Apple Slaw

This recipe is a fresh twist on coleslaw, it includes two kinds of apples! This isn't a creamy coleslaw, so be prepared for vinegary flavors. It's REALLY important to let this sit. When I first ate it I didn't think it had much flavor, but when I had a few bites a few hours later it was really great. So I suggest letting this sit even longer then their recommended thirty minutes.

To turn this into a meal we at it with some fresh bratwurst straight from Milwaukee. And with my leftover I sliced it up and mixed it in with the slaw. What a great lunch. And the next night I broiled some tilapia and used this slaw to make fish tacos. The flavors of the slaw were a bit strong by then but it went great with the fish tacos! In fact I may use this recipe for fish tacos from now on.

Apple Slaw Serves 4 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1 1/2 small cabbages, shredded (7 cups) 3 large carrots, shredded (1 cup) 1 Granny Smith apple, unpeeled and cut into thin strips 1 Braeburn apple, unpeeled and cut into thin strips 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped 2 tbsp unsalted walnuts, chopped (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, Dijon, oil, salt and pepper.

In a large salad bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, apples and parsley; toss with dressing to coat. Top with walnuts, if desired. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Serve immediately after chilling.

Nutritional information per 1 1/4 cup serving as provided in magazine:
Calories: 129, Total Fat: 4g, Sat. Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Carbs: 22g, Fiber: 5g, Sugars 13g, Protein: 3g, Sodium: 247 mg, Cholesterol: 0mg

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Apple and Tarragon

I like the concept of using cauliflower in soup. It's a filling vegetable that can be blended for a creamy soup. But unfortunately this recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Apple and Tarragon found in the September, 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times did not work for me. However, some of you may like it. It ends up that I don't really like sweeter soups (from the apple) and I don't really like tarragon.

The process for making this soup was very simple. The instructions say to blend the ingredients and I did so with my immersion blender. And actually that did not work that well. I kept blending and blending and finally I poured it all into the blender and it was pureed in only a few minutes.

I have not given up on cauliflower as a soup yet though! I hope to find something with stronger spices next time.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Apple and Tarragon Serves 4 5 cups chopped cauliflower florets (1 lb.) 1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice 1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable 1 small onion, diced (1 cup) 1/2 tsp. ground coriander 2 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon, plus more for garnish 1 pinch ground tumeric

Bring cauliflower, apple juice, broth, onion, and coriander to a boil in saucepan over medium heat. Cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until tender.

Blend cauliflower mixture, tarragon, and tumeric in blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish with tarragon.

Nutritional information provided with magazine article:
Per 1-cup serving: 100 CAL; 3 G PROT; <1 G TOTAL FAT (<1G SAT FAT); 22 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 89 MG SOD; 4 G FIBER; 14 G SUGARS

Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Stilton

There's nothing like a salad to throw together the best food of the season! I found this recipe for a Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts and Stilton in the October, 2010 issue of Cooking Light magazine and it's really tasty. I like the use of three different lettuces in this salad. I did have to do a few substitutions though. I used watercress instead of arugula and Danish Blue instead of Stilton. It came out fabulous anyways!

The dressing is tangy and flavorful. But I'd suggest to watch how much dressing you actually put on the salad. I followed all the instructions and them tossed the full amount of dressing in with all the lettuces and apples (we added the prosciutto and cheese after it was plated) and I think it ended up being too much. We were kind of tilting our plates to let the sauce run off.

Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Stilton Makes 4 Servings 1 tablespoon minced shallot 1 1/2 champagne or white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 dried apricot, finely chopped 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cups torn green leaf lettuce leaves 2 cups thinly sliced Belgian endive (about 2 heads) 1/4 cup (1 ounce) Stilton cheese, thinly sliced 1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped 1 (5-ounce) package baby arugula 1 ounce very thin slices prosciutto, torn 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender. With blender on, slowly add oil; process until well combines. Stir in salt and pepper.

Combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; add apricot mixture, tossing gently to coat.

Nutritional information provided with magazine article:
CALORIES 294; FAT 18.4g(sat 3.6g, mono 8.9g, poly 5g); PROTEIN 9.2g; CARB 28g; FIBER 10.8g; CHOL 9.5mg; IRON 3.7mg; SODIUM 429mg; CALC 254mg

Irish Apple-Potato Cakes

Well, it's March! I've been waiting to crack open The Irish Spirit cookbook I got a few weeks ago. Not that I need to eat Irish Food only around St. Patrick's Day, but I did want to have a few Irish posts around this time of year.

Okay, I'll fess up. These are so good that I was eating them raw! Well, everything is safe to eat but I was eating spoonfuls before they got fried. Mashed potatoes and apples? What an AMAZING combo! This was another one of those dishes that I couldn't believe I made something on my own that tasted so good.

I am not the best fryer in the world. My Irish Apple-Potato Cakes ended up like brown mush. I don't know . . . when my grandma made mashed potato cakes they were all nice and crisp and like individual little cakes. When I tried to flip mine they were all mush. But they TASTED amazing and that's what counts, right?


Check for the Monthly Mingle #8: Savory Cakes roundup at hosted by Meeta at What's for Lunch Honey at the end of the month.

Irish Apple-Potato Cakes Makes 8 Cakes 1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and quartered 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced 2 tablespoons water 4 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons canola oil

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and mash. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the apples and water. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the apples begin to break up and are pulpy. Drain the apples and stir into the potatoes. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter, the parsley, flour and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. With floured hands, form the mixture into 8 flat cakes. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the oil. Fry the potato cakes for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until browned and crisp.

#76: Crispy Pineapples, Apples and Apricots

"real fruit, real taste, nothing else!"
I went digging for a midnight snack last night. I wanted something somewhat light so I tried the Crispy Apricots I received earlier that day from Crispy Green. My package from them included the 6-pack of Crispy Apricots and 6-pack of Crispy Pineapples that I ordered. It also included one package of the Crispy Apples that they provided as a free sample (unlike Kate at Kate in the Kitchen who received 2 free samples!). These Fruit Chips are really dehydrated fruit. I found them because they were listed as #76 on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try.

My first taste of the Crispy Apricots was a bit disappointing. The natural apricot flavor is there for sure, but I felt a bit tricked when eating these. They are crispy and LOVE crunchy snacks but there is no follow through. The fruit disintegrates on your tongue and I finished them feeling unsatisfied.

This morning I tried the Crispy Pineapples and I like them 10x better. They are somehow more fulfilling than the apricot. And pineapple is one of my favorite fruits. I became more excited about this product because the Crispy Pineapples are definitely something I would bring to work as a snack when I'm in a "healthy eating" mood. And since I am attempting to taste everything on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try, I tried the Crispy Apples next.

I really enjoyed the Crispy Apples. I think they are my favorite of the three I tried. They somehow keep the apple consistency after you chew them and they do not disintegrate as easily as the apricots. It may be that I am more familiar with apple being "crispy" because there are so many other apple flavored products out there.

Overall, I think these would be really good for someone who likes to bike or hike or camp alot. They are very tasty and would be a really great snack to throw in your backpack. They are as healthy as fresh fruit because all the nutritional value is retained in the freeze-drying process. I suppose anyone on the go alot would appreciate these, I however would rather have a granola bar or something else as a snack.

note* Each package of crispy fruit is 1 Weight Watchers point. Actually, you can have two packages and it still counts as only 1 point.