Benjamin Franklin once said “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would like to add apples from my CSA share to that list.

Every Wednesday, I get a great haul of fresh, local produce from my farmers’ market. And every Wednesday I keep getting more and more apples. I love apple crisp as much as the next person, but if I kept making that I’d be 10lbs heavier from butter.

Instead, I’ve been finding other ways to eat apples. I’ve been loving having them with bok choy since that’s another produce I’ve been getting a lot of lately with no previous experience of. It’s simple, sweet, and a perfect side dish to use up extra apples. Because who hasn’t gone apple picking and came home with 10lbs of apples only to realize that’s a lot of pie crust to make and eat?

Sautéed Bok Choy With Apples And Onions

Ingredients(for 2 servings):

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 head bok choy
• 2 sweet apples
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat a pan and the oil over medium-low heat until it comes to temperature. Cut the bok choy in half to make the stalks bite sized and dice the apple. Add the bok choy and apple pieces into the pan and toss for about 5 minutes, until the bok choy begins to loosen up.

Add in the diced onion and toss for another minute, but not so much that the onions turn translucent. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

This is a delightfully simple way to get in both fruits and greens and all in under 10 minutes! I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t go for a slice of pie after this, though…

You could call this a light bulb moment recipe.

I really love starchy vegetables almost as much as I love chocolate, and that says a lot. They’re warm and comforting and everything you could want on a plate.

The squash has been excellent at the farmers’ market this Fall; I’ve been roasting it so much, I’ve been thinking of any which way to eat it otherwise.

And that’s when it hit me: Butternut squash home fries.

I started by roasting the squash to get it tender, and finishing it off in some fat and seasoning over a low burner. It was perfectly tender with a bit of a crust. The secret to any good home fries is time, so I left plenty for the pan-frying.

Butternut Squash Home Fries

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup butter, separated
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 sprig of rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and roast the butternut squash for 45 minutes or until tender before starting. Warm a pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter and the diced onion. Once the pan has come to temperature, add in the squash. Toss every couple of minutes for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the salt, pepper, rosemary, and remaining butter and continue to toss for 10 more minutes or until the moisture is gone and the home fries have begun to char.

Usually you want to treat food delicately and keep it tender and fresh—not so with home fries. The best home fries I’ve had at restaurants look like they’ve been battered and beat and have often been cooking for near an hour. That’s how they develop such rich flavors that intermingle.

Going back to “just” roasted squash is going to be hard.