Never ever let the seasonal overabundance go to waste. 

If you have an active garden, or a prolific fruit tree, you know this point in the season. You have solidly transitioned from being proud of your few edibles, to being amazed by the abundance, to being overwhelmed by the many pounds of food awaiting your preservation.

My “burden” this year is too many tomatoes; six varieties of heirloom have loved taking over what used to be the back lawn. We’ve sauced, we’ve frozen, we’ve dehydrated. The summer has been full of cucumber salads and squash curries, chocolate zucchini bundt cake for breakfast and chard with dinner.

Outside of my own garden, I have enjoyed the abundance of local orchards thanks to volunteering with the Portland Fruit Tree Project. From any given harvest party, half of the food will go to an emergency food pantry, with the remainder shared across all volunteers and the tree owner. It’s a satisfying, tangibly-productive way to spend an evening, and it’s delightful to bicycle home with two panniers bursting with delicious, ripe, food.

Complication: your bags are not filled with the shiny, perfect apples and pears you see in the produce section of the local grocery store. You’re probably not carrying the charismatic-looking Best of Farmer’s Market winner. In reality, you have real, local fruit, full of imperfections; a fungus on the skin or a bruise here and there. It might have an insect visitor – past, present, both.

It is incredibly delicious. And it is fall-off-the-tree ripe right now.

And you have 27 pounds of it.

And you have a household of two.

If you are faced with a similar “oppression” of abundance, get overly ambitious at the farmer’s market, or just decide that you want to make all of your “sparkle season” gifts this year – we have you covered.

This is less of a recipe than a general approach to the problem of “too much right now.” I’ve tried this with many varieties of apples and pears, and once or twice with plums. My last batch, the current house favorite, was Asian pears; the resulting product is smooth, rich, and incredibly sweet, like pear that has been stewed with vanilla beans.

Harvest Season Fruit Butter (or sauce)

Ingredients:

• An abundance of fruit of your choice (e.g. apples, pears)
• Large pot / pot large enough to hold fruit
• Water

Other:

• Canning jars or other containers
• Spoon
• Spatula
• Patience
• Optional: crock pot, food mill

Directions:

Clean fruit – wash and remove everything you don’t readily identify as “food.” (Insects and blemishes leave, I’ll let you make the call on bruises.) If you don’t have a food mill, skin and core fruit. Cut fruit into quarters, place in large sauce pot with a small amount of water on the bottom, an inch or so. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally so fruit doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot. (Part of this stirring may involve fruit-mashing. Go with it.)

Eventually, the fruit will soften into a somewhat chunky sauce. If using a food mill, run the sauce through, stopping to clear mill of skins/seeds on occasion. If you are feeling cavalier, or lack food mill, break up remaining chunks of fruit with a spoon until you’re happy with the consistency. (If you really like chunky applesauce, quit early.)

You can stop here and preserve the sauce (can, freeze, or eat quickly). I tend to prefer fruit butters over sauces, for the richer flavor and better adherence to toast (and spoons).

To make a fruit butter, cook more liquid out of the sauce. You can do this in an uncovered crock pot or sauce pot on the stove; stir patiently to make sure it doesn’t burn to the bottom. I prefer to spread the sauce in 9″x13″ casserole dishes, turn the oven on low (150-200F), and go to bed. In the morning, stir and preserve the fruit butter, saving some for your toast topping.

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series. 

The post Sunday Recipe: Harvest Season Fruit Butter appeared first on EcoSalon.

Apps for a happier stomach.

Mobile apps are handy for a lot of things: navigating a city, staying on a budget, finding home design inspiration, taking pornographic photos of food. But what about helping you live healthier? These seven healthy eating apps are up to the task. And don’t worry: at EcoSalon, we enjoy our food, so no dieting apps allowed.

Foodtree

With the tagline “Know More, Eat Better,” Foodtree aims to educate consumers about where their food comes from, as well as highlight restaurants and markets with responsible sourcing practices. The app also has a collaborative element: anyone can upload photos and tag them with location and sourcing information.

App available for the iPhone for free. 

Locavore

Find out what fruits and veggies are in season with the Locavore app, which then directs you to nearby farms and farmers’ markets where you can purchase locally-grown produce. On top of that, you can browse recipes incorporating said fruits and veggies for a true farm to table experience.

App available for iPhone and Android for free.

Love Food Hate Waste

Those leftovers have been sitting in your fridge for quite some time now. Give them a second life with the Love Food Hate Waste app. Just key your ingredients into the “Recipe Blender” and the app will generate meal suggestions from a database of more than 350 recipes.

App available for iPhone and Android for free.

Seafood Watch

A project of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Seafood Watch application helps you make sustainable seafood decisions at local restaurants and markets. The interface allows you to sort seafood by “best choice,” “good alternative,” or “avoid,” plus it highlights recommended “super green” seafood.

App available for iPhone for free.

Harvest

The Harvest App helps you choose the freshest, best-tasting fruits and veggies by providing tips and techniques for picking out high-quality produce. The app also indicates pesticide residue levels for each type of produce, which can be helpful when deciding between organic and conventional.

App available for iPhone for $1.99.

VegOut

If you’re a vegetarian, you probably know how difficult it is to eat out. Powered by HappyCow.net, VegOut provides an extensive searchable listing of vegan, vegetarian, and vegetarian-friendly restaurants – plus, it’s location-based.

App available for iPhone for $2.99.

iGrowIt

If our urban gardening series has inspired some planting action of your own this spring, this app can help you figure out exactly what you can plant at a given time. Not only that, but it also provides detailed planting instructions and recipes you can use once your seedlings have sprouted.

App available for iPhone for $0.99.

The post 7 Apps to Help You Eat Better appeared first on EcoSalon.

This Thursday, as you gather round the table and devour your traditions, take a moment and offer a little ambiance to your guests of honor. As you prepare to verbalize your many blessings, set the stage (and table!) to celebrate. Here’s a heaping serving of inspiration on a silver platter – just in time for you platters of yams and pumpkin confections.

It seems the clever creatives at Sweet Paul have imagined a handful of stunning ideas to inspire your entertaining. When crisp winter intersects with harvest notions, the result is a gorgeous combination of pristine white and sultry pumpkin silhouettes (image above). Your culinary efforts are sure to glisten on this simple and elegant palette.

If you love the produce aisle and crave a little more color on your table, seek natural hues with interesting shapes to adorn your holiday gathering. Artichokes, beets, carrots, and radishes are vivid and lovely.

Or capitalize on Mother Nature with the habitual shades of amber and orange. Fall leaves can be gorgeous, as this natural setting with rich wood styling depicts.

If the saturated hues of the traditional feast are the beauty you want to highlight, add a dash of dignified blue and watch the edible harvest hues of the season gleam.

These gorgeous images are from the glossy (virtual) pages of Sweet Paul – both the Fall and Holiday issues. If you are still finalizing your menu, you will devour the recipes that accompany these visual feasts.

Still looking for the perfect details?  Lonny has a great feature on the most glamorous table setting ever.  And just in case you’re the type of host who craves order through seating arrangements, this pumpkin place card holder will bring the perfect allure to your table setting.

The post Harvest Palettes appeared first on EcoSalon.

They’re already talking about their costumes, those candy-crazy girls of mine. That’s how I know fall is here, just a wink and a nod after packing them up for summer camp.

Design-wise, it’s one of the easiest seasons for stylists since it involves scavenging for leaves and twigs to tweak our vignettes for free. Ah, there’s that “F” word, again, a favorite at EcoSalon.

Want to spruce up your rooms for autumn without much of a budget? Take one of the following paths most traveled by the frugal M. Stewarts among us:

The Centerpiece: Leaf it Alone

The Toast and Tables blog gathers no moss but plenty of leaves for centerpieces (images below). The simplicity is enticing. You can also make your own wreath with bundles, or layer them along the mantle to be set aglow by beeswax candles.

The DIY Twiggy Cabinet Door from Apartment Therapy

Bring the outdoors in by assembling twigs to embellish the typical cupboard cabinet (image below).

Basket Cases for Giving Thanks to the Autumn Bounty

Most of us have a caterer’s supply of baskets stored in the house. Fill a few with aromatic apples, Indian corn, leaves, pumpkins and other colorful objects for a cornucopia of delights. Don’t forget to toast your pumpkin seeds and put them in a bowl on the coffee table for another tasty treat of fall.

Scatter Bowls of Fall Potpourri with Old Fashioned Living’s Blend of Earthy Balsam Scents

Collect dried leaves and flowers from the ground, blend with fragrant oils and make your own yummy potpourri. Follow the DIY recipe and bring the woods and celebration of the equinox into your nest.

Image: J. Charpentier

Felt Leaf Napkin Rings and Placecards for Your Fall Dinner Party

Design Sponge has the skinny on these orange and brown napkin rings and cards (images below), easy to make with felt, scissors, glue, buttons, thread and your imagination. I love the chic, homemade texture of these festive gems.

Main Image: Design Sponge

The post Harvest the Feel of Fall in Your Home for (Practically) Free appeared first on EcoSalon.