Pumpkin hype during the months of October and November has us seeing orange. Pumpkin products, beverages and foods swarm our grocery stores, coffee shops, recipe books and news feeds. Health and beauty aisles even display pumpkin hair products! Our high pumpkin fever would make the fabled Great Pumpkin proud!
Other than the pumpkin’s relatives, squashes, gourds, cucumbers and melons, there is a noteworthy competitor that curbs our Cucurbitacean craze: the apple. Despite its mythical symbolism of being a forbidden fruit, apples deserve a place in the spotlight as part of a gold medal autumn harvest for the dinner table.
There is almost a different kind of apple for each taste preference! Prodigious varieties of reds, Golden Delicious and green Granny Smiths are like gleaming ornaments in our grocer’s produce section. While many prefer Granny Smiths as a cooking apple, some of the sweeter apple varieties are wonderful in combination with grains or in desserts. And of course they are excellent simply for snacking!
If your sweet tooth craves a tart, sweet, juicy apple, you will be satisfied with a mere 65 calories for about a cup serving. This crisp, nature’s candy also has fiber, called pectin, that leaves you feeling full longer and offers complex carbs for sustained energy, mentally and physically.
But you’ve probably seen article after article about health benefits of apples and are likely acquainted with the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Ok, well noted. Now let’s get down to what we all look forward to: delicious, creative ways to prepare them.
Bread pudding is an old southern recipe with several adaptations. If you have extra bread that is perhaps a bit stale (not spoiled or molded!), try this variation of the traditional treat with apples added. This classic dessert serves well washed down with a good cup of coffee or varieties of black tea:
Southern Bread Pudding
4 cups cubed dry bread
1 small to medium apple, cubed
3/4 cup raisins
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups milk (use whole for creamier texture)
3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes
Directions:
Grease a 2-quart glass baking dish with butter or a cooking spray. Mix the cubed bread, apples and raisins and put into the dish. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs into the milk, then add the sugar and spices. Pour this mixture over the bread mixture, then dot the top with butter cubes. Bake for 50 mins. at 375 degrees F and let set for about 10 mins. before topping with your favorite vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or the following vanilla sauce:
Vanilla Rum Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or cornstarch
Dash of ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of rum
Directions:
Stir the first four ingredients together in a bowl. Melt the butter and add the four-ingredient mixture to it. Over medium heat, slowly whisk in the milk and stir until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and rum. Serve over partially cooled bread pudding.
