It’s Spring!  And it feels like it too!  A beautiful sunny morning….throw open the windows and air out the house kind of day.  I cleaned up my garden beds last week and was ready for more cleaning up today.

I opened the frig and found a bag of golden delicious apples that were looking like they had passed their prime.  Skins beginning to contract, but no rot….just getting old.  Don’t toss these!  They may be past the point of being a good snack, but their usefulness is still there.  Apples like these work quite well when gently sauteed in a bit of butter with a few spices and sweeteners.  If you don’t tell anyone they were gettin’ a bit over the hill….they will never know it (unless they read this!)

My oldest son was headed back to college this morning so I made a nice apple saute to serve over some quickly made french toast.  My french toast is just fresh whole grain bread dipped in an egg/milk/spice batter and cooked on the stove.  Pretty good eats in a pinch.  Ready in less than 15 minutes….about how long the apple saute took….imagine that!

You’ll need:

5-6 small snack/cooking apples (golden delicious are great for this), peeled, cored and sliced

2-3 Tbs unsalted butter

Raw sugar to taste-I use maybe 2 Tbs- I just sprinkle it over the apples while in the pan

pinch of salt

ground cinnamon and fresh grated nutmeg, to taste

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

drizzle of molasses

6 slices of french toast

Vanilla yogurt (optional)

In a stainless skillet, melt your butter over medium heat and immediately add your apples.  Stir to coat with the butter.  Sprinkle with some raw sugar and just a pinch of salt.  Allow to cook until the apples begin to soften (about 5 minutes).  Add cinnamon and nutmeg to your liking, stir.  Add vanilla extract and a drizzle of molasses.  Stir and reduce heat slightly.  Allow to cook another 5-10 until apples are tender.

I prepared some very simple French toast (not soaking time-no stale bread used).  Just mixed my eggs and milk, add spices and dipped fresh whole grain bread on both side and cooked in a skillet with a bit of butter.

Serve apples over toast.  Add a bit of vanilla yogurt if you like.  Enjoy!