"apples" news and stories

Butternut squash soup with apples. Photo: jdryzga, Flickr.

Soup cravings tend to set in when the weather turns just cool enough that the tips of your nose and fingers get chilled, which is right about now in many parts of the country. And when that happens, there's really nothing more satisfying than wrapping cold hands around a warm cup of soup (except maybe slurping it).

This butternut squash and apple soup, topped off with a dollop of creme fraîche, incorporates the best of the savory and sweet flavors of the season. Whether or not it's to die for, you'll have to decide for yourself, but it sure is nice to look at.

[Via Flickr]

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An autumnal feast. Photo: Brent Ridge, Beekman 1802.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

One of the true pleasures of life on the farm is walking out to the heirloom vegetable garden to decide what looks good for dinner. All summer, we've been sharing some of our own recipes, but we're not the only ones out there with a backyard garden and a little creativity. There are thousands of you!

We decided to hold a contest to see who came up with the best impromptu recipe from their garden this year.
And guess what? One of the most influential gardening chefs in the world, Alice Waters, is going to help us choose the winner. We'll even prepare the winning recipe and put it right here. You and your recipe could be famous!

To get you started on the right track, we're giving you one of our favorites this season.

Honeycrisp apple. Photo: Happy in a Bag.

We've started watching the leaves change to all different shades of red, brown and yellow. Fall colors also abound in apples. But with all of the options out there, which variety is one to eat while watching the trees' brilliant transformations? Well, if you're is a fan of consuming crisp fruit in crisp weather, Honeycrisps are definitely the way to go.

Based on the status updates of food lovers all over Facebook, it seems many were lucky enough to get their hands on Honeycrisps over the weekend, including blogger Happy in Bag who managed to hold off biting into this one long enough to snap a picture.

[Via Happy in a Bag]

The beginning of fall marks the height of apple season. Why not make some fresh applesauce and get baking?

"Apple planet." Photo: leoncillo sabino, Flickr.

• All about apples -- their appeal, how to pick them and what to use them for.
• A chat with Ruth Reichl about her new 1,000-page cookbook "Gourmet Today."
• Jeff Corwin talks up his new Food Network show, "Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin."
• "The Bear and Fish Family Cookbook" is a mother-daughter effort on family cooking and "modern Asian fusion."
• Toast Mexican Independence Day with a tequila-spiked El Grito.
• Use of the sweet and sticky pomegranate molasses is on the rise in kitchens.
• Campbell's is releasing 100 percent natural soups!
• Placing measured mounds of dry ingredients on a piece of waxed paper before adding them to a meal can prevent measuring mishaps.
• Recipes: Chicken and Black Garlic Linguine and Almond Date Macaroons and Curried Corn and Crab Cakes.