This time of year I often wish I could spread out the garden’s bounty to span more of Maine’s growing season. It seems as though all the garden vegetables come to full “bloom” in late summer/early fall, and a household is tough-pressed to use the onslaught.

Our CSA share is awash in tomatoes, beans, hearty greens, corn, winter squash, pumpkins, apples, and the list goes on. Even on the schooner, filled to capacity with hungry folks who’ve been outside in the fresh air enjoying a full day’s sail, we scramble to use everything. The abundance is a blessing, I keep telling myself.

Of course, the best way to extract the most nutrition from your cache is to use all of the fruits and vegetables when they are fresh.

If, on the other hand, it’s too burdensome for the belly to eat them all right now, preserving the harvest is the next best thing. Canning, drying, freezing and root-cellaring are all options. I do a good bit of canning over the summer, but sometimes I find that once I’ve cleaned and chopped and cooked the fruits and vegetables, my time has run out before I get to the actual putting it in the jars and canning. In these instances, I resort to freezing. I know that in the middle of the winter I’ll be thankful for these items.

Apples take well to most of these preservation methods, but freezing is my favorite way to handle them: peel, core and slice 1/4-inch thick; toss the slices with a little lemon juice to prevent them from browning. One pie needs about 6 cups of sliced apples, so I freeze that amount in a 1-gallon resealable bag.

When you can’t bring yourself to go to all that trouble, make apple sauce. Stew the apples whole in a pot with a lid with a little water and cinnamon. When the apples are tender, run everything through a food mill to remove the peels, cores and seeds and then add sugar or honey to taste. Label and freeze.

Both of the recipes here work with either fresh or frozen apples. Happy harvesting!

Apple and Caramelized Onion Pork Chops With Sage and Garlic

Choose an apple variety that won’t fall apart when you cook it, such as Cortland, Empire or Spy.

Makes 4 servings

4 boneless pork chops, about 3/4-inch thick

1/4 teaspoon paprika

About 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Several grinds of fresh black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup sage leaves

3 cups thickly sliced onions (about 11/2 large onions)

6 cloves garlic

2 cups sliced apples

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Rub the pork chops with the paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Carefully add the pork chops and sauté on one side for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes and move to a cutting board with a drip edge.

In the now empty pan, sprinkle the sage leaves into the oil that remains in the pan and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 30 seconds or so, then remove the leaves from the pan to the cutting board.

Add the onions and whole garlic cloves to the skillet and again season with salt and pepper. When the onions begin to brown on the edges and to soften, add the apples to the pan and stir well. Sprinkle with brown sugar. When the apples have softened and browned a little as well, remove from pan to a serving platter. Top the apples and onions with the pork chops and any accumulated juices and garnish with the fried sage leaves.

Apple and Candied Orange Grunt With Cardamom Dumplings

A grunt is a member of the family of crisps, cobblers, bettys and buckles and like them is delicious eaten with whipped cream or ice cream. To make grunts (AKA slumps), the fruit is usually stewed on top of the stove and the biscuits steamed on top of the fruit.

Use firm cooking apples and slice them 1/2-inch thick. I make my own candied orange peel, but you can substitute 1 teaspoon orange zest.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

FRUIT:

4 cups cored, peeled and sliced apples

1 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons minced candied orange peel

DUMPLINGS:

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk (or more if needed)

To make the fruit, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, then move to a 9- or 10-inch skillet with 2-inch sides. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes or until the apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile combine the dumpling dough.

To prepare the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom into a medium-size mixing bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the milk and mix just until the milk is incorporated.

When the fruit is done, gently spoon 10 or so dumplings onto the fruit. Cover the pan again and steam for 10 minutes or until the dumplings are puffed up and cooked through in the center.

Serve hot or warm.

Anne Mahle of Rockland is the author of “At Home, At Sea.” She can be contacted at: chefannie@mainewindjammer.com