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So last week was our blogiversary here at Foodie Tots (2 years!), and my husband’s and my anniversary (7 years!) as well. Ironic, since this blog may just lead to the end of my marriage… Okay, I kid, but here’s a true quote from my husband just the other day: “Why do you have to keep trying new things? I don’t like new things. I like the same things.” Okay, so it’s safe to say he didn’t appreciate my chicken quinoa soup, but one of those same old recipes he does enjoy is penne alla vodka. It’s also the boy’s favorite at our neighborhood pasta place, but in typical three-year-old finickiness he declared mine was NOT the same. Oh well, more for his dad, who did appreciate this family anniversary meal.

Recipe: Penne Alla Vodka

• 12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1 cup cream
• 1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• 1 box penne

Instructions: Cook penne according to package instructions, subtracting 1 minute from cooking time. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium low heat. Cook garlic until soft and translucent, being careful not to let it brown. Add vodka and cook 1 minute. Add cream and heat to medium, stirring frequently, until it just begins to boil. Boil 1 minute, until cream starts to thicken. Stir in tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for several minutes. When pasta finishes, drain and fold into the sauce., cooking 1 additional minute. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Farms of Origin:

• garlic & string beans, Potomac Vegetable Farms CSA (VA)
• organic cream, Trickling Springs Creamery (PA)

this is our Meatless Monday recipe of the week. — another one of those “new ideas” the husband is skeptical about. follow along as I attempt to discover meatless meals that won’t make him groan. take the Meatless Monday pledge and you can get weekly e-mails with recipes and advice.

Can one apple make a difference?

One fresh apple instead of a bag of chips in a kid’s school lunch is healthier for the child, obviously, and it’s one small step to fight climate change. Potatoes grown with conventional fertilizers and pesticides require fossil fuels, more are used when they’re processed into greasy chips, and still more used for packaging and shipping those little bags in bulk across the country. It’s easy to see how the carbon footprint of an apple beats that of a bag of chips.

One local apple keeps local orchards from being converted to housing developments. One local apple — or jar of fresh-pressed apple cider — supports local farmers in their efforts to preserve vanishing apple species. Buying fresh apples instead of apple juice — 80% of the world’s apple juice now comes from China — saves American farms. Protecting farmland fights climate change.

One fresh, local apple can save the world. Send your kids to school tomorrow with an extra apple and encourage them to share with a friend. Together, our many small acts will change the world!

This post is my contribution to Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change. It’s also our 2nd anniversary here at Foodie Tots, which was founded in part to help save the world one family’s diet at a time. Read our previous Blog Action Day posts here and here, or click over to the official site for live posts and tweets from around the world.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you it’s officially apple season at the markets. Honeycrisps, gala, rambo, winesap, mutsu, braeburn, pink lady… — you may not find these names at the grocery store, but our local farmers markets offer an amazing variety of vintage varieties. And of course, we’ve been to orchards — picking at Crooked Run (Purcellville, Va.) and to the pumpkin patch at Butler’s Orchard (Germantown, Md.), where we picked up our most recent batch of honeycrisps.

Now that the weather is officially cold, there are few more comforting side dishes than skillet cornbread. Fortify it with (not-so-local) sausage and some of those apples, and it becomes practically a meal in itself. The base for this comes from a recipe recommended by Kristina at Tennessee Locavore. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time living “in the South,” it’s to trust a Southerner when it comes to cornbread. The recipe comes from Crescent Dragonwagon, who has authored an entire cookbook on cornbread — so if you’re looking for more ways to play with cornmeal, you might find inspiration there.

Recipe: Apple Sausage Skillet Cornbread
Adapted from Dairy Hollow House Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread in Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

Ingredients:

2 links sausage,* such as Italian or chorizo
1 cup apple, diced
1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, break the egg and add buttermilk and oil, whisking to combine. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until the dry ingredients are moistened. Gently fold in apples. Set batter aside.

Heat skillet over medium high heat and cook sausage, breaking apart with your spoon, until browned. Spread cooked sausage evenly around the pan, and pour batter into the hot pan over the sausage. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings. Top with a little butter and maple syrup, and enjoy!

* Note: I actually used a chunk of Soppressata di Calabria from Boccalone in San Francisco, diced small — but the husband thought the chunks were a little too chewy after being double-cooked. Next time I’ll stick with the fresh sausage.

What have you made with apples lately? Be sure to join in for Kids Cook Book Soup if you’ve made something apple-licious with your kids!

Don’t forget! The first installment of Kids Cook Book Soup — theme: Apples! — is now open for entries through this coming Sunday, October 18.Monday, October 26 — extended an extra week! Check for round-up Tuesday, October 27th.

To simplify the challenge, here’s all you need to do: cook (with your kids!) any apple recipe … and share where you found the recipe. It can be from a story, a cookbook, or a family recipe. The only requirements are a) that it contain apples, and b) that you involve your kids! And have fun! 🙂

You’ll send me a link to your post &/or picture (no blog needed to participate), and we’ll post the round-up right here, on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.  Just email your link &/or photo, along with your name (or name you want printed), kid’s age(s), blog name and location to me at foodietots @ gmail.com.

And, everyone who participates will be entered to win a great food-themed children’s book.

Please help spread the word! Click the “SHARE THIS” button below to share on Twitter, Facebook &/or Stumble It!

Virginia’s home-grown farming hero Joel Salatin rocked the big screen this summer, appearing in not one but two food blockbusters, Food Inc. and Fresh. Okay, maybe they weren’t blockbusters in the traditional sense of the word, but if you care about what’s on your plate, and where it comes from, they are required viewing. And if you’re in DC/Northern Virginia, you’ve got another chance to see a special screening of Fresh here in Alexandria with local food samples from our town’s best gourmet providers and a panel discussion with Joel Salatin himself. Here are the details, hope to see you there!

Alexandria Gets “Fresh” On October 20th, Flavor Magazine, a number of local businesses and Councilman Rob Krupicka will host a screening of the movie Fresh. The event will be held at the GW Masonic Memorial.

6-7PM is the “Sample Hour” where we’ll have local food samples from Kingsbury Chocolates, Grape + Bean, Cheesetique, Food Matters, Mom Made Foods, and more.

7-8:15 PM We’ll watch the movie

8:15 – 9:15 We’ll have a panel discussion with Joel Salatin, the owner of Polyface farm, Melissa Harris, the editor of Flavor magazine, Bernie Prince from Fresh Farm Markets, Dr. Ruby Lathon from PCRM, Tom Przystawik from Food Matters and Robert Wiedmaier of Brabo. Councilman Rob will be moderating the discussion. Please come and please invite others to come.

There is a voluntary contribution of $10 that will go to support the Alive Food Bank and to provide it with locally produced, fresh food.

Please RSVP so we can have enough food!  Send RSVP to:  white_tortoise1@msn.com

(Thanks to Jasmine at Knitting 40 Shades of Green for the tip!)