Produce with Amy

“I stand holding the apple in both hands. It feels precious, like a heavy treasure. I lift it up and smell it. It has such an odour of outdoors on it I want to cry.” 
― Margaret AtwoodOne of my favorite parts of fall is the selection of apples at the market. Since childhood I have had an affinity for crisp, tart, green apples. Some of my fondest memories stem from my best friend Kim’s front yard in Crystal Falls where several apple trees grew. Kim, the daredevil that she was, would scale the tree for the largest fruit for our feast. Of course, this sampling of apples always involved a salt shaker. Yes, there is nothing like the combination of sour apples with salt! 🙂

Last week I made a large Crock-pot of slow cooked apples and they were a marvelous treat to eat during the week. They turned out like a sweet and tart applesauce and I warmed them before eating. I can only imagine how good they would be with a large dollop of ice cream on top. The recipe that I came up with rendered eight cups so I was able to freeze quite a number of servings to enjoy over the next few weeks.

My recipe goes very light on the oatmeal so if you want to enjoy this recipe for breakfast you may want to add extra oatmeal and liquid (or you could leave out the oatmeal and mix the fruity deliciousness into a bowl of oatmeal). When I joined Weight Watchers I ate oatmeal every morning for the first few years and I think that I burnt myself out of oats. However, on occasion I do sometimes still enjoy a bowl. This recipe may just make me a fan of oatmeal again.

SWEET & TART SLOW COOKER APPLES WITH CRANBERRIES, PUMPKIN, AND OATMEAL
*Printable shopping list and recipe below

• 12 ounce bag of cranberries
• 9 apples (I used five green and four red. The apples that I used were small)
• 2 cups of oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats but a lot of crock pot oatmeal recipes call for steel-cut oats)
• 2 cups of milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1 cup of pumpkin
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar (you could substitute your favorite sweetener such as honey and maple sugar)
• Zest and juice from one orange
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon nutmeg
• 2 ounces of raisins (next time I would probably leave the raisins out since they fell apart and I would add before serving)

Add all the ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high for 5 hours. As I said earlier, the texture was very much like applesauce. If you want the apples more firm you could cook for a shorter time period.

Printable shopping list and recipe: Sweet & Tart Slow Cooker Apples with Cranberries, Pumpkin, and Oatmeal
This time of year I think it is important to come up with healthy versions of comfort food and this recipe really does the trick. While I am not a big fan of kitchen gadgets, one item that I do recommend is an apple slicer and corer. My mom bought this one for me a few years ago and it is essential for recipes that contain apples.

Mike and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and it felt spectacular to relax before the hustle-and-bustle of December. On Thanksgiving morning, before heading out-of-town, we were treated with a visit from some feathered friends. A group of cardinals (over seven) have taken residence in the large cedars in our backyard.

A friend shared that in recent years flocks of cardinals have moved into our northern location in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The cardinals were joined by a huge flock of pigeons, chickadees, black birds, and a lone and brilliant blue jay. We were delighted to realize this morning that the cardinals were still in our backyard and we will continue to replenish our feeders with seed this winter. I could not help but be reminded by one of my favorite quotes by Louise Glück, “It’s a mistake to think of them as birds, they are so often messengers.” My friend Ann said that cardinals symbolize health, strength and vitality and Mike and I believe that they are helping usher in positive energy for 2014.

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Speaking a positive and healthy New Year, did you start the December Green Smoothie Challenge today? If not, it is not to late to join. Mid-week I will be posting a shopping list and recipes for Week #2. If you decide to make this recipe, buy an extra-large can of pumpkin because the second week’s recipes will contain pumpkin.

Here is a photo of Sunday Energizer smoothie that I enjoyed this morning. I love the zing that the fresh ginger brings to my glass.

Pin this recipe here.

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In January I will be celebrating the one year anniversary of launching my blog and I am so thankful for all the support of my readers. I love shopping in the grocery store and having someone say, “hey, I really love your recipes and your blog.” It is hard to believe that last year at this time I was nervous about putting myself out there and I wondered if people would be interested in what I had to say. Thank you for making 2013 so full of light and I am excited to continue sharing this healthy journey with others!