Week 17 - Apples, Apples, Sweet Potatoes

There is much to say about this share, even though its bulk is made up by the gloriously familiar apple.

This week's share includes: Apples, Chard or Kale, Sweet Potatoes, Mustard Sprouts, and Gourds. You probably all know this, but don't eat the gourds, just admire them. They taste yucky.

The sweet potatoes were grown in the hoophouse. They are shaped more interestingly than those at the store and also, because they're freshly harvested, they're starchier. You can save them at room temperature for a few weeks to let them sweeten up or eat them now. They're tasty already, they just get sweeter with time. Don't worry if there is a broken end on one of your potatoes. Sweet potatoes "heal" so they can be stored even if they are broken. Just be sure to scrub off the dirt well before eating them, but not before storing them.

This one sweet potato is over a pound. So far our record is a three pounder.

We're stretching them over two weeks so that all the half share members will have the opportunity to eat some Upper Peninsula grown sweet potatoes (not something you see every day!), which means that while full share members will get about 2.5 pounds of sweet potatoes all together you won't them all at once. If you full share folks want to make a large dish with your sweet potatoes you might want to wait until next week and combine them.

But the true star of this week is the apples. Everyone is receiving a can-able quantity and, with the area's rich mining (and hard cider drinking) heritage, it's not unlikely that some members already have some apples of their own to contend with.

Some of our apples have scab, a fungus that does not affect eating quality
(at this level - sometimes it's severe enough to affect the texture),
just appearance. We do not treat it because we see no reason to spray
fungicides to treat a disease that doesn't hurt our fruit. We do minimize it
the best we can.

Our apples were likely planted sometime in the 1920's, when the house was originally built. We have two varieties that produce well, and we have no real way to determine what kind they are. We think that one of them (the one members will mainly receive) is Duchess of Oldengurg, based on input from neighbors and online descriptions of the fruit. They are a bit tart, but also spicy, juicy, and sweet. I love to eat them fresh but some may find them too tart. They are excellent cooking apples.

So, how should you cook them?

Eight Great Things to do with APPLES

1. Sauce them. I use a food mill when I make apple sauce. I halve the apples but do not peel or core them. Simmer them in a heavy bottomed pot with about an inch of water (just so they don't burn) until they are completely soft, run them through the food mill, and can in quart sized jars (which require 20 minutes in a boiling water bath). If you don't have a food mill you can peel and core before simmering and then just mash them if they don't soften completely through cooking. Whatever method you use, you can add whatever sweeteners or flavorings you like as well. I like my applesauce plain.
2. Make Apple Sauce Pie. If you find yourself with a few jars of applesauce on the shelf in mid January try making a pie with some. Combine three cups apple sauce, one and a half cups cream (or evaporated milk), four eggs, 2/3 cup sugar (if using unsweetened sauce), 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour it into a pie shell and bake at 425 for 15 minutes, and then at 350 until it's set (45 minutes to an hour). It's basically a pumpkin pie with apples instead of pumpkin and, as far as I know, I invented it (probably others have made it - but sometimes I like to pretend I am a genius).
3. Make Apple Cake. I made an apple cake for Seda's birthday this year (with sungold tomato frosting - which was way better than it sounds) and she loved it. Your family will too. The internet is crawling with apple cake recipes and I actually forget which one I used. Be adventurous and try one!
4. Caramelize them. Those of you that (wisely) eschew corn syrup should move on to the next idea. Those that occasionally indulge read on. Melt caramel cubes in a crock pot with a little bit of water (otherwise it gets all lumpy). If you are planning to do this with your kids keep in mind that it takes a while for the caramels to melt (about an hour on high in my crock pot) so prepare them for a wait. Once the caramel is smooth, dip in apples that have popsicle sticks stuck in them. Allow excess caramel to drip off and roll the apples in something good like peanuts, coconut, sprinkles, or crushed cookies. I especially like coconut. Have waxed paper on hand to set them on. They'll stick to whatever they touch!
5. Saute them. Chop them into bite sized pieces (one apple per person plus an extra "for the pot") and saute them in olive oil or butter, depending on what you're going for. If you want something sweet add a bit of sugar or honey, some cinnamon or nutmeg, and a little vanilla. If you want something savory add some black pepper and garlic, chopped kale or chard, and a little balsamic vinegar or grate some cheddar cheese over them when they're done (which is whenever they're as soft as you like them). 
6. Make Campfire Apples. Make a fire and let it burn to coals. Core apples, place each on a square of tinfoil and fill the middles with a little butter, rolled oats, sugar/honey, and dried fruit. Wrap up the apples in the tin foil and place them in the coals. Let them cook until they are completely tender.  
7. Apples, Potatoes, and Sausage. To serve four people brown a pound of your favorite kind of sausages (I like to use sweet Italian for this - the fennel goes great with the apples) in a medium frying pan. Slice the sausage into 1 inch pieces, return it to the pan, then add 4 apples (chopped into bite sized pieces) and two large potatoes (sliced thinly) to the pan. Add a little olive oil if there isn't enough fat in the pan to keep the apples and potatoes from sticking. Saute until the sausage is fully cooked and the apples and potatoes are tender. This is great with homemade sauerkraut.
8. Bake them with Sweet Potatoes. Core four apples. Slice them about 1/4 inch thick. Slice a pound of sweet potatoes 1/4 thick. Layer these slices so they are just overlapping in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and freshly ground nutmeg. Add a tiny bit of apple juice or water (to just barely moisten). Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 until tender, about 45 minutes.

WHEW! I hope you all enjoy your apples!

Sweet Potatoes Revisited

So, as you can probably tell, I am completely new to this blogging thing. I wrote my first post about a month and a half ago. I've been surprised to find that I have a few readers that are enjoying the blog as much as I am, and I'm excited to see where it goes. Thanks to everyone who has taken an interest and read along with me so far.


Highlights from the 2010 sweet potato harvest.

The above mentioned first post was all about harvesting sweet potatoes from our hoophouse. I wrote it on a whim while I was in bed for a few days with some back pain that has been bothering me on and off since my pregnancy, which is why it has such an engrossing opening. I think the posts have gotten a tiny bit better since then, hopefully they will continue to do so.

Things do tend to get better with time.

My daughter, playing with the giant two pound sweet potato.
It's been in storage two months now. This one's destined to become Thanksgiving pie.
We had our first snow this weekend, hence the snowman jammies.

The sweet potatoes certainly have. They were respectably tasty right after we harvested them in mid September. They had a lot of sweet potato flavor, especially in the skin, and wonderful fresh earthiness, but they were also a tad starchy. We weren't worried about the starchiness though. Starchiness is to be expected in an uncured sweet potato. We ate a lot of them and gave each of our members five pounds (it was a good harvest) with instructions to store them for a while so that their sweetness would develop. We also stored several pounds in our unheated porch. We just started pulling out some of the stored sweet potatoes and popping them in the oven about a week ago and, oh man, they are like little roasted honey pies.

I also included a recipe in that first post, for sweet potato curry. Um, it wasn't really a curry, but it had a simple to make masala and I didn't know what else to call it so I went with curry. Sweet potatoes with warm Indian inspired spices just sounds kind of froofy to my ear.

The recipe improved with time too, and repeated preparation. So I'm sharing it again, with improvements, just in time for Thanksgiving. In our house the sweet potato "curry" is served with brown rice as a main course. But if you take away the rice, add some turkey, cranberry relish, and cornbread stuffing I'm pretty sure you'll have a perfect Thanksgiving side. My, this is a versatile recipe.

Revamped Sweet Potato Curry

I've added some carrots, parsnips, and apples to the dish which has made it crunchier, earthier, and sweeter than the original version. I've also changed the peanut oil to coconut oil, which brings out the nutty flavors of the root vegetables. If you don't have coconut oil, don't let that stop you from making this. Peanut oil (the fat used in the original version) is delicious too.

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 small jalapeño, with or without seeds (to taste) minced
• 1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• masala, recipe below
• 3 medium sweet potatoes (to total 1.5 pounds), sliced 1/4 inch thick, large rounds halved
• 2 large carrots (to total 1/2 pound), sliced into rounds about 1/2 as thick as the sweet potatoes
• 2-3 parsnips (to total 1/2 pound), prepared as the carrots
• 1-2 apples (to total 1/2 pound), cored and chopped in 1/4 inch pieces

1. In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, jalapeño, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion has broken apart and is becoming translucent.
3. Stir in the masala. Continue to stir until it is very aromatic, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips and stir to coat with spices.
5. Turn the heat down to low, cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, 20 - 30 minutes.
6. Stir in the diced apple, cover and cook until the apples are heated through but still firm, about 5 minutes.

To make the masala: 

• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black mustard seed
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cardamom seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all of the spices and the salt and grind them with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder. The final product does not need to be super fine, just broken up into small enough pieces that it will be pleasant to eat. I like a little texture to my spice, but big pieces can be bitter if you bite into them in the final dish.

Sweet Potato Time

There are still a few in the ground but, sadly, my back aches so right now I am going to write about them instead of harvest them.

My husband and I (well, mostly the husband) managed to grow about 100 pounds of sweet potatoes - way up north in the land of 6 month long winters - so right now the world is pretty much about sweet potatoes for me.  After sharing them with the CSA members we still have quite a bounty so I have been putting them in everything. These are two of my favorite highlights.

I cooked some up in olive oil with walnuts, balsamic vinegar, and fresh pepper as a quick snack for the baby.

She has a pretty sophisticated palate for a one year old.

And I also created a simple to make sweet potato curry.

The curry is best served over brown rice that has been cooked with a bit of salt and a large pinch of whole cumin seed.

Sweet Potato Curry
• 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon peanut oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped roughly into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 small jalapeno, sliced into very thin rounds
• 1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled, sliced into thin rounds, rounds quartered
• 2 teaspoons homemade masala (see below) or store bought masala
• 3 medium sweet potatoes (to total 1.5 pounds), sliced into rounds just less than 1/4 inch thick, halve any big rounds

1. In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, jalapeno, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion has broken apart and is becoming translucent.
3. Stir in the masala. Continue to stir until it is very aromatic, 15-30 seconds.
4. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat with spices.
5. Turn the heat down to low, cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are tender but not mushy, 20 - 30 minutes.

To make the masala: 

• 1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed
• 1/4 teaspoon whole black mustard seed
• 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
• 1/8 teaspoon whole cardamom seed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Combine all of the spices and the salt and grind them with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder. The final product does not need to be super fine, just broken up into small enough pieces that it will be pleasant to eat. I like a little texture to my spice, but big pieces can be bitter if you bite into them in the final dish. In the end, you should have about two teaspoons of masala.

I was only allowed to take the leftovers to work the next day after I promised my husband that I would make it as often as possible.