September Love

A Is For Autumn Apple Crisp

Since the ABC song is firmly understood by now (did you ever realize after singing them endless times, Ba Ba Black Sheep and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all share the same melody with the ABC's?), we have moved on to all things phonics. Apple..."ah, ah, ah, what does apple start with?"

Yes, these are the ice breakers to important conversations of late. Conversations that lead us, inevitably, to the kitchen. Because for us, this is where all things seem to come together, a continuous lesson on feeding ourselves, participating in doing so, and hopefully, feeding someone else along the way.

In the wake of pre-reading, our family has experienced something all families do: grief. This is a seemingly helpless state, one which can easily immobilize. Yet, grief can be a time of opportunity. Because despite all the moments in life, easy and very hard, we all must eat.
This is when food can become its own language, one that can speak love and comfort without any words, when there is often little else we may be able to offer.
This also goes for times of celebration: let us bring food, break bread together, and celebrate. What is better than a belly full of food? How about some honey on your tongue? What speaks more than this?

While grief has its own nature, one of autumnal color schemes, food is a thread belonging to an endless spool. It is an opportunity to learn, to give, to celebrate and, to hopefully heal.

Autumn Apple Crisp: 

*4 lbs gala, honey crisp, or assorted apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced thin

*3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

*5 Tablespoons raw sugar or honey

*1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

*4 Tablespoons organic all purpose flour

*1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Topping:

*2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (for a vegan version, sub coconut oil)

*1/2 cup honey

*4 cups rolled oats

*1 cup flour

*1 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease a 4 qt or 10x15 baking dish with butter.

Toss apples with lemon juice, sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Transfer to baking dish and spread out evenly.

Meanwhile, whisk the melted butter with the honey in a medium mixing bowl. Add the honey, oats flour and almonds. Spread evenly over the apple mixture.

Bake on center rack for about 45 minutes or until topping becomes dark golden, and apples are very aromatic.

Allow to cool slightly before serving. Garnish with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Today

(Make your own for flu season. Click here.)

Vegan Beet Root Soup

While in the process of getting the fall garden in, it was time to deal with an onslaught of beets. I had been waiting to harvest the rest of them until the real estate they were taking up in the garden became too desirable otherwise.
A heap of beets poses an issue different than that of green beans or tomatoes or okra. Beets don't freeze well, they pickle nice but I have a bumper of pickles in the fridge. So soup was really the only option, especially since a large batch can be portioned and frozen so easily. And with an equally large pile of carrots from the garden, I was halfway to a good batch of... something?
This recipe is indeed vegan but if you are not exclusively so, a scoop of whole milk yogurt or splash of raw milk or cream is a nice garnish. Alternatively, add some ginger to the recipe and garnish with coconut milk.
One more item of business.....as the weather takes a slightly cooler turn here in the mountains, this recipe marks the first of many warming dishes as we look toward the approaching equinox. The leather is snow sealed and fire wood is in the process of being stacked.  Maybe, just maybe, after a season of sweet corn and mosquitoes, we are finally ready to welcome this special, golden lit, leaf raining, oh so visceral time of the year.

Vegan Beet Root Soup: (Makes a large batch)

*1/4 cup olive oil
*1 medium yellow onion, chopped
*3 celery stalks and leaves, chopped
*4 fresh carrots, chopped
*3-4 garlic cloves, minced
*5 red beet roots, peeled and quartered
*4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
*1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, stems removed, chopped
*sea salt
*black pepper

Place a large soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil. Once hot, add onion, celery, carrots. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Add garlic. Saute until onions are translucent and garlic has browned, about 5-7minutes.
Add beets and potatoes. Allow to saute 2 more minutes before adding just enough water to nearly cover contents of pot. Add parsley and another generous pinch of sea salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
Cover and simmer until potatoes and beets are very tender, about an hour and a half. Remove from heat and blend contents with an immersion blender or blend in batches in a food processor until smooth. Return to pot and heat through before portioning in bowls and garnishing with fresh parsley and/or a swirl of fresh yogurt, cream or coconut milk.
Serve hot.

Lately

Gratitude 

for the generous mushroom hunters 

and beach dwellers 

who 

live among the shrimp boats.

Summer Squash Cakes

This recipe is a bit of a repeat but this go-round featured with yellow summer squash in place of zucchini since the yellow squash in the garden is burying us alive.  Most of it will end up shredded and frozen to use later, but if you can stomach one more serving without creating an aversion, these squash cakes are an effortless summer meal.

Summer Squash Cakes:
*3 medium summer squash, whole, ends removed
*1 cup crumbled feta
*sea salt
*black pepper
*1 small sweet onion, skin removed
*2-3 fresh eggs
*high quality AP flour
*olive oil

Shred squash into a large mixing bowl. Lightly sprinkle with salt and stir. Allow to sit for 10 minutes then transfer to a mesh sieve. Gently press shredded squash into sieve to strain excess water. Return to mixing bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Shred about 1/4 cup of the onion into mixture. Stir. Mix eggs into mixture with a fork, followed by the feta. Then add enough flour to create a batter, slightly thicker than pancake batter.Line a cooling rack with paper towels.Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Coat with olive oil. Spoon mixture into hot skillet to create small cakes (about 3 tablespoons of batter for each cake). Loosely shape and flatten slightly with a fork. Brown each cake until golden, flipping halfway through.Transfer to cooling rack and repeat with remaining batter, oiling skillet as needed between batches.
Serve warm with sour cream or crème fraîche and chopped chives. 

From The Garden