Eating local in North Philly

Before I go into this facetious post about our neighborhood food desert, I'd like to state that I wholly advocate supporting local farmers and eating things that have grown near you. (Although I don't always do it, and I sometimes use the principle as a title for facetious blog posts.) Okay, conscience clear.

I had been thinking about this pumpkin spice granola from Two Peas and Their Pod since it caught my eye when I made the zucchini fries last week. On Sunday afternoon, I realized I had all of the ingredients except for the applesauce. I easily could have biked (or driven) to a grocery store, but that seemed like such a hassle for one ingredient so I considered using the less-healthy alternative, canola oil. Laura the Always Helpful suggested I check the corner store on our block for applesauce.

These little convenience stores are on every corner, but the only one I had gone into keeps every product behind glass so you have to order it from the clerk. I found the one on Thompson Street to be more browsable, so I could check the labels. They had Mott's with high fructose corn syrup. I know.... As I scanned the shelves, my eye landed on a tiny jar labeled Apples. I checked the label: apples, ascorbic acid. Perfect! 

Come to find out, Gerber makes a lovely applesauce that is tasty and ideally textured to substitute oil in baking. Thank you, Girard Mini Market. 

If you are hankering for more fall food, like I am, please try this granola. I ended up nixing the maple syrup, doubling the cinnamon (because I love it), and using walnuts instead of pepitas. But my version maintains a lovely pumpkin flavor and the desired autumn essence. It is quite delicious with plain yogurt, almond milk or all by itself.

I have a guest coming this weekend and I'm trying to be the host with the most. He doesn't need to know there's baby food in the granola. 

With love.