Thursday, September 23, 2010

Apples to apples



Ever played the card game, Apples to Apples?  This week we played our own version: Apples to apples to more and more and more apples.  The game is ongoing, seeing as we are chopping away at 750 lbs of Golden Supreme, Jonathon, and Golden Delicious as we speak, but we have taken significant strides; last week we processed 500 lbs of apples into 362 lbs of product.


They never even saw it coming.


What could we possibly be doing with so many apples?  Two things: baked apples and applesauce.  The former is made by slicing raw apples and tossing them with a sugar n’ spice blend, and the latter is made with a subtle zing of zested lemon.   

Soon to be applesauce!
First, however, comes the manual labor.  The apples for baking are simply cut into sixths, whereas the apples for sauce are cored, peeled, then sliced.  After 500+ lbs of apples, we now consider ourselves professional corers, peelers, and slicers.  We are also quite sticky. 

With visions of apple peels dancing in our heads...
Highly structured taste tests (everyone nearby grabs a spoon and nods in approval) have bolstered our confidence in preparing apples for the masses.  Our product is nutritious, tasty, and kid-friendly.  Motts has nothing on us.      

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

End of Summer Whirlwind

 We've been crazy busy down in the Salus Processing Center trying to utilize as much fresh local product as possible! Highlights of production include:
Peaches blanched and ready for peeling, pitting and slicing.
Finished product - peach slices for fruit cobbler!

  • 700 lbs of peaches were processed into slices for the salad bar and use in fruit cobbler.
  • 300 lbs of potatoes were processed into wedges.
  • We shucked and halved 400 ears of corn for the August 17th lunch.
  • Carrots were processed into coins and sticks for use on the salad bar and on the hot line.
  • Stewed tomatoes and peppers are in full production!




Apples are starting to come in, and we've been loving the new applesauce recipe from Josh Goldberg, a 2nd grade student at MRH. He won the 2010 Recipes from Home contest and Josh's Awesome Applesauce will be featured on the school lunch menu throughout the year. He will be at the Maplewood Farmers Market at Bottleworks today from 4:30-6 showcasing his recipe and providing samples.