Purple Cabbage with Bacon and Apple

I am not quite sure what the world would do without bacon, as it seems to be the ingredient of choice in a wide variety of culinary concoctions, including chocolate bars and ice cream. For those of us who do eat meat, and even some who make a bacon exception, it is a deliciously salty and smoky ingredient to add flavor and intensity to so many different dishes. Bacon, from Old French and Old High German, describing the buttock or ham of an animal, can be made from many different cuts of pork, using any number of various curing techniques. However, all bacon is first cured in salt, either brine or dry pack, before being served as fresh bacon, or further cured and dried. Cabbage cooked with bacon is particularly nice and is an easy dish to make and eat as a part of a meal or on its own and goes well with summer squash fritters and succotash.

Green cabbage may be used instead or in addition to purple.

For Jen, who loves bacon.

2 strips bacon, roughly chopped

1 small head purple cabbage, thinly sliced

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 small green apple, halved and thinly sliced

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper

1. Place the bacon in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Fry the bacon until golden brown, stirring continuously. Once the bacon is golden brown, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Add the onion to the pan and fry in the bacon fat over medium heat until the onion begins to brown. Return the bacon to the pan along with the cabbage and stir well to combine. Pour the apple cider vinegar over the cabbage, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low or low, so the cabbage is braising steadily. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and cook evenly.

3. Once the cabbage tender, gently fold in the apple and cover, allowing the apple to braise with the cabbage until it is soft, 5-10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Serve the braised cabbage warm or room temperature.

Serves 3-4

Rustic Apple Pie

Apple pies are quintessential Americana cuisine and though delicious throughout the year, pies are a lovely summer dessert. Apples, a member of the rose family, were among the earliest trees to be cultivated by humans in Central Asia where apples originated. Apple trees were brought to the States during the 17th century and continue to be one of the most widely cultivated trees. Though in the States we consume only a handful of different apples, there are actually thousands of apple cultivars presenting a vast range of characteristics. Apples are the perfect filling for a freeform pie due to their sturdiness and relative lack of juice. Rustic apple pies are the perfect summer dessert, fresh, easy and delicious.

1 ¼ c flour

½ c butter

1 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

ice water

4 medium macintosh or similar apples

2 tbsp brown sugar

½ tsp corn starch

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp butter

1 egg, beaten

1. Gently combine flour, butter, sugar and salt until crumbly in texture, either by hand or food processor. Slowly add ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, gently combining ingredients until dough forms into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place dough in fridge.

2. Peel apples and slice into ¼-½ inch wedges. Toss apple slices with lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Set apples aside.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove dough from fridge and place between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 12-14 inch crust round. Remove top sheet of parchment paper, place crust round and bottom sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

4. Mound filling into a circle in the center of crust about 1" thick, leaving a 2" edge. Place small pieces of butter on top of filling. Fold edge of crust around apple filling, gently pressing folded crust around filling. Using a pastry brush, brush crust with egg.

5. Place pie in oven and bake until crust is golden brown and apples are tender, 30-40 minutes. Remove pie from oven; cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.

Makes one pie

Chicken and Vegetable Tagine with Garlic Currant Couscous

I became interested in cooking tagines a few years ago, while making a northern African inspired meal for a belly-dancing event at the Feathered Pipe Ranch. Tagines are braised stews of spiced meats and vegetables found in Morocco. They receive their name from the clay pot they are cooked in, which consists of a wide shallow bottom dish and a conical cover. A close friend gave me a tagine a few years ago, but alas it is in storage so I made do with a Dutch oven. Beet and tangerine salad or arugula and orange salad are bright citrus additions to a tagine.

Larger golden beets will work as well; I would not use red beets, as they will dye the entire dish. Additional carrots, squash or turnips may be used instead of beets. Water could substitute for wine. If you are using a tagine pot, the braising portion of the recipe would happen in the oven after being readied on the range.

Chicken and Vegetable Tagine

1 lb chicken thighs, skinned and boned

1 medium yellow onion, trimmed and chopped

2 medium yukon potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into ½ inch rounds

10 small golden beets, quartered

1 zucchini, trimmed, halved and sliced into ½ inch segments

½ green pepper, trimmed and finely diced

1 tart apple, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped

½ c white wine

1 c chicken stock

½ c water

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp honey

1 sprig of thyme

¼ c parsley, roughly chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Garlic Currant Couscous

2 c cooked couscous

½ c currants

½ red onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, pressed or chopped

¼ c parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Chicken and Vegetable Tagine

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken and brown both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from Dutch oven, place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Working in separate batches, brown onions, apples, potatoes, carrots and beets in the Dutch oven over medium heat, placing browned vegetables aside with chicken and adding olive oil to Dutch oven as necessary.

3. Next, combine white wine, cinnamon, honey thyme and garlic to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, return browned chicken and vegetables to the Dutch oven and bring liquid back to a simmer. Once simmering again, add water and chicken stock, stir to combine. Cover Dutch oven, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Add zucchini and green pepper, cover and continue to simmer until tender, about 5 minutes, adding water ¼ c at a time as necessary to maintain cooking liquid.

5. Once all vegetables are tender, add parsley and remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm over garlic currant couscous.

Garlic Currant Couscous

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until onions begin to brown slightly. Add currants and continue sautéing until currants are soft. Turn heat off, add parsley and garlic and sauté off heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Combine sautéed ingredients with cooked couscous in a mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 3-4

Beer Stewed Pork with Apples and Leeks

Warm pots of stewed foods seem especially fitting for fall and the combination of leeks, pork and apples only enhances the fittingness for fall. I made this dish earlier in November, before the snow arrived in Montana and picked the apples from a tree in the yard, which seemed an appropriate way to spend time while the leaves were changing. Now a blanket of snow has replaced the colorful leaves, and a pork and beer stew seems even more appealing for the colder weather. Stewed pork may be served with many different dishes including brown rice fritters and chickpea flatbread.

Any variety of tart firm apple lends itself well to the pork and beer. I used new purple potatoes again because I love their color, but other new waxy potatoes are just as good. A light to medium beer is best, as dark beer tends to mask the flavors of the other ingredients.

1 lb pork chops, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 leek, trimmed and roughly chopped

2 c apples, trimmed and quartered or halved depending on size of apple

½ red pepper, trimmed and finely diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced

2 stalks of celery, trimmed and finely diced

2 c new potatoes, quartered

¼ c parsley, finely chopped

½ c water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 12 oz beer, light or medium

salt and pepper

2 c cooked sweet brown rice

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add pork and brown, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove pork from pot and set aside.

2. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tbsp olive oil to pot. Add the potatoes and brown slightly, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Once potatoes have browned, add carrot, celery and apple and stir to combine.

3. Return pork to pot, add beer and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add water, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add leek and red pepper, stir to combine and continue cooking until leek is soft, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat once all vegetables are tender and stir in parsley.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm over brown rice.

Serves 3-4

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Roasting is one of my favorite methods of preparation, especially when the weather is cooler as it both warms the house and smells deliciously of fall. I find roasting squash is an easy way to both prepare it, because little work is involved, and a good way to enhance the flavor of any given recipe, especially those that have few ingredients. I like to roast squash until it may easily be pierced with a knife, its skin separates from the flesh and its surface begins to caramelize. I like butternut squash soup with pasties or stuffed bell peppers.

Other squash varieties may be used instead of or in addition to butternut. Any fairly tart apple will work well. I topped my soup with sour cream, fried shallots and sautéed scallions.

1 1b butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

2 tart apples, peeled, cored and roughly cut

1 medium yellow onion, trimmed and roughly cut

1 large carrot, peeled, trimmed and roughly cut

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil plus additional to rub squash

water

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425. Rub squash with some olive oil and place in oven face side up. Roast squash until tender and slightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove flesh from skin, place in mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add butter and olive oil, once melted add carrots, onions and apples. Stir occasionally, remove from heat when carrots are tender.

3. Purée squash with about ½ c water until smooth. Add squash to a large pot. Purée carrots, onions and apples with about ½ c water until smooth. Add to puréed squash.

4. Using a whisk, combine both purées and slowly add water until soup reaches desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm, plain or with desired toppings.

Serves 3-4