Tag: autumn

Autumn

Candied-Orange Spice Prune Loaf

by Rebecca4 Comments on Candied-Orange Spice Prune Loaf
 

Neah and Papa brought prunes.   Every time they come to visit, my grandparents bring food.  When we were younger, it was always a box of doughnuts, and then whatever they had in excess that needed to be shared- a box of apples, walnuts, raisins, some frozen fruit, and, oh yes, prunes.  The prunes were so overly dried that we couldn’t sink are teeth into them; being inventive as I am, I sure tried.  My mother would throw the prunes into the big chest freezer and there they’d stay.  When I started leaving for college, I’d raid the freezer.  I would inevitably take a bag of raisins and walnuts, but always left the prunes.  Sadly, just no easy way to eat them.

On a whim, I finally decided to grab a bag of those prunes on my last trip home.  Surely, they could be used for something.  Then one day in early September, an epiphany.  I kept finding the lovely Italian prune plums at the markets.  I wanted to use them in a loaf of some sort but inevitably kept eating them fresh before I ever got around to baking.  And then, with the last bite of the fresh plums in my hand, I pulled out an old recipe I’d been meaning to adapt and there it was.  The answer.  All these years, I’d been avoiding my grandparents prunes and all they needed was a bit of re-hydration!

Now that I’ve tested this recipe so many times I had to go purchase the not-so-overly dried prunes at our nearby farmstand, I really must say it is my new autumn favorite.  Molasses, prunes, spices, and candied-orange peel.  Not sickly sweet, nor overly-indulging–just a bit of perfection with a nice cup of steaming tea.

Candied-Orange Spice Prune Loaf
9 1/2 oz. gf flour mix (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup prunes, diced (about 18 whole prunes)
1/3 cup candied orange peel, diced
1/2 cup orange syrup (or honey)
1/4 cup molasses
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 egg 
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
 
  • Pour boiling water over prunes. Let rest for five minutes.  While prunes are resting, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a 9″ x 5″ baking dish.  Line it with a small handful of oats.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, and spices.
  • Measure out orange syrup, molasses, oil, egg and vanilla.  Add them all to the prune mixture.  Feel free to substitute honey for the orange syrup.
  • Pour liquids into dry mixture and stir in the candied peel.
  • Dish into the prepared baking pan.  Level with a rubber spatula and sprinkle a few more oats on top for good measure.
  • Bake for approximately 55 minutes.
  • If you can, store this loaf away in the fridge for a day or two before eating.  The flavors will be enhanced!
Autumn

Comforting Cinnamon-Vanilla Applesauce

by Rebecca1 Comment on Comforting Cinnamon-Vanilla Applesauce

The leaves outside are perfect.  Early November is my very favorite bit of year.  Foggy and crisp.  Yellow and brown and orange.  And full of misting rain, lilting music, cups of tea, and hours of quiet contemplation.

This time of year, I cozy down and make comfort foods; ones I remember having back home.  I also forge ahead as always and make new comfort foods- Fennel soup, pumpkin curry, roasted sweet potatoes, orangey-plum cake. Scanning some of my dear friends’ pinterest food pins the other day, I realized though, my cooking has changed.  Back in the early years of college, when I first began to truly stretch my cooking wings, I had a theme:  “healthy.”  I was intent on making every recipe low-fat, low-sugar, high-fiber, blah blah blah.  The food still looked and mostly-tasted like what most of us eat regularly.  Lots of butter, cream, cheese, grease.  I enjoyed cutting out or substituting with lots of products to get the same result.  I probably cooked with fat-free cheese.  Seriously.  I know I ate copious amounts of the sickeningly sweet fake yogurt crap.  Then, it was so good.  Now, I can’t even smell the stuff without wanting to run in the other direction.

Somewhere in the past couple years, probably as a direct result of my new food restrictions and growing more comfortable in myself rather than following fads, I don’t enjoy going to the grocery store anymore.  I don’t enjoy teaching the clerk the names of the vegetables I’m buying, being an inconvenience to the other customers as the clerk searches for the bulk bin code, and answering questions about why I’m “so healthy.”  Probably one of the best food moments for me this past year was feeding my little kindergartners greens and having them ask for more, leaf by leaf.  Then, I definitely did enjoy teaching their veggies.

I try not to judge others, though I know I still do.  I try to eat for me.  What is going to make me feel good?  What do I need?  Lately I’ve been eating apples.  Well, okay I always eat apples, but right now they’re at their very best.  I had a crisper full of golden delicious from my aunt that were slowly becoming a touch too soft to my liking.  So I decided to make one of the simplest autumn comforts–applesauce.  When younger, my siblings and I used to eat it by the quart full.  My grandparents would bring us a couple boxes of apples and my mom would get out the food mill and we’d take turns pressing out the peels.

I don’t have a food mill.  But an awesome vegetable peeler resides in my kitchen.  And some vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks.  We weren’t that gourmet back then.  It was straight apples and perhaps some sugar for good measure.  I was going for a bit of texture so I pureed half the cooked apples and stirred them back in with the others.  It was perfectly comforting.  Simple, and I didn’t even have to go to the grocery store.

Comforting Cinnamon-Vanilla Applesauce
about 9-10 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, and roughly chopped
half a cinnamon stick
half a vanilla bean
 
1. Turn the chopped apples into a large stockpot.  Add a small bit of water, about 1/2 to 1 inch.  Toss in half the cinnamon stick and the vanilla bean.  Turn to medium-low and cover. 
2. Take out the vanilla bean after about 5 minutes.  Save the inside for another use.
3. Cook apples until soft.  Cool slightly and then puree half in  a blender.  I left the cinnamon stick in until the applesauce was gone.  It added subtle cinnamon flavor.
4. Turn pureed apples back into the pot and spoon it up!  Perfect with a cup of tea!
Autumn

Sweet Potato Spread meets Date Bread

by Rebecca5 Comments on Sweet Potato Spread meets Date Bread

Sweet Potato Spread is a favorite fall treat.  It’s nothing like you’re thinking, I’m sure.  It reminds me of sweetly spiced pumpkin butter—gone rebel.  With its peanutty tang, nutty sweet brown rice syrup, and rebellious little chunks of sweet potato deliberately left unsmoothed.  Oh and that dash of salt.  It just likes to place mischief.  Try it spread on a hefty slab of moist date bread like I did here, or some simple morning toast.  Or if you’re feeling really rebellious slather it thick on nice slices of homemade bread, layered with thin apple pieces, a bit of sharp cheese, and some greens.  Now that’s a rebellious sweet potato butter sandwich.

As for that Date Bread, it’s a bit of a sweet delicious treat.  Moist and comforting, homey and looking like fall should–this is one date bread that’s even a bit good for you!  It is certainly a match for that delightfully rebellious little sweet potato spread.

Sweet Potato Spread
1 large orange sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 Tbs. peanut butter
1-2 Tbs. brown rice syrup
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
pinch sea salt
 
Boil or roast sweet potato until it’s soft and mashable.  Mash it a bit until it’s slightly smooth but still chunky.
Stir in peanut butter, syrup, spices, and salt. Add more to taste.  If you’d like it a bit more smooth, pour into a food processor and puree a bit until it reaches the desired consistency.
 
Date Bread, adapted from Whole Living
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 cup pitted dates, chopped
1 large egg
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
 
Preheat oven to 35o degrees F.  Coat a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan with oil.  In a medium bowl, pour hot water over dates and let stand about 5 minutes, or until slightly softened.  Whisk in egg, oil, and vanilla.  In another bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.  Fold wet mixture into dry until just combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.  
Bake about 65 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.  Let rest for 10 minutes, then turn out from pan onto cooling rack. 
 
 

As you may have noticed, the blog is in a bit of a transition right now.  Changing names, titles, addresses, etc.  Stay tuned for more to come on finer details of changes being made!