Five blondes. A battered jeep. An apple orchard.
We found what we were looking for.
An escape route. Visions of apple tartin. Shots of apple calvados.
But as we left the city, the sky became awash with blue. Our apple adventure necessitated much lighter choices. The apple apéritif could wait until Fall.
After much debate, we settled on micro greens with fennel and apple, and an apple and pear compote drizzled in honey. The fore-runners were:
- the traditional British apple crumble (Katie C)
- the raw foodie’s snack – dehydrated apple chips (Katie W)
- the more masculine choice – pork stuffed with sage and apples (Matt B), and
- the simple – fresh apples (Sarah P)
Filling our pomme sac we collected 40 pounds of apples from Cortland to Macintoish and Golden Delicious. We needed a tractor to carry our apple loot back to our jeep. Alas, there was no tractor in sight.
But we were brave. We could see the barn. Wasn’t this just like a Barry’s Bootcamp workout with apple bags? City-folk we are. And just at that moment, we were rescued, the battered jeep arrived. We called him Hef.
Hef returned us to the barn where we feasted on grass-fed burgers and Hudson-valley ice-cream, and watched the line to the apple donuts never get shorter than 10 people deep… Sigh.
Bellies full, we returned to our jeep, said goodbye to Fishkill Farms and took the 90 minute drive back to the city. But just as we hit 48th street, Hef couldn’t cope with the five blondes. He was smoking like a mad-man and plunged to his death.
Being blondes we assumed it was entering Time Square that killed Hef, and perhaps it was? He was a Brooklyn jeep, after-all.
Micro Greens with Fennel and Apple
Ingredients
- 1 small fennel bulb
- 1 medium apple
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons EVOO
- 1 tablespoon poppy seed
- 1 tablespoon fennel sprigs
- ¾ teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 2 cups micro greens
Directions
Shave the fennel finely (about 1.5 cups). Slice the apple into thin strips. Toss both into a bowl with the lemon juice to prevent browning. Add the olive oil, poppy seed, fennel sprigs and salt. Mix well.
When ready to serve, divide the micro greens among two dishes and top with the fennel-apple salad mixture. Enjoy!
Apple and Pear Compote with Honey
Ingredients
- 1 pound apples
- 2⁄3 pound pears
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Directions
Peel, core and dice the apples and pears. Pour lemon juice over them and add to saucepan. Add cinnamon sticks. Pour 1⁄2 cup water and the fruit mixture. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the fruit from sticking. Once soft, remove from the heat, add the honey, and mix gently.
Serve with clotted cream or vanilla bean ice-cream (or solo if you’re being less decadent).
Photo Credit: rawfoodrecipes.com
