FRESH BAKED APPLE TART

One of the best memories I have growing up was when we'd get a phone call from our neighbor asking us (myself and my older sister) in for some apple tart. She was an elderly lady, loved us, as her kids were all "growed up". We knew the routine and played it well. She made different tarts and crumbles every week. Apple, rhubarb, berries the lot. We could smell them in the oven from our house and would be casually hanging around the phone. The call always came and man you never saw two kids run faster. I was probably no more than 8 or 9 but can remember it vividly. I'm not really big into desserts but show me an apple tart and ice cream, gone.

There are so many recipes out there for various pies, tarts, crumbles that I decided to focus more on the filling than the pastry. You can buy good quality tart shells in most stores. I was in Wholefoods yesterday and got one. A lot of people don't want the hassle of making a pie crust so these are perfect.

1 9 inch pie crust
Pre-heat oven 375 degrees
Filling Recipe:
5 medium apples - sliced (Arkansas black, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. honey/agave
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
I used the Arkansas Black apples which I came across at the farmers market the other day. Crisp and sweet. You should look for a firm variety such as those above so they don't break down too much when cooking and hold their shape better. The Granny smiths will need more sweetening than the others so taste them and decide for yourself.

If using a pre-made pie crust, par bake it for 20 mins. and let cool. Halve, core and slice your apples to 1/4 inch thickness. Place them in a bowl of lemon water to prevent them from turning brown. In large saute pan over medium-low heat melt the butter. Once it begins to foam add your honey and stir for 30 sec. Add the sliced apples, cinnamon and allspice and coat gently. Cook for 3-4 mins. till the apples begin to soften. Set aside to cool. Once ready lay filling gently into tart shell.
Press down the apples to as to fill the whole tart. Bake for 25 mins.
Once ready, let cool.
Serving suggestion: Fresh raspberry sauce.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Here we go again. Turkey, mash potatoes, gravy, pies, the lot. A good time by all but we'll pay for it in January (a great time to own a gym with all those new members.) This is a healthy low-fat way to start your meal and will let you have that extra piece of pie.

Butternut squash is a more watery squash and tastes very much like sweet potatoes with a sweet nutty flavor. Typically butter and sugar are used to make this soup but if you know anything about my cooking these are two items rarely used. I prefer adding chopped apple to sweeten or even carrot as I've done today, which also enhances the color of the soup. If you want to vary the flavor you could add 1 tbsp. curry powder as you're sauteing the onions. I often make this for my clients and alter the flavor by adding the apple, curry, nutmeg or even sweet potatoes or parsnips. Don't be afraid to play around and see what you come up with.
Recipe:
4 cups roughly diced & peeled butternut squash
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 carrot-roughly chopped
5 cups low-sodium chicken/vegetable broth
2 tbsp. olive oil
S&P to taste

Yields 6 cups

Saute the onions on medium heat for 5 mins, no color. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute. Add the squash and carrot and continue to cook for 10 mins stirring occasionally. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer until vegetables are tender, 30 mins. approx. In a blender, puree until smooth and season to taste. Easy as that. To make it even easier you can purchase already peeled squash and then all you have to do is chop. This is great to make in advance and even freeze if need be.

ANOTHER FRIDAY DINNER

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES
I got a comment from John who asked for suggestions for heirloom tomatoes, apart from eating them as they are. Since they're still in season right now, I wanted to find out a bit more about them so I headed over to another farmers market yesterday to get the scoop. Apparently there are over 4,000 varieties available worldwide from Greece to Italy to the US, New Zealand and on to Russia. I shit you not. I thought there was only around 400. Heirlooms are open-pollinated, which means the flowers are pollinated by wind or insects. This also means you can save the seeds and they'll produce the next year. Heirloom tomatoes are bred for taste not appearance, which you probably noticed if you've seen some of them. We see the first batch get to the markets around March when the season begins. I got some mixed opinions as to when the season's finished up but it's somewhere between November and January, either way we've got a couple more months to go. The main reason why the season is getting longer is because of global climate change, which as we know affects more than just our tomatoes, but that's a different story altogether.

I came up with a few suggestions other than the usual tomato, mozzarella and basil salad:
Homemade heirloom gazpacho (use different colored tomatoes)
Orzo w/ blistered grape heirlooms, fresh herbs (parsley, mint), mozzarella
BAKED COUS-COUS STUFFED HEIRLOOM
Recipe below Serving suggestion: Pair with grilled paprika dusted tofu and asparagus
4 servings
4 x medium heirloom tomatoes (not too ripe and vary colors for presentation)
2/3 x cup un-cooked cous-cous (2 cups cooked)
1 x cup water or broth (low sodium preferably) I like to control who much salt I use
1 x tsp. salt
1 x lemon, zested
1/2 x red onion, fine dice
1/2 x red pepper, fine dice
2 x tbsp. olive oil
1 x tbsp. fresh basil,chopped
1 x tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 x tbsp. kalamata olives,chopped
2 x tbsp. feta cheese
S&P to taste
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Begin by bringing your salted broth or water to a boil and once ready add cous-cous, cover and remove from heat for allotted cooking time per instructions on box. Make sure you check it so it won't overcook. Saute the onion and peppers in olive oil on medium heat not getting too much color. Once ready set aside in mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, cut tops off your tomatoes and carefully scoop out the center. Keep the insides. Chop and add to your onion pepper mixture. TIP: You can do this ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. I suggest putting some paper towel in the cavity to soak up some of the juice.
Once everything is ready, carefully using a fork, mix your ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning as preferred. Gently fill each tomato with your mixture and bake covered for 20-30 minutes. Because all heirlooms are different, the cooking time may vary so when the tomato is soft to the touch you're ready.
You can serve this with any entree or even as an appetizer. Enjoy!