Michelle Jeffery experiments with Artist Mug Cake.

Visit VPR's blog for a photographic tutorial!

Let’s face it: apple picking isn’t really about picking apples. They’re simply a delicious byproduct of the experience: climbing trees, taste-testing, reaching for one apple and getting bonked on the head by two more, trying to keep from stepping in the mushy remains of the drops. And that’s not even to mention the cider donuts. A proper outing like this yields far more apples than you can reasonably use, which is why we've collected several of VPR staff’s favorite apple recipes here, including Michelle Jeffery's favorite curried carrot-apple soup from Eating Well Magazine.

Our Favorite Apple Things

Champlain Orchards’ Applesauce Cake

Franny Bastian's Homemade Applesauce

Ross Sneyd’s Apple Clafouti

Send us your favorite apple recipe and we’ll post it online!

This Tunisian potato salad is great for summer cookouts. It’s vegan, which makes it great for non meat-eaters like me, plus the lack of mayonnaise makes it not spoil as easily at outdoor picnics and barbeques.

Get Peter's recipe here.

Franny is a senior producer at VPR.

Every day, the chefs at the Vermont Foodbank take stock of the food that has been donated or "rescued" from grocery stores and other outlets, and decide what dishes to prepare, package, and freeze for needy families around the state. VPR recently visited the Foodbank to celebrate the partnership between the Foodbank, VPR, and the Vermont Community Foundation. Chef Jim Worcester and sous chef David Moyer prepared a delicious carrot salad, Gougere (a French cheese pastry), and maple pudding cake for lunch. You'll find their recipes here:

Carrot Salad

Gougere

Maple Pudding Cake

Brian Donahue is VPR's Chief Financial Officer.

Kevin, Liam, Maggie, and Jack Donahue

George Thomas

Get George's recipe here »

This Saturday is Valentine's Day - time to do something nice for someone you love.  I'm planning on making this hot and sour soup for my husband, which he says is the reason he married me.  They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I guess it's true!

Get Robin's recipe here.

Michelle Jeffery is VPR's Communications Producer.

In many cultures, eating lentils on New Year’s Day is said to bring good luck and prosperity in the New Year. This spicy lentil soup recipe from Eating Well Magazine's website is my absolute favorite way to eat lentils – on top of bringing good luck (I hope!), it’ll help kick-start my perennial resolution to eat more healthfully. And if that's not enough, lentils are also extraordinarily affordable!

Get Michelle's recipe here.

VPR's Nina Keck recently did a story on eating healthy on a budget, and lentils are at the top of the list! Listen to her story here.

"It just wouldn't be ________ without _________." Year after year, we gather for the holidays, and certain dishes and treats are such a part of the celebration that they might as well be one of the family. Below are some cherished holiday recipes from the VPR staffers. We hope you'll try them out, and send us your favorites, too!

Jane Lindholm's Christmas Need'ems
Every Christmas my aunt, Jane Lawrence, makes Christmas Needhams, these special chocolate-covered coconut treats. They're so popular that she now boxes them up and gives them as a gift for me and my father and we fight over them as we drive from Maine back to Vermont.  In fact, I prefer to call them Need’ems. Under the guise of using it for VPR Cooks, I was able to get Aunt Jane to give up the recipe! 

Cheryl Willoughby's Santa Lucia Saffron Rolls
These rolls are traditionally served on Santa Lucia Day, December 13th. It's a holiday observed in Sweden and Finland and other Scandinavian countries (and in northern areas of the U.S. like Michigan, where my grandparents lived). It is celebrated to kindle the spirit and offer hope at this time of the year leading up to the winter solstice.

Shelagh Shapiro's Chili Brisket
This recipe was my Mom's. It's so easy, great for a day when you'll be around to let something cook slowly for a few hours, but very little prep work is involved. And the flavors are wonderful for a cold, winter day. A little spicy, but not too. Great with a simple vegetable, like roasted carrots and potatoes, and a dense, warm bread.

Robin Turnau's Date Bars
These date bars, along with grapefruit peel candy and pickled watermelon, have been a part of every Christmas holiday in my family for as long as I can remember. The recipe is from my Grammy Jenks.

Joe Goetz's Kahlua Fudge Cake
Here's my mom's recipe for Kahlua Fudge Cake....the perfect way to end any large Christmas dinner.

Robert Resnik's Pear Chutney
I have been making this version of pear chutney for my in-laws as a
holiday gift for many years, and it's always a huge success....It doesn't
hurt that I happen to know where there's a Bartlett pear tree that
provides me with about 70 lbs. of pears each year!

It seems like everyone is either battling a head cold rightnow, or staving one off. It can be a helpless feeling, so at VPR we’ve been swappingrecipes for cold remedy concoctions. See if fire cider or a cocktail of bourbonand ginger pulp works for you, and share yours with us!

Get our recipes here.

Do you have a tried-and-true cold or flu remedy? Share it with us!

Ever look at those beautiful pomegranates in grocery stores at this time of the year and wonder how you might make use of them?

Try this delicious recipe for Orange Pomegranate Scones.

Cheryl Willoughby is VPR's Interim Director of Programming.

Baking has always been big in our family. When I was a kid, Saturdays were the day we made the fresh bread and rolls for the next week. It's a tradition I've continued into adult life, thanks to early training from my mom and grandmother and many of the original recipes that came over from Scandinavia with my grandparents. This is one of my favorite family 'comfort food' recipes. Nothing says 'home made' like a warm, sticky, melting cinnamon roll. Don't let the prep time deter you. Invite a friend over to help. Baking is a great excuse to sit down, have a cup of coffee, and catch up. That, too, is part of the tradition!

Get Cheryl's recipe here.

Franny Bastian is VPR’s On-Air Fundraising Producer.

I make this on the weekend and bring it to work for lunch. I make this a low fat version by omitting milk or cream, but you can add a cup of whole milk or cream if you prefer that texture.

Get Franny's recipe here.

Do you have a favorite soup recipe? Click here to share it with us!

This soup is so, SO good. It serves a crowd and is good for you, too. We got this recipe from the Recipe Rescue Cookbook from Eating Well Magazine.

Get Tim's recipe here.

Send us your favorite soup recipe for VPR Cooks' 2008 Soup Swap. 

Champlain Orchards is a VPR Underwriter.

This recipe was given to Mavis Munger, of Shoreham, Vermont, by her mother in-law when Mavis came to America in the 1950s. It is her family’s favorite! 

Get Mavis' recipe here.

Ross Sneyd is VPR's newscast producer and a reporter. He and his partner run the Comstock House bed and breakfast in Plainfield.

We prepare a "starter'' for guests every morning at The Comstock House, before preparing and serving a full breakfast. It's been fun to come up with different ways of presenting some standard B&B offerings. This scone recipe actually came from guests who stayed with us a couple of falls ago. They were touring Vermont during foliage season to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and the wife's 86th birthday. They were really delightful people. After they returned home to Maryland, we got a photocopy of this recipe, which had been clipped from a newspaper or magazine. The scones are really tasty!

You'll find Ross' recipe for corn cherry scones here.

Now is the time of year when many squash varieties are flourishing in local gardens and markets. Ribbons of zucchini and yellow squash are one way to lighten up a bowl of pasta or brighten up a salad.

Get the recipe here.

This recipe originally appeared in NPR's Kitchen Window column. You'll find a video tutorial on making squash ribbons and other Kitchen Window columns online.

My recipe for hot and sweet grilled chicken is a big hit with all of my friends. I bring these grilled wings to every potluck that I go to and they are always the first thing to vanish. I can't make enough of them. The recipe evolved from another recipe called "Wing Zzzingers" that was featured on the old Food Network show "Calling All Cooks.”

Get Brian's recipe here.

Tom Slayton is a VPR commenator, veteran journalist, and editor-emeritus of Vermont Life Magazine. 

Pesto, as most gardening Vermonters know, is that green, basil-infused sauce that turns spaghetti from ordinary to sublime and goes so well with soups and risottos and other Italian gastronomic delights. Like sweet corn and home-grown tomatoes, your own pesto is one of the true touchstones of summer.

Get Tom's recipe for basil pesto, and read his recent commentary about growing basil and making pesto. 

Did you know that your average bite of food has traveled 1,500 miles to reach your lips? Not only does eating local foods help the environment by cutting down our use of fossil fuels, it supports our farmers and economy and tastes fresher, too.

Check out these Localvore Recipes from VPR's Green pages.

• Suzanne Podhaizer's Localvore Frittata with Wilted Greens and Cheese
• Upper Valley Localvores' Cornmeal Pancakes
• Helen Labun Jordan's Localvore Burritos
• Mad River Valley Localvores' Wheat Berry Tabouli
• Helen Labun Jordan's Blueberry-Goat Cheese Salad
• Mad River Valley Localvores' Crispy Wheat Waffles
• Helen Labun Jordan's Gardener's Ratatouille

You'll also find links to othr localvore resources and farmers' markets!

Helen Labun-Jordan is Agricultural Development Coordinator for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and a VPR Commentator.

"I enjoy the creative challenge of developing localvore meals at any time of the year. It seems daunting at first, but eating based on the seasons actually makes cooking much easier in the end."

Get Helen's recipe here.

Read Helen's 2006 commentary about taking the Vermont Eat Local Challenge here.

This is hands-down my favorite barbecue sauce for pork ribs in the summer. It’s a little different than the smoky, sweet sauce most people are accustomed to with ribs.

The horseradish, vinegar, lime combo give them a tangy flavor. It’s been very popular with weekend guests. The recipe comes from the book Barbecued Ribs and Other Great Feeds by Jeanne Voltz, published by Knopf. I’ve looked at a lot of barbecue books, but for my money, none compare with this one. It’s the bible of barbecue. My sauce-stained 20-year-old copy is as valuable as any book on my shelf.

Fire up the grill and get Tim's recipe here.

Cheryl Willoughby shares music on VPR Classical weekday mornings beginning at 8am.

"Surely one of special rewards for getting through mud season is the springtime appearance of fiddleheads - at local grocers, and growing wild abundantly in the woods below my house. I never knew of these (or considered that they were edible!) before coming to Vermont, but it didn't take long to learn how to make the most of our short fiddlehead season and cook them up in a bunch of different ways: buttered and baked crisp as a side dish, on pizza, and...in soup. This is my favorite fiddlehead recipe. I modified a family recipe for asparagus soup and it really showcases the unique taste - and look - of fiddleheads."

Get Cheryl's recipe here.

Robert Resnik is host of VPR's All The Traditions.

"These are eye-crossingly good served warm over snazzy vanilla ice cream!"

Need to get your mental sap running? Check out other maple recipes from the VPR Cooks archive:

VPR listeners' favorite maple concoctions

Edith Hunter’s Maple Syrup Pudding

Jody Evans’ Sugarhouse Chicken

Ty Robertson’s Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Kate Beattie’s Maple Cream Pie

And if you need even more inspiration, the Seventh Annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend will take place at sugarhouses throughout Vermont this weekend, March 28-30. Visit the Vermont Maple Association website to find a sugarhouse near you.

Lee Diamond is a VPR Volunteer.

"I first found this recipe in Gourmet Magazine and have made it for several potlucks. It is always a hit. Everyone asks me for the recipe. Jicama is not something everyone buys - it is crunchy and juicy and tastes like a combination between and apple and a potato. Make sure it is fresh - it will be white inside and not brown at all."

Get Lee's recipe here.

"When I was young we had these meatballs at most holiday family gatherings and sometimes by special request on a birthday. My Swedish grandmother, Mia Ingebord Malmrose, and mother, Priscilla Alden Pearson, usually made them, but since they can be time-consuming we kids sometimes helped roll the little meatballs. I remember throwing them at my sisters once and getting in big, big trouble (well they were balls, after all)! We always thought we wouldn't like them because of all the spices but when it came time to eat we couldn't get enough. I think sharing this dish enhanced our connection to the “Old Country" as well as to each other."

Get Will's recipe here.
 

Brian Donahue is VPR's Chief Financial Officer.

"As a born and bred Boston sports fan, I have my fair share of superstitions, but this football game spread is by far the most delicious. I'll be rooting on the New England Patriots in this weekend's Superbowl with plenty of Vermont cheddar cheese, Maine Atlantic salmon, Cape Cod chips with clam dip, and of course, a big bowl of our favorite New England clam "chowdah." Wash it all down with with some Redhook Ale from Portsmouth, NH, and go Pats!"

Get Brian's recipe here.

Earlier this week on Vermont Edition we discussed how Vermont schools and communities are fighting obesity. Of course, healthier eating is a key part of the solution. Deputy Commissioner of Public Health Chris Finley, our guest on the program, shared with VPR two healthy and kid-friendly recipes for apple-carrot salad and a banana-yogurt shake.

How do you encourage your kids to eat healthily? Click here to share your favorite healthy and kid-friendly tips and recipes with with the whole VPR community here at VPR Cooks.

Jean Ferguson is VPR’s Administrative Assistant.

Our bitter-cold Vermont winters seem quite able to persistently sustain the nasty symptoms of colds and flu for many new Englanders. My husband Steve and I have a favorite easy-to-cook soup that some claim actually “cures” the cold and flu….that’s possibly due to the addition of a few hot and spicy ingredients, imported directly from America’s sunny southwest! This recipe is very subjective, and you can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste-buds’ tolerance for the hot and spicy.

Get Jean's recipe here.

When it comes to baking, my mother (Donna) is in a league of her own. Breads, pies, cakes, brownies, cookies - everything she makes wins raves at family, school, and church events. However, for all of her culinary masterpieces, one of my all-time favorites is this very simple Pineapple Cream Cheese Pie she makes every year at the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, too). She found the recipe on the side of a can of pineapple years ago and it was so well received (especially by my dad, Richard) she's been making it ever since. It's one of my favorites and I particularly appreciate it because I did not inherit her cooking talents and this pie is ridiculously easy to make. Get Jonathan's recipe here.

Read more holiday traditions sent to us by listeners, staff, and other members of the VPR Community. Send us yours, too, and we might read it on air during the holidays!

Vermont Edition recently paid homage to a food that (for some) is synonymous with the Christmas season: fruitcake. NECI chef Jean Yves Vandeville describes the rich history and ingredients that make fruitcake a food to be revered. Get the original recipe and listen to the story.

...and check out some of VPR Cooks' other holiday features:

Marialisa Calta's Christmas Pudding
Grendel's Guilty-Gobbling Ginger Bears
Ty Robertson's Really Good Christmas Fruitcake
Michelle Jeffery's Easy Noodle Kugel

John VanHoesen is VPR's News Director.

When I was growing up on our farm in southern Vermont we would always take in the county fairs. One year at Windsor County Field Days, I came across a small cookbook put out by the American Dairy Association. Now, many years later, its pages are loose and yellowed but a "Modern Approach to Everyday Cooking" is still a favorite starting point for many dishes.

One of those favorites at our house is the Sunday morning waffle with baked apple. A waffle breakfast is a meal with personality. The waffle can be baked on grandma's old-fashioned waffle iron or it can be baked on a new non-stick waffle iron. For an old-fashioned feeling, I like the round waffle iron with the small square pattern. I've collected a few old waffle irons from family and tag sales and they're fun to use because they have character and history. They also look great in the kitchen. But the new waffle irons are inexpensive and if you're serving three or more at breakfast, buy a couple and get them both going. You'll be able to keep everyone's plate full. Click Here for the Recipe

This recipe was gathered by Vermont Edition Producer Sarah Ashworth. She says, "This recipe for maple cream pie is from Kate Beattie. Her daughter, Marion Beattie, runs the Creamery Restaurant in Danville. Kate has been cooking the pie for more than 30 years for the restaurant, and people come from all over to sample it. She makes the pie in her nearby farm kitchen, and then brings them over to the restaurant. And she only uses real whipped cream on top! Like a lot of skilled bakers, Kate just eyeballed a lot of the measurements, so I captured them as best I could." Click Here for the Recipe

A true shepherd's pie is always made with lamb; the similar dish made with beef is properly called a cottage pie. It is one of the most comforting and homey dishes around. Traditionally, it was made with odds and ends from the Sunday roast, finely chopped. Grated cheddar melted on top is not traditional, of course, but with all that great Shelburne Farms cheddar around, it was a natural and delicious addition. - "Cooking with Shelburne Farms" Click Here for the Recipe

Jody is VPR's Director of Programming.

As soon as the weather turns cold I turn to this recipe. It's quick and easy. I always add extra apples to the recipe for additional flavor. You can also add curry to spice it up. Click Here for the Recipe

When fall begins, all of us eagerly await the pumpkin harvest so that we can make and enjoy servings these delight-filled pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins are the uniformly 1-pound pumpkins that can easily be found in natural groceries or better supermarkets. Since this is a harvest dish, feel free to select any combination of vegetables you may need to use up from the garden or from harvesting the refrigerator. Click Here for the Recipe

Cheryl is the host of "Classical with Cheryl Willoughby" on VPR Classical.

This is another recipe from my "mom" files. It's kind of like your basic white sauce: you can enjoy this cake just as it is, or use it as the starting point for much more creative things. Add some flavoring, decorate it, make it a split-layer, jelly-filled cake...use your imagination! Best of all, it's very moist, and even if you do nothing else it's fancy enough for most occasions without any other embellishments. Click Here for the Recipe

Ross Sneyd is not only a newscast producer, but also a generous host. He and Warren Hathaway run The Comstock House bed & breakfast in Plainfield, VT.

We have three apple trees in the front yard of our bed and breakfast, and guests love that the apples go from the trees directly onto their breakfast plates. Clafouti has turned out to be one of the favorites at The Comstock House. It's based on a French dessert recipe, but has been modified over the years to make a good breakfast, too. We use whatever fruit happens to be in season. Click here for the recipe

My partner and I have been sustaining members of VPR for several years. I love getting the prEview—gives me a heads up on what's happening. And the recipes are great! Victoria St. John's Lemon Chicken is our new favorite! We're well into corn season so I'm sending you this family recipe for corn pie. It's a Pennsylvania Dutch side dish that is wonderful in its simplicity. The trick is you must have fresh corn purchased from the farm—grocery store, frozen or canned corn is no good! Click Here for the Recipe