Autumn provides an abundance of certain foods … and besides, the change of season just makes us hungry for those apple desserts and tomato-laced stews. The sweet peppers are becoming red and we all have our favorite culinary uses for those. I thought I’d share some of mine.
My favorite apple cakes are the Hungarian style, which either means the not-too-sweet European type of cake or the streusel-topped quick one pan types.
In the first, Apple, category is:
Szegedi Cake
- 3/4 c. butter
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 c.brown sugar
- 1/2 c.chopped walnuts
- 3/4 c.sugar
- 3 eggs -separated,beat whites stiff
- pinch salt
- 2 tsp.baking powder
- 1 c. sour cream
- 2 med. apples,chopped
- confectioner sugar
Method
(1) Stir 2 tsp butter and brown sugar,cinnamon and walnuts til crumbly.
(2) Beat butter and white sugar til creamy.Add egg yolks.
Add flour, salt, and baking powder, alternating with sour cream.
(3) Fold in stiff egg whites. Turn 1/2 batter into greased tube pan
Sprinkle with the walnut mixture, then apples.
Top with remaining batter.
(4) Bake at 350 degrees
for 50-60 minutes
4) Cool, and sprinkle with Confectioners sugar
Excellent company cake, can be served with whipped cream or ice cream, or plain.
The Vegetable category:
Ratatouille
Method
You need eggplant, zucchini, ripe red tomatoes, sweet peppers ( any color), onions, and garlic, as well as some Provençal herbs, like thyme, rosemary, and bayleaf. Chop up vegetables into medium chunks, saute onion in some olive oil, then add in the other vegetables, cook with additional olive oil ( the flavored types are wonderful- rosemary or garlic flavored are my favorites for this). Add in herbs, salt and pepper, and cook until soft, but not mushy.
Quick, healthy, delicious. There are many recipes for this on the web with more careful prep. directions, but this is how I make it. Very good on the side of any meat, but fine on its own, it is a Mediterranean flavored dish and goes well with couscous or pasta and fresh salad of any type.
Lots of Sweet red peppers? Slice them up, sprinkle with olive oil, roast on low heat for a little while, and you have roasted red peppers to dress up your veggies, to flavor your grilled chicken, to add to your spagetti. A few other things on the plate and you have anti-pasto for any pasta-based meal.
