Ride Like the Wind

I decided to take advantage of the warm fall weather and bike to the local orchard to pick up some apples.

The thing about biking in October is that it can be kind of windy.

I was struggling.

I felt like Ms. Gulch in the Wizard of Oz riding past Dorothy’s bedroom window while it is whirling around in a tornado.

My quads were burning so bad I thought they might disintegrate and I was seriously considering cutting the ride short and heading home.

I glanced behind me to see a fellow biker getting ready to pass.

He bid me good morning as he effortlessly sailed on by.

With a donut.

And coffee.

(source)

Maybe I’m doing it wrong.

Gale force winds couldn’t keep me from fresh produce now.

Or the 3 MPH winds I was actually facing.

How ’bout them apples?

I was hungry when I got home.

Which is completely irrelevant because I’m always hungry.

Baked Sweet potatoes stuffed with apples, cranberries, and spinach is a warming way to enjoy both the sweet and tart flavors of fall.

Apple and Cranberry Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1 apple (any variety)

1 tablespoon apple cider or water

1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup

2 cups baby spinach

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)

salt + pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Wrap sweet potatoes in foil and bake for 50-60 minutes or until tender.

During the last 10 minutes of cooking, prepare your filling.

Soak cranberries in hot water for 5 minutes to soften.

If you can’t find fresh cranberries, you can use 1/4 cup dried.

Dice apple.

Add to a large pan with apple cider.

Cook over medium heat for about a minute.

Add cranberries and continue cooking until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Add mustard, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup.

Stir gently.

Add spinach and cook just until it begins to wilt.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add 1/2 of the apple filling to each sweet potato.

Top with pumpkin seeds.

The 12 Challenges of 2012

Has anyone thought about taking the week long vegetarian challenge?

Maybe you’re thinking it would be too difficult.

Maybe you’re thinking meal planning would be too hard.

Maybe you’re thinking too much.

Here’s some quick and easy meal ideas for you.

BREAKFAST

Cereal + Milk + Fruit

Toast + Peanut Butter + Banana

Oatmeal+Soy milk + Pumpkin + Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pancakes + Cooked Apples + Maple Syrup

Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Almond Biscotti

LUNCH

Peanut Butter + Apple Butter + Whole Wheat Bread

Hummus + Veggies + Pita Chips

Lentil Soup

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Thai Broccoli Slaw

Spinach + Pears + Walnuts + Maple Cider Vinaigrette

DINNER

Vegetarian Chili + Cornbread

Black Bean Burgers + Sweet Potato Fries

Tomato Soup + Grilled Cheese

Black Bean Tostadas

Stuffed Portobellos

Zucchini Tacos

Veggie Pizza

SNACKS

Brownie Batter Dip

Apple Butter Bread

Peanut Butter and Jelly Energy Bites

Warm Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Chips

You can even eat donuts and drink coffee all week if you want.

Bonus points if you can do it on a bicycle.

An Apple A Day

Healthcare.

Obama Care.

Romney Care.

I don’t care.

I want to know why I can go to the doctor to get labs done and take my dog to the vet  for a blood test the next day and my dog gets a diagnosis in less than 24 hours and I’m still waiting to find out why I feel like I’m going to pass out during strenuous activities like folding the laundry.

And speak in giant run-on sentences.

My dog, by the way, has hypoglycemia.

Which means her glucose dips dangerously low and she has has no energy.

Normally she is a party animal.

It must be true that dogs take after their owners because I don’t have any energy either.

The treatment for now is to give the dog energy dense snacks before exercise to keep her blood sugar stable.

I fully intend on following the vet’s advice.

For myself.

Energy dense snack balls are a convenient way to refuel an empty tank. They’re quick, easy, and filled with nutrition when you make them with whole foods like oats, nuts, and dried fruits. These snack balls are made with dates, peanuts, and fresh, chopped apple and just so happen to taste exactly like a caramel apple.

Caramel Apple?

I feel better already.

CARAMEL APPLE BITES

1 cup pitted dates

1/2 cup ground peanuts + extra 1/4 cup  for rolling

1 small apple (yield 1 cup) diced very small

1/2 oz. chocolate, melted (optional)

Add dates and ground

peanuts to a high speed blender or food processor.

Grind your peanuts first if using whole. Remember to mix 1/2 cup with the dates and save 1/4 cup for rolling.

Process until mixture is crumbly and can be molded with your hands.

Transfer to a medium sized bowl and add finely diced apple.

Combine the fruit and nut mixture.

 Roll a tablespoon of mixture into a small ball.

Roll each ball in reserved ground peanuts.

Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.

I’m seriously thinking about scheduling all my medical appointments with the veterinarian in light of the fact that the care is so much more efficient and, well, caring.

When’s the last time your doctor gave you a good back-scratch and a treat before you left the office?

Did you say treat?

Exactly.

The Simple Life

I’ve been staring at the computer screen for 63 minutes trying to think of something to write.

Perhaps I’m making this too complicated.

I do that a lot.

Complicating things that don’t need to be.

OCCAM’S RAZOR:

The law of parsimony, economy, or succinctness. It is a principle urging one to select from among competing hypotheses that which makes the fewest assumptions.

-Wikipedia-

Well, that sure is complicated way to say that the simplest answer is usually the best.

I thought making apple cider would be a complicated process.

I thought it would require big machines, presses, and hours of manual labor.

Turns out its much simpler than that.

It requires mashing and squeezing.

That’s it.

Simple.

Homemade Apple Cider

5 lbs. apples ( a variety of sweet and tart is best)

1/2 lemon, juiced

Chop apples.

Place apples and lemon juice blender of food processor and process until mixture appears “mashed.”

Pour mixture into fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth.

Squeeze out the juice.

Un-complicate your life.

Enjoy the simple things.

A League of Their Own

Fall is here.

School is in session.

The air is turning chilly and crisp.

Colored leaves are peppering the lawn.

Football season has begun.

And I’ve lost my husband to a fantasy football league.

Well, husband, while you’ve been nerding it up on the computer and making your draft picks, I’ve been putting together a little fantasy league of my own.

THE FALL FOOD FANTASY

LEAGUE

1. Pumpkin

2. Apples

3. Butternut Squash

4. Cinnamon

5. Apple Cider

6. Maple Syrup

7. Acorn Squash

8. Seasonal Brews

9. Molasses

10. Pears

SECOND STRING

11. Ginger

12. Walnuts

13. Candy Corn

14. Sweet Potatoes

15. Caramel

16. Cranberries

THE WILD CARD:

17. Coconut

Our team colors are orange, red, and brown.

We call ourselves the Harvesters.

The players have had some solid practices and are ready for kick-off.

Are you ready for some football  food ball?

Falling for you

Fall is like one big sensory orgasm.

  Vibrant red, green, and orange slowly encapsulating summer’s green leaves.

The roar of enthusiastic fans at the Friday night football game.

The crisp air that sends you running for you snuggie.

The pile of crunchy leaves that is so big that you send out an APB for your first-born that jumped in 2 hours ago.

The fragrant blend of scented candles, simmering chili’s, and baked fruits permeating every crevice of the house.

I love spending cool, cloudy days inside in front of the stove honing the art of comfort food.

I would consider myself the next Martha Friggin’ Stewart but I don’t have her creative ability to make pies from scratch, compose elegant flower arrangements using foliage from the backyard, and get convicted of insider trading.

I can, however, spend all of my disposable income on fall produce.

When you eat as many apples as I do, it can get a bit pricey.

Unless you’re a cheap skate like I am and hoard the less the stellar selection.

At 69 cents a pound, I was able to buy almost seven pounds for less than five dollars.

When the apples are so big  that one apple yields three cups of fruit, I consider my money well spent.

Caramel apples seem like the ultimate fall indulgence, but why spend all that time picking sticky caramel out of your teeth when you can drink a hot mug of caramel apple cider using locally pressed fruit?

Homemade caramel sauce is easy to make using this recipe, inspired from Eating Well. Swapping evaporated milk for full fat cream and adding only a touch of butter means this silky sauce is lower in fat and calories than traditional caramel but tastes every bit as decadent.

Combine sugar and cider in a small saucepan.

Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.

Continue a low boil for about 15 minutes without stirring.

Remove from heat and add butter and evaporated milk, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Add molasses, and return to heat, cooking on low for another 5-10 minutes to let color develop.

Add vanilla.

Remove from heat and cool.

Caramel Cider Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup fat-free evaporated milk

1 tablespoon butter (I used real, whipped butter)

2 teaspoons of molasses

1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Combine sugar and cider in small sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue a low boil for about 15 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Stir in butter and evaporated milk, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Add molasses and return to low heat for 5-10 minutes until sauce darkens slightly in color.

Add vanilla and remove from heat.

Cool completely.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Caramel Apple Cider

1 medium, round apple

wedge of lemon or lemon juice

apple cider

whipped cream

caramel cider sauce

Trim top of apple and scoop out inner flesh to make a “mug.” Rub edges with lemon juice and fill mug with warm apple cider. Top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel cider sauce. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

Apple of my eye

  Want to know how I know I’m a huge dork?

  One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is from The Wizard of Oz.

 Actually, every scene from The Wizard of Oz is my favorite, but one specifically stands out in my mind.

Remember the part where Dorothy and Scarecrow  find apple trees in the woods?

Being that Dorothy has just been through a tornado, killed a witch, met 800 singing midgets, and is now developing a relationship with a talking bag of straw, it stands to reason that she would be a tad hungry.

I still think it is hilarious when Dorothy and her haystack boyfriend go to pick the apples and the trees get pissed and start launching apples at them.  Assault and battery is funny when fruit and adults dressed as foliage are involved.

Source

I generally prefer to pick my own apples from the safety of the farmer’s market bin, but it’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy a rousing game of  Mortal Kombat in the apple orchard.

The kid in me wanted a fun way to eat apples.

The adult in me wanted it to be healthy.

The cook in me came up with warm apple salsa with cinnamon sugar chips.  100% whole wheat tortilla chips get sprinkled with a combination of cinnamon and sugar and baked until crispy. Apples and pears are then cooked over low heat with raisins, cinnamon, and a touch of real maple syrup just until softened.

Warm Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Chips

For the chips:

10 whole wheat, medium-sized tortillas

2 teaspoons sugar (I used turbinado)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Spray oil (such as canola)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray tortillas with canola oil and use finger to coat entire tortilla. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle onto tortillas.

Use cookie cutter for cut out shapes or slice each tortilla into 8 wedges.

Place on baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy.

For Apple Salsa

1 medium baking apple, diced

1 medium Bosc pear, diced

1/2 cup apple juice or water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1/4 cup raisins

Place all ingredients except for raisins in a large sauce pan and cook over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes or until softened. Add raisins and continue cooking for five minutes. The apples and pears will be soft but still have a bite to them.  Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Serve with cinnamon sugar chips.

Tidbits:

This recipe easily accommodates substitutions!

• Make it in the microwave!  Omit water and microwave for  2-4 minutes or until softened.
• Use two apples instead of pear
• Try apple cider instead of juice or water
• Swap apple pie spice for the cinnamon
• Use your any of your favorite sweeteners instead of maple syrup
• Increase cooking time for a pie filling consistency

The minimal amount of sugar in this recipe makes it perfect for a healthy dessert, after school snacks, or even a special breakfast treat.