There are times when I get so involved with researching and writing about food that there’s little energy or inclination left to bring the tastier aspects of it into my own kitchen.
Not that this food writer’s husband goes foodless. But he has threatened to write an expose on the subject.
I guess I hadn’t realized that Steve wasn’t the only one affected when our day-to-day meals become mundane and predictable.
I was standing in the candle section of my favorite gift shop, taking hits off the Warm Apple Crisp model the owner had just put on the shelf. One whiff and a precious fall day sprang quickly to mind.
So I invested in a votive-sized version, brought it home and lit it up. As the day stretched into late afternoon, the candle had burned down, but not my hankering for all things autumn. I knew that there was a bushel of freshly picked apples on the deck, and suddenly the idea of turning a good number of them into an apple crisp seemed extremely appealing.
I switched off my computer, shut the door to my office and headed into the kitchen. For the next hour I immersed myself in the season with all the enthusiasm and delight of a toddler in a pumpkin patch.
Long red ribbons of apple peel piled up in the sink. Juicy-crunchy chunks of the cut-up fruit were tossed with sugar and cinnamon, and I marvelled at the sweet and tangy result.
After cutting a generous amount of butter into the brown sugar and oatmeal topping and sprinkling it over the apples, the offering went into the oven.
After only 10 minutes, the much-anticipated fragrance began to fill the room.
There are some aromas, I believe, that have been assigned a higher purpose in life than merely informing us of what’s nearby. The cosmic blend of a smoky campfire in a forest of Douglas fir. Crisp morning air laced with the smell of pancakes and bacon. And, of course, the heavenly perfume of baking apples and cinnamon.
This was no candle emitting a faux seasonal scent. This was the real thing. And the first words uttered by my sweetie as he walked into the house told me I wasn’t imagining the effect: “Wow. Does it smell great in here!”
Not that he was above a bit of leg-pulling.
“So what’s for dinner?,” he asked, as we gathered reverently around the steaming dish.
“I think you’re looking at it,” I said.
To which Mr. Good Sport replied with a big ol’ grin, “No problem.”
This is the apple crisp I threw together to welcome autumn to our home. It’s very basic and very tasty.
Jan’s better-than-the-candle apple crisp
6 medium-sized tart apples, pared and sliced to measure about 6 cups
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup oats
3/4 cup butter, softened
Toss the sliced apples with 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of the nutmeg. Spread the apples into a lightly greased 13-by 9-by-2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg with the flour and oats. Cut in the butter and mix until it reaches a crumbled consistency. Sprinkle the topping over the apples, making sure it drops down into and around the fruit. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden.
Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled, with cream or vanilla ice cream.
Fresh pears baking in the oven is another great aroma that plants your soul in the middle of autumn. This is a heavenly dessert!
Upside-down pear ginger cake
Fruit layer:
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 ripe pears
Cake:
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup water
2/3 cup unsulphured molasses
1 tablespoon grated orange zest, optional
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Big pinch of ground cloves
2 large eggs, beaten
Lightly whipped cream, sweetened to taste
To prepare the fruit layer: Melt the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup over very low heat in a flameproof 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan (the pan should be 2 inches deep), stirring until the butter has melted and blended smoothly with the sugar and syrup. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside while preparing the fruit.
To prepare the pears, peel and core. Cut the fruit into 1/4-inch wedges; overlap the wedges closely in the pan over the butter mixture; set aside.
To prepare the cake: measure the butter and water into a saucepan; heat, stirring, just until the butter melts. Add the molasses and orange zest (if using); cool to lukewarm.
Meanwhile, sift together into a mixing bowl the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Add the water/butter mixture and stir just until moistened. Whisk in the eggs. Pour the batter over the fruit. Lift the pan a few inches above the counter and drop it onto the counter a time or two to settle everything snugly.
Bake the cake in a 350-degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until it has shrunken slightly from the sides of the pan and a cake tester emerges dry after probing the center.
Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn the cake out onto a serving plate. If bits of fruit stay behind in the pan, lift them with a thin spatula and fit them into place.
Serve the cake warm or at room temperature, accompanied by the whipped cream.
Recipe adapted from “Mrs. Witty’s Home-Style Menu Cookbook,” by Helen Witty.
I think you’ll enjoy this tasty way to use one of the season’s most colorful and nutritional specialties, the winter squash.
Jan’s autumn vegetable soup with winter squash and chipotle peppers
1 acorn squash (or any newer variety of this style that you can find, such as a Delicata, a Tan Delicata or a Sugar Loaf)
1 large baking potato
1 large red or yellow onion
1 medium-sized leek (about 1-inch in diameter at the root end)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (see note on chipotle peppers below)
7 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Sour cream garnish
To prepare the squash, slice about 1/2-inch from top and bottom ends to create flat surfaces. Laying the squash on one of the flat surfaces, halve the squash by cutting downward. Scoop out the seeds and membrane, then lay the cut halves cut-sides down on the cutting board and slice each half into 1/2-inch half circles. With a sharp paring knife, peel away as much skin as possible (it’s difficult to remove all the skin in the scalloped surface, so don’t worry).
Peel the potato and cut lengthwise into quarters.
Cut off stem and root end from the onion and peel. Cut each onion half lengthwise into thirds.
After thoroughly washing the leek, slice away the root end and then cut into 1-inch wide rounds, using all of the white and pale green portions.
Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (11- by 17-inch or larger) roasting pan. Layer in the prepared vegetables, turning each piece to coat thoroughly with the olive oil (you may have to drizzle on a bit more). Brush each piece of vegetable with some of the adobo sauce from the canned chipotle peppers.
Roast the vegetables in a 375-degree oven until the vegetables are soft and golden, about 60 to 90 minutes.
Place the vegetables in a large soup pot with the broth and 1 chipotle pepper (you can always add a second pepper after pureeing the soup if you want it spicier).
Now ladle about a cup of the broth from the pot into the roasting pan. Swirl the broth around in the pan and scrape with a spatula to dissolve and capture any caramelized bits of vegetable (there’s a lot of flavor in these pan drippings), then pour this mixture back into the pot. Bring the broth to a boil and simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes, just to further soften the vegetables.
At this point, for a smooth soup, puree the soup in batches, using a blender or food processor. For a slightly chunky soup, consider using a hand-held blender and simply chop up the vegetables right in the pot. If the soup seems too thick after chopping or pureeing, you can add additional broth or even a bit of cream (then reheat).
May be served immediately or prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to reheat and serve). Garnish each serving with a dollop or drizzling of sour cream.
Makes 9 to 10 cups.
Note: Chipotle peppers are smoked and dried jalapenos. They are sold either in the dried state or canned in a spicy red sauce called adobo sauce. For this recipe, you’re using the “canned in adobo sauce” chipotle peppers. They generally hang out in the Mexican food section of well-stocked supermarkets.
Tip: Since you’re only going to use 1 or 2 chipotles from the can, consider pureeing the remaining peppers with some of the sauce and then storing them in your refrigerator for up to 10 days, or in your freezer for several months.
You can dip into the puree to use whenever a bit of smoke and heat is desired in a recipe, such as in a homemade chile, or as a zesty topping over omelettes, tortillas, tacos, tamales and enchiladas.
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, artist, and author. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.
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