COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 •
3A
Cook’s Corner: Using fall apples in your kitchen recipes
By Betty Kaiser
For The Sentinel
Time flies! It seems like
just yesterday it was June and
we were planting flowers and
tomatoes while looking for-
ward to summer days, barbe-
cues, peaches and watermel-
on. Now, I am so done with
summer and ready for the
weather to get a little cooler
and put the gardens to bed.
My first “foodie” thought
for the soon-to-be fall season
is always... apples!
Oregon is a great place to
grow (and buy) apples. There
are so many ways to use the
old Johnny Appleseed fa-
vorite that it’s hard to know
where to begin. Of course,
we can all heed the adage
that “An apple a day keeps
the doctor away” and often
have one for lunch.
Thanks to the mild weath-
er and abundant rainfall, Or-
egon orchards produce more
nthan 21 apple varieties. Gala
and Fuji are the most abun-
dant crops, but each variety
has just a little different ap-
pearance and taste.
Check out these newer
ones.
• Fuji’s are a Japanese cre-
ation and have been around
since the 1980s. Their par-
ents are the American Red
Delicious and the Ralls Janet.
They are large with speck-
led pink. They are sweet and
very juicy and come fresh on
the market from Oct. to Dec.
Good for making sugar-free
applesauce.
• Galas are another favor-
ite. They are medium-sized
with a range of colors. They
are a cross between a Golden
Delicious and a Kidd’s Or-
ange Red. I like them for eat-
ing out of hand or cooking.
They ripen early and store
well.
• Honeycrisps have been
around about 20 years but
they are excellent ready-to-
eat apples right out of the re-
frigerator. Their flat tops and
bottoms highlight their red
peel with light green or yel-
low. They start to ripen about
now and are good keepers.
• I started making small
batches of homemade apple
sauce when my kids were lit-
tle. Golden or Red Delicious
apples would get kind of old
and it was quick to mix up a
batch for dinner to go with
pork chops, etc.
One year, I tried canning
a small batch mixed with a
couple of Granny Smiths. It
worked so well that apple-
sauce canning became my
regular fall season ritual.
The following apple sauce
recipe is a mixture of three or
more old-fashioned apples.
First, I use some Granny
Smiths that have bright green
skin, are firm, subtly sweet
and crisp in texture.
Also, some Gravensteins,
a tart, green, end-of-summer
apple that can be baked, sau-
téed, roasted or slow cooked
and pureed.
Then I add the national
apple of Canada — McIntosh
apples. They have red and
green skin, a tart flavor and
tender flesh. They ripen in
late Sept. and are perfect for
pies or sauce.
Check out my home-
grown recipe below along
with my mother’s recipe for
Old Fashioned Applesauce
Cookies.
Everyone loves them and
they are great in back-to-
school lunches.
apples are tender and trans-
lucent and juices thicken.
Mash apples with a pota-
to masher until desired tex-
ture is reached. Add sugar to
taste and cinnamon; stir un-
til dissolved. Serve warm or
chilled. If canning, process
according to your canner’s
instructions.
Yield: unknown. It all de-
pends on the apples.
BETTY’S APPLESAUCE
Note: We use an old-fash-
(Can be frozen or canned) ioned apple peeler gadget. It
• 12-14 large apples, works like a charm because
peeled and coarsely chopped my husband does it!
(about 6 ½ pounds)
Note: I use a mixture of
OLD-FASHIONED
3 varieties of apples in the APPLESAUCE COOKIES
sauce.
• ½ cup shortening (not
• 3-4 cups water
margarine)
• 2-1/2 cups sugar (can
• 1 cup sugar
be a mixture of brown and
• 1 large egg
white)
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoon cinna-
Peel and core apples and mon
put in a bowl of cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
with lemon.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
Drain.
• 1/2 teaspoon baking
Put apples and water in a soda
Dutch oven (large pot) and
• 1 teaspoon baking pow-
bring to a boil over medi- der
um-high heat. Reduce heat
• 1 cup sweetened apple-
and simmer, stirring often sauce
with a potato masher (!) until
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped wal-
nuts
Cream the shortening and
sugar together. After they are
well blended, add the egg to
the mixture and beat until
light and fluffy.
Sift the flour together
with the cinnamon, cloves,
salt, baking soda and baking
powder.
Add the sifted ingredients
alternating with the apple-
sauce to the creamed mixture
and blend together.
Next, add the raisins and
nuts and mix until blend-
ed. Drop by teaspoons onto
greased cookie baking sheets.
Can be iced later.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahr-
enheit for 15 to 20 minutes
until well browned. Cool on
wire racks.
'Makes about 3-4 dozen
depending on size of cookies.
Contact Betty Kaiser’s
Chatterbox at 942-1317 or
email bchatty@
bettykaiser.com
Matsutke mushroom picking permits now available as season begins
ROSEBURG — Matsutake
mushroom permits are now avail-
able for the Umpqua National For-
est. The permits, which became
available Sept. 4, are also good for
harvesting on the Fremont-Wine-
ma, Willamette and Deschutes Na-
tional Forests, except in wilderness
areas.
The 2018 matsutake mushroom
season runs through Nov. 4.
To pick mushrooms on national
forest system lands, a permit from
the U.S. Forest Service is required.
A commercial use permit for
matsutake mushrooms is $200
for the 62-day season,
$100 for
a half-season (valid for 31 con-
secutive days) or $8 per day with
a three-day minimum purchase
(picking days need not be consec-
utive).
Harvesters must be at least 18
years of age with a valid U.S. gov-
ernment-issued ID in order to pur-
chase a permit.
Each person picking mush-
rooms must have a permit.
The permits may be purchased
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to
4 p.m., at all district offices of the
Umpqua National Forest. Offices
are located in Tiller, Glide, Toketee
and Cottage Grove.
Permits are also available at dis-
trict offices of the Deschutes, Fre-
mont-Winema and Willamette Na-
tional Forests.
Hours may vary by ranger dis-
trict.
Included with each permit is an
informational synopsis and a map
showing areas open for harvesting.
The permit is not valid on state
or private property.
Areas closed to harvest include
Crater Lake National Park, New-
berry National Volcanic Monu-
ment, HJ Andrews Experimental
Forest, and Research Natural Areas,
Wilderness areas, Oregon Cascades
Recreation Area, campgrounds,
and othewr areas that are posted
closed.
ore
We Fetch You M yo
ur door!
…and deliver it all to
EVERY CHILD
HAS A CHANCE– ®
IT’S YOU.
Get FREE e-edition access
with your subscription!
Our e-edition gives you full online access to all of the
valuable features included in our print edition, plus
bonus weekly deals and shoppelocal.biz.
Local News
Local Events, Entertainment & Special Off ers
Weekly Coupon Savings
Restaurant & Dining Coupons
Th emed Special Sections
Local Jobs & Classifi ed Listings
Local Real Estate
Local Sports Reporting
Games, Puzzles & TV
541.942.3325
Subscribe Today
with our most fetching off er yet!
Weekly Delivery,
Only $32.00 a year
New Subscribers only
Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Cancel anytime! Th is
off er is not transferable and the off er is available those
who have not subscribed in the last 31 days. Special
introductory off ers are limited to no more than two
special subscriptions in a twelve month period and
must be paid in advance to qualify for special rate.
Once the above discounted period ends, you will be
billed at the regular subscription rates.
Learn more at casa-lane.org
Volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.
A rewarding, professional volunteer opportunity in 10-15 hours a month
helping foster children stay safe and healthy.
The next training class starts in January
with applications due by December 7th.
For more information visit
casa-lane.org or call 541.868.3087.
Plus, Subscribe by phone by
September 26, 2018, and your
First Month is FREE!
S entinel
C ottage G rove
116 N. 6th St. • PO Box 35 • Cottage Grove, OR 97424
www.cgsentinel.com
A powerful voice for abused and neglected children across Lane County