Don’t we all, whether we have gardens or apple trees, as it was a bumper year! A friend of mine says the local down low this time of year is to keep your car locked in the church parking lot or you will go home with all kinds of local produce including loads of zucchini, cucumbers, squash, etc. A couple people say these items mysteriously turn up in their garages and I have even seen plastic bags of “free apples” in public entry ways and hanging from front yard fences. I guess you have to share the bounty any way you can! So, after harvesting and preserving is completed it’s time to use our product. I somehow ended up with about a dozen squash, lots of grated zucchini in the freezer and several dozen apples in my larder. So, what to do with this combination?
First up was Curry Squash Apple Soup. I am not big on following recipes and folks here in the Midwest are great cooks so I will spare you quantities. I baked and cooled the squash while sautéing chopped onions and peppers. I grated zucchini and apples and added them to the veggie mixture and sautéed until soft. I added lots of spices to this mixture including curry, cumin, coriander, cayenne, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. I heated up a seasoned liquid mix (broth, wine, juice, water from roasting the squash, etc.). I then blenderized all three things (squash, veggie mix and broth) together in batches so as not to overload my blender. I simmered the soup for a good hour so the ingredients came together. You can modify the thickness as desired by using more or less of the liquid mixture. Serve with a little milk/cream/cream cheese/yogurt and chopped parsley or cilantro if you have it. Chopped nuts on top would be good too. You could also use sweet potatoes and/or carrots for this soup and I wonder if you could use pumpkin? Also, feel free to spice it to your taste; I think my neighbors might have preferred it without the curry!
Next I tried Cornmeal Apple Zucchini Muffins. I start with a basic recipe for baked goods but usually modify it. You might want to find a recipe online for this as well as the one I used called for 4 cups of grated zucchini which I think was a bit much and I had to bake them longer as a result. I replaced some of the zucchini with grated apples, used a mix of flours and added several tablespoons of both flax meal and crushed dried kale to kick them up a notch nutritionally. I will add lemon rind and nutmeg next time I make them. They were especially good with the soup! I froze most of them and am heating them up one at a time for breakfast or as an evening snack with a little pear compote and a dab of Greek yogurt. Yum!
I have also been adding chopped squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini and apples to my Veggie Stir Fry the last several weeks which pairs well with pork, chicken and eggs. My weaving mentor keeps me well supplied with eggs so my next challenge is to use them in various main course dishes. I have been eating hard boiled eggs on toast with the last of my tomatoes for breakfast. I just saw eggs poached in a stewed tomato sauce on a cooking show that looked good. I enjoy a nice frittata and would like to try a savory soufflé but will not be trying to replicate a divine white angel food cake I had at a wedding last weekend; it will just have to live on in my sweet dreams. I just love the home grown healthy food part of my “coming home” adventures! 2018