Last year around this time, CHG ran a week-long cooking series called Lollappleooza, during which I posted four or five apple-based recipes, as well as an extensive post on the fruit’s many uses. The idea was spawned by a trip to a Pick Your Own farm, where The Boyfriend and I grabbed enough apples to sink a cruise liner. (And, to our great credit, we didn’t throw any at passing cars.)
This year, we opted to visit Long Island’s biggest corn maze instead of going apple-picking. (Because we're 12.) So, much like its namesake music festival, Lollappleooza has been reduced to a single day. And that day? Is today! (Whee!)
Last night, we had Curried Pork With Apples, a recipe I found on the ever-so-lovely Casual Kitchen. (Look for a larger article soon on Serious Eats.) The Boyfriend’s parents are staying with us, and we scarfed it along with some brown rice, and then had apple crisp and Ben & Jerry’s Cake Batter ice cream for dessert. (Side note: I realize this is as healthy/frugal cooking blog, but exceptions have to be made. So … GO GET THAT ICE CREAM RIGHT NOW. It tastes like an all-natural version of a fake food that’s trying to mimic a baked-from-scratch cake. And it is as TOTALLY DELICIOUS as that description is confusing.)
I also made AllRecipes' Spiced Slow Cooker Applesauce for later in the week. As a rule, most applesauce is ridiculously, brain-numbingly easy to make, and this is no exception. Yes, it takes seven hours to cook, but beyond that, it’s basically:
- peel apples
- dump in slow cooker
- add water
- cook
- add more stuff
- cook
- eat
As always, there are a few notes if you decide to make the sauce yourself:
1) It’s on the sweet side. Cut a ¼ cup of brown sugar if you’re not crazy about tooth decay.
2) I had very, very small apples, so I ended up using ten instead of eight.
3) My apples were clearly labeled $1.99 for 3 lbs. I didn’t realize until I got home that the store had charged me $3.99. For the sake of my sanity, the calculations reflect the correct $1.99 price.
4) The nutrition numbers are provided by AllRecipes, so only the price is figured out below.
Happy Lollappleooza 2008!
Spiced Slow Cooker Applesauce
Makes about 2-2/3 cups of sauce
Adapted from All Recipes.
8 or 10 apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 5 cups)1/2 cup water
1/2 to 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1) Add apples and water to slow cooker. Turn to LOW and cook betwen 6 and 8 hours. Add sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine. Cook 30 additional minutes.
Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
159 calories, 0.5 g fat, $0.25
Calculations
8 apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 5 cups): $1.32
1/2 cup water: negligible calories and fat, $0.00
3/4 cup packed brown sugar: $0.34
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice: $0.35
TOTAL: $2.01
PER SERVING (TOTAL/8): 159 calories, 0.5 g fat, $0.25
