APPLE CRISP AND APPLESAUCE

Today, I made frugal apple crisp and applesauce.  There is a trick to this apple crisp.  Apple prices are rising all the time, and right now garden vegetables are plentiful, so thanks to Bette Hagman’s cookbook The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy: Wheat-Free and Gluten-Free with Less Fuss and Less Fat, I was given the idea to use zucchini.  Yes, zucchini!  It is one of those foods, kind of like tofu, that picks up the flavors of whatever it is cooked with.  I have modified Bette’s original recipe. Here is what I do:

1) Find a zucchini.  Preferably one that has been hiding and got missed, and consequently is pretty big and not very well suited for other recipes.  You can usually find any size zucchini at a farm market for around $0.50 this time of year, if you don’t have your own garden.  Slice it into quarters, or eighths, depending on size.  Scoop out all the seeds inside.  You just want the harder outside meat of the zucchini.  Slice each section into thin slices. These will actually look somewhat like thin apple slices.  You want about 2 quarts (a REALLY big zucchini might give you a double recipe).

2) Slice 3-4 apples and add to the zucchini.  Tart ones are the best at transferring the flavor to the zucchini.

3) Put the zucchini and apples in a large pot (VERY large if you are doubling the recipe), and add the following:

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 cups sugar (I actually used 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup Xylitol – better for the blood sugar)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch of salt

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