Autumn and Apples

[Rebecca Hill]

You can't go through the Fall here in upstate New York without going apple-picking. And while it's fun and a great way to spend the day and you can get an amaaaazing amount of apples ($20 a bag works out to roughly about $1 a pound or less) you can quickly run out of apple recipes. But here is an hiker-friendly apple recipe that is easy to make and packs well to boot.

Maple Olive Oil Apple Chips

Ingredients:

• 4 apples
• 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Bit of salt

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 250. Coat two baking sheets with non-stick spray.
2. Combine maple syrup, olive oil, and salt in a large bowl
3. Thinly slice the apples and place them in the bowl with the maple syrup mixture.
4. Toss to coat the apple slices. Arrange the apple slices in a single layer on the baking sheets.
5. Bake for 1 and a half to two hours or until the apples are dry.
6. Store in an airtight container

Want something a little different?

Homemade Apple Leather

Ingredients:

• Apple Spice Fruit Leather
• 8 cups chopped apples (if you have a high-powered blender, just leave them unpeeled)
• 1 cup spiced apple cider
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 170° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or microwave-safe plastic wrap.
2. Combine the apples, apple cider, and cinnamon in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until the apples are soft.
3. Puree the mixture in a blender and pour onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently shake the baking sheet to spread out the fruit puree.
4. Bake until the fruit is mostly dried out, but still a little sticky.
5. Cool completely and then cut into strips. Store in a tightly sealed container.

 

[campforums]

Apple picking is also something that I enjoy doing every fall. There are lots of apple orchards in southern Ontario where I live also and in fact I have a couple bags of fresh apples in my fridge right now from picking. We also often make something similar to that first recipe except with squash instead of apples. It really goes well with the maple syrup but we have quite a few apples so more recipes are always good for when we get tired of eating them raw.