Eat Ugly!

To my unexpected surprise, my neighbour brought over a really big bag of apples this week (Thank-you Victoria!). They were not uniform in size or colour and they had some bumps and bruises, but they were fresh and crisp and grown on her tree without any sprays, and with a few ingredients and some peeling and chopping, I transformed them into...

...this apple crisp deliciousness and there are still lots of apples left to make a big pot of applesauce.

I typically just bake with whatever apples I have on hand, especially surprise apples that arrive on my doorstep! But you can find an apple guide here that you might find useful or of interest.

Peel and roughly chop about 8 or 9 cups of apples and dump them into a greased 9x13 baking dish; toss with a tablespoon of flour, a couple tablespoons to a 1/4 cup of sugar depending on your sweet tooth (this time I used 2 tablespoons of maple syrup instead), sprinkle with cinnamon.
Combine 1 cup each flour, oats and dark brown sugar and cut in 1/2 cup of butter until crumbly. You could make more topping if you like it thickly covered.
Sprinkle topping over your apples and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 or 50 minutes.
If you want to get fancy, grate some orange rind into your crumb topping or melt about 8 or 9 caramels with 2 teaspoons of milk and drizzle over your finished crisp.  Toss in a handful of chopped, ripe peaches or pears or some tart cranberries.  Add nuts or leave 'em out. Tastes next level with vanilla ice-cream and a drizzle of caramel or maple syrup.

I came across this video about Intermarche, a French supermarket that is trying to change consumers perspective on ugly, misshapen fruit and limit food waste by selling fruit and vegetables otherwise thrown away before it ever reaches the supermarket.
I'm not sure where Canada is at in terms of minimizing food waste.  After watching Just Eat it, the documentary I linked in a previous post, I'm guessing a bit behind, but I have seen bags of "Naturally Imperfect" apples at the Superstore which I have purchased, and besides being of assorted shapes and sizes, the apples are crisp and taste great.

This is not to say we cannot appreciate all the beauty and perfection nature produces as well.  As you may have noticed from my various produce photographs on other posts, I am very much in awe of all the vibrant, colourful perfection that grows, right along with the curious oddities.
I was no less grateful for the bounty of pristine, Honeycrisp apples my parents shared with me this week (thanks mom and dad!) with their rosey, speckled skin and flesh so sweet it would satisfy the sweetest tooth. We shall not discriminate against the ugly fruit and vegetable's lovely counterparts either.
The apple is a particularly amazing specimen with its multitude of colours and varieties. Did you know that there are 7 500 varieties of apples grown around the world and it would take you 20 YEARS!!! to try them all if you took a bite of one variety each day? That is a a lot of perfection to appreciate! This and other fun food facts found here!  I will be on on the lookout for "beaver butt" the next time I purchase vanilla; who knew?!!

I have shared many photos of the beautiful produce we have grown; we have grown some misshapen fruits and vegetables too over the years; carrots with extra appendages, tomatoes with smiley face scars, and our absolute favourite, the er...um....."unicorn" tomato!