The Weeksville Farmers Market can be pretty quiet, especially on rainy days like this one. If you're a chef looking for big crowds to feed, you won't find them here, and the locals are generally skeptical of unfamiliar dishes (as well as my cooking skills). That said, today's Fall Festival drew a nice crowd and it seems all I needed was the aroma of onions and ginger about me to get people excited.
In my first batch of Crunchy Apple Stir-Fry (a recipe adapted from Melissa’s Online), I used Golden Delicious apples for their firmness; alongside other ingredients like carrots they seemed the best choice. However, they didn't add the crunchy sweet kick I had hoped for. (You'll notice in my tweet from the market that one woman said it was just "ok.") I julianed the Honey Crisp variety for the second batch, and added about 2 tablespoons of Red Jacket Orchards Apple Cider, resulting in a much tastier dish.
As I cooked, I chatted with a few ladies from the neighborhood (who watched my every move) about food, healthcare, and their favorite apple recipes. Apples tossed in a bit of oil and brown sugar seemed to be popular among these native Southerners. They shared tips with me, and I shared one with them that I picked up from photographer Anjali Bhargava: freezing your ginger makes it easier to grate. In this stir-fry, grating the tuber allows for more even distribution of its flavor. You can add or substitute celery, green or red pepper, green beans and other vegetables of your liking. Frozen veggie mixes are second best to fresh produce and make for a quicker meal.
Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup snow peas
1/2-1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp apple cider or juice
2 tsp low-sodium organic soy sauce
1 Tbsp ginger, ground, grated or minced
2 medium apples, cored and thinly sliced
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion and carrots; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add snow peas, water, cider or juice, ginger and soy sauce; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add apple slices and cook 2 minutes longer. Serve hot over brown rice. Makes 4+ servings.
About Apples
Apples are members of the rose family. The first colonists brought Apple seeds to North America. The first recorded apple tree planting in the United States was in 1629 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. There are over 7,000 different varieties of apples. Each apple seed will grow into a unique tree that will often yield undesirable fruit. Therefore, all apples that we commonly know today have been grafted to be appetizing. In the Northeast the height of apple season is from September to November. Northeast apple varieties best for eating are McIntosh, Macoun, Red and Golden Delicious, Empire, and Cortland. Good varieties for baking are Roma, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Baldwin, Cortland, and Empire. One medium apple contains 20% of the fiber recommended daily. Fiber appears to reduce the risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, diverticular disease, and constipation. --Courtesy Just Food Veggie Tip Sheets
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