Apple-licious

Aaaaand we're back! After my most intense summer in the real world (I've only had two, but still), I'm back in the kitchen. Summer '13 was filled with lots of farm shares and Subway. Let me elaborate - the farm share arrived to my office every Tuesday, kindly delivered by The Food Project, and I mostly ate it raw with some leafy greens. Some days I wished to cook my raw veggies, but I can't ever pass up all the activities. Subway and other assorted fast food 'wiches were the were consumed during many long weekends far away from my fridge teaching drum corps. But life has returned to moderately normal activity and now my fridge is filled and emptied more frequently than that mom's womb on "19 Kids and Counting".

New season of blogging, new kitchen. This one comes equipped with ample walking space, a high-top table, and I just requested a portable kitchen island for my birthday. Since I resumed my cooking endeavors in the fall, and coincidentally went apple picking the weekend prior (Happy Birthday, Hannah Bo!), it felt only appropriate to cook fall-themed dishes. Twenty apples and one butternut squash peeled and cored, with the gracious assistance of my new neighbor and long-time dragon boating friend, Irene! :) 

In case you were wondering, PYO means "Pick Your Own"

Cooking with apples is as easy as 1-2-3-4!

1. Butternut squash lasagna

This recipe was described to me over the weekend by my good friend Caity (hence no recipe hyperlink), whom I requested to dictate the recipe to me over the phone on the night of the apple cooking extravaganza. The last time I cooked with butternut squash was when I attempted spaghetti squash (which I still haven't tried again). It came out alright, but tasted strangely of layered apples and butternut squash with a bread crumb topping, which was pretty much all it consisted of. 

2. Apple butternut squash soup

This was an obvious recipe of choosing after purchasing a ginormous (technical term) butternut squash. Although I'm not sure what apple butternut squash soup is supposed to taste like, I think I flavored it incorrectly with cumin or something. A three-month cooking hiatus leaves a cooker quite rusty with her spices, my B.

The beginnings of the squash

3. Applesauce

I wish I made way more 'sauce, it was so damn good. I added the right amount of sugar but left the cinnamon and nutmeg to the consumer's discretion (although there's been one consumer so far and that would be me...). I now know that homemade applesauce is loaded with sugar but quite tasty and sugary, and may revisit this recipe during the Thanksgiving season.

Licking the spoooon! Not sure why I look so orange..

4. Apple crisp

At the beginning of the night, I had fully intended to cook an apple yogurt pie. However, as my bedtime was fast approaching and I was approaching hour three of cooking after a three-month hiatus, I decided to take the easy road. After a quick stop at a neighbor's house for an additional glass pan, the ingredients went into the pan, which went into the oven faster than you could say "Dana has the best cooking blog ever". I managed to pull the crisp out of the oven right before beddy-byes. 

Crisp not pictured, consumed too quickly :)

'Til next time, little chefs! Oooh I've missed saying that! Eeeee! :)