I Dip, You Dip, We Dip: Ricotta, Gorgonzola & Honey Apple Dip

Oh I'm on fire with the corny blog titles tonight!  Watch out now!

A few years ago, my childhood bestie and Barefoot Contessa fangirl, Miss Katie Jane (no Jane is not her middle or even last name, but for some reason my family always called her that) had a pre-Christmas cookie exchange/lots of wine & appetizers night.  I remember this night for two very distinct reasons.  1.)  It was the night that the Mister presented me with my wedding ring (we'd been engaged for over a month, because I'm the kind of gal who could care less about diamond and rings until they arrive and I'm all oooooo it's shiny!), and 2.) RICOTTA...GORGONZOLA...HONEY...DIP.  The night you get your wedding ring is a pretty big honkin' deal, so you know that dip had to be gooooood.  And the way Katie served it and I continue to serve it, is always with slices of crisp apples.  Because then you feel all healthy when you're eating an entire bowl of fancy cheese

So since we're getting more glorious apples this week in the Crop Share, what better way to enjoy them then dipped in some delicious dip.  Plus, honey is a major player in this dip, so snag some local honey while you're in to pick up your Crop Share, and get a jump on fighting seasonal allergies!  I also tend to think this dip would be really good slathered on burgers, so if you're breaking out your grill this weekend (I've given up looking at the forecast, is it going to snow, rain, be summer, or locusts?) then have some dip with some apples, slather some on a burger with the green leaf lettuce as a garnish.  Basically, I've now made you all crave juicy hamburgers, haven't I?  Ooo, even some lamb burgers with super thin slices of apple and this dip slathered on.  Okay, okay, I'm stopping!

Ricotta, Gorgonzola & Honey Apple Dip

Ingredients:

1 15 oz carton of part-skim ricotta

6 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1/4 tsp dried thyme (use 1/2 tsp if using fresh)

1/8 tsp dried rosemary (use 1/4 tsp if using fresh)

1 heaping Tbsp local honey

2-3 apples, sliced

Lemon juice

In a medium sized bowl, using a hand mixer, whip up the ricotta until nice and smooth.  About 2-3 minutes.  Then fold in gorgonzola, herbs and honey, mixing until fully blended.  Transfer to a smaller bowl for serving, cover and let chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, up to a full 24 hours.

Slice apples shortly before you're ready to serve.  Toss apple slices in some lemon juice to help prevent browning, and serve with the dip.

Gettin' Sauced: Homemade Cran-Applesauce

After last week's medley of fantastic baking apples, and with the hoard that was growing in my fruit bowl, I knew another batch of homemade applesauce was needed, stat!  In the last Crop Share spoiler e-mail I mentioned I was drooling over the idea of a cranberry applesauce, and tonight I finally had the chance to bring that drool-worthy dream to life.  And oh honey is it goooooooooood!  Next time I may opt to add a generous splash of vanilla, just because, but it doesn't even need it.  Cran-Applesauce, you are perfect...just the way you are.

Homemade Cran-Applesauce

Ingredients:

8-9 apples, peeled, cored and cubed (assorted varieties work best, I had 5 Pink Lady and 4 Rome apples -- which I just learned, originated in my home state of Ohio...O-H-)
1 heaping cup of fresh cranberries
1/2 to 3/4 cup water (mine was more on the 3/4 side as I knew the Rome's weren't going to be overly juicy)
1/4 cup local honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a Dutch oven add in cubed apples, cranberries, water, and honey.  Give it a few stirs to evenly coat everything and then cover the pot and place it into the oven at 350 for about an hour.  You'll want to check it a few times and stir it just to make sure the apples and cranberries on the bottom aren't scorching.

After an hour has passed, give it a check and if they're looking nice and saucy, remove from oven and give it a good whisk just to break up some of the larger chunks and make sure that all of the cranberries have burst.  Taste and adjust with additional honey if you need it (mine was the perfect combo of sweet and tart with no addition needed).

Serve warm or allow to cool before placing in an air tight jar for use over the next few days.  My batch made a whole quart plus about 3/4 of a pint.

Feelin' Apple-Saucy!

So if you're like me, you just now polished off the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers.  And now I feel like all I should exist on is lettuce, air and water.  That container of chocolate frosting probably didn't help matters, but hey, it's also my birthday week (in fact, it's my birthday today, the big 3-2!) so it was necessary.  So with the double dip of fruit in this week's share, I think it calls for some sort of homemade applesauce.  We have a great base recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce that is sweetened with only the natural sweetness of the apples and 1/4 cup of local honey.  No other added sugar and the only other ingredients are water and cinnamon.  Four ingredient magic!  So I'm thinking of doing a little saucy experimentation and using the mixture of baking apples this week for some blended flavor applesauce.  We're also getting tangelos, so maybe I'll throw in some nutmeg, ground clove and some tangelo peel and the juice of 1 (I'll reduce the amount of honey to probably an 1/8 cup) to make a Citrus Spiced Applesauce.  But I keep eyeing the cranberries in the store, so I'm also thinking of tossing a handful to maybe a 1/2 cup of cranberries into the mix, holding the cinnamon and making a Cran-Applesauce!  So many possibilities!

Who's up for the challenge of concocting a fun applesauce blend?  If you come up with your own based off of our original recipe, e-mail your recipe our way to cropshare@nallsproduce.com and we'll feature it here!

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

Thanksgiving Favorites: Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

Thanksgiving In Nalls’ Kitchen!

7310 Beulah Street, Franconia, VA 22315

(703) 971-4068 ~ info@nallsproduce.com

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

Ingredients:

8 apples, peeled, cored and cubed (using a mixture of different apples gives great results)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup local honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a Dutch oven add in cubed apples, water, honey and cinnamon.  Give it a few stirs to evenly coat everything and then cover the pot and place it into the oven at 350 for about an hour.  You'll want to check it a few times and stir it just to make sure the apples on the bottom aren't scorching.

After an hour has passed, checked the apples and if they're looking nice and saucy, remove from oven and give it a good whisk just to break up some of the larger chunks and make sure that the honey and cinnamon are well blended throughout.  Taste and adjust with additional honey or cinnamon if you need it (mine was perfectly sweet with no addition needed).

Serve warm or allow to cool before placing in an air tight jar for use over the next few days.  My batch made a whole quart plus about a half-cup extra.

An Apple A Day In Time For Turkey Day!

It's almost Thanksgiving so that means it's time to get ready to get your bake on!  And the Rome apples in this week's share are a perfect baking apple.  So while I await some of you to send in your family apple pie recipes, here are some of our favorite baking with apple recipes to get your wheels turning for the holiday.

I have the pleasure of hosting my very first Thanksgiving this year (for possibly 13 people...help me ghost of Julia Child!), and right now I'm torn between making a Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake and this, my no-fail standby...

Cinnamon Apple Tart

It's all the fun of an apple pie, minus having to fight with a top crust.  I simply cannot abide getting my edges perfect and do not talk to me about a lattice top, there is not enough wine in my apartment for such baking intricacies.  Plus, this tart is delicious with a caramel sauce drizzled over top.  Hmm, a caramel sauce with some apple cider whisked in.  Ooo, that needs to happen!




Also, I've been hoarding apples since the Fall Crop Share round because I plan on making some homemade applesauce.  So if you have a mish-mosh of apples you've been collecting, this will use them right up, plus it will dazzle your guests that you made your own applesauce.  Even stir in some pumpkin puree for a pumpkin applesauce!

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

Perhaps you're flying solo for Thanksgiving, or it's just you and your sweetie, and the idea of making a huge feast is a tad illogical.  Then you can still plan on getting your apple dessert fix the quick and easy way with some quick 2 minute, microwave apple crisp.  Each serving is cooked in it's own mason jar or microwave safe mug, making clean up a breeze.

2 Minute Mason Jar Apple Crisp

These are some of our favorites, now send us some of yours!  Send your family apple pie recipes to cropsharerecipes@nallsproduce.com and we'll feature them here in the next week!

Juice It Up!

So this Monday I had the pleasure of partnering with Pat Backe of Senior Fall Prevention and Kingstowne Pilates to host a Juicing With Greens workshop at the Kingstowne Center for Active Adults.  It was a fantastic class with lots of hilarity (a juiced apple spurting across the room) and extreme randomness (ginger root pilfering), but the juices that Pat whipped up for all of us were fantastic.  So since much of the ingredients focused on seasonal items that we're all getting right now, I thought I'd share the two recipes from Monday with you.  If you don't have a juicer, you can still use a blender to make these items, though I'd recommend peeling the items first, and just know that they won't be as smooth and pulp free as if you were using a juicer.  But no matter what equipment you have, just be sure to wash all of your fruits and vegetables well beforehand.

ABC (Apple-Beet-Carrot) Juice

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 apple (we used Suncrisp)
2 beets
3 large carrots
1" knob of ginger, peeled
Handful of kale, spinach or even toss in the beet greens

Kale-Aid Juice

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
5 large kale leaves
1-2 cucumbers
1 lemon, peeled
1 apple (we used Suncrisp)
1" knob of ginger, peeled (for more kick add 2 or 3 pieces of ginger)
1-2 large celery ribs

For both recipes, wash your ingredients well, then cup them up as needed to fit through the chute of your juicer or to make blending easier.  Juice the ingredients in the order they're listed and serve immediately with or without ice.

Cropshare Member Guestpost: Louise B's Squash-Cauliflower Soup

I ate cauliflower, but it was delicious because it wasn’t cauliflower

So, I’m taking a crack at this – once upon a time in a land far, far away (Richmond) my husband (CRB) and I had a blog of places we went to eat there were amazing, but that stopped when we moved to Herndon exactly four years ago (now we’re in Alexandria) and our lives haven’t been right-side-up since!  But, through four years of insanity, we have maintained one thing – our undeniable adulation for eating delicious things. My boss loves to say, “I eat to live, but you clearly live to eat.” And that we do!

So when I joined the crop share I was excited, but I was dismayed to find out that cauliflower was in our first crate. I looked at CRB and said “Really? I think I made a mistake.” He laughed and told me it would be fine. Then he went to play with the dog (our 1-year old Yorkie, Pickles), so I figured I had to make a plan for this cruciferous crime against yum. We’ve been experimenting (gently, because I have nut allergies) with paleo-type meals, and I found this recipe below, which hides the fact that cauliflower is even there. It masks it and uses it as a thickener, which I must say, is what it’s AMAZING for! My husband did nearly remove one of his digits chopping the squash (while I languished in bed until about 11 am on a Saturday…aaah, the joys of marrying an early bird), so I recommend checking out Tara’s blog on dissecting the butternut squash to remove the “honey, do you think this is bad enough for a doctor or can we just staple it back together?” discussion from your life. And no, I’m not kidding about the staple comment. He’s done that. Sigh.

Louise B's Squash-Cauliflower Soup

1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 butternut squash, cubed

2 acorn squashes, cubed

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 apple, cored and chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

½ can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 tablespoon raw honey

1-2 teaspoons salt

⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

dash of black pepper

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Place all ingredients into a slow-cooker and roast on low for at least 8 hours (we did it for 24 because we kept forgetting to eat it. Or maybe I kept forgetting to remind him to eat it…maybe). Stir every so often to rotate the ingredients. When done, use an immersion blender or food processor to puree everything. Enjoy!

This had me looking at him saying “did we forget to put cauliflower in here? I don’t taste sadness, I taste only happiness!” He rolled his eyes and batted our pup from his lap saying “NO Pickles, this is daddy’s dinner!” So even the dog liked it…still not sure if that’s a compliment, given that he eats leaves and pine needles when we’re not looking. But the hubs loves it, and has loved having it as a leftover in his lunch, so that was good enough for me! I hope you’ll try this and find it to be delicious too.

Sausage & Apple Acorn Squash via Crop Share Member Kat

Last week Crop Share member Kat commented on one of our posts on Facebook saying that she was going to take the acorn squash and stuff it with apples and sausage.  Um...YUM!  So we asked her to send her delicious-sounding recipe our way, and here it is for all of us to enjoy, Sausage & Apple Acorn Squash.  I love that she recommends using pastured pork, meaning free range, happy, roaming about pork.  Happy pork makes yummy pork!

Sausage & Apple Acorn Squash via Kat

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash (sliced in half and seeds removed)
1/2 lb Pastured pork (I recommend Mt. Vernon Grassfed Farm, Smith Meadows Farm or Fields of Athenry)
2 apples (chopped into small pieces)
1/2 red onion (chopped into small pieces)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover squash halves with foil and bake at 400 for about 1 hour.  Each half will be a bowl.

Brown sausage in skillet, remove meat to drain off fat.

Add the sausage back into the skillet and mix with the apples and onions.

Spoon mixture into the baked acorn squash bowls.

Top with Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired.

Sweet Day In The Morning, It's Sweet Potato Season!

So, unfortunately, my brain hates freedom tonight and no amount of Advil or Tylenol is touching it.  I am actually blogging in sunglasses at the moment.  Classy.  Thus, for now at least, this week's posts will be rather short and sweet.  In the Spoiler e-mail we linked you to our favorite, simple preparation for Sauteed Swiss Chard, which doesn't exactly scream Labor Day picnic food, but thankfully with this week's bounty of fruit you'll be able to throw together a wonderful fruit salad, fruit crisp, or even go all-American with some apple pie (or tart it up a bit!).  But I've got two preparations for those sweet potatoes for you.  One (an oldie but a goodie from our Crop Share vault) that will be a healthy, yet filling game day recipe now that football season is upon us (I might as well draw ire where I can...Go Colts!) and then another to take you from the gridiron to the grill and have you set for this weekend's picnic circuit.  Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!  Now where's a nice, dark and quiet room for me to hide?

Veggie & Chicken Sausage Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Scallions via Martha Stewart

Cinnamon Apple Tart

I'm slightly obsessed with tarts, to the point that I will concoct new ones even while battling pneumonia and heavily medicated.  But from the start, I've relied on a no-fail tart crust as the base for all these creations and it never disappoints.  The base recipe for this tart will take you through all seasons, working with nearly any fruit, chocolate, caramel & pecans, or any other glorious delights you can dream up!  Your family will think you've been sneaking away to pastry school when you take this week's granny smith apples and turn them into this fanciful tart.

Cinnamon Apple Tart

For the crust (makes one 9-inch tart crust):

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

3 Tbsp water

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 Tbsp sugar

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place the butter, oil, water and salt in a small saucepan and heat on high until the butter is fully melted and it begins to bubble around the edges.  Allow to cool for a minute or so.  In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup of the flour and all of the sugar, and begin to pour in the butter mixture, mixing with a wooden spoon to combine.  Gradually add in more of the flour until the dough begins to form into a ball and the mixture no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Turn our your dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, and if you don't have access to one of those, you can absolutely use a pie pan and MacGyver it from there.  Press the dough evenly into the pan across the bottoms and the sides.

For this recipe you'll only want to partially bake your crust, so you'll want to bake it for only 5-8 minutes or until the crust is starting to firm.  But for future use, should you wish to fully bake it, go ahead and leave it in for 10-15 minutes, and keep an eye on your edges so they don't burn.

Remove your par-baked crust from the oven and let it cool while you prepare your apple filling.

For the filling:

1 cup ground hazelnuts

1/2 cup sugar

3 granny smith apples, sliced thin

2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp quince jam (an apricot jam would also work, and I suspect even local honey would too!)

1 Tbsp water

Combine your ground hazelnuts and 1/4 cup of the sugar, and sprinkle it into the bottom of the tart crust.  In a bowl, toss your apple slices with the remaining sugar and cinnamon, and then begin to layer them on top of your hazelnut base.  You can get as fancy or as rustic as you want, basically as long as you refrain from heaping them into a pile, it's going to turn out looking great.  So don't drive yourself batty trying to get perfect layers.  And the best part is, the chef gets to eat any of the cinnamon apple pieces that don't make it into the tart.  Shhhhh!  Dot the top with your butter pieces, sprinkle with lemon juice and bake at 400 for 30 minutes, or until your edges are a light, golden brown and the apples are tender.

To give your tart a bit of a glaze, combine your jam or honey and water in a small saucepan and heat through, but do not bring to a full boil.  Lightly brush over the top of the fruit, let your tart cool on a wire rack  and serve at room temperature.

*For a gluten-free version, I've actually started using the hazelnut & sugar mixture for the crust.  I keep a jar of the sugary hazelnut meal on hand to use for baking, so I would do 4 cups of ground hazelnuts with 1 cup of sugar, and that should give you more than you'd need for 1 tart.  So to turn that into your crust, combine that with about 1/4 cup melted butter (you can adjust more or less to make sure it's not too dry or too soggy) and then press it into your tart pan.  Partially bake it at 400 degrees for 3-5 minutes or until the crust just starts to turn golden.  And then you can proceed from there with the filling as shown above.

Are you guys addicted to Pinterest like I am? So many great recipes and photos. Yum!

The apples you are getting this week are Romes. Great for baking. Here is a Pinterest recipe that is going around a lot, and seasonally appropriate to boot!

It comes from a fellow blogger at Home is where the Boat is . Enjoy!

Irish Apple Cake, serves 8

Cake Ingredients

2 large cooking apples, such as Granny Smith

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup superfine sugar (or same amount of granulated sugar processed in a food processor for 1 minute)

2 eggs

1-2 tablespoons milk

confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Streusel Topping Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup superfine sugar

 

It's super easy, visit her blog for the step-by-step directions. http://homeiswheretheboatis.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/irish-apple-cake/#comment-18768

Arugula, Glazed Walnut and Apple Salad

Arugula is hands down my favorite green to use in salads. I love it on pizza too. The natural bite it has to it pairs well with fruit and almost all cheeses. This simple salad is a great side, starter or light lunch. 

Ingredients:
5 oz wild arugula
1 apple, pear, or both cored and sliced thinly
1/4 cup store bought glazed walnuts
shaved parmesan or goat cheese crumbles
salt and pepper, to taste

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://jinkzzkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/wild-arugula-glazed-walnuts-and-apple.html

Grilled Island Chicken Lettuce Wraps

To make a good lettuce wrap, you've gotta have the perfect wrapper. That means fresh lettuce. Boston lettuce also known as butter lettuce is the perfect leafy green to load up and roll. This easy recipe makes for a perfect healthy lunch. The apples give it a nice little crunch and the fresh veggies give it a nice balance.

Ingredients:
For chicken and marinade:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons)
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely minced
half teaspoon dried oregano
quarter teaspoon salt
quarter teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-2 chicken breasts

Vegetables for wrap:
Boston lettuce
1 large lemon
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
large handful of green beans with ends trimmed
1 medium sweet onion
1 pepper
handful of spinach
1 large apple

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://www.letstalkfitness.com/grilled-island-chicken-lettuce-wraps