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Green Bluff takes spotlight


Sugar cones apparently were the key to victory.
 (The Spokesman-Review)

For the next six weekends it’s my favorite time of year at Green Bluff — Apple Festival.

I love the way the air feels when the weather turns toward fall. Walk through the orchards in search of the perfect apple. Enjoy the smell of the trees and the earth as they are warmed by the sun. Pick a variety of different apples. Some taste best right off the tree; others make the sweetest pie you can imagine.

Many of the orchards celebrate with music, food, crafts, and corn and straw mazes. I stop every year for a bowl of slow-simmered applesauce with caramel and fresh pressed cider after we’ve finished picking.

A map of Green Bluff orchards is available at area libraries, from each grower or check online at www.greenbluffgrowers.com.

Look inside today’s IN Food section for two recipes to get you thinking about what to do with all those apples.

Hot Papa

Spokane’s Poor Papa has a new Cajun seasoning. Bruce Arndt has released a new Flamin’ Hot version of his Cajun mix.

“You asked for it — You got it,” Arndt said in a news release. The blend of peppers and spices comes in a shaker and is manufactured in Spokane. You can control the heat by shaking on a little or a lot. The more you shake, the hotter it gets, Arndt said.

Poor Papa’s products are all natural, wheat free, sugar free and do not contain preservatives or MSG. They can be found at Yoke’s Fresh Markets, Rosauers, URM Cash and Carry, Super 1 Foods, Huckleberry’s Natural Market, Excell Foods and Albertsons. For other locations, log on to www.papaco.com. Or, contact Poor Papa directly at 926-0440.

Spokane MarketPlace

Spokane MarketPlace has struggled to attract regular fruit and vegetable vendors to its market this year, but now they have someone from Hunters, Wash., who will be selling there on Saturdays through the fall.

MarketPlace board member Dale Butler said the produce will include an assortment of apples, pears, plums, tomatoes and even blackberries.

Spokane MarketPlace is located at 809 N. Washington St.

And the winner is…

Chocolate Coffee Toffee Oatmeal Cookies won the top prize in the Quaker Oats “Search for the Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie.

Paula Marchesi of Lenharsville, Penn., will take home the $5,000 grand prize. A secret ingredient made it stand out, according to judges in the contest — sugar cones broken into large pieces. Look inside today’s section for the winning recipe.