Fall Harvest Seafood Recipes

An Evening At the Apple Barn

A Fall Harvest Seafood Party

Hot Spiced Cider

Recipe from about.com

3 quarts apple cider
12 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil. Strain and serve hot spiced cider hot in mugs.
Makes 12 cups of hot-spiced cider.

The Three Sisters

American Indians ingeniously planted pole beans and squash with corn, calling them the Three Sisters. The strength of the corn stalks supported the beans, and the squash thrived in the shade while at the same time out-competing weeds and trapping extra moisture within their leaves. In addition, the bean roots pulled nitrogen out of the air and released it into the soil, acting as a fertilizer. These crops’ complex and mutually beneficial relationship is called “companion planting.”

This tangled yet cohesive web of crops is not only an example of Indigenous knowledge, as the meaning of the Three Sisters ran deep into the spiritual well-being of many American Indians. The Three Sisters were known as the “sustainers of life,” and they were revered as a special gift from the Creator. Each crop—corn, beans and squash—was protected by one of the Three Sister spirits. Countless legends are woven around the lore of these Three Sisters, telling how they would never exist without each other, and they should always be raised together, eaten together and celebrated together.

Adapted from manataka.org

Fresh Sister Soup
(pictured: Meg Flynn, Diana Flynn and Elizabeth Flynn Neeley)

6 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 cups diced zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 cups fresh corn kernels (about 12 ears)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
Jalapeno hot sauce (optional)

Bring broth to a simmer in a large pan. Add zucchini and onion; cover and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in corn, salt and pepper; cover and simmer 2 minutes. Place one-third of mixture in a blender and process until smooth. Repeat procedure with remaining mixture.
Pour soup into bowls; top with yogurt. Serve with jalapeno hot sauce, if desired.

Yield: 12 (1 cup) servings

Baked Lake Trout

Adapted from aurora-inn.mb.ca

Serves 2

One 3 to 4 pound lake trout or 2.5-3 pounds of fillets
3 tablespoons olive oil or sunflower seed oil*
Choice of herbs to taste (dillweed, parsley, basil, mint, etc.)
4 tablespoons fine cornmeal

Clean and split the trout removing the head and backbone.
Place in a greased baking pan, flesh side up, and sprinkle with the sunflower seed oil, herbs and cornmeal.
Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 30 minutes. Check often. (Unlike people, all ovens aren’t created equally.)
Serve with batterfried dandelion blossoms, wild rice or mixed vegetables.

*A bit about sunflower seeds:

Many American Indian tribes used seeds from this North American annual flower extensively.
The seeds are an excellent protein source, raw or roasted.
Sunflower seed oil is extracted by bruising and boiling the seeds, then skimming the oily residue off the broth.
The ground paste, retaining its natural oil, makes a fine butter.
The roasted seeds and shells make an interesting coffee drink.

Cherokee Fry Breads

Adapted from manataka.org

Indians discovered the special properties of ashes mixed with food or water. They saw corn soaked in water with ashes became whiter and puffier and acquired a unique flavour. This became hominy, which was fermented into sour soup, fried with meats or wild greens, or baked into custard like puddings. Hominy was also dried and pounded into grits, which became various other nutritious dishes.

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk

Mix ingredients, adding more flour if necessary to make a stiff dough. (We found that more flour is definitely necessary.) Roll out the dough on a floured board till very thin.
Cut into strips 2 by 3 inches and drop in hot cooking oil. Brown on both sides.
Serve hot with honey.

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Pumpkin Fry Bread

Adapted from manataka.org

2 cups fresh pumpkin or 1 16 oz. can of pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. milk or water
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together until a stiff dough is formed, adding more flour as necessary. (Don’t be afraid to add or subtract flour. Flour amounts vary due to climate and weather conditions.)
Drop into hot cooking oil. Brown on both sides.
Serve hot with butter or powdered sugar.

Easy East Carolina Oyster Dressing

by Vivian Jeffries Barker

2 medium onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1⁄2 cup butter or margarine
1 pint oysters, chopped–not drained
1 small package herbed stuffing mix
1 cup turkey or chicken broth
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and celery in margarine or butter. Add the chopped oysters and oyster juice. Cook until oysters curl.
Pour stuffing mix into large mixing bowl. Add the onion, celery, oyster mixture and blend well.
Combine the broth with the water. Add enough broth and water mixture to moisten the stuffing. With the excess mixture we made gravy by adding a little cornstarch and flower till we found a desired consistency.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour into casserole dish appropriate to size and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until desirably crisp on top.

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Butternut Squash Soup

Adapted from givinggallery.com

2 medium buternut squash
2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place halves cut side down on a pan with a thin coating of vegetable oil and a few centimeters of water. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until tender.

Heat butter in in a saucepan and sautee onion and ginger over low-medium heat until onion is cooked.

Prepare the broth in a separate pot.

When squash has cooled, scoop flesh from the skin and add to the sauce pan. In batches, puree the squash and onion mixture with in a blender or food processor, adding broth all the while to reach a desired thickness. Return pureed mixture to the saucepan and cook until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with seasoned croutons and/or a dollop of sour cream.

Fall Harvest Carnival Games

Fall harvest games from aol.com

Ring the Pumpkin-

Five large pumpkins with stems
Two sets of three rings; craft wooden embroidery hoops work well, each hoop is two rings
Masking tape
Small prizes; candy works!

Line up the five pumpkins. Measure out about 5 feet and 10 feet. Mark off both with a line of masking tape. Have each player try to ring the pumpkin stem with a hoop from 5 or 10 feet, depending on his or her age level. The player gets a small prize for every ring placed and one for playing.

Pumpkin Race- Set up starting and finish lines and have the children race to see who can get their pumpkin over the finish line first using only their feet to slide the pumpkins along. No kicking the pumpkins like footballs!

Pumpkin Seed Toss- Number and line up five small baskets or crates; then have the children stand three feet in front of the first crate and toss seeds into the crates in sequence. Small prizes can be given for each of the crates they get their seeds in.

Pumpkin Walk- This is like a regular cake walk except instead of numbers, place pictures of several fall items on the floor for the children to walk on and call out the names of the items instead of numbers. Use fall-themed music such as "Turkey in the Straw" or "Jimmy Cracked Corn."

Floating Pumpkins- Number the bottom of the small gourds that look like miniature pumpkins and float them in water for the children to choose one for small prizes.

Musical Bales- Play musical chairs with bales of straw instead of chairs. A scarecrow in the center makes a fun decoration for this game. See below for more info on making an easy scarecrow at home.

Paper Bag Scarecrow-

From funroom.com

Small and medium brown paper bags
Assorted colored paper
Markers, crayons
Newspaper
Tape

Assemble body by stuffing medium brown paper bag with crumpled newspaper. Fold the top closed and tape it shut.
Assemble head by filling small paper bag with more crumpled newspaper about two-third full. Twist and tape shut. Make a hole in the body to insert the twisted end of the head. Tape into place.
Cut arms and legs out of brown paper and glue or tape to body.
Cut paper bags into thin strips about 2 to 3 inches long to make “hay” and longer for hair.
Glue "hay" around neck, wrists and ankles. Also glue longer strips to head for hair.
Decorate using markers or crayons and colored paper to create a face for your scarecrow and patches for his clothes.

Shopping List and Party Planner

Party Planner:

Start by putting the butternut squash and fresh pumpkin in the oven. They may take longer than expected, so fix the hot cider and prep the oyster dressing and trout. We placed the seafood items back into the refrigerator until the squash and pumpkin were tender.
Once the squash and pumpkin were tender, we placed the oyster dressing and the trout into the hot oven. Place these in the oven at the same time with the oyster dressing on top if they don't fit side-by-side.
While these are in the oven, prepare the fry bread. Periodically, check the goodies in the oven.
Finally, prepare a broth to use for both soups on the back eye of your stove. That will make it easier to knock out both soups in a single period of time, if you are pressed for time.

Shopping List

Seafood
- 1 pint of oysters
- One 3 to 4 pound lake trout or 2.5-3 pounds of fillets
Produce
- 2 cups diced zucchini
- 6 cups fresh corn kernels (about 12 ears)
- 3 Quarts Apple Cider
- 4 medium onions, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cups fresh pumpkin or 1 16 oz. can of pumpkin
- 2 medium buternut squash
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
- Carrots
Pantry
- Olive oil or Sunflower Oil
- Vegetable Oil
- Corn Meal
- Flour
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 13 cups low-salt chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 small package herbed stuffing mix
- Pepper
- Salt
- 12 whole cloves
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla
- Hot Sauce
Dairy
- 3/4 Cup of Low-Fat Yogurt
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup milk
Party Supplies
- Five large pumpkins with stems
- Small and medium brown paper bags
- Assorted colored paper
- Markers, crayons
- Newspaper
- Tape
- Two sets of three rings; craft wooden embroidery hoops work well, each hoop is two rings
- Small prizes; candy works!