Apples and Cranberries

It’s mid-October and I’m still excited about apples. Just holding a fresh, locally-grown McIntosh or Cortland up to my nose and inhaling deeply can send me into a little Caddy Shack gopher dance. Then another regional specialty showed up in the stores: fresh cranberries, also grown not far away. I’ll get to fresh cranberry sauces another day. Around here, right about now, we love these beautiful little red gems in apple crisp. They give both fruity compliment and puckery tart contrast to the sweet, cinnamony baked apples.

Since cranberries are super-tart (downright sour, even), I gave the apple-cranberry filling in this crisp quite a bit of sugar. I also put in a relatively hefty dose of cornstarch (1 ½ tablespoon), because I’d been experiencing fruit crisps (like this one) that were a little weepy and runny for my taste. This time the filling was plenty thick. Some of the thickened juices even bubbled up to mingle with the sugary topping to create a few gooey, chewy caramel-like bites. Yummmmmm!

I really like the sort of rustic heartiness of the whole wheat flour in the crisp topping, but all-purpose flour would work as well. I highly recommend using walnut oil here, too. I just adds a little more nutty flavor, and, of course, compliments the walnuts in the topping as well. You could use canola oil or melted butter instead.

I’d like to say that I’ve been delaying my apple crisp gratification because I was waiting for the fresh local cranberries, but the truth is that I was waiting until there was space in the freezer for the vanilla ice cream. I’ve come to expect that cold, creamy contrast with the slightly tart baked fruit and crunchy sweet and nutty topping. Finally, there was a spot for the freezing canister for my ice cream maker and a little extra time available to make a custard base. I could have my Apple and Cranberry Crisp.

Ladies and gentlemen, don’t do this. Don’t force your baked-apple pleasure to wait on fickle ice cream. You may, like me, rush the process just enough to make it flop. My vanilla ice cream tasted great, but didn’t freeze properly. It was fine as a crisp topping, but was definitely not ready for its close-up. (That’s why it appears in none of the photos in this post. Let this be a lesson to us all.) Let the apple crisp be the star of its own show. It really does deserve to be, especially with those cranberry sidekicks.

Apple and Cranberry Crisp
I used Cortland apples, which become quite soft when baked. I also used fresh cranberries, but frozen cranberries will work just as well. No need to thaw.

For the filling:
5 cups peeled and chopped apple
1 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

For the topping:
½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup walnut oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together until the fruit is well-coated. Pour or spoon the filling into an 8”x 8” baking dish.

2. Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and walnuts in a small bowl. Add the walnut oil and toss with a fork or work with your fingers until the entire mixture is moistened with the oil.

3. Top the filling in the baking dish with the topping.

4. Bake at 375 F 50 minutes or until the filling is thick and bubbly and the topping is browned. Check the crisp part way through baking and cover with aluminum foil if the top seems to be browning too much. You want a browned topping, but not a burned one.

Makes 6 servings. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (or nothing, if you must.)

Take this Squash and Stuff it

If you don’t hear from me for a while, you might want to come by and make sure I haven’t been buried by a pile of winter squash. In my efforts to increase the WFQ* of my diet, procure food from more local sources, and eat more seasonally, I get the bigger of the two boxes the CSA** offers. About now, it becomes clear to me that it is difficult for two people to eat one or two squash a week.

Luckily, since squash is so prolific, ingenious cooks have been coming up with different ways to serve it for generations. Luckily also, winter squash keeps well for weeks (sometimes even months if stored properly), so I don’t have to try all those recipes in an insane 10-day squash marathon. I’ve got some time.

After a yummy success with some little stuffed squash last year, I couldn’t wait to try this recipe when the squash rolled in this year. These carnival squash are great for stuffing, since each half is one generous serving. I can roast the squash halves and stuff them, and it’s dinner for two (the usual format around here), and I can eat the leftover stuffing for lunch the next day. Since the quinoa in the stuffing is a complete protein, and all that vegetable matter is quite filling, the stuffed squash is a real meal, at least as far as I’m concerned. (In fact, it’s a rather large meal, which you might want to take into account if you’re a light eater.)

There are all kinds of great foods with which one could stuff a squash, I suppose, but I get a kick out of using “New World” (ie, native to this hemisphere) grain with the New World winter squash. If you haven’t tried quinoa, what are you waiting for? I like the way it keeps a little bit of pop in the bite when cooked (not to be confused with the crunch of an undercooked grain). It has a mild, nutty flavor, and this stuffing, with its savory leeks, sweet-tart dried cranberries, and crunchy walnuts seems a natural accompaniment to the sweet, almost creamy roasted squash.

I’m thinking that if you’re serving a large fall celebration meal (such as, oh, Thanksgiving in a little over a month) with a roasted turkey, chicken, ham or whatever, and you’ve invited a vegetarian, rather than saying, “Oh, s/he can just eat the side dishes,” why not give them just a bit more of your time and serve him/her a little stuffed squash. The squash can be roasted ahead of time, and you can also make the stuffing in advance. Just stuff the squash and warm everything through after you take the meat out of the oven to rest and be carved for everyone else.

This quinoa stuffing is great on its own, just eaten with a fork, although I’d recommend tasting it for salt before adding all the salt called for in the recipe. The squash itself isn’t seasoned much and benefits from the extra punch in the stuffing, but the stuffing might be a little salty by itself. (It will probably depend on the saltiness of the broth you use to cook the quinoa.) So, stuff that squash or just eat the stuffing. Or do both. The stuffing recipe is easily doubled.

*WFQ = Whole Food Quotient
**CSA = Community Supported Agriculture. This one is ours.

Quinoa Stuffed Squash Recipe

To Roast the Squash

Two small squash (four halves) will generously serve four people, and can be stuffed with one recipe of Quinoa Stuffing. You can use this method for roasting most varieties of winter squash, although cooking times will vary.

2 small winter squash

salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut the squash in half from stem to base. Scoop out the seeds and seed fibers. Sprinkle the squash cavity with salt.

2. Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. Begin testing squash for doneness at 40-45 minutes. It is done when a fork easily pierces the flesh all the way through.

Quinoa Stuffing Recipe
This recipe makes enough stuffing for 4 small squash cavities. You could use chicken broth in place of the vegetable broth. With the vegetable broth it is vegetarian. Use oil for the butter and this dish is vegan.

This recipe is inspired by a recipe in Cooking Light magazine.

1 cup vegetable broth
½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
½ cup uncooked quinoa***
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup thinly sliced, well-washed leek
½ cup finely chopped celery
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts

1. Bring the vegetable broth and ¼ teaspoon salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the quinoa. Cover, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked and most of the broth is absorbed. (Just taste the quinoa to see if it is done.) Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet (preferably nonstick, or you may need more butter) over medium heat. Add the leek, celery and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute about 8 minutes, or until the leek is beginning to brown, stirring often.

3. Stir in the black pepper, sage and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the quinoa, dried cranberries and walnuts, and cook 1 more minute, or until warmed through. Set aside to cool slightly (or cool completely and refrigerate for later use).

For the Stuffed Squash

Oven: 350 F

1. Spoon about ½ cup of completed stuffing into each roasted squash cavity. Place the stuffed squash in a baking dish and bake at 350 F 15-20 minutes or until the squash is very soft and the stuffing is slightly browned on top. If the squash and stuffing were prepared ahead of time, it may take longer to bake the stuffed squash. Increase the baking time until heated through.

Makes 4 generous servings.

***Most quinoa sold in the U.S. has been processed to remove saponin, a bitter, soapy, naturally-occurring substance on quinoa grains. If you have reason to believe your quinoa has not been so processed, you can rinse the grains before cooking.

Chili Weather

It’s prime season for tailgating (even if it’s in a cozy living room). Football is going strong, the Twins are in the playoffs (sorry, Tiger fans), and the National Hockey League has just begun its season. I don’t really know if hockey fans actually tailgate. I always intend to follow hockey, and, well, never actually do. The point is, the grills are fired up for brats and burgers, but it suddenly got cold outside. A good chunk of autumn has been skipped over, and there’s snow in the forecast. (Seriously!) Diehards will still get out the grill, but why not cozy up with a pot of chili instead?

There seem to be more ways to make chili than there are people to eat it. Cook up a well-seasoned stew of meat and/or veggies and/or beans and you have chili. There must have been a line drawn somewhere, but I’m darned if I know where the heck it is. Beef, chicken, pork, sausage, tomatoes, tomatillos, black beans, red beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, vegetarian, multiple meats, this must be in it, that is taboo, noodles, rice…need I go on…really? And the passion involved! Forget soap operas. Let’s film some chili operas! If you’re serious about chili, only your way is right. I, however, am willing to give peace a chance when it comes to chili, and try them all. Can’t we all be right just this once?

My brother makes a mean chili. It’s based on the chili my mom always made, but he’s cranked it up several notches on the Scoville scale. (We’re more demanding when it comes to spice than my staunchly Midwestern parents.) I could make that chili, I suppose, but being a part of chili culture seems to mean coming up with your own chili recipe. My problem is that I can never decide what style I like best, and would be happy trying one after the other until the end of the chili universe. I did try a great chili recipe with chorizo sausage from Cooking Light magazine many years ago, however, and my modified version seems to have caught on as “my” chili, as far as Harry is concerned. At least it is the one he always requests, and, for him, football season is the best time to eat it. My Chorizo and Chipotle Chili is chunky and meaty and spicy (its also alliterative), and there’s just a bit of chocolate thrown in at the end that gives it that something. You know, that something (aside from continuing the alliteration).

I have used both fresh (Mexican) and cured (Spanish) chorizo in this recipe, and both work well. The fresh chorizo, which I used when I took the photos in this post, is quite soft, and sort of melts into the chili, giving it a unique thickness. Using the Spanish chorizo results in a chunkier chili. The diced cured sausage keeps its firm, chewy texture. I think that if you wanted to make this vegetarian, you could replace the chorizo with another can of beans. Perhaps mashing some of them would help to thicken the chili like the fresh chorizo does. (Hmmmm…I might just have to try that!)

Even if you don’t like to watch sports, consider warming up with a bowl of hot chili this weekend. You can try this recipe, but I’m betting that, as part of honorable chili tradition, you just might have one that’s all your own!

Chorizo and Chipotle Chili Recipe
The sour cream garnish, to me, is reqiuired rather than optional because it somehow brings out the chocolate flavor in the chili. If you cannot find fire-roasted tomatoes, use regular tomatoes.

8 ounces Mexican or Spanish chorizo sausage, diced if using Spanish
1 chipotle chile canned in adobo sauce, minced
2 cups chopped onion
3 bell peppers, preferably of different colors (one can even be a poblano chile), chopped
1 teaspoon salt, divided
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3 (14-ounce) cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes, such as Muir Glen brand. Do not drain.
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 ½ ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
sour cream and crumbled tortilla chips for serving

1. Heat a large pot, such as a Dutch oven, over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook (breaking it up if using Mexican-style) until browned, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the onions, peppers and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often 7 minutes, or until the onions are beginning to brown, stirring often. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and cook 1 minute more.

3. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, corn and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the lime juice. Taste the chili and add a little more salt if necessary. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted. Serve garnished with sour cream and tortilla chips.

Makes 6-8 servings. I like to serve chili with a side of fresh-baked cornbread.

Saturday Morning Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

I was never all that fired up about apples until I moved to southeastern Minnesota, where they are grown in both quantity and quality. The Red Delicious apples, which were pretty much the only kind we ever had at home when I was a kid, weren’t going to do it for me, especially once I had tasted the apples that grew in my the yards of both of my pairs of grandparents. (Why didn’t we have more of these at home? My grandparents didn’t live far away.) Those were “real” apples, what apples were supposed to taste like. In comparison, the Red Delicious (and sometimes Golden Delicious) that my dad would eat every day, core and all, just weren’t so delicious to me.

I ate very few apples once I was on my own, but these days I can hardly wait for this time of year when the markets here are stuffed with locally-grown apples. I don’t even have to go out of my way to get them. There are local markets and fruit stands where I can pick up bags of lovely apples grown in the same zip code (or close to it), while I’m picking up my regular supplies of garlic, celery, oatmeal and quinoa. It’s just too easy.

I’ve spent some time so far this autumn tasting apples in hopes of being able to detect the differences between the varieties and picking a favorite. Everybody in Minnesota seems to love the Honeycrisp apple, a firm, sweet local-variety-does-good. This year, I’ve also bought (and eaten nearly all of already) Zestars and McIntosh that were really good. My mom even bought some huge, locally-grown Golden Delicious when she was visiting, and they, for once, lived up to their name (the best Golden Delicious I’ve ever had.) But my favorites right now are the Cortland apples grown so near by. They’re tart and juicy and have an elusive, floral-fruity taste that I just can’t quite put words to, although it makes me think of candy. It’s these Cortlands that I’ve been buying by the bagful for a few weeks, and what I used to make my most recent Saturday morning pancakes.

I have to say, I’m in love with these pancakes. From Harry, I just got, “Yeah, they’re good,” but I was savoring and “Yummmm”-ing over every bite. They are perky from the cider and lots of cinnamon in the batter. The grated apple melted into the pancake, giving it flavor and body, but not making it heavy, soggy or fibrous. Of course, the maple syrup I served these with is no slouch, but I can truly say that the pancakes weren’t just a vehicle (or excuse) for the syrup as plain pancakes too often can be. You could also top these with a syrup made of reduced apple cider (just boil it until it reaches a syrupy consistency), stewed apples, or just cinnamon and sugar.

I recommend using a good-quality apple cider to make these pancakes. I’m lucky enough to have that available locally, too. (It’s another thing I never really cared for until I moved here where they just do it right.) You could peel the apple(s) before grating them if you want to. I liked the idea of leaving the peel on, just for improved WFQ* (along with the added whole wheat flour), but my box grater wasn’t quite up to the task of tearing through apple peels. A sharper grater might do better. And a sharper cook probably doesn’t need me to tell him/her how to jazz up a batch of pancakes, but I liked these so much, I wanted to share them as they happened. Enjoy!

*WFQ = Whole Food Quotient

Apple Cinnamon Pancake Recipe
Modified from Midwest Living Magazine

1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¾ cup apple cider
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated apple
Cooking spray, oil or butter to grease the pan or griddle

1. Preheat a large skillet or griddle on the stove over medium heat, or an electric frying pan (what I use) or griddle to 350 F. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well-combined.

2. In a separate medium-size bowl, beat the eggs with the cooled melted butter. Add the brown sugar, apple cider and vanilla and whisk together until well-blended. Stir in the grated apple.

3. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredient mixture and stir until just combined. Try not to over-mix the batter. Just stir until the dry ingredients are moistened through. The batter will be quite thick.

4. Spray the heated pan with cooking spray or brush it with oil or butter. Spoon (it should be too thick to pour) about ¼ cup of the pancake batter for each (4-inch) pancake, placing as many on the pan as will fit with room to spread and flip. Cook the pancakes until they are brown on the pan side, and bubbles break through the batter on the top side, about 2-3 minutes.

5. Flip the pancakes and cook another 2-3 minutes, until brown and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping cooked pancakes warm in a 200 F oven. Serve hot with syrup, or your favorite pancake accompaniment.

Makes about 10 4-inch pancakes