Fall's Bounty: Apples and Squash
by Tammy Weisberger
Oh! For all the fruits and vegetables that abound during the fall! Apples and squash are two
of the most plentiful and picturesque members of the produce family that grace grocery store
shelves with the approach of cool weather. Both apples and squash are versatile members of the
fall food season, meaning they are equally scrumptious served up in the bulk of the main
course and as the headliner on the dessert table. Open up your hearts and kitchens to the
most plentiful crops of the fall season - Apples and Squash!
Inspiration 'stems' from...
Johnny Appleseed, an American folk hero who was actually named John Chapman, covered
100,000 acres in his lifetime - on foot - planting apple seeds, the fruits of which we're
still enjoying today. He apparently had a dream in which he envisioned a land completely
covered in apple blossoms, and was inspired, beginning the very next morning, to spend the
rest of his life planting and growing apple trees. If you can feel just an ounce of that
inspiration while you create apple cake magic in your kitchen, you'll be celebrating the
spirit in which the apple has been spreading its own magic for a long, long time.
Pass the askutasquash, please!
Although there are no famous American folktales cataloguing the inspiration and glory of
squash-seed planting, squash do indeed have a long and well founded history in the young
Americas. The word squash itself comes directly from the Native American word "askutasquash"
which means "eaten raw or uncooked". The Iroquois (a Native American tribe) considered
squash along with corn and beans to be the "sustainers of life". Squash are nutritious
(jam-packed with Vitamins A and C) as well as delicious and abundant. How much more
convincing do you need? Get cracking and whip up some of these delicious squash recipes.
