Measure Free Hippie Cook

Apple Stuffing

Part of the fun of doing this stuffing was picking my own fresh sage from the garden and using apples grown not far from the kitchen door on the tree I espaliered. I think it’s mainly a function of appreciation. When you’ve planted and watered and weeded and pruned, harvest takes on a new meaning…

Recipe Note

Bring two or three handfuls of wild rice to boil uncovered in salted water at a 1:2 ratio. (One part rice, two parts water with small spoonful of salt or enough to make the water taste pleasant.) Once the pot boils, turn to low and cover. The rice is done when the water is absorbed and the grain is tender, 30-45 minutes depending on how much you use.

Toast twice as much quinoa in a dry pot on a high burner stirring continually once the grains start popping. The quinoa will turn from ivory to a nutmeg color. Add water at the usual 1:2 ratio and salt as usual. Bring to a boil uncovered and then turn to low and let steam with the lid on. Quinoa is the fastest cooking whole grain so 10-15 minutes usually does it.

Mix the rice and quinoa in a big bowl. Taste and correct the salt. Add a cup or two of applesauce and 3-6 eggs. The idea here is to bind the grain together.

In a skillet with butter, cook diced celery until tender. (Since the works gets baked at the end, there’s no need to fuss overly much here.). Transfer the celery to the mixing bowl and do the same with first the mushrooms and then the apples. On how much to use, let your eye, tastes, and budget be your guide. There’s really no way to go wrong–expect for stinting on butter. It really does take a pretty good load of butter to mimic the kind of Thanksgiving fare most Americans like. That’s why in the version of this I made, I used 2 cubes (sticks).

Mince fresh sage from your garden or just store bought. Either way, plenty of sage signals diners that it’s Thanksgiving and they are eating stuffing. So be liberal as in a couple big spoonfuls of store bought or an ample handful of fresh leaves. Then taste your mix and see what you think, easing in more and more little by little until you likey. (That’s the beauty of measure free cooking. You are the decision maker; you understand what you are doing rather than simply following orders from headquarters.)

That’s about it except a little nutty crunch. I would have used chestnuts but I didn’t get any to roast this year. Pecans would have been my second choice, but they went into the fruitcakes. So there I was, down to pumpkin seeds. In they went, not too much since they are expensive and rich, but enough to make things fun—plus a few for the top.

Into the oven the first pan went at just 300 or so since all that needed cooking were the eggs. Half a hour later it’s looking toasty so time to dot with yet more butter. (You know the joke with  the French chefs? They say, “Time to serve. Get out the butter.” Then they proceed to slather the tops of everything with it, knowing that in those first critical bites they will captivate their fans.