144. Squashed, but not defeated

September 1, 2015September 1, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 8 Comments

Is there any squash with better flavor than butternut?

It’s the only winter squash I’ve ever grown, because, really, why grow anything else?

The groundhogs like it too.

This summer, from four hills of squash, we grew 24 lovely butternuts. And seemingly overnight the groundhog took one or two bites out of half of them. When I discovered the treachery, I covered the garden plot with fencing, just casually thrown over the plants. It seemed to work, and the twelve unblemished squash remained perfect. They are currently curing in the side yard with some early onions.

But that left twelve of these beauties that couldn’t just be stored for fall.

I’ve been trying to can rather than freeze, because our freezer is full, and there’s not much room for anything extra. So I found this website from the University of Minnesota that recommends canning cubes of squash or pumpkin for 90 minutes (quarts) in a pressure canner.

Yes, I had just purchased a lovely made in USA granite-ware pressure canner; and I had two loads of green beans under my belt. I was ready for the 90-minute ordeal…

I peeled and chopped and steamed twelve butternut squash, just cutting out the groundhog bites — they were only skin deep, mostly — although there was one that he had obviously had for salad, dinner, and dessert. I only got half of that one…

I wish I had taken a picture of those lovely five quarts of squash for you.

But sixty minutes into the process, I could smell burnt squash. Not good.

I turned off the heat, waited until the pressure dropped, and opened the lid. The water in the canner was gone; it had boiled or steamed or vaporized away…

So now I had five beautiful quarts of squash, just waiting to be botulized.

I let them cool, and the next morning drained all the cubes of semi-canned squash into my big colander, smashed and squashed the squash into puree and put it into bags for the over-crowded freezer.

The El Cheapo Method for vacuum packing: Zip the bags most of the way closed, insert a straw just a little way inside and suck the air out of the bag. Zip it shut quickly while pulling out the straw.

Yes, I only got three bags, because I MADE A PIE with the other two cups. We ate it so fast I didn’t get a picture of the pie either. But here you can see the gorgeous orange of fresh squash. We had some for dinner that night as well. It was the most delicious squash we’d ever eaten — picked that day.

My pie recipe was just a regular pumpkin pie recipe using the squash instead — though I do highly recommend the addition of cardamom with the spices. Instead I give you three! yes, three! simple recipes for that delicious butternut squash you are going to buy at your local farmer’s market soon.

Recipes for butternut squash:

Roasted Butternut Bites

Peel squash and cut into cubes. Discard seeds. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar, and roast in the oven at 425 for 30 minutes, turning the cubes with a spatula every ten minutes. Squash candy…

Fall Butternut Casserole

1 large butternut squash
2 medium onions
2 eggs
Fresh nutmeg and thyme to taste
1 c. grated sharp cheese
panko or roughly chopped pumpkin seeds for topping, optional

Halve a large butternut squash, and scoop out the seeds. Brush with olive oil and place face down on a cookie sheet and pierce skin with a fork several times. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so, until squash is tender. Let it cool.

While the squash is cooling, chop two onions and sauté them in a skillet with olive oil or butter. Add some herbs — thyme is good, and freshly grated nutmeg. Beat two eggs in a bowl, add the onions and herbs and a cup of grated sharp cheese. Salt and pepper to taste, and pour into a greased casserole dish. If you like, you can cover the casserole with panko crumbs. (Another optional topping is roughly chopped pumpkin seeds.) Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Squashed Date treats

I have to say I’ve been meaning to make these for months, and I’ve just put it off, so I made a batch finally — especially for this post (and Mr. H.C. needed a treat for his lunch tomorrow) And yes, I’m sorry I put these little treats off for so long. Yummy and healthy, and a quick little snack — with NO ADDED SUGAR! All told, it took about 20 minutes. I found this recipe on Paleo Grubs, but I changed it up a bit.)

Toast 1/2 c. nuts — pecans, walnuts, cashews, or pumpkin seeds and grind them small. I left mine a little chunky because that’s the way I like them.

Soak 1 c. pitted dates in just a little hot water for 10 minutes, so they get soft, and then drain them.

Puree or mash 1/3 c. squash (I had canned pumpkin in my cupboard expressly for this recipe, but why open a can when you’ve got fresh squash?)

Put these three ingredients in your blender or food processor. Add 2 t. vanilla, 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg and 1/4 t. ground cardamom and a pinch of sea salt. Pulse until the dates are chopped up to your liking. I added a little bit of the sweet date water to help; if you have a food processor, you might not have to do that.

Scrape your blended mass into a bowl; add 1/4 c. unsweetened coconut flakes, and stir. Roll into one inch diameter balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if your dough is too soft to roll. Mine wasn’t. Now you could roll the balls in the coconut if you wanted. It might make them less sticky to eat. I would have gotten 12 balls if I hadn’t been so eagerly testing them to make sure the spices were correct. :-) Store them in your fridge, if you have them that long…

Mr. H.C. gave them a thumbs-up.

142. Skip the Cleaning Aisle: DIY easy green clean recipes

August 10, 2015August 14, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 4 Comments

Earlier this summer several of us were cleaning a commercial kitchen at a children’s camp before camp started for the summer.

There was a lot of grease… everywhere.

My friend Joey introduced me to her recipe for an all-purpose cleaner that cuts grease better than the expensive, commercial, stinky stuff that contains “who knows what unpronounceable ingredients.”

I had been using a natural cleanser of my own — orange vinegar, sometimes with baking soda — which I like a lot, but this one is way better! I liked it so much, I went to the dollar store and bought my own clean spray bottle for it, instead of just using a hand-me-down bottle.

All-Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser:

1 teaspoon washing soda (not baking soda)
2 teaspoons Borax
1 teaspoon Castile liquid soap
2 cups hot water
10 – 15 drops essential oil (Good oils for cleaning use are cinnamon, lemon, orange, melaleuca, peppermint, and lavender.)

Mix all the ingredients and pour into a 16 ounce spray bottle, and get to work on that greasy stove top.

Green cleaning

Dishwasher Detergent

I’ve been using a green cleaner in my dishwasher, but I really don’t like it much. The glasses are cloudy when they come out, and the silverware doesn’t always get clean, even though I rinse my dishes in hot water before I load the dishwasher. I know it’s a waste of water, but I don’t want food collecting in the bottom of my dishwasher. And that’s the bottom line.

So I was delighted when I found this oh-so-simple recipe for dishwasher soap. I remember reading that homemade dishwasher soap was an issue, because Mother-in-Laws come to your house and inspect your glasses for spots. Well, guess what? This is a mother-in-law proof recipe! Here’s my glass bowl, fresh out of the rinse cycle.

Dishwasher Detergent:

One part Borax
One part washing soda
White vinegar in the rinse-aid compartment

We have city water and I’ve used washing soda with great success. I have also heard that citric acid is a great addition to the rinse aid compartment if you have sediment on your plastic ware. But even the commercial dishwashing detergents leave sediment on my plastic stuff, and that’s just one more reason for getting rid of your plastic stuff. If you have citric acid, by all means try some with the vinegar. I was so astounded at how well this worked that I’m not going to bother with it. (If you are someone who wants research behind this, you can go to the blog post “10 things you should know before making homemade dishwasher detergent” by Little House in the Suburbs. Or you can just make this recipe, and be amazed that it’s so simple, and it works so well. Now if only I could discover a shampoo that is so simple and works so well…

Disinfectant

And here’s one more cleaner I love to spray on my countertops — both wood and soapstone. It is also a disinfectant, so it’s good for sinks and toilets too. And it is reputed to keep ants away. I can’t say about this for sure. What I can say is that it might work. I sprayed around Henry the Cat’s food bowl when I started seeing ants there, and now the ants are gone. But I’m also being careful to keep it cleaner and his food swept up better. Not only is he the King of Cats, he is the King of Slobs when it comes to the food bowl department.

Cinnamon Disinfectant:

12 oz. hydrogen peroxide
1 teaspoon cinnamon oil

Mix together in a spray bottle and shake well before every use. I use a bottle that has a mister option, and I love this cleaner for two reasons: the cinnamon in it smells terrific, and the peroxide in it foams up on contact with dirt, so you can tell it’s working. Use an opaque spray bottle — there’s a reason peroxide is sold in brown bottles. It’s a great addition to your green cleaning supplies. Use it as a disinfectant, on your tile grout, on your floors, or as a bleach replacement in your laundry. I’ve even poured it down our bathroom sink drain. Here’s a great article about using hydrogen peroxide as a cleaning tool.

But I’m not giving up on my orange vinegar — it’s the best on a linoleum floor.

Oven Ordeal

Pour it into a spray bottle…

Clean Kitchen floor!

47. Caramel Apples for your ♡Sweetie♡

February 8, 2013August 21, 2014 / Apple Hill Cottage / 8 Comments

apple heart We were sitting around a conference table at church a few years ago – about 18 of us – trying to figure out when we could have our next meeting. It’s hard to find a time, an evening, when 18 busy adults can all get together. Someone suggested February 14.

“But that’s Valentine’s Day,” Someone Else said.

Somebody said, “Does anyone really celebrate Valentine’s Day?”

Two hands went up. Mine and my husband’s. I guess we were the Anyones.

Everyone laughed. “Oh, that’s because the two of you haven’t been married very long,” they said.

Really?

It seems to me the longer you’ve been together, the more you should celebrate a holiday devoted to love. So – I’m trying a recipe for my sweetie-with-the-sweet-tooth from this lovely cookbook. (And I think grandchildren will benefit as well…)

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Amy Traverso, senior food and home editor of Yankee magazine.

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Amy Traverso was given to me as a housewarming present by my friend Beth, who saw this cookbook and decided I ought to have it! Thank you Beth! I have only made one recipe from it so far — the Apple, Cheddar, and Caramelized Onion Pastry Puffs. They were delicious! I’ll give you that recipe later sometime; today we’re concentrating on the Salted Caramel Apples with Cinnamon Graham Cracker Crumbs. (If that isn’t making your mouth water, go make an apple pie instead.)

Before we get started, I will confess – my only foray into making salted caramels was a mixed bag. I followed the recipe exactly, and they tasted delicious; however, the caramel was too thick to be a caramel sauce, but not thick enough to be covered in chocolate, outside of a refrigerator. (But I gave them to my brother-in-law for Christmas anyway…) So, I’m not an expert, here. And I’ll show you my photos, success or failure…I promise.

Gather together:

8 Sweet-tart Organic Apples. (The wax that is on the supermarket variety can keep the caramel from sticking to the apple.) This cookbook is an amazing encyclopedia of apples as well as a cookbook, and she lists 19 apple varieties under sweet-tart, but the main ones you will find (unless you live in or near an orchard) are Granny Smith, Ida Red, Rome, Northern Spy, or Stayman Winesap. Our apples ran out before Christmas, so I’ve got Granny Smiths and Organic Galas from the local grocery store. Right. Galas aren’t on the list; there were no Ida Reds anywhere, so I went with what was there. It is February after all…Put them in the refrigerator for at least an hour before you need to coat them with the caramel. (Also read the note at the bottom of this post…)

Everything is pictured here except the heavy pot – I used my 5 qt. cast iron casserole pot – and the skewers. You’ll see them later.

AND ♥ 1 cup Brown sugar ♥1/2 cup Corn syrup ♥1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk ♥1/2 cup Whole Milk ♥1/4 cup Heavy Cream (Yes, this is NOT on Anyone’s diet – it’s caramel for goodness sake!) ♥ 1/4 tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt ♥ 2 Tbsp. Salted Butter ♥ 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla ♥ 4 whole Cinnamon graham crackers ♥ a heavy bottomed pan ♥ popsicle sticks or smallish, sturdy skewers ♥ parchment paper ♥ a candy thermometer ♥ and the special antique glass candy stirrer (from Clara) that you have sitting around in your kitchen somewhere…

Before you start, break up the cinnamon graham crackers in a baggie and crush them with a rolling pin. Or however you like to crush up graham crackers. I cheaped out and bought the most inexpensive ones I could find – the brand shall remain nameless – but they sure aren’t like the old Honey Maids I loved to eat with milk. The Honey Maid Cinnamon Crisps were $4.99! So I shook some extra cinnamon on the crumbs, because I don’t think it is ever possible to put too much cinnamon in anything. Also cover a baking pan with parchment/waxed paper and put both of these near the stove.

Melt the butter and add the sugar, corn syrup, all the milks and creams, and the salt. Adjust your burner to medium and don’t touch it during the whole process. Really. DON’T touch it. Patience! Stir gently until the mixture starts to boil.

Making caramel

Put the candy thermometer in the pan at this point. Keep your eye on the thermometer and stir gently every minute or so, but this part takes a while – maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. You want to get the temperature up to 238 degrees, or the soft ball stage. Stir it every once in awhile, but don’t lick the spoon! It’s like, boiling? Worse than burning your tongue on coffee or pizza! Instead, get your apples out of the refrigerator, wipe them off with a paper towel if they’re damp, and insert your sticks. I’m using recycled plastic skewers from an edible arrangement. I thought they would be fine, but since I’m writing this from hindsight, I think they may be a little bendy.
Apples ready for caramel

When the temperature gets to the soft ball stage, turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla. I actually let the temperature get up to 240 degrees; I didn’t want any runny caramel! It worked. When the caramel is getting to the right temperature, you can actually see it thickening up and changing texture in the pot. Roll the apple around in the caramel; hold it up, twirl it, make sure the entire apple is covered, and dip it in the cinnamon graham cracker crumbs. I think you could use chopped pecans instead, and it would be yummy. Put the apples on the parchment covered tray, and do another.

The hardest part is getting the whole apple coated – especially the top. You can tip the pan; you can use a spoon; but even so, I could only get 7 apples coated. I probably had enough left for the eighth but just couldn’t get it around the apple. So I did what any normal person would do – I poured out the last of the caramel, sliced up the apple, and ate it as is. Refrigerate the apples for two hours before you do anything else with them.

I wrapped mine in parchment paper and tied dark red bows around them. It was the closest I had to red ribbon. I’m going to add some hearts tomorrow, but for now, I’m done…
Except for this important note: The Granny Smiths I had were straight from Giant Eagle, and the wax on them was thick. In the recipe, Amy Traverso gives a technique for getting the wax off, and I would be remiss if I didn’t give it to you. Boil a pan of water, and using tongs, dip the apples in the water for 30 seconds or so. Then, with a paper towel, dry the apple and rub the wax off. It works! Ms. Traverso says this is not necessary if you have organic apples, so I did not do this technique with the Galas. If you look closely, you can tell the caramel didn’t stick as well to the red apples as it did to the Granny Smiths. My thought is that even store-bought organics have that food-grade wax on them.

If you notice the first apple at the bottom – that was the first one I did. I didn’t get the entire apple coated at the top, so I spooned some on later. That’s the one I ate. It was delicious! The apple was actually a little softer and juicier than normal; the next time I make these, I will use the boiling technique on all the apples.

The texture of this caramel is great. When I poured out the last bit, it hardened up without even being put in the fridge. It would be great to pour into a pan, let it harden, and then maybe melt some chocolate over it? I’ve got leftover ingredients calling out to me. The only thing better than caramel with apples is caramel with chocolate.