We cooked lunch for our church yesterday. You can’t go wrong with salad, ham, applesauce
and especially a cheesy, cream-soaked potato gratin. The members at St. John’s can eat! Interestingly, the big hit was Cathy’s
applesauce. She has been making it for
years, but this time we got me advice from Gary at Ray’s Greenhouse in Telford,
PA and adjusted the cooking technique a bit.
It made all the difference.
Buy food from Ray’s! Here’s
the contact info. http://www.yelp.com/biz/rays-greenhouse-telford They don’t seem to have a website. No big surprise there, plus don’t we want
them with their hands in the dirt, not head down on a keyboard? I can’t say enough good about these
folks. I stop there all year to buy what
is seasonal. The fall is when they
really shine. I get about 60 gallons of
cider from them every year, local apples, pressed in Zieglersville with no
added preservatives. They have a big
selection on pumpkins and odd looking, tasty squash. Broccoli, cabbage, potatoes and the most
beautiful, ivory colored cauliflower, along with the newer alien green
cauliflower, were available the last time I was in. There are often four or more types of sweet
potatoes and yams, all grown in their fields around Earlington. Ask Gary for the tutorial if you can spare a
bunch of time. I particularly like the Beauregard,
small, red, twisted little things with incredibly sweet flesh. They now have hydroponic lettuce all
year.
This is also your apple hookup. Unlike many other shops, the people at Ray’s know
what they are selling and can help you pick out the right apple for your
use. For example, Winesap is the best
eating apple, along with Jonathon and some of the golds. Empire is for pies. Gary told me that I should go with Cortland
if we are making applesauce, because it comes out a striking pink color. He was right.
Always trust your local farmer.
Here’s what we did, followed by a simple recipe for roasted parsnips, an
often neglected root vegetable.
_____
It confused me when a number of people at church told me
that they had never made their own applesauce and thought that it would be
difficult to make. This recipe and the
next exemplify the kind of things that I want everyone to try, easy, packed
with flavor and sure to delight the people around you. The keys are that you must use top quality
ingredients and understand the cooking techniques that work best for that
particular food.
To make great applesauce, you don’t have to knock yourself
out peeling and coring dozens of apples.
Additionally, this is something best made in bulk. Apples are inexpensive and this stuff gets
eaten up quickly. The thing that is
important about this recipe is that you will let the cooked apples sit on their
skins for 30 minutes, letting the skin contribute a nice pink color and some
tannin to the finished product, creating a more complex set of flavors than if
you had simply milled the apples when they had finished cooking. You may need some sugar to balance the
acidity. Use a light hand and your best judgment.
Applesauce
24 Cortland
apples
½ cup sugar
(if you think the finished product is too tart)
Quarter the
apples and put them in a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot with a tight-fitting lid. Turn the stove on high until the water begins
cooking out of the apples and you hear boiling in the pot. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally,
as the apples cook and turn to mush.
When all the apples are cooked, cover the pot, turn off the heat and let
it sit for 30 minutes.
After the
resting period, pass the apples through a food mill, removing the stems, cores
and peels. Refrigerate overnight and add
any sugar before serving.
_____
I am on a
righteous mission to popularize parsnips.
You’ve seen them in markets and on farm stands, but passed up on them,
probably because you didn’t know what to do with parsnips. Try this recipe. You will be converted and will become a
fanatical member of my cult. We try to
serve parsnips at all our dinner parties and have successfully converted a
number of heathens who had spent their lives wandering the wilderness of Giant’s
produce section.
Roasted
Parsnips
4 parsnips
1 tbs.
unsalted butter, softened (or substitute peanut oil)
salt and
pepper
Preheat your
oven to 375°.
Slice the
parsnips into sticks about 1/3 of an inch square and 5 inches long. The length does not matter as much as the
thickness, since you want them to roast evenly.
Put the parsnips in a mixing bowl.
Coat them with the butter and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Spread the
buttered parsnips on a baking sheet. Be
sure that they are in one layer, not touching, since that will prevent them
from browning evenly.
Put the
baking sheet in the oven. After 15
minutes, using tongs or a spatula, turn the parsnips. In another 15 minutes the parsnips should be
evenly browned, buttery and caramelized.
Remove from the pan and serve hot.
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