Veggies and fruit go well together - 'All good things' stew

Hello! Is anybody still there? *taps microphone*

I have been away from my blog for almost a month, and I have so much I want to share with you. I've been cooking a fairly decent amount, and was very happy with how some of my recipes turned out, and so to make up for my absence, will post them over the next few days as a sort of backlog.

'All good things' stew

This recipe was a gorgeous mishmash of veggies and fruits I had in my refrigerator. Red-skinned waxy potatoes were first cooked over low/medium heat in olive oil, sea salt, and chopped rosemary until crusty and browned. I then added halved brussels sprouts and garlic to braise, and when those were a vivid green and softly cooked through in the outer layers, I added cauliflower and diced apples. Everything was topped off with a sauce of pureed apples, Dijon mustard, and a small amount of beef broth to add depth to the flavor, then covered and left to simmer (ie, letting your food party together!). The result was a fragrant and hearty dish that remained light thanks to the apples, garlic, rosemary, and sauce. Served with a quick pasta salad of whole grain and regular pasta, mixed with a small amount of butter, olive oil, chopped garlic, and halved cherry tomatoes right after draining, my boyfriend pronounced it 'Delicious!' and we finished everything off.

Recipe for the stew:

Two medium sized red-skinned waxy potatoes
2-3 sprigs of rosemary, gently washed and dried, with the rosemary needles stripped from the stem and finely chopped
Pinch of sea salt
 
About 1 pint of brussels sprouts
1 quarter of a smallish/medium-sized head of cauliflower, cleaned, and cut into bite size chunks

Two tart-sweet apples (I used two Fuji apples), thoroughly washed, then cubed

For the sauce: reserve about 1/3 of the cubed apples to puree in a blender with 1/2 cup of beef broth (or any other kind of broth, such as chicken or veggie) and about 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, until it's a smooth and..sauce-y!  (cue those slapstick-sounding drums..anybody know what those are actually called?)

-Cook the potatoes, in about 2-3 tbsp olive oil, with the rosemary and salt, over low-medium heat until they are slightly browned
-Next add the brussels sprouts, allowing them to cook until bright green, stirring occasionally to keep flavors and heat evenly distributed

-Add the apples, cauliflower, and sauce, stir to coat evenly, turn heat up to medium, and allow mixture to come to a boil. Then you cover the pan, turn heat to low to allow the mixture to simmer, and stir once in a while to keep it all nice and mixed. The dish is ready when the sprouts are tender enough to be pierced with a fork and yet retain their shapes, the cauliflower is toothy-tender, you can smell the fragrance of the apples from the sauce, and the apples also retain their shape, and are soft and tender and melting in your mouth. 

Enjoy :)