Apple mango crisp

It's apple time! There's nothing more fun than taking an otherwise healthy food and turning into a delicious sweet fest for an after dinner treat. In this case we're talking about the influx of apple goodness that arrives this time of year. And with all those delicious apples laying around, they're just asking to be converted, aren't they? Apple crisp, apple pie, baked apples...you name it. This is a sweet and sour take on an old stand by. The original recipe was from Taste of Home, but as usual I've played with it a little bit.

Apple mango crisp

Ingredients:
  ● 3/4  cup whole wheat flour
  ● 3/4  cup rolled oats
  ● 1/2  cup toasted wheat germ
  ● 1/2  cup packed brown sugar
  ● 2  tsp. ground cinnamon
  ● 1/4  cup butter, melted
  ● 4  green cooking apples (I used Granny Smith)
  ● 2  red cooking apples (I used Gala)
  ● 4  tbsp. fresh lime juice
  ● 3  medium mangoes, pitted, peeled, and chopped
  ● 1/2  cup chopped pecans
  ● whipped cream for topping (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Coat two 1-1/2- or 2-quart baking dishes or a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. For topping, in a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 cup of the flour, the oats, wheat germ, brown sugar or substitute, and cinnamon. Stir in butter; set aside.
3. Core and chop apples; place in a very large bowl. Stir in lime juice. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup flour. Fold in mango.
4. Place apple-mango mixture in the baking dish(es). Top with oat topping. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans; bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until apples are tender.
5. Cool slightly. Serve warm. I top it with homemade whipped cream. Yum.

Serves 16 (or 8, if you serve it the way we do)

Pumpkin soup

Yes, another pumpkin recipe! We are truly embracing the fall flavors around here. This is actually my own concoction (although not a very original one), and Jon said it was pretty darn good, and that's a quote.

Pumpkin soup

Yield: 6-8
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: ~20 minutes

Ingredients:
  ● 6 cups pumpkin puree
  ● 4-5 cups vegetable broth (chicken would also work)
  ● 2 tbsp butter
  ● 2-4 garlic cloves, diced
  ● 1-2 medium onions, chopped
  ● 3-4 tsp curry powder
  ● 1 tsp corriander
  ● salt & pepper, to taste
  •  1/2-1 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender (~10 minutes)
2. Meanwhile, in a medium pot combine pumpkin puree and vegetable broth and stir well. Add curry powder, coriander, salt, and pepper and stir until combined.
3. When onions are done scrape pan into soup and stir well. Heat over medium heat for 10-20 mintues, or until soup is hot and flavors are well combined. Sometimes I add heavy whipping cream at this point, stir to combine, then cook an additional 5 minutes or so. Serve hot, topped with roasted pumpkin seeds if desired.

Weekly plan, 10/26

Organic delivery this week: 2 avocados, 4 bananas, 4 pears, 7 honey crisp apples, 4 kiwi, 2 bunches of kale, 1 bunch rainbow carrots, 1 bunch celery, 1lb gold potatoes, 1.5lb jewel yams, 1 bunch spinach, 1.5lbs yellow onions, 4 pie pumpkins, 1 1/2 gallon apple cider.

Dairy delivery this week: Two 1/2 gallons of 2% milk, 1 pint heavy whipping cream, butter, eggs

Monday - French spaghetti and sweet potatoes (using hamburger from our freezer, noodles from our pantry, and garlic, onion, and sweet potatoes from previous deliveries)

Tuesday - Spinach quiche and pumpkin soup (using eggs from our dairy delivery and spinach from our organic delivery, and pantry items for the homemade crust, then pumpkins from the delivery and cream from the dairy delivery for the soup).

Wednesday - It's pumpkin carving night! That means it's Irish boiled dinner and Irish soda bread (using carrots and potatoes from the organic delivery and several pantry items)

Thursday - Leftover quiche

Friday - Zupa Toscana (using kale and potatoes from the delivery, whipping cream from the dairy delivery, and sausage from the freezer)

Saturday - Halloween! Time for Halloween soup (better known as vegetable beef) and homemade rolls (using carrots and celery from the delivery)

Sunday - Leftover soup

Other things that are on our cooking list for this week—Apple mango crisp (using apples and mangoes from last week's delivery). Also, bagels got put off again, and they're even iffy for this week. I will have time one of these days...

Grocery list - For dinners this week I will need mushrooms and feta cheese for quiche, brisket and cabbage for boiled dinner, and noodles, beef, and barley for Halloween soup. As usual we need OJ, and I need a few lunch items, like Greek yoghurt. We also need to replenish several staples this week, like olive oil, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, honey, oats, and salt. I think that's about it. Happy week!

Pumpkin pecan muffins

Another pumpkin recipe in celebration of fall! I adapted the muffin recipe from one that was intended for bread. The final muffin product was very moist, and received the Jon seal of approval.

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Ingredients:
  ● 1/2 cup butter, softened
  ● 1/2 cup sugar
  ● 2 eggs
  ● 1 cup pumpkin puree
  ● 2 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cups whole wheat and 1/2 cup all purpose)
  ● 2 tsp. baking powder
  ● 1/4 tsp. salt
  ● 2 tsp. cinnamon
  ● 1 tsp. nutmeg
  ● 1 cup milk
  ● 1/2-1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Cream butter, then gradually add sugar and beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add pumpkin and beat well. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and spices; mix well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Fold pecans into batter. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until golden.

Garden kale soup

I found this recipe, or something like it, doing a search for ways to use kale. I love kale, and with winter coming we're likely to see a lot of it in our organic deliveries. Yum!
To the original recipe I added celery and twice the garlic, and cut the number of potatoes; I increased the amount of tomatoes and beans used while switching from canned to fresh/rehydrated; I also changed dried parsley to fresh and added a little more.
This is a great vegetarian meal for those chilly fall, or winter, nights. I served it with homemade multi-grain peasant bread and apple crisp (an extra fall treat!).

Garden Kale Soup

Ingredients:
  ● 2 tbsp. olive oil
  ● 1 yellow onion, chopped
  ● 4 tbsp. chopped garlic
  ● 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
  ● 3 celery ribs, chopped
  ● 8 vegetable broth
  ● 6-8 tomatoes, diced
  ● 4 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
  ● 3 cups rehydrated cannellini beans (or 2 cans)
  ● 2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
  ● 3 tbsp. snipped fresh parsley
  ● salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
 1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot; cook the onion and garlic until soft. Stir in kale and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the water, vegetable bouillon, celery, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Simmer soup on medium heat for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.