recipicity

I miss Bishop’s Orchards so much sometimes!

We have Curtis Orchards in Champaign, and other nearby apple farmers who come to the markets in Urbana and Bloomington, but I miss the variety of fruit throughout available throughout the whole summer-fall, pick-your-own or shop in their store, in southern Connecticut (who’d have thought?)

I buy lots of apples at the markets, though, and then sometimes wonder what to do with them when I get home.  I found this recipe last year about this time, and thought it was a nice way to enjoy apples in a slightly savory application.

Salad:
1 head red cabbage, shredded or chopped
2 carrots, grated
2 celery stalks, diced
2 tart apples, diced

Dressing:
6T peanut oil
6T cider vinegar
2T sugar (or to taste)
2t caraway seed
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk dressing ingredients together, and pour over salad ingredients. Tastes best after an hour in the fridge; not so much after about 24 hours.

5c. rolled oats
1/2c. almonds
1/2c. sesame seeds
2c. sunflower seeds
1c. coconut
1c. powdered milk
1c. dates
1c. raisins
1c. honey
1c. vegetable oil

Heat honey and oil. Combine the rest (except raisins) with the honey-oil mix, spread on cookie sheets, and bake at 250 for 1hr until slightly brown.

My gram has made this since my mom was a kid, and I’ve spared you the soy nuts and soy flour (she had a wheat allergy).  The calories are off the charts, as written, so it begs for some adjustments. Or not - enjoy!

This comes from the Top Chef Cookbook… which I unfortunately don’t open very often.  It’s such a simple combination, I’m surprised I’d never tried it before.

Roast sweet potatoes about an hour at 375 (peeled, cut into about 1” chunks), with olive oil and curry powder and salt. Penzey’s hot curry powder is very nice for this.  Blend in food processor or mash by hand, with 1T butter and 1T lemon juice for every 2 medium potatoes.

YUM.  The combination of sweet potato, curry, and lemon juice is very, very yummy.

The quinoa pilaf recipe that’s supposed to be the main dish is also tasty, but it’s the sweet potatoes that I find myself making ALL The Time.

I’ll start with a perennial favorite: the Spinach-Rice Casserole from the New Moosewood Cookbook (p. 135). It’s quite flexible, but I think the nutmeg & cayenne give it a particularly nice flavor.  Kale works ok if you cook it down, but I tried it once with mustard greens and it was not tasty. Freezes ok, if you don’t nom it up right away! Vegetarian as written, and you can eliminate the dairy, for a vegan version (though you may want to add something binder-y).

The basics:
Saute 2# spinach with some onion, salt and garlic. Mix into 3c. cooked rice. Add 1/4t. nutmeg, 1/4t. cayenne, 1/2c. sunflower seeds. If you like, beat 2 eggs with 1c. milk, and add to the rice mixture. Mix in 1 1/2 c. grated cheddar.

Spread into a baking pan (oiled/sprayed), dust with paprika, and bake until browned (about 40 minutes).

I like to serve it with a little feta and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds, and a dash of sriracha.