Fall

October is National Apple Month!

It's apple season (and the upcoming holidays) and hopefully more brisk weather have put us in the mood for apples, any variety, whole in a lunchbox or in any of the lovely versions from our contributors' kitchens!

Apple-Lime-Mint Spritzer
Epic Apple Pie-Buttermilk Shake
Spiced Mulled Cider
Toffee Apple Martini

Beet and Apple Salad with Honey Dressing and Pomegranate Seeds
Brussels Sprout Slaw with Apples and Walnuts
Endive, Apple and Pecan Winter Salad
Autumn Apple and Potato Salad

Homemade Apple Sauce
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Spiced Cranberry Apple Chutney
Baked Butternut Squash with Apples & Cranberries
Pomegranate Glazed Baked Squash and Apples
Apple and Walnut Cornbread Stuffing
Sausage, Dried Cranberry and Apple Stuffing
Sweet Potato Gratin with Apples, Rosemary, Sage and Gruyere

Pork Cutlets with Sweet and Sour Apples
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Fennel

Cinnamon French Toast with POM Apple Compote | German Apple Pancake | Spiced Apple Waffles | Apple-Maple Walnut Breakfast Quinoa | Mimi's Apple Butter | Old-Fashioned Apple Streusel Muffins

Fall Harvest Cinnamon Apple Cake | Teddie's 1973 Apple Cake | Apple Crisp | Grandma Ople's Apple Pie
Cranberry Apple Cobblers | Easy Apple Phyllo Crisp | Louisa May Alcott’s Apple Slump
Sweet and Salty Caramel Apples | Apple-Pumpkin Delight
Deep Dish Apple Pie | Green Apple Gallette | Pomegranate Apple Pie

The problem with "healthy" muffins is that they're usually bland, rubbery, or dry. I wanted to make a healthy muffin that actually tasted great. One you would want to eat. Turns out, that isn't so easy.

I hand Jeff a muffin to taste.

Me: "So what do you think?"

Jeff: Chewing, with a furrowed brow. "Well, they're a little bland. How much sugar did you put?"

Me: "Oh, no! I forgot to add the sugar!"

I hand Jeff a muffin to taste.

Me: "Are these better? I didn't forget the sugar this time."

Jeff: Chewing a lot and very, very slowly. "Well, they taste like they're good for you."

Acorn squash has such a unique shape, that is worth showing off in recipes. When I cook with them I always try keep their features intact, so I don't peel them. Stuffed with a meat filling and baked, they resemble open hearts. When they're sliced, as in this recipe, they look like scalloped crescent moons. They are a perfect vegetable to roast because they hold their shape well particularly when the skin is left on. They can be steamed or sautéed, and even mashed like potatoes, making them a very versatile vegetable. But roasting is my favorite cooking method because it concentrates their natural flavor.

Most acorn squash recipes use sweetener to bring out the flavor. The traditional route would be brown sugar, which automatically gives it Thanksgiving flair. Instead I use maple syrup for its rich sweetness. The focus of this recipe is miso paste, the Japanese ingredient made from soybeans that is used in miso soup. The miso paste adds a salty, savory flavor. The combination of sweet and savory elevates the flavor of the squash even more. This recipe makes a very simple side for the holiday that complements a multitude of other sides and the main bird. It's quick and easy enough to put together in minutes. Just sit back and roast.

Never mind the name, these sweet, nutty squash are harvested in the fall. They are called "winter" because their hard shells allow them to be stored for extended periods, and in the days before refrigeration, that was a quality more worth honoring than mere harvest seasonality. The earliest winter squash are just beginning to trickle into the market -- kabocha, butternut and acorn, mostly.

When they’re first picked, they can be a little short on flavor. But after a week or two that changes, particularly for squash such as butternut and kabocha. These benefit from a couple of weeks of "curing" after being harvested, which allows time for enzymes to convert some of their starch into sugar.  Acorns are from another family and do not require curing. They're better bets this early in the season.

How to choose: Look for squash with deep, saturated colors and no soft spots or cracks. The stem should be hard and corky too.

How to store: Keep winter squash in a cool, dark place. You don't need to refrigerate them.

How to prepare: Here's a recipe for happiness during the coming rainy season: Hack off a chunk of winter squash and remove the seeds; place it cut-side down in a pan with just a little water, and roast it at 400 degrees until the whole thing collapses into a sweet, fragrant, slightly caramelized puree.

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