⅓ cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:

1½ Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1.  Batter.  Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Coat the muffin pans with cooking spray.

2.  Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat,  Remove from heat.  Whisk in milk, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.  Stir to combine.

3.  Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Add milk mixture and stir until just combined.  Gently fold in blueberries.

4.  Divide batter among 12 muffin cups.

5. Topping.  Blend together topping ingredients until crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly over batter. 

6.  Bake until golden and crisp, about 18 to 20 minutes.

A New Look at Potato Salad

If you follow this blog you know that I like potato salad. It seems that most people eat potato salad mainly in the summer months.  But in my family, it's an 'anytime' food.  We even eat it at Christmas dinner.  I asked my sister why we have potato salad for Christmas dinner.  Her reply was, "I don't know.  We just do.  We always have and we always will."  Enough said.  Our potato salad is normally laden with mayonnaise and eggs.  While it is good, sometimes change is also good. 

It's still officially summer and we have a few more opportunities for picnics, potlucks, and dinner on the ground.  I thought I would bring out my new potato salad recipe.  This one is made sans mayonnaise and eggs.  This recipe is based on one found on the blog, Olive Tomato.  I added red bell pepper, because it gives the recipe a nice bright color, a little crunch and a few antioxidants don't hurt either. For acidity, either red wine vinegar or lemon juice can be used.

Mediterranean Potato Salad

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, Yukon Gold or Russet
½ small red onion, chopped
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Wash potatoes, place in a sauce pan and cover with cold water.  Place a lid on sauce pan and cook until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.

2.  Drain and cover with cold water.  When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into cubes, about ½-inch.  (Peeling is optional.)  Add onion and bell pepper to potatoes.

3.  In a small bowl, combine Italian seasoning, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice.  Gently stir the dressing into the potatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

'Fun with Healthy Food' Day

I was recently asked by the Lancaster County Extension office to help with their 'Fun with Healthy Food' Day.  I jumped at the chance.  Any time I have an opportunity to push food, I'm on it.  My colleague stated that she wanted them to cook and to have fun doing it.  The great thing about cooking and kids, they see cooking as fun.  They love getting in the kitchen and cooking. 

We started off the day with hand washing. Cleanliness is the first step to preparing food.  The kids got to use GloGerm to see how good they were at hand washing.  

Next on the list was pancakes.  We made whole wheat pancakes and the kids thought they were great.  Of course, we let the kids add bananas, chocolate chips and blueberries.  After all, no one said healthy had to be boring.

Lunch was vegetable pizza.  It took a little cajoling from the leaders to get a few more vegetables on some pizzas.  We started with a ready made crust, added purchased tomato sauce, and vegetables.

For dinner, we decided to make salads.  We started with a base of romaine and red leaf lettuces and let the kids add various toppings, like hard boiled eggs.  We even made our own salad dressing, Roasted Red Pepper Ranch Dip and a Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette.  Kids had a great time making the dressings and thought they were out of this world.

Crafting is also a part of this day.  We decided to craft a centerpiece.  Out of what else...you got it - fruit.  We made apple turkeys.  Or at least that is what we called them. 

Before you little ones head back to school, give some of these ideas a try.  Bet your kids will think these foods are great!

Enjoy the last few days of summer.

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

It's been a while since I have posted.  I could tell you that I have been on vacation.  But the real truth is I've just not been in the blogging mood.  It just hasn't been there.  But at some point, you just gotta pick up and go on.  For my return post, I decided to focus on berries.  And yes, they are attached to a cake. 

I first found this recipe in an old Gourmet magazine, and thought it would make a good blog.  The recipe is for lemon sun cakes with berries and cream.  It just sounded so cute!

It makes six little cakes.  They are baked in small brioche molds.  If you don't have them, use a muffin tin.

I served my cakes with black raspberries (because I have a back yard full of them), blueberries, and red raspberries (because they were on sale).  Strawberries would have also been good in this mix.  These fruits contain a group of compounds, anthocyanins that are responsible for the red, purple, and blue colors of fruits, vegetables, and grains.  Some research shows that these compounds may reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.  My philosophy is that if you can prevent diseases and enjoy it at the same time, it's a win-win situation. 

For a full serving of fruit, serve with ½ cup of berries.

Lemon Sun Cakes with Berries and Cream

Serves 6.


Ingredients:

¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ cup whole milk
3 cups mixed berries
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ cup chilled heavy cream

Directions:

1.  Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.  Generously butter molds and place on a baking sheet.

2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cream butter and sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add egg and beat until combined.  Add vanilla and lemon zest.

3.  Add about one-third of the flour, followed by one-half of the milk.  Repeat until all
the flour and milk have been added.  Divide batter amount the molds, filling each mold about two-thirds full.  Bake until edges of cakes are golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.  Cool cakes in molds on a rack for 5 minutes.  Remove from molds and cool completely on racks.

4.  Combine sugar and cream.  Beat until soft peaks forms.