Apple Sauce with Brandy

It has been a crazy week, what with me starting a new and amazing job and all it has been hard to get home in time to make a new meal and post it. I have fallen behind and have been a little uninspired as of late. However, with the inspiration from my friend at evolutionaryfoodie.wordpress.com I have decided to also share my apple sauce recipe.

This recipe works well with the winter holidays and is delicious served warm straight off of the stove. Or you could let it sit in the refrigerator and let the flavors settle and serve it cold. Either way, this simple and delicious treat is easy to make.

The Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 assorted apples (i.e., Rome, McIntosh, Royal Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh apple cider
• 2 Tbsp. brandy or rum
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches long)

Preparation

1. Peel (only peel if you do not want a chunkier apple sauce), core and cut the apples into large chunks, tossing them with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
2. Place the apples and remaining ingredients in a large, heavy pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover partially and cook until apples are very tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover the pot and cook 5 minutes more.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and discard the cinnamon stick. Coarsely mash the apples with the cooking juices (or blend apples in a food processor or blender if the skins are still on). I used a blender and it worked just fine. Make sure to have enough liquid in the blender as to not damage your equipment. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, until ready to use, up to 5 days. 

For this recipe, I used 3 Organic Piñata apples, 3 Organic Golden Delicious and 2 Organic Gala apples. Being from Wisconsin, I have a soft spot for Brandy Old Fashioned so my first choice is brandy, but rum also tastes great with this recipe. This is also something that you can play around with. Try changing out the apples I like my apple sauce a little sweeter, so I choose my apples accordingly (or just go with whatever is on sale, though it isn't always the best choice).

Play around and enjoy your food!

Until next time...

Happy Snacking!

Thai Red Peanut Curry

This post is coming a little late, but I am still going to get it up! So, I am just going to make this short. After a long day of working all I wanted when I came home was some Red Peanut Curry. Without any more a due:

The Recipe

Red Peanut Curry
Adapted from this recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into small chunks
• Optional: 1-2 cups chopped eggplant, skin left on
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute bay leaves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick (OR add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon to the sauce)
• handful fresh basil and coriander/cilantro

Red Curry Sauce

• 1 can coconut milk
• 2-3 Tbsp. minced fresh lemongrass, OR bottled/frozen prepared lemongrass
• 1 shallots OR 1/4 cup purple onion, sliced
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup peanuts
• 1-2 fresh red chilies, sliced, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. tomato ketchup or cooked tomato puree
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 11/2 to 2 Tbsp. chili powder, depending on how spicy you want it 
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, + more to taste
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Preparation

1. Place all curry sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process well. Pour the curry sauce in a wok, deep frying pan, or large pot. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the vegetables and continue simmering another 15 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked. 
2. Do a taste test, looking for a balance of flavors. If not salty or flavorful enough, add up to 1 Tbsp. more fish sauce. If too salty, add more fresh lime juice. If too sour, add a little more brown sugar. If too spicy, add more coconut milk. If not spicy enough, add a few fresh-cut chilies or dried crushed chili/cayenne pepper.
3. Ladle the curry into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle generously with fresh basil and coriander (cilantro), and serve with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice. ENJOY!

Yield: Serves 3-4 as a Main Entree

For this dish, feel free to add any and every vegetable you wish to the curry. Tonight I made it without the eggplant, but with tomato, green pepper, green beans, onion, carrot broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. Served on a bed of rice, it is hard to go wrong with this curry.

Goodnight everyone. And until next time...
Happy Snacking!

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel and Mirin Ginger Cranberry Sauce

I'm just going to update with a quick recipe today. Not too long ago I posted a recipe for Shichimi Mushroom Rice Bowls. The picture that I posted also had also featured the Baked Sweet Potato Falafel. Falafel happens to be something Oriana and I enjoy a lot. While searching for what would be on our Christmas dinner menu Oriana found an interesting twist on preparing it. The recipe comes from http://www.101cookbooks.com/ by way of Allegra McEvedy of Leon Restaurants. I really like sweet potatoes and this was amazing! Check it out!

The Recipe

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel and Mirin Ginger Cranberry Sauce (on the upper plate)

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel
Adapted from 101cookbooks.

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes (orange inside), around 700g or 1 1/2 pounds in total
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 fresh cilantro, chopped
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 cup chickpea flour 
• a splash of olive oil
• a sprinkling of sesame seeds
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F degrees (220°C) and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the oven, leave the potatoes to cool, then peel.
2. Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram/chickpea flour into a large bowl. Season well, and mash until smooth with no large chunks. Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes. When you take it out, your mix should be sticky rather than really wet. You can add a tablespoon or so more of chickpea flour if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies enormously).
3. Reheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides) or a falafel scoop if you have one, make the mixture into falafelly looking things and put them on an oiled tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, until the bases are golden brown.

Makes about 18 falafel, enough for 4 - 6.


Unlike normal falafel we went with a festive, holiday menu and decided to use a cranberry sauce to serve with the falafel. We decided on a Mirin Ginger Cranberry Sauce. This may not be for everyone, but it worked well with this recipe.


Mirin Ginger Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mirin (sweetened cooking sake)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 bag cranberries, washed
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely sliced

Directions

1. Dissolve the sugar in the mirin. Bring to simmer. Add cranberries and continue to simmer until cranberries begin to crack. 
2. Once the cranberries begin to "pop" add the juice from the lemon, ginger and the garlic. Stir cranberry mixture to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the sauce pan and set the heat to low. When cranberries reach desired thickness remove from heat.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Enjoy!

And until next time...
Happy Snacking!

Green Tea-Mango Shortbread Cookies

You are in for a treat this week. It is not often that I share my family's or my own recipes. However, I decided to share with you a recipe that I am currently working on. (Oh, no! I have to make these cookies over and over until they are just right.) It is truly a rough life I lead.

Anyway, this is just a general recipe as it isn't solidified into how I like to make it just yet. I was inspired to make it by the tea I was drinking one day. Obviously it was a mango green tea and I was obsessed with cookies at the time. Working with mango which can get very juicy, and shortbread, which is essentially just butter, can get very tricky. Right now I am trying out variations of mixing in the mango straight into the cookie batter and a thumbprint shortbread with a mango compote.

The first time I made these cookies I just lightly chopped the mango and mixed it directly into the cookie batter and it turned out well. The second time that I made these cookies I put the mango into a food processor and it dulled out the green tea flavor because there was a lot of juice. Because I think that I am going to be solidifying the recipe as a thumbprint with the mango compote I will give you the recipe with the mango mixed it, but also feel free to play around with it.

The Recipe

Basic Shortbread Recipe

• 1/2 pound (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature 
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla and mix. 
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. 
3. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and bring everything together with your hands. Divide dough into two pieces and flatten slightly. Wrap each piece in plastic and chill OR prepare the shortbread cookie recipe below. 

Green Tea-Mango Shortbread Cookies

• 2 Tbs matcha powder 
• 1 cup chopped mango (about one whole mango) 
• Ingredients from above Basic Shortbread recipe

1. Add matcha (green tea) powder with the flour and salt and sift all ingredients together. 
2. As dough starts to come together add the chopped mango to the batter and lightly mix it enough to incorporate it into the batter, but not enough that it releases all of it's juices into the batter. 
3. Roll shortbread into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with your palm. 
4. Chill for 30 minutes. 
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for about 8-10 minutes and golden on the bottoms. 

Makes about 2 dozen small shortbread.

This is just intended to give you something to play with, as this by no means a solid recipe...YET! Enjoy, none-the-less.

Until next time...
Happy Snacking!

Vegan Pecan Pie

Everyone loves dessert! Period. Don't try and deny it because you know if you weren't on that "New Year, New You" diet you would have a second helping if you allowed enough room after dinner. And if the dessert was good enough, it wouldn't matter if you had room or not because you would probably make room. My point is this: dessert is amazing so I am going to give you another amazing vegan dessert recipe - Amazing Pecan Pie

I found this recipe on VegWeb.com again and made it for Christmas dinner with my friend, Oriana. Needless to say, it didn't last long. This is another simple and delicious vegan dessert recipe, so check it out.

The Recipe


Amazing Pecan Pie

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons nondairy milk (I use soy)
• 2 egg substitutes (I use Bob's Red Mill substitute)
• 8 tablespoons vegan butter, melted (I use Earth Balance)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 9" unbaked pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix ingredients. They come out watery.

2. Pour into the pie shell. Place on a cookie sheet and put into the oven for 20 minutes.

3. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20 minutes or longer.

4. Check, center should be slightly soft, but if it seems too watery, bake for 20 more minutes.

Makes: 1 pie, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 40-60 minutes
Original recipe can be found here.

In this recipe I modified it a bit as I had a moment of weakness and bought a few eggs during the week for breakfast. As I said, I am not 100% vegan, but like to eat that way when I can. So, because I had a few eggs left over I used real eggs in this recipe instead of egg substitute. The guy that wrote the recipe said that he used soy milk, but I try to stay away from soy so I used hemp milk or almond milk - I don't remember which one I used as I usually have both in my refrigerator. Everything else stayed pretty much the same except I used a bit more than a cup of pecans to give it the slight design on the top.

Simple and simply amazing! I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Until next time...
Happy snacking!