A Plate of Many Colors

In the Hub's Youth Garden Program, students will often harvest & cook whole food snacks such as Kale chips or roasted beets, parsnips and sweet potato.

Last Wednesday students from MHC’s youth garden program prepared a meal using some of the sweet potatoes and kale they grew in the garden. As they prepared the food we talked about the differences between whole foods, minimally processed foods and overly processed foods. The students were asked to figure out how many whole foods verses processed foods they used to prepare the meal. The hope was that students would experience a tasty meal and recognize that eating whole foods actually tastes great. We asked the students why they thought it was important to eat more whole foods (real food) and less processed? The students soon began to share answers they had learned from previous weeks, “whole foods have more nutrients in them,” “whole foods give your body energy,”  “our bodies work harder to break down the processed foods,” and last, “processed food will not give you energy that lasts, but whole food will.”

As the students sat down to enjoy the meal they had prepared each student shared the things they were thankful for.  Several students included garden club, the garden and their worm bin to their list of thanksgivings.

The meal was a complete success! Everyone enjoyed all that was prepared with the exception of one student who said he doesn’t like anything that taste like tacos, but he liked everything else. Our meal consisted of Hummus Tacos, Sweet Potato Oven Fries, Kale chips and an Apple Oat Crisp for dessert. 

Terms the students learned:

Whole foods = whole foods are foods in their natural state, or very close to their natural state. The vitamins, minerals and other nutrients remain intact in the food, and they do not typically contain added ingredients. Examples include fresh vegetables and fruits, beans, whole chicken, whole grains (such as oats and brown rice), eggs and milk. 

Minimally processed foods = whole foods which have been changed or added to in order to preserve naturally.

Examples include butter, whole grain bread, plain yogurt, juice, cheese.

Overly processed foods = foods which have been changed a lot from their original form before they are cooked, or foods that have added chemicals or artificial ingredients.

Examples include mosts cereals and breads, crackers, frozen pizza, boxed mac and cheese, fruit snacks, frozen prepared meals, fast foods.

Apples for Dinner

Apples at the MHC Food Pantry. Photo by Stephanie Langan

When we think of cooking with apples, we typically picture desserts like apple pie, or apple crisp, or even baked apples. But apples can find there way into savory dishes as well. 

Take for instance the Apple Carrot Casserole. Apples add a touch of sweetness to this nourishing, easy to prepare meal.

Or these recipes that combine apples and meat:

Honey Mustard Chicken and Apples
Spiced Beef with Apples
Maple and Apple Baked Chicken
Chicken and Apples with Creamy Sauce
Mustardy Pork Chops with Apples and Onions
Apple Beef Stew
Baked Yams, Apples and Canadian Bacon (or Ham)
Mulligatawny Soup

Apples can be used in side dishes, too, like

Applesauce

Laurel's Coleslaw

Mustardy Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

(from Dinner: A Love Story, by Jenny Rosenstrach)

Lard, drippings or oil
4 boneless pork chops, about 1-1/2 lbs total, salted and peppered
1 large onion sliced
1 apple, peeled and slivered to the same width as the onion slices
2 T mustard (Dijon or grainy)
2 T cider vinegar
1/4 c apple cider, water, or apple juice

Put the lard in a large skillet with a lid. Brown the pork chops, about 4 minutes each side. Remove them from the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add a bit more lard, if necessary, and then the onions  and apples. Cook about 5 to 7 minutes, or until they have wilted.

Add the mustard, vinegar and cider to the pan and scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Boil for about 1 minute. Return the pork chops to the pan and nestle them among the apple and onion. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook another 5 minutes, or until the pork chops are tender. If the pan sauce is too liquidy, remove the chops and boil the sauce for a minute or two until thickened.

Apple Carrot Casserole

by the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

Yield:  6 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 large carrots, sliced
• 4 large apples, peeled, quartered, cored and sliced
• ¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook carrots in boiling water in large saucepan for 5 minutes; drain. Layer carrots and apples in a large casserole dish.
2.  Combine flour, brown sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl; sprinkle over top. Dot with butter; pour orange juice over flour mixture. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Bake 30 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Honey Mustard Chicken and Apples

(foodnetwork.com)

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (2 to 2-1/2 lbs)

Salt and pepper

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, cut into large chunks

2 cooking apples, cut into chunks

1 c low sodium chicken broth

2 to 3 T honey mustard

1-1/2 t butter, softened

1 T flour

1 to 2 T roughly chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until golden, about 6 minutes. Flip and cook 2 to 3 more minutes, then transfer to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings.

Add the onion and apples to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Mix the broth with the mustard, then add to the skillet and bring to a boil. Arrange the chicken, skin-side up, in the skillet. Transfer to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Mix the butter and flour to form a paste. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken, apples and onion to plates. Bring the pan juices to a simmer, whisk in about half of the butter-flour mixture and boil to thicken, 2 minutes. Continue to cook, adding more of the butter-flour mixture as needed to make a slightly thick gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

Spiced Beef with Apples

(southernfood.about.com)

2 lbs beef stew meat in 1” cubes

2 T cooking oil

1-1/2 c water, divided

1/4 c lemon juice

2 c onions, sliced

1-1/2 t curry powder

1/4 t ground cloves

1/4 t cinnamon

1 t salt

3 c tart apples, cored, peeled and in 1” wedges

Hot cooked rice, for serving

Brown beef cubes in hot oil in heavy skillet. Add 1 cup water, lemon juice, onion, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add apple and remaining water, mix and cook an additional 45 minutes, or until meat is tender. Serve over rice.

Maple and Apple Baked Chicken

(modified slightly from a recipe at kraftrecipes.com, including reviews)

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb)

½ c sliced onions (red is best, but whatever you have)

2 red cooking apples, sliced

½ c maple or maple-flavored syrup

1/3 Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (or whatever Italian dressing you have)

Heat oven to 350. Spray large ovenproof skillet with cooking spray. Cook chicken in skillet over medium high heat three minutes on each side or until evenly browned. Remove from heat. Top chicken with onions and surround with apples. Mix syrup and dressing and pour over chicken. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is done and apples are tender. Drizzle with syrup mixture from bottom of skillet.

Notes:

If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, cover the handle of your regular skillet (not electric) with several layers of foil before using as directed.

Substitute honey for the syrup and/or apple cider vinegar for the dressing.

Chicken and Apples in Creamy Sauce

(based on a recipe at foodnetwork.com)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 apple, cored and sliced (peeled or unpeeled)

¼ c butter

½ c heavy (whipping) cream or sour cream

½ c white wine or ½ c apple juice

1 t thyme

Pan fry chicken in half the butter just until no longer pink in the middle, turning once to brown both sides. Remove chicken from pan and keep in a warm place or cover with foil. Add the rest of the butter, apples and thyme and fry until the apples are as crisp or tender as you like. Pour apples over the chicken and keep warm. Deglaze the pan with wine, cider or juice, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom.

Apple Beef Stew

(based on a recipe at tasteofhome.com)

2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, in 1” squares

2 T butter

2 medium onions, cut into wedges

2 T flour

1/8 t salt

2 c water

2 T apple juice

2 bay leaves

2 whole allspice (or 1/4 t ground)

2 whole cloves (or a tad less than 1/4 t ground)

2 medium carrots, sliced

2 medium apples, peeled and cut into wedges

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, brown beef in butter. Add onions; cook until lightly browned. Sprinkle with flour and salt. Gradually add water and apple juice. Bring to a boil’ cook and stir for 2 minutes. Place the bay leaves, allspice and cloves in a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with string to form a bag. Add to pan. (Or use a coffee filter and seal it tightly so the spices can’t get out. Or if you use ground cloves and allspice, just put them and the bay leaf loose in the pot.) Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until meat is almost tender. Add carrots and apples; cover and simmer 15 minutes longer or until the meat, carrots and apples are tender. Discard spice bag or loose bay leaves. Thicken if desired.

Baked Stuffed Apples

Ingredients:

6 tart apples
1 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of dark raisins
1 tbsp of orange zest
1/4 cup of butter or margarine
3 tbsp orange juice concentrate

Directions:

Remove core from each apple. Stand up apples in the crock pot. Fill the center of each apple with brown sugar, raisins and orange peel. Top with butter. Sprinkle the orange juice concentrate over the apples. Cook on LOW for 3-5 hours.

Baked Yams, Apples and Canadian Bacon (or Ham)

(adapted from a recipe in The Doubleday Cookbook, vol. 1, by Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna, 1975)

4 medium size yams, parboiled, peeled, and sliced ½” thick (about 1 lb)

2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut in ¼” rings (about 1 lb)

½ t salt

3 c cubed cooked ham (or 8 slices ready-to-eat Canadian bacon, cut ¼” thick)

1 t prepared hot mustard

¼ c firmly packed light brown sugar

2 T butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 375. Layer yams and apples into a buttered 2-1/2 quart casserole, sprinkling with salt as you go. Toss the ham with the mustard to coat evenly, then spread on top of yams and apples. (Or spread each slice of Canadian bacon with mustard and arrange on top, overlapping spoke fashion.) Sprinkle with brown sugar and dot with butter. Bake uncovered 30 minutes, until yams are tender and ham (or Canadian bacon) is lightly glazed. 

Mulligatawny Soup

(adapted from a recipe in the third edition of The Settlement Cookbook, 1965)

3 c cooked, diced chicken

1/4 c fat

1 Granny Smith apple (about 8 oz)

1/2 c chopped onion

1/2 c chopped celery

1/2 c chopped carrot

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 T flour

1 t curry powder (or up to 1 T, to taste)

2 cloves (or 1/2 t ground cloves)

1 can diced tomatoes

1/8 t mace (or nutmeg)

1 t chopped parsley

1 t sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups cold broth or water

Brown the apple, onion, celery, carrot, and green pepper in the fat. Add the chicken, flour and curry powder, stir, and cook another minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Apple Oat Crisp

From Super Foods by Dolores Riccio

As tasty as an apple pie, but much easier to make, and lighter in calories.

4 cooking apples, such as Granny Smith (or use 2 cups of frozen apple slices)

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

For the topping:

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or half whole wheat)

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup uncooked “old-fashioned” oatmeal

¼ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 375° F. Peel and thinly slice the apples. If using frozen apples, don’t defrost. Mix them with the granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Spoon them into a 9-inch pie plate and press them flat. Mix the flour, brown sugar salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or 2 knifes until the consistency of cornmeal. Stir in the oatmeal and walnuts. Sprinkle the topping over the apples; press into a flat layer. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the topping is brown and the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Waldorf Turkey Salad

(part of the  LEFTOVERS from my Thanksgiving Dinner for 12 for under $50)

The leftover apple/celery/grape/nut salad plus enough sliced celery to make 5 cups

3 cups leftover turkey, in large dice

1 cup cranberry sauce

Combine the leftover salad, the celery and the turkey. Add the cranberry sauce and mix it well. Add some more mayo if it needs it. Sprinkle each serving with some more chopped walnuts. If you have some lettuce, you could put each serving on a lettuce leaf.

Apple/Celery/Grape/Nut Salad

(Part of my Thanksgiving Dinner for 12 for under $50)

We always used to have this at Thanksgiving and Christmas, except we used raisins instead of grapes and we added marshmallows. The grapes and no marshmallows were to make it a bit lower carb so I could eat some, too. Either way works. I cut three apples, or a pound and a half (I happened to use one each of three different kinds, but use whatever is cheapest) into eighths, cored them, and then sliced them cross-wise. I cut half a pound of seedless black grapes into halves, and cut about a fourth of a head of celery into thin slices. (I just cut it off of the end, instead of pulling off the stalks and cutting them. It’s a lot easier.) I mixed the apples, grapes and celery with a cup of chopped walnuts and about half a cup of mayo and it was done. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Having to peel and dice an oddly shaped, tough-skinned butternut squash for soup can be difficult (and dangerous). It’s best to simply cut it in half and roast it in the oven. The flavors will concentrate and the roasted flesh is easily scooped out of the skin. The squash is then quickly simmered with sautéed onion, sage, and tart apple, and blended with a bit of cream. To add a fancy touch, garnish with toasted pumpkin seed or fried sage leaves.

INGREDIENTS

·       2 pounds whole butternut squash (about 1 medium), halved lengthwise and seeds removed

·       2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)

·       1 medium apple ( a tart one is best, but use whatever you have

·       1/2 medium yellow onion

·       8 fresh sage leaves

·       1 cup  vegetable or chicken broth (you can also try using apple cider)

·       2 cups water (more if it seems too thick)

·       3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

·       1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

·       1/4 cup heavy cream (or half & half, whole milk, sour cream or yogurt)

·       1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, or sage leaves fried in butter for garnish (optional)

·        

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

2.     Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (optional). Place the squash pieces cut-side up on the baking sheet. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush all of it over the tops and insides of the squash halves (alternatively, you can rub it on evenly with your fingers). Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until knife tender, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

3.     Meanwhile, peel, core, and cut the apple into medium dice. Cut the onion into medium dice. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the apple, onion, and sage, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

4.     When the squash is ready, set the baking sheet on a wire rack until the squash is cool enough to handle. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh into the saucepan with the sautéed apples and onions; discard the skins.

5.     Add the broth, water, and measured salt and pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large pieces of squash, until the flavors meld, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream.

6.     Use an immersion (or stick) blender to puree the soup in the pot, until it is velvety smooth. If using a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth, removing the small cap (the pour lid) from the blender lid and covering the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam to escape and prevents the blender lid from popping off). Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve garnished with the pumpkin seeds or fried sage leaves, if using.
      Adapted from chow.com