Good morning!

How are you today? Thanks for all your comments on yesterday’s post – it sounds like some of you had some great goals for October! I’ve got 5 new ones coming up tomorrow for this month, but today, it’s all about new things! I’ll dive straight in – here’s your weekly edition of Try Something New Tuesday!

1. Recipe of the Week: Shrimp and Pumpkin Curry. Yes I know it’s not October any more, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there can be no more pumpkin! I was absolutely thrilled when my roommate came home and told me that she’d been given a pie pumpkin at work and really didn’t know what to do with it. I assured her I’d put it to good use, and that I did!

The heat in this recipe isn’t overly spicy, but if you make it and find that there’s way too much spice, you can tame it by stirring in a little extra plain yogurt. Alternatively, if you’re a fire master, go ahead and throw in a little more chili powder!

2. Russet (or Bosc) Apples. Nope, not Bosc pears, and not Russet potatoes. Apples. When I first saw these at Sobeys, I thought they were either mislabeled, or bad apples because they were brown. Most folk probably wouldn’t go near a brown apple, but after 80 past Try Something New Tuesdays, you guys know that I’m not like most folk when it comes to produce.

According to Wikipedia….

Russeting on apples is a particular type of skin, slightly rough, usually with a greenish-brown to yellowish-brown colour. Many apple cultivars have some natural russeting, but some are almost entirely covered in it. Russet apples often exhibit a scent and flavour reminiscent of nuts, and are often very sweet. Despite this, modern apple breeders rarely accept russeting in new apple cultivars. The amount of russeting can be affected by various factors including weather, disease, or pest damage and agrochemical applications (e.g., insecticides, fungicides, and growth regulators).

So what did I do with mine? First, I washed it. I know that the peel of many fruits contains the most nutrition, but something about this russeting business just had me stuck in the mindset that the apple was dirty. After a good rinse, I popped the core out and gave the slices a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and cloves. Then it was into the oven at 375F for about 10 minutes, which made my kitchen smell absolutely divine.

Served with a bit of vanilla Greek yogurt for dipping…

Mmmmm! Perfect for a cold fall morning. I like my apples to be moderately tart – as in, more tart than a Gala apple but not as sour as a Granny Smith. One of my apple pet peeves is when you take your first bite, only to get a flour-y texture – yuck! I’m pleased to announce that this was totally not the case. This apple had a good amount of firmness which helped it stand up to the baking well, and it had the perfect amount of zing to it. I want to track some more of these down ASAP!

3. Juicy Fruit Desserts gum in Apple Pie. Yesterday was a big day for apples! A while ago, I tried to give up gum because I felt I chewed way more than I should. This went ok… but after a while, I began to miss it. It seems to help me concentrate when I’m working on projects at work, and sometimes it’s just nice to have something to freshen your breath. I usually go for mint, but recently I saw an ad for Extra Dessert Delights in a magazine for a new flavour, Apple Pie. When I was in Pennsylvania in June, I found the Mint Chocolate Chip and Key Lime Pie versions, (both tasty), so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this new one.  I looked in tons of shops in San Francisco to find it but had no luck.

Recently I was at one of the wholesale food stores that I occasionally visit, and immediately, this caught my eye:

It’s not Extra, but I guess Wrigley is branding the same gum as Juicy Fruit here in Ontario. (The company owns both brands.)

Brand name aside, I couldn’t wait to try this one. I patiently waited until yesterday to take the plastic off the package, and my first few chews were the stuff dreams are made of. A little apple tartness, with a bit of cinnamon spice to go with it. All in the same stick of gum. Pretty genius, don’t you think? The only complaint I have about this (and I found the same was true of the Mint Chocolate Chip and Key Lime Pie versions) is that the flavour doesn’t last very long. I’d say it’s good for about 4 or 5 minutes, but then it gets quite tough and flavourless. Obviously, I know that gum is made of artificial sweeteners and chemicals, and thus probably doesn’t even deserve a mention on a healthy living blog, but as I’ve said before, I believe in everything in moderation. This flavour isn’t going to freshen your breath, but if you’ve got a craving for something sweet after a meal, or at any time, I’d give it a shot.

Ok, that is all for me this morning! Finally…

Questions for today:

• What’s your favourite gum flavour?
• Have you spotted any unusual produce lately? Tell me about it and it just may appear here over the coming weeks if I can find some!

Have a lovely day!