How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar from Scraps

Remember that apple sauce recipe from Monday? Well I hope you saved your peels and cores because now it’s time to make some vinegar!

Yes, you can actually makes vinegar. I know it sounds super wild, but it’s honestly a piece of (apple) cake!

I’ve been making my own apple cider vinegar for almost three years now. You can use chunks of apples or just stick to using peels and cores.

Using the peels and cores is great because it takes a ‘waste’ product that would otherwise be composted and turns it into something delicious and yummy!

If you’re looking for more recipes that utilize scraps, check out this blog post on full of ideas for cooking with food scraps. 

the tools:

• You need to make sure that you’re using a very clean quart sized jar!

• rubber band

• swatch of cloth

the ingredients:

• 2 cups of apple peels and cores

• 1 tablespoon of raw honey

• 3 cups of filtered water

how to make apple cider vinegar:

1. place the apple pieces in the glass jar

2. fill the jar with filtered water

3. add in the raw honey and shake until it dissolves

4. cover the jar with the swatch of cloth and a rubber band

5. let the jar sit in a dark place for about 3-4 weeks

6. stir it occasionally and make sure that the apple pieces are submerged

7. after 3-4 weeks, strain out the apple pieces and compost

8. leave the liquid in the jar for another 3-4 weeks

9. then it’s ready to use!

I love using ACV to make a delicious vinaigrette which is perfect for topping this spinach, apple, walnut salad.

Spinach, Walnut, Apple Salad

This is one of my favorite fall salads. It’s super convenient to make now that I have an apple tree in the backyard. It’s sweet, salty, tangy, and just a little bit smoky.

This salad is great if you’re not super hungry. It’s more of a side salad or pre-dinner salad. To make it a complete meal, it would need a protein and my fav is falafel patties!

Serving it with warm falafel patties also transforms this salad into something that’s almost warming.

I really don’t like cold food (as I’m sure you’ve noticed me say countless times), and often shy away from salads because they’re so cold.

If you’re like me, this is a really good salad for you because most of the ingredients in this salad are warm.

The walnuts, apples and avocados are all stored at room temperature. Then I like to drizzle the spinach with a warm balsamic vinaigrette. This brings the whole salad to a nice room temperature making it ideal for fall!

Cause who wants to eat cold food when it’s cold outside!?

As a reminder, always remember to salt your salad leaves before dressing them. I find that this really elevates a salad and makes it super tasty. So, just a pinch of salt on the leaves goes a long way.

spinach, walnut, apple salad:

• 1 bunch of spinach washed and dried about 2.5 cups

• 1/4 cup of walnuts chopped

• 1/2 a cup of diced green apples

• 1/4 cup of red onions

• 1/4 cup of cashew cheese

• 1/2 and avocado

• balsamic vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds

• pinch of salt

Toss all of the ingredients together, and dig in!

What are some of your favorite recipes? I’m thinking about making a dairy free cheddar and apple tart. It just sounds so delicious!

Apple Pie Overnight Oats

It is day two of Apple Week and I’m coming atcha with one of my FAVORITE breakfast recipes, apple pie overnight oats!

Yesterday, I shared a recipe for my favorite Crockpot Apple Sauce, and it’s sooooo easy to make! If you’re looking for more tasty apple recipes, make sure to check back as there are several more coming later this week like How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar from Scraps and my favorite Apple Salad.

As far as the oats go, you don’t have to make them in an overnight way, you can easily make it on the stove top.

I like to do overnight oats if I need to grab my breakfast and go, but if I’m working from home, I just make them on the stove as it only takes a few minutes.

I have really grown fond of oatmeal for breakfast. I don’t particularly love cold foods so having a nice warm bowl of oatmeal and a cup of hot tea makes me really happy.

As an added bonus, a bowl of oatmeal will stick with me, unlike a smoothie which tends to have me hungry within a couple of hours. Plus, a bowl of oats is super inexpensive to make especially when prepped with apples from the backyard!

I think oats are one of the easiest ingredients to find in bulk bins without any packaging. If you’re new, make sure to check out my blog post The Ultimate Guide to Zero Waste Grocery Shopping.

Apple Pie Oats

• 1 Cup of Old Fashioned Oats

• 1 Cup of Milk

• 1 Cup of Applesauce

• Pinch of Salt

• 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon + more for topping

• 1 Teaspoon of Nutmeg

• 1 Teaspoon of All Spice

Optional Toppings

• Drizzle of Homemade Peanut Butter

• 5 Chopped Walnuts

• 1/2 an Apple Cubed and Tossed in Cinnamon and Lemon Juice

Overnight:

1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the optional toppings in a 16 oz mason jar

2. Stir well

3. Place in the fridge overnight

4. Add optional toppings in the morning if you like

Stovetop:

1. Place the oats, milk, and apple sauce in a sauce pan on the stove

2. Combine over medium to low heat for 3-5 minutes

3. Add in the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice

4. Place into a bowl and top how you desire!

If you’re making the apple week recipes, I’d love it if you’d tag me on Instagram! I love it when y’all make the recipes.

When fall rolls around are you a fan of apple cider or pumpkin spice?