Chef's Corner: Fall into apple season
Well it's official.
We've had Thanksgiving, the overnight temperatures are hovering perilously close to 0 degrees and we've all fished our scarves out of the closet. It's autumn and while that may be a gloomy reminder that winter is around the corner, it's also time to celebrate my personal favourite time of year: apple season.
There are some 7500 varieties of apples, which are grown worldwide and believed to be one of the earliest cultivated fruits. In addition to being high in fibre, vitamin C and antioxidants, apples are delicious, convenient and mulit-purposeful. Keep the doctor away by trying one of these apple recipes today.
Grandma's Easy Applesauce
Delicious as breakfast, snack or desert this applesauce recipe is almost impossible to screw up and stores in the refrigerator for up to three days.
6 dense red-skinned apples (Gala, Jonah Gold, Honeycrisp, etc NOT Red Delicious or Macintosh) peeled, cored and cut into sixteenths
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 or 3 whole cloves (or “cinnamon mens” as my Dad calls them)
_ water
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
In a medium pan, heat all ingredients over a medium heat until the apples become very soft. Remove from heat and fish out whole cloves to discard.
For very smooth in bender: Transfer apples into blender. IMPORTANT: take out removable insert from lid of blender and place clean, folded tea towel over opening to allow steam to escape. Next pulse until desired smoothness is met.
For chunky by hand: Use hand-mixer or potato masher to achieve desired consistency.
Applesauce Meatloaf
For this recipe, use Grandma's Easy Applesauce or store-bought to make a more economical version of the classic pork chops with applesauce. Cooked loaf can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in airtight container for easy and delicious leftover meatloaf sandwiches. Also, this recipe calls from ground pork instead of ground beef, which is not only cheaper, but much better for you as well.
2 lbs lean ground pork
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup applesauce
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tbsp chili sauce (substitute ketchup, tomato paste, salsa, even condensed tomato soup would be just fine)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 F. In large bowl, with very clean hands combine all ingredients well then spread evenly in a non-stick or lightly greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. (No loaf pan? No problem! Just use a non-stick or lightly flat baking surface and shape meat into approximate loaf shape with hands) Bake loaf for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Allow loaf to cool and set for 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.
1-2-3 Apple Crisp
Chocolate cake has nothing on this classically uncomplicated and delightfully down-home desert. Served alone or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, warm Apple Crisp is the perfect ending to any meal.
5 tart apples (Jonah Gold, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, etc) peeled, cored and sliced into sixteenths
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup water
Arrange apple slices in a greased eight-inch square pan. Next, in a small bowl combine flour, sugars, oats and melted butter, spread evenly over apples then pour water evenly over top. Bake in a 375F over for about half-an-hour.
We've had Thanksgiving, the overnight temperatures are hovering perilously close to 0 degrees and we've all fished our scarves out of the closet. It's autumn and while that may be a gloomy reminder that winter is around the corner, it's also time to celebrate my personal favourite time of year: apple season.
There are some 7500 varieties of apples, which are grown worldwide and believed to be one of the earliest cultivated fruits. In addition to being high in fibre, vitamin C and antioxidants, apples are delicious, convenient and mulit-purposeful. Keep the doctor away by trying one of these apple recipes today.
Grandma's Easy Applesauce
Delicious as breakfast, snack or desert this applesauce recipe is almost impossible to screw up and stores in the refrigerator for up to three days.
6 dense red-skinned apples (Gala, Jonah Gold, Honeycrisp, etc NOT Red Delicious or Macintosh) peeled, cored and cut into sixteenths
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 or 3 whole cloves (or “cinnamon mens” as my Dad calls them)
_ water
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
In a medium pan, heat all ingredients over a medium heat until the apples become very soft. Remove from heat and fish out whole cloves to discard.
For very smooth in bender: Transfer apples into blender. IMPORTANT: take out removable insert from lid of blender and place clean, folded tea towel over opening to allow steam to escape. Next pulse until desired smoothness is met.
For chunky by hand: Use hand-mixer or potato masher to achieve desired consistency.
Applesauce Meatloaf
For this recipe, use Grandma's Easy Applesauce or store-bought to make a more economical version of the classic pork chops with applesauce. Cooked loaf can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in airtight container for easy and delicious leftover meatloaf sandwiches. Also, this recipe calls from ground pork instead of ground beef, which is not only cheaper, but much better for you as well.
2 lbs lean ground pork
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup applesauce
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tbsp chili sauce (substitute ketchup, tomato paste, salsa, even condensed tomato soup would be just fine)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 F. In large bowl, with very clean hands combine all ingredients well then spread evenly in a non-stick or lightly greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. (No loaf pan? No problem! Just use a non-stick or lightly flat baking surface and shape meat into approximate loaf shape with hands) Bake loaf for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Allow loaf to cool and set for 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.
1-2-3 Apple Crisp
Chocolate cake has nothing on this classically uncomplicated and delightfully down-home desert. Served alone or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, warm Apple Crisp is the perfect ending to any meal.
5 tart apples (Jonah Gold, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, etc) peeled, cored and sliced into sixteenths
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup water
Arrange apple slices in a greased eight-inch square pan. Next, in a small bowl combine flour, sugars, oats and melted butter, spread evenly over apples then pour water evenly over top. Bake in a 375F over for about half-an-hour.
