Sautéed Apple Slices

You can take the girl off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the girl… 

Pumpkin spice has made a valiant effort to convince folks that it is the harbinger of autumn. But the farm girl in me knows better, because autumn is all about the apples. I thoroughly enjoyed a recent trip back to the old southwestern Ohio hometown, including a stop at Fulton Farms, a local farm and market operation. The produce specialties through the summer here are luscious strawberries and right-off-the-stalk sweet corn, but it’s September now and it’s all about the apples.  

Apples have played a significant role in farm communities through many generations. I would wager that on the farm, we ate more apples than any other fruit because they “keep” for some time in their fresh form, and can be preserved in so many additional forms. Mom’s freezer applesauce was a staple in our meals throughout the winter. Apples can be canned or dried for longer storage and rehydrated for compotes, smoothies and baking.  They can also be pressed into delicious fresh cider. One just might let the cider “turn” a bit for a tangy hit of hard cider. One of the ways that midwestern farm kids get early access to the booze! Maybe this was the start of my penchant for adding a touch of liquor to my recipes-and yes, today’s recipe is no exception…

Many varieties were on display that day at the farm market, so many that it was tough to make a choice. But choose I did, and munching on them for breakfast brought to mind my recipe for sautéed apple slices. This is one of my quick and easy desserts, making an appearance without the need for planning and/or shopping in advance. I usually have a few apples in my hydrator drawers, and the cooking takes just minutes. The thinly sliced apples are sautéed in butter and brown sugar for sweet richness, then spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. A touch of bourbon deepens the flavor and a small hit of white miso tempers the sweetness. I find it reminiscent of apple pie without the pastry. My taste buds might whine a bit about that, but my waistline is appreciative. Should my need for pastry be desperate, I can always tuck in several of my mini almond shortbread. More typically, we top the apple saute with a dollop of plain yogurt sweetened with honey. 

You needn’t have been raised on a Midwestern farm to enjoy the delicious diversity of apples. No matter your locale, you can bypass the pumpkin spice drive through and  head home with a couple of apples for a quick dessert of sautéed apple slices.