Raw Coconut and Persimmon Parfait (and giving gluten a rest) November 8, 2009
Posted by a-k in coconut, dessert, farmer's market, fruit, gluten free, raw, recipe, wellness.16 comments
Well, after VeganMoFo, it feels like I dropped off the planet a bit. For a week, anyway 
This past week has been really stressful, and I’ve been having a hard time making food in general, much less blogging about it. But things are on the upswing (I hope).
Early for me on a day off, I got up to meet my friend Courtney for a late-season trip to the farmer’s market. It’s incredibly small now, mostly empty stalls with a few tables here and there. Things are shifting into holiday mode already with pine bundles and fanciful branches and autumn bouquets. Minnesota’s growing season, while bountiful, is certainly short. However, I still managed to come away with a delicious haul of locally grown brussels sprouts, organic dinosaur kale, and a whole peck of Honeycrisp apples, the latter being only $10 for seconds (I still love the unloved, not-perfect-looking produce). You better believe there’s gonna be some good eats happening with all of that!
While the majority of my produce from the farmer’s market is locally grown, there are times I can’t pass up a good deal at one of the produce reseller’s tables. The Minneapolis Farmer’s Market is a little odd in that it allows non-local produce to be sold, although I’ve been told that they aren’t allowed to sell specific produce that would compete with the local growing season (during corn or tomato season, for example). It’s also pretty obvious that pineapples or bananas just don’t grow up here naturally, nor do cardboard produce boxes bearing various corporate labels “fool” anyone with a bit of common sense, so it’s always obvious where the resellers are located. Today there seemed to be an abundance of persimmons, and though I haven’t used this gorgeous fruit much, it seemed like a good time to try something out.
Hence was born this Raw Coconut and Persimmon Parfait (using a young coconut I got for free from work), which is both fresh and a little tropical enough for the sunny fall days we’ve had this weekend, and just rich enough to be comforting in that autumnal kind of way. After a fairly exhaustive search of my cookbook collection, I found only two recipes that called for persimmons, and both were raw. Neither one fit exactly with what I had on hand in the moment I wanted to create something, so I fused them together a bit, though it’s primarily based on the Star Lotus Persimmon Parfait from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine. If you’re not interested in giving young coconuts a try, you can use non-dairy yogurt or a nut-based cream in place of the coconut cream. If you are, and haven’t ever opened a young coconut before, check out this link which has some step-by-step instructions.
The persimmon layer is sweetened with some dates and flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and lemon zest, while the coconut cream is as simple as you can get, although you might add some agave nectar if the natural sweetness isn’t enough for you. I made everything in a food processor, but if you have a high-speed blender feel free to use it to make it perfectly smooth and creamy… though while eating it I was feeling way too into the flavors to notice my “cream” had a few smalls bits of coconut meat in it.
Because I don’t (yet?) own everything I could possibly desire for serving food, like parfait glasses, I used a martini glass. There was plenty for one serving plus some leftover, but you might want to increase the persimmon layer amounts slightly if you’re hoping to serve two more amply. Top it with anything you like! The goji berries, cacao nibs, and shredded coconut I pulled out of my cupboards and freezer for a bit of color and crunch.
Raw Coconut and Persimmon Parfaits (serves 1-2)
1/2 lb. persimmons, quartered and peeled
1 tsp lemon zest
5 chopped dates, soaked in water if too dry
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
pinch nutmeg
1-2 tablespoons raw almond butter
meat from one young coconut
1/4-1/2 c coconut water, to reach desired consistency
agave nectar, to taste (optional)
shredded coconut, fresh fruit, goji berries, chopped nuts and/or cacao nibs to garnish
Add persimmons, dates, lemon zest, and spices to food processor and process until broken down and fairly smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Add the almond butter and process again until fully incorporated. Place in a small bowl and set aside.
Rinse out food processor bowl and add coconut meat and coconut water, starting with 1/4 cup. Process until smooth, adding additional coconut water to achieve desired consistency (you don’t want it too runny, or you won’t be able to layer your parfait). Taste and add agave nectar if desired.
Layer into parfait, martini, or wine glasses, alternating the persimmon mixture with the coconut cream. Chill in the fridge if desired, or sprinkle straight away with toppings and serve with a spoon.
One thing that’s going to be different around here is that I’m giving up gluten for a month. I’m not going to get into all the details, but it is for health reasons, and I’ll be exploring different ways to satisfy both my sweet and savory tooths without wheat, spelt, kamut, barley, or rye. I feel pretty excited about it actually! I’m particularly excited to test out this recipe for a GF, tofu-free vegan pumpkin pie as part of my Friendsgiving spread. And finding a good recipe for GF bread so I don’t have to spend $6 at the co-op on a frozen loaf that while delicious and wonderfully bread-like is pretty darn expensive. Hooray gluten-free!
VeganMoFo: Recent Raw Treats October 29, 2009
Posted by a-k in ani phyo, dessert, raw, reviews, veganmofo.13 comments
Raw Strawberry Macaroons from Ani’s Raw Food Desserts.
I’m making a bunch of recipes from Ani’s Raw Food Desserts this week to write up a review for Jae Steele’s blog. So far, just about everything has been Pretty Tasty. Strawberries are one of my favorite foods, so the smell and taste of these macaroons makes me all sorts of happy.
I also made some Almond Frangipane Kream this morning. This is my least favorite so far on account of the texture and bland flavor, but it still makes a bowl of Honeycrisp apple slices a little extra special (not that Honeycrisps need specialing up, mind you!). I’ll have to see if I can repurpose the cream somehow.
Last but not least, some Orange Fig Cookies, which are supposed to have lemon but I was out of lemons. These are extra decadent what with the cashew nuts and cashew butter in them, but the bit of fig sweetness and the hint of orange zest make them feel lighter. Yummy yum yum!
There will be a more overall review of the book as a whole on Domestic Affair, which I’ll point you to whenever it happens over the next couple months, but the general recommendation here is yes.
VeganMoFo: Odds and Ends October 26, 2009
Posted by a-k in ani phyo, baking, burgers and patties, chocolate, cookbooks, dessert, raw, reviews, sammiches and wraps, test recipes, veganmofo, zine.13 comments
Last night my ladyfriend came into the kitchen and said, “I wish we had brownies.” I said, “I can make some!” and I did. Of course I reached for Sweet Freedom and discovered that I had all the ingredients for a half-batch of the Ultra Fudgy Brownies… even half an avocado! which makes up some of the delightful fat in this relatively low-fat brownie. Umm, I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never been a big chocolate fan, and therefore have little to no idea what a brownie should taste or feel like, but this really satisfied me and my lady (who claimed it was “like a really delicious low-fat brownie”)! And really, could it get much sexier than that rich and decadent chocolate yumminess up there, with hardly any guilt? For reals. It’s inspiring me to use avocado more in baked goods.
I’ve also been perusing Ani Phyo’s new dessert book more in preparation for a review I’m working on for Domestic Affair. Although most of the recipes don’t require a dehydrator (as in her first book), I wanted to try out this Breakfast Toast recipe, which does. I’ve just finished the last piece today, having eaten it plain or as a raw “PB&J” with almond butter and fresh berries. Does making a PB&J raw really require a recipe? Probably not, but then I would never had tried out this tasty buckwheat, flax, sesame, raisin “bread”! Here with some organic blueberries I got for free:
And my personal favorite, with organic raspberries (also free!):
I’ve also slowly been materializing some recipes for the next zine, including one for Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge. It’s in need of a little tweaking, but super filling and tasty all the same. I brought some leftovers to work the other day:
I’ve got another post with a recipe coming up later tonight, or perhaps tomorrow afternoon (I feel like a slacker compared to some of you daily mofo-ers!) for some Vegan Haggis Loaf I made today, topped with a sauce I made from Farmer’s Market ground cherries, red wine, and peppercorns. I’d do it in this post, but I’m running out of time before I must dash off to my evening class about native tree species in Minnesota. Therefore I leave you with a picture of Jes’s delicious Tempeh Tube Sausage patties which I made for brunch yesterday, along with steamed broccoli and roasted sunchokes… these are awesome and inspire me to concoct all sorts of tasty vegan burgers, including one which I will be bringing along on our camping trip up north this weekend (yes, I said up north, and yes, we are probably insane):
VeganMoFo: Sweet Freedom Review! October 23, 2009
Posted by a-k in Sweet Freedom, baking, reviews.12 comments
Digging into a Pear Ginger Muffin
I’ve been sitting on this for far too long, because this is a really, really amazing cookbook. Imagine a world where vegan desserts have no refined sugar, no margarine, no wheat … and everything tastes AWESOME. You don’t need to imagine it, actually, for you need look no further than Ricki Heller’s Sweet Freedom: Desserts You’ll Love Without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy, or Refined Sugar!
You may already know Ricki through her Diet Dessert and Dogs website, where her wittiness, entertaining posts and friendliness is evident. When I first starting baking (or raw un-baking, too) from this book, I kept emailing Ricki recipe by recipe; “OMG, this tastes so good!” or “Are we long-lost taste twins? I <3 cardamom + carob together!” Case in point, my very first recipe from Sweet Freedom (which contains the aforementioned flavor combo), Carob Date Pancakes:
I don’t make a lot of breakfast foods like pancakes because I have so few mornings in which to make a breakfast for two (or more), but it wasn’t just me rejoicing in the yum-factor of this recipe. I still remember my girlfriend standing by and sneaking bites off the stack of pancakes and telling me “I’m eating this because it’s good!” So good, in fact, that I brought the recipe along to make for our cabin trip over the summer, where it received equally rave reviews.
One recipe I was really excited to try out was for (gluten-free) Soy Free, Sugar Free Coconut Whipped “Cream,“ which you see on top of fresh fruit above. This stuff is awesome! It also illustrates Ricki’s dedication to perfecting a recipe – the directions are easy to follow and places where you can or can’t substitute ingredients is very clear, as they are in all of the recipes I tried. If I had occasion to make a cake, I plan to use this in place of buttercream or icing… it’s pipeable, people! Also great atop Carrot Snack Cake, which introduced me to the concept of an afternoon-/after-school-appropriate treat that’s moist, soft, and not-too-sweet (which is how I like most of my desserts at any time of day):
These are nicely spiced, and a little bit of lemon zest further livens up the flavor. Plus, it has carrots in it, so a little extra healthy, am I right? In fact, if you’ve ever wanted to experiment with some other less common veggies in your desserts, Sweet Freedom offers up Tomato Spice Cake and Chocolate Mystery Cupcakes (containing spinach!) for your culinarily adventurous side.
Another thing I love about this cookbook is that there are raw dessert recipes in it. I made the Raw Frosted Apricot Pecan Bars, and felt very lucky that my ladyfriend shies away from anything labeled “raw,” since it meant I got to eat the whole thing! Again, the magic of citrus zest (this time orange) makes these bars really stand out and taste decadently alive. I was feeling fancy the day I made these and made a pattern in the vanilla-scented, date-sweetened coconut frosting:
So far I’ve only tried one cookie recipe (because cookies in my house means I eat too many), the Carrot Raisin Oatmeal Cookies, which unfortunately contained one of the three errors that slipped past the editors for the first printing of the book (these corrections to the first edition can be found here). So cookies I did not get, but a tasty cookie crumble perfect-for-ice-cream-topping I did
And last, but far from least, I present to you Pear Ginger Muffins, which use pear puree instead of chunks of pear, so that lovely sweet flavor gets to be savored in each and every delicious bite. Seriously, these taste more decadent than they are, and I forced myself to freeze most of them after wolfing down 3 in one sitting…
The lowdown: If you’re looking to clean up your dessert habits, or you’ve already done that and are looking for some new ideas, I highly recommend Sweet Freedom. Allergy-friendly recipe symbols (for corn-, gluten-, nut-, and soy-free) are indicated for all recipes. While all of the recipes are wheat-free, most of the baked goods recipes for cookies, cakes, muffins and such are not gluten-free, so that might be a consideration if you have a gluten sensitivity (but there are plenty of frostings, icings, puddings, and raw treats which are gluten-free, yay!). If you want a super glossy, color-photographs-on-every-page kinda cookbook, this probably isn’t for you, but as much as I’m a sucker for pretty pictures in my cookbooks, I’d take great and delicious recipes over glamour anyday. There are several black and white photos throughout the book, and 18 full-color photographs in the center insert. The directions are clear, easy-to-follow, and include informative introductions and notes about the background, possible substitutions, and/or potential uses for each recipe. I’ve had a great time making and eating all of these, and this is definitely the first book I grab when I’m jonesing for something sweet! Ricki is a really gifted baker full of inspired ideas and this cookbook would be a wonderful treat for your birthday or the holidays.
BONUS! Ricki is offering a holiday sale special on Sweet Freedom via her blog, check out the details here. Woohoo!
Check out the Sweet Freedom Flickr group for more yummy photos of tasty treats!
VeganMoFo: Field Trip and Buddy Baking October 20, 2009
Posted by a-k in baking, scones, travel, veganmofo.9 comments
Wow, I disappeared there for awhile didn’t I? Apparently I don’t have good time management now that I have homework and social plans. And today I have not much to show for it, either! But I’m hoping for better things later this week.
On Saturday I joined a bunch of older folks in Duluth for our first MN Master Naturalists field trip. We watched the raptor migration and looked at plants and tried to find a beaver lodge. Social situations with strangers make me a little nervous, so I’m always happy to have food on hand I got to use my new tiffin and To-Go Ware utensil set from Herbivore, and sat on a hillside munching away on some roasted chickpeas with red pepper slices
as well as a sandwich on GF bread with avocado, stoneground mustard, savory baked tofu, more red peppers, and baby romaine. Yum! Also, the tiffin is awesome! If you’re looking for a new lunchbox that’s earth-friendly, you should definitely consider one of these… bamboo utensils are now my favorite kind!
I also had the opportunity this weekend to meet up with Kim from the Affairs of Living blog and learn a little bit about gluten-free vegan baking. Kim has been diagnosed with a really ridiculous amount of food allergies PLUS she’s avoiding sugar and wheat because of candida issues. If she were me, I’d probably be tempted to sulk and feel sorry for myself all the time. But she is so far from that — she bakes and cooks and shares tons of recipes on her blog, including two in particular that I’d really like to try very soon, Apple Raisin Cupcakes with Raisin Cashew Frosting and Rhubarb Cashew Cookies. She’s also into natural and holistic health and shares so much of her personal experiences through her blog. And she’s really just as nice, friendly, and exuberant as she sounds on-screen! I am glad we decided to finally meet up for dinner a few weeks ago, and to bake something together this past Sunday.
She tells a much better version of our story over on her blog, so I’ll point you in that direction, but we tried to bake up a batch of savory squash scones with caramelized onions and fresh rosemary, chives, and sage. Delicious, eh? Well, they tasted delicious, but unfortunately the texture left something to be desired — they stuck to the roofs of our mouths in a bit of an unpleasant way. I didn’t even get a very pretty picture of them, but here’s proof that we created them:
That crackly texture is really pretty, isn’t it? We decided next time we get together we’re just going to cook something before we attempt baking again.
Many other things in the works, though life is getting in the way these days…I’ll be back soon!
VeganMoFo: Raw and Cooked October 13, 2009
Posted by a-k in dessert, raw, test recipes, veganmofo.7 comments
When I opened my cupboards yesterday, I looked up and saw all these brown pouches full of fancy raw superfoods I’d bought awhile ago. And despite my claim in #24 here, I thought I’d give raw chocolate a go. I’ve added nibs to smoothies, but apparently all the wrong kinds of smoothies, because I always thought they just added a rather bitter flavor. I wanted something quick and easy, and a little internet searching brought me to this recipe for Raw Cacao Maca Ice Cream. Maca root has also not been a favorite flavor of of mine – an extremely earthy malty taste that I could never seem to mask with fruit. But raw cacao and maca together = supermagic! This ice cream was amazing, and made me start to think I understood that crazy chocolate love people have. It gave me a crazy boost of energy (yikes! caffeine!) so it’s nice for a healthier pick-me-up.
I’ve been doing well with most of my mini-goals today: just finished my 8th cup of water, had a quart of DELICIOUS strawberry-mango-spinach green smoothie at work, and dressed real cute, even though I was going to work anyway and wearing cute clothes there is a waste of time. I’m hoping to be in bed by 11pm tonight, as last night I was closer to my usual midnight hour, and after work tomorrow I’ll be headed to the Y. While I haven’t written down a meal plan, I decided last night that I was going to tackle a couple of recipes for Terry, which I’ve been really slacking on for awhile.
Lucky for me, I picked a real winner (they’ve all been good, but some I’ve really loved)! It was Quinoa Roasted Pumpkin Risotto, which has lots of onions, garlic, a roasted poblano pepper (a sub I made), and aji amarillo paste, a condiment which I just picked up at the supermercado down the street today (along with other delightful treats). When I found the aji amarillo, I was excited to see this bottle of aji rocoto simply because of the amazing packaging and the font spelling out “Inca’s Food” in particular:
Yes, I bought something just based on appearance, which is often my method of choosing wine/alcohol and the way we ended up with a jar of mango pickle that seriously says “Sweet Mango Tit Bits” on the label (yes, I am immature like that sometimes). Anyway, back to the “quinotto.”
This was both rich and savory while some fresh lime juice and cilantro freshened it up a bit. A medium-wee bowlful filled me up and made me happy with all its perfect protein goodness and homebaked pumpkin seeds! I roasted my own pumpkin for this and ended up with quite a bit leftover, so you know what that means… Round two for maple glazed pumpkin cornbread!
VeganMoFo: Raw Apple Crisp and Veggieful Dinner October 9, 2009
Posted by a-k in blog-related bizness, dessert, fruit, raw, recipe, veganmofo, vegetables, zine.19 comments
This morning I got up, went to the dehydrator, and pulled out a tray of Maple Cinnamon Buckwheat Crispies from Raw Food Real World. (No, maple isn’t really raw…ooh, controversy!) Then I sliced some apples, mixed them with a “syrup” out of dates, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon juice and coconut water, and topped them with the Crispies and little bit of chopped walnuts. Voila!
I know it’s crazy, but I had a piece for breakfast, topped with some vanilla cashew cream that I’d made yesterday. It was SO GOOD.
Since I heard we might be getting some snow, and at the very least a frost, this weekend, I’m trying to get the last harvesting out of my puny driveway container garden (we don’t have a yard). One thing I grew this year was some brussels sprouts, and they were on the more successful end of things, though only one stalk in particular was adequately productive.
I knew it was the time to make some Mole-Roasted Cauliflower from my zine*, only using brussels sprouts instead! My friend Jackie just sent me a message saying she loves this recipe, so I’m going to share it here for everyone. These are zesty, flavorful, and delicious… if you’re spice-wary, reduce or omit the cayenne. (Yes, there are still zines available!)
Mole-Roasted Cauliflower (or brussels sprouts)
1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets (or 1 lb.+ brussels sprouts)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp epazote or oregano
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 tbp canola oil
1-2 tsp lime juice
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro to garnish
Preheat oven to 425F. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients except cauliflower and cilantro. Add cauliflower and toss well to coat, then place in a single layer in an oven-safe dish. Roast for 25-35 minutes until edges are crispy and browned, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve hot.
While the brussels sprouts were roasting, I cooked up some red quinoa that I topped with the last tomatoes from the garden:
And you know how I said in the quiz from yesterday that I was scared to work with mustard greens? Well wouldn’t you know, today I got some in the CSA box, and I decided to go for it. I sauteed some sliced garlic in olive oil, added the chopped mustard greens, and then drizzled the whole shebang in white balsamic, which is sweeter than it’s more common cousin. The mustard-y flavor was subtle and lovely, and the balsamic balanced out the intensity that I’ve always feared. Hooray for trying new greens!
In other news, I’ve been working on the new blog, and it’s tough work! Getting more creative control is hard for me because I get crazy about all the choices I have. I haven’t even begun to tackle reformatting image sizes since I have a larger layout. Woof. One day, though, it will be done. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow!
Veganmofo: A Lovely Sunday October 5, 2009
Posted by a-k in baking, bread, breakfast, fruit, pizza, veganmofo, vegetables, vwav.22 comments
Sunday morning I got up and decided to whip that cornbread into a sweet bread pudding for brekkie. I kind of winged it and in hindsight should have looked at a recipe before diving in to get a more appropriate custard thing going on, but… I also added raisins, pecans, amaranth (because it is AWESOME), cinnamon, and ginger. It was pretty good, but not really worthy of recipe-ing; my ladyfriend said it was “interesting and delicious.” Here is the dishful:
And here is how we ate it, with some cinnamon-cardamom-tossed Haralson apple slices (I’m really loving Haralson apples this year along with, of course, my beloved Honeycrisp):
After a few errands, I went to a couple apple orchards with some friends from work. It was about a 45 minute drive from Minneapolis, which isn’t too bad, really, to the Carpenter Nature Center and the Fischer’s Croix Farm Orchard. They’re right next door to each other in Hastings, MN.
I really like the Carpenter Nature Center because they practice integrated pest management to avoid using pesticides whenever possible (they’re not certified organic but they practice a lot of sustainable growing), plus they’re quieter and have a nature center with tons of hiking trails. Last year my best friend and I hiked down to the St. Croix River to drink tea and eat apples and sandwiches on a chilly, gray autumn day. We started here and picked some raspberries, which are still in season until the first hard frost:
Next door, the Fischer’s Croix Farm Orchard is more of the traditional family destination, with bunnies, goats and chickens, a tractor pull, a corn maze (pardon me, the Amazing Maize Maze), a pumpkin patch, and the option to pick your own apples. We rode on the tractor pull out to the corn maze where we spent a good 20-30 minutes inside trying to find our way out to the other side – I’m telling you, it was HUGE. (There were a lot of Children of the Corn jokes in there, too.) We emerged in a pumpkin patch, where many had been piled up for easy picking:
We got back, picked up some apples and goodies from their store, drank some fresh cider, and headed back home again. I love apple orchards! They are so lovely and autumnal, and I always seem to get lucky and go on cloudy, brisk days (that’s my favorite kind of fall weather).
After getting home, I started work on some pizza dough for dinner. I used the Vegan With A Vengeance recipe for the first time, and from now on it will be my go-to recipe. It worked out great! The only thing I did differently was use 2/3 whole and 1/3 all-purpose spelt flours; spelt has less gluten so it’s not as stretchy but this was by far the best spelt crust I’ve ever made at home, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. We went to the YWCA while it was rising, came back home and chopped up a bunch of CSA veggies, harvested basil from our plant to make pesto and voila! a pesto pizza was born unto us. (Please excuse the poor lighting in this picture.)
The only thing that could have made this day any better was if I’d had time to whip up some apple-y concoction for dessert, but I’m pretty content with how it all went.
VeganMoFo: Pumpkin (and Other Orange Delights) October 3, 2009
Posted by a-k in baking, beans and legumes, soup, veganmofo.30 comments
Tonight I found myself alone for dinner at the start of a seldom-experienced three-day weekend with chilly damp temperatures outside and no money to spend. Luckily I was loaded up with CSA veggies, recently rehydrated cannellini beans, and a lot of baking ingredients. I got to bust out my newly acquired vintage holiday-themed Pyrex lidded casserole dish*, and stuff it with whole cloves of garlic, carrots, onions, jalapenos and olive oil. Once sufficiently roasted, I added it to a pot with the aforementioned beans, fresh rosemary and sage from my humble container garden, and some veggie stock. I pureed it with my immersion blender and topped it with more garden-fresh parsley and fresh pepper and warmed my belly:
But wait! There’s more to this dinner. For a few weeks I’ve been imagining how good it would be to have not just cornbread, but pumpkin cornbread, and not just pumpkin cornbread, but maple-glazed pumpkin cornbread. That’s like the triumvirate of delicious fall goodness, am I right? So I played around a little with a plain cornbread recipe and stuck it in the oven and later pulled out a lovely golden-orange pan of pumpkin cornbread, brushed a piece with maple syrup, and stuck it under the broiler for a few minutes. Behold:
I ate it with greens and a beet vinaigrette (made from the juices leftover from roasting beets in olive oil and some balsamic), and the cornbread was moist and fluffy and gloriously soft, and the maple had caramelized and smelled like marshmallows when I pulled it out from the broiler. I really want to give you this recipe, but the only problem was it didn’t taste sufficiently pumpkin-y to me. I’ve already talked up this idea to people at work, so I have to remake it until I get it right in order to share it with the coworkers I managed to impress with my enthusiasm. Which means then I will get it posted here. Oh, and did I mention it is maple-sweetened and relatively low-fat? Oh yes.
And, because I can’t leave well enough alone, I had to go and use the leftover canned pumpkin in a Vita-Mix ice cream concoction. Using frozen bananas as a base, I added the pumpkin, raisins (for sweetness), vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger. I suppose I could have used some nutmeg and gone for the whole pumpkin pie experience, but it was pretty darn tasty as is.
Don’t you just love fall? Orange makes me feel so warm and comfy, which is good considering it’s about 45 degrees outside and our radiators haven’t been turned on. The weather a week ago was, believe it or not, quite warm and t-shirt and shorts-worthy. In case you thought I was totally crazy, I ate the ice cream in front of a space heater wearing a sweater and my special ladyfriend’s big comfy slippers (I have no slippers of my own, sniff).
I’m already dreaming about using the leftover pumpkin cornbread for a delicious weekend brunch bread pudding. I love it when I already have magical new uses in mind for leftovers, instead of consuming them in a (sometimes) less ideal day-old state, or letting them become science experiments because I want something new and different the next day. Hooray for foresight!
*More on this casserole dish and other delicious vintage things later in the month…
Ani Phyo’s Peach and Pistachio Cobbler July 29, 2009
Posted by a-k in ani phyo, dessert.23 comments
See, I told you I’m loving peaches! I bought a couple peaches specifically for this dessert, which I’ve been eyeing in my recently-acquired copy of Ani’s Raw Food Desserts. So I whipped it up, sat down to read through my blogs, and what popped up immediately but her post of the recipe and a video for this very dish! It has a lovely flavor from the vanilla-scented peaches combined with the date-sweetened pistachio “crust.” I’ve possibly never used pistachios in raw food preparations before, but I’m so glad I just did! This makes for a simple yet sophisticated dessert, with a surprisingly intriguing flavor in every bite. I also topped it with some goji berries, because they’re pretty and I like them.
Also, I’ve now joined the masses on Twitter. I’m very new and a teeny bit scared, but you can follow me as swellvegan (aka http://twitter.com/swellvegan) and hopefully I’ll improve my abilities to get with this thing all the kids are so into these days…
