The last of the warm weather has finally left us and the seasons first cold snaps have chilled what’s left of the garden. The cosmos that bloomed in the back garden along side paste tomatoes have finally been killed off by a few cold nights in a row. Whatever squash, amaranth and cover crops were standing until were swiftly frozen by a spooky low of 21F on Halloween night.
Throughout October I was swimming in apples on a weekly basis and did a lot of baking and slow cooking to use up the local harvest. ~6-8lbs of honeycrisp later, I made a couple of apple crisp things that’s either breakfast or dessert depending on your mood, 5.5 jars of apple butter and 5 jars of apple cider vinegar fermenting~
apple butter~
This is the second time I’ve made apple butter using a crockpot and I think it’ll be my go to because other than chopping 6ish pounds of apples, that’s all the work involved. Once chopped, brown sugar, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom) and a date or two get added and they all get to know each other for 8 hours or so. Then into the Vitamix it goes to get blended into syrup-y goodness. This batch came out a little runnier and more airy than my last batch and I think that’s from using a blender. Hand mashing gives a bit more texture but contributes to the work involved so it depends on how lazy you’re feeling~
apple bakes~
While apples are pretty versatile in terms of being baked, roasted, chopped, mashed, juiced, etc but I was kind of winging it when it came to these bakes I made. They turned into semi-dry apple lasagnas that were layered between an oat, brown sugar and spice mix that made the house smell delightful. It doesn’t stay together when portioned but is a yummy addition to coconut yogurt, cocowhip, ice cream and peanut butter~
apple cider vinegar~
This is my second jump into making vinegar and it seems to be going much better than my last attempt. I’m using the recipe from Zero Waste Chef as it’s straightforward and ZWC is my go-to for anything in the beginner realm of fermenting. It was a great way to use up all these apples I suddenly had and this vinegar can be used in so many different ways. Aside from using in cooking, salad dressings and lemon juice stand in, it can also be used as a hair rinse, cleaning and even wood stain! Which I’m very interested in trying on something I make in Mike’s woodshop but that’s yet another project I haven’t started~
sourdough loafs~
After feeding, baking and practically begging people to take some at the farmer’s market, I’ve been successful with my sourdough starter and the delish breads and pizza doughs that it’s responsible for. I’m not a fan of how time consuming folding and soaking flours is but it’s an easy thing to do between other things like laundry and playing with the dogs~ It hasn’t gotten to a very sour level as of late and reminds me more of cheese-its than bread but it really shines as pizza dough with a homemade red sauce so it’ll be sticking around in my recipe rotation.
With the cold weather and darker days settling over us in the Northeast, it’s a good time to appreciated the abundance of this past grow season, bake some treats for your loved ones, and hone some new skills for next year~