Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

Today's recipe comes from Skinnytaste.com.  I modified this recipe from the website for just one person, me.  My husband is not a breakfast person and I didn't want to end up with four servings.  Overall, the recipe came out pretty great, and you can add more flavor to it if you'd like, such as almond butter.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or apple pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond extract)
• 2 tablespoons apple sauce (and 1 tablespoon almond butter)

Add water, quinoa, cinnamon and extract to a small pot, and wait for water to bowl.  Low heat and keep lid on until all the water has evaporated, usually 10 to 15 minutes.

Put the quinoa in a bowl and add the applesauce and stir.  Enjoy!

Healthy Smoothies and Salad

Hey all!  So classes started right after Labor Day and since I'm a full time student I've been doing a lot of homework and studying and less baking. :-( I also just recently started a part time job, so my social life and personal time will be extremely limited.  I'll bake and cook whenever I can find the time, and I will find time because this is the best season for baking!  Pumpkins, apples, and holidays galore!

So for this post, I have three smoothies to share and my go-to salad recipe.  The next few posts will be baking because I did manage to get some time in a few weeks ago.  So expect to see a granola recipe, a coffee cake, and pound cake.  :-)

The first smoothie is a berry one, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 container of Fage fat-Free Greek Yogurt, or 3/4 cup of your favorite yogurt
• 1 cup frozen or fresh berries
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 packet of Stevia in the Raw

Blend until smooth.

The second smoothie is a green smoothie, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup milk, I used non-sweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 handful of spinach
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup strawberries (frozen or fresh)

Blend until smooth.

And lastly, another green smoothie, you'll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 handful spinach
• 1/2-1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Blend until smooth.

For the salad, I got the idea from those Eat This Not That! books as well as a local restaurant's menu. You will need:

• Spinach or Romaine lettuce 
• Strips of cooked chicken
• 1 apple cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup crumbled cheese, feta or goat works well

Enjoy! 

Cinnamon-Apple Muffins

This recipe comes from The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking (I told you I would be using this cookbook a lot).  I made the recipe yesterday morning and they turned out very yummy.  The recipe didn't make a lot of them, the recipe says 9, but I was only able to make 8.  I'm trying not to eat them all within a couple of days, it's been difficult because they're really good.

Here's what you'll need:
3/4 cup hazelnut flour
3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup Stevia Extract in the Raw
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
6 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk or other milk
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia
1/2 cup coarsely chopped apple (about 1 large apple)
1/4 cup chopped almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, or walnuts (which was used in this recipe) for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 8 or 9 muffin cups with paper or foil liners, then mist them with spray oil.

In a medium bowl, combine the hazelnut flour, almond flour, stevia, baking powder, and cinnamon and whisk until well mixed.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs, milk, applesauce, vanilla, and liquid stevia together until thoroughly blended.

Add flour mixture and stir with a large spoon for 1 to 2 minutes to make a smooth, sticky batter.  Fold in the apples.

Spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing it evenly among them; the muffin cups should be just about full.  Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the muffins.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate and bake for about 20 to 25 more minutes, until golden brown and springy when pressed in the center.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Don's Mom's Apple Pie from Penzeys done by me, Carly

This was my second apple pie, and this recipe came from the Penzeys' Spice Store.  I've probably told you this before, but when you go in their store, they have recipes all around their displays.  I believe they change them seasonally. 

So this was one of the recipes hanging around the store I decided to try, it's called Don's Mom's Apple Pie.  I don't know who Don is, but I tweaked his mom's apple pie a bit with a couple of different spices.  I made the pie at my parents' house yesterday while doing my laundry and spending time with my best friend.  She's been staying at her parents' place until she and her wife get their power back.

The pie turned out great, the crust tasted just like a Girl Scouts' Shortbread cookie.  I'm really glad I baked it all from scratch.  I also got to use the last of my apples that I picked about a month ago.  I'm also really glad my best friend is allergic to apples because there was more for me and my husband.  :-)

What you'll need for the crust:
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), cold and unsalted
1 1/2 cups flour (I used all-purpose, but I think pastry flour would work well too.)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons milk

What you'll need for the filling:
6 cups apples (I used whatever I had left over, but the recipe lists 4 Macintosh and 2 Red or Golden Delicious)
1/2 cup regular sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
--------------------
(1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
------------------------------
Instead of what's in between the lines, I used:
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice (all Penzeys)

1 egg white whisked with 1 teaspoon water (I didn't use this for the top, just the cinnamon sugar)
1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (Penzeys)


Prepare the crust first.  Cut up the butter, put it in a large bowl, and add the flour, sugar and salt.   Rub it between your fingers until crumbly and pea-sized.  Mix milk in by the tablespoon until the dough just holds together when mixed with a spoon.  Divide into two pieces, one about 2/3 of the dough, for the bottom crust, on about 1/3 of the dough, for the top crust.  Pat each one into a flat disk and wrap in a plastic wrap.  Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

To prepare the filling, peel, core, and slice the apples.  Place in a large bowl, top with sugars, flour, salt and spices. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the pie dough from the fridge, sprinkle the table with flour, and roll out the larger bottom crust, flipping gently once while rolling.  Place in a glass pie dish.

(I should have brought my own rolling pin, that's my mom's in the background.)

Top with apple filling.

 

Roll out the second smaller top crust. If you want to use the egg white mix, brush the edge of the bottom crust with egg white mix, and then place the top crust on.  Vent the center of the crust with a knife, and then crimp the edges.  Brush the top with egg white mix, and then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. 

Place in preheated oven and bake until brown and bubbly, about 55 minutes.

Wait about an hour to cool, and enjoy!

Almond-Pecan Piecrust & Apple Crumble Pie

First I'd like to say is my heart goes out to everybody who was affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I live close to NYC and just north of NJ, and had lost power last night for about 10 hours, I'm quite lucky it came back on, considering there will be many people without electricity for a while.  :-(  Growing up in NJ and having gone down the shore every summer with my family while growing up, it's difficult to see how much Sandy destroyed.  :-( 

Since I had off of work yesterday, as did everybody in the Tri-state area, I wanted to bake something since I was very bored, and had time to pass.  So I decided to bake the apple pie I've been wanting to bake since the first time I brought back my half bushel of apples.  I was very apprehensive at first, since the lights were flickering a bit, but the news kept saying the worst would come later.  The slow apple peeler that I am, the pie was in the oven when the power shut off.  My stove top is gas, but not the oven.  :-(  The pie was nearly done, but I waited until this morning to finish it.  It came out alright.  It tastes really good, but it was falling apart and didn't look like a pie once on the plate.  Oh well, maybe next time I use this recipe it'll turn out better looking, oh, and I won't be stupid and think I have enough time to bake a pie while a major storm is going on.  Duh!

 This recipe came from my cookbook, The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking.  I made the crust first out of almond flour and pecan flour.  I had to special order the pecan flour from King Arthur Flour.  I don't think Bob's Red Mill sells pecan, but they do have almond and hazelnut.

Here's what you'll need for the Almond-Pecan Piecrust:

1 cup (4 oz.) almond flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup (4 oz.) pecan flour (King Arthur)
1/4 cup Splenda or Stevia Extract in the Raw (I used Stevia), or 2 tablespoons New Roots Stevia Sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup salted butter or margarine melted
3 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk (I used soy) or other milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Lightly mist a 9" or 10" pie pan with spray oil.  In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, pecan flour, sweetener, and baking powder and whisk until well mixed.

Add the butter, milk, and vanilla and stir with a large spoon for 1 to 2 minutes.  The dough will be stiff and playdough-like.  Put the dough in the prepared pan and lightly mist the top of the dough with spray oil.  Spread the dough with your fingers, pressing it in an even layer to line the pan.  Prick the bottom and sides with a fork to help prevent bubbles (I forgot to do this) and air pockets.  Set aside.

Now, what you'll need for the Apple Filling:
5 cups thinly sliced apples (about 1/4" thick)
1 cup Splenda or Stevia Extract in the Raw, or 1/2 cup New Roots Stevia Sugar
1/4 cup (1 oz.) almond flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons salted butter or margarine melted
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia

What you'll need for the Crumble Topping:
3/4 cup (3 oz.) almond flour
1/4 cup Splenda, Stevia Extract in the Raw, Truvia, or Zsweet, or 2 tablespoons New Roots Stevia Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup (2 oz.) salted butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

To make the filling, put the apples in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the Stevia, almond flour, cinnamon, butter, lemon juice, and liquid stevia and stir gently with a large spoon or rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.  Add this mixture to the apples and mix together until all the apples are thoroughly coated.

Then pour the mixture, juices and all, into the unbaked piecrust; the apples will mound up higher than the edges of the pan.

To make the topping, put all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a large spoon or rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.  The mixture should be crumbly and dry.  If it lumps up rather than forming crumbles, refrigerate for about 30 minutes until hardened, and then crumble it with your fingers. 

Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the apples.

Put the pie on a baking sheet and cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent burning.  Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake for about 20 more minutes.  Remove the foil from the edges of the piecrust and bake for about 10 minutes, until the topping and crust are golden brown.

Let the pie cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.  Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy! 

Penzeys' Apple Bread

 Hey everybody, this recipe comes from one of my Penzeys' catalogs.  It's apple bread, a lot like banana bread, but with apples.  There was also a recipe for brown sugar and cinnamon butter, which I didn't make, but will include in this post.  The apple bread had a topping, which you won't see from my pictures because it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to.  It was supposed to come out as a crumb topping, but I ended up getting one lump instead of many, and tried my best to crumble it up.

  My next post will probably be on apple pie.  I have to find a way to use up all the apples before they all go bad.  I started to find some soft and mushy...not good!

What you'll need for the Bread:
4 cups apples, peeled, cored, and chopped, about 4-5 large apples (I used a variety but the recipe likes using McIntosh.)
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil (I used Smart Balance, but the recipe likes plain canola.)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon (I used Penzeys.)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar

What you'll need for the Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

What you'll need for the brown sugar and cinnamon butter:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1-foot sheet parchment or waxed paper

For the bread and topping, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease two standard bread loaf pans and set aside.  Peel, core, and slice the apples.  Cut into good-sized chunks, about 1 inch in size.  I didn't do this because I forgot to read all of the directions before peeling, coring, and cutting up the apples.  It still turned out very yummy, so it's a judgement call.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Add the oil and beat until combined.  Add the vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Beat until thoroughly mixed.

Next, add the flour and sugar and mix on low just to blend.  Turn the mixer to high and beat until the mixture is smooth.  The batter will be very thick, almost like cookie dough.

Fold in the chopped apples, mixing by hand with a spoon so the apples do not get broken up.  Divide the mixture between the two pans.

To prepare the topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Cut the butter into the mixture with a fork until all the ingredients are moist and crumbly.  Sprinkle equal amounts of topping on each loaf.

Bake for about 1 hour on the center rack of the oven.  The loaf should feel fairly firm when touched in the middle;  if not, bake an extra 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.  Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pans.

To make the butter:
Place the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.  Mix until thoroughly blended.  Place on the edge of the paper and roll tightly.  Twist both ends of the paper and place in the freezer, until firm, about one hour.  After 30 minutes, re-roll the half firm butter in the paper and pop it back in the freezer to get a more perfect shape.

Enjoy! 

Apple Upside-Down Cake

So I was originally going to make this for my friend's birthday but due to the fact that it takes me forever to peel apples, I didn't have enough time.  I made this while at my parents' place on Sunday for Sunday dinner, only this was the dessert.  It was delicious and I'm so glad I got to use more of the apples I picked from the orchard.  It was from my Cooking Light Way to Bake cookbook.  I added some Apple Spice for an extra flavor, you don't have to or you could just use cinnamon. 

Here's what you'll need:

for the topping (or rather bottom of the pan):
Cooking spray
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 cups (1/4" thick) slices peeled Rome apples (I used whatever apples I had, but the book says 2 large ones should equal 3 cups)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 teaspoon Penzeys Apple Spice (optional)

Cake:
5.3 ounces cake flour (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
3 large egg whites

First preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9" round cake pan with cooking spray.
To prepare topping, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly (about 3 minutes).

Continue cooking 4 minutes or until golden (do not stir).  Immediately pour into prepared cake pan, tipping pan quickly to coat bottom.  Arrange apple slices in concentric circles over warm caramel in pan.  Sprinkle with nuts (and spice); set aside.

To prepare cake, weight or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir with a whisk.
Combine 2/3 cup sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks and vanilla to sugar mixture; beat until combined.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl.  Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form using clean, dry beaters.

Gently fold egg whites into batter.  Spread batter over apples.

 Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack.  Loosen cake from sides of pan with a knife; invert cake onto a serving plate.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Applewood Orchards and Winery/No-Sugar Applesauce

  Last year, when I first moved to the beautiful down-state Hudson Valley Region of NY, my two friends who have lived here before me, Corinne and Christine (two college friends), decided to go apple picking at the local orchard in Congers, NY.  Since Corinne was visiting for the weekend (she now lives in VA),we made it into a fun weekend of baking an apple pie and going to Oktoberfest at Bear Mountain as well. 

From what I remember about the Congers orchard, we had to rent a huge lacrosse-looking-like stick to get our apples down, and I think we paid more money than we wanted to just for the apples alone.  It was also very crowded that October weekend (at both the orchard and Bear Mountain), probably because of the unusually warm weather.  They also didn't offer a wide variety of apples.  They had an entire part of the orchard closed off where another type of apple was waiting to be picked.  I guess they wanted every single red apple picked before letting their customers get to the Golden Delicious or whatever they were on the other side.  I didn't like that.  I didn't want to go back to this place, even though it was so close to my new home.

This past Monday was Columbus day, and since my kids at After-School had off, I had off, and since my husband is a federal employee, he had off as well.  I wanted to go apple picking, because it's a fun thing to do in the early fall.  My husband and I had gone to an orchard either in 2010 or 2009 before we were married in NY state to pick apples.  I can't remember the name of the place, but I remember it being far (plus we lived right by Sandy Hook at the Jersey shore, at that time), and not very good.  For one thing, the orchard was on a mountain, and we had to park on a very hilly surface and right next to the trees!  Everybody was parked next to the apple trees.  It was chaotic getting in and out of there.  However we did stop at a great little ice creamery on the way back home which was only a few miles from that orchard. 

This year we looked up different orchards about 45 minutes north of us in Warwick, NY.  I think that's where the chaotic one is too, because there are many orchards in Warwick.  We went to the Applewood Orchards and Winery.  They had the best price for picking apples.  When we got there we had to hop on a tractor to get to where the apples were.  It had rained a lot the night before, so everything was really muddy.  He took us to a spot where we could pick both apples (of many varieties) and pumpkins.  The above picture was taken from my phone of one of the apple trees.  I don't know what kind those are, but if you look at the website here, they break down what kind of apples they grow and when they are good for picking. 

We picked one large bag which is a half bushel of apples.  I filled my entire one crisper in my fridge with 90% of the apples we got, and the other 10% were put in a large freezer bag (also kept in the fridge).  Yeah, that's a lot, so expect a lot of apple recipes here.  They also had some entertainment that day, some body singing and playing music, as well as a puppet show.  They had face painting for kids as well.  The orchard also offered wine tasting in a very small space, which was crowded so Tom and I didn't get to sample anything this time.  They also make their own apple donuts and cider on the premises.  They were both really good, the donut just melts in your mouth. I highly recommend going to this apple orchard if you live in the area.  Oh, and we didn't need a huge stick to  pick the apples.  :-) 

Now for what I was really going to blog about:  Applesauce! I was looking for a recipe on-line for a no-sugar added applesauce.  Google presented me with this recipe from Whipped The Blog. 

Here's what you'll need:

8-10 medium apples (any kind, make it a variety, that's what I did) peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I didn't use just cinnamon I used Penzeys' Apple Pie Spice, which has 2 kinds of cinnamon in it, as well as nutmeg, mace, and cloves.)
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Peel, core, and cut apples into 1-inch chunks.  Put them in a sauce pan and add the lemon juice.  Stir them around.  Add the water, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir them around again.  Put the pan on high heat with out the cover on until it bowls. 

Lower the heat and cover.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes.  For a smoother applesauce, use a potato masher to mash the large chunks.

Let it cool or have it warm and enjoy! 

I think this recipe made about 6-8 cups of applesauce.  This is a guestimate, since I didn't measure it out.  

Iced Apple Cake Squares

Hey all, so today's recipe comes from a book I use a lot of the time on this blog, Chloe's Kitchen.  I made this over the weekend when I was a hosting a very small get together with some of my local friends.  Unfortunately most of them canceled, so it was just me and my good friend Christine.  :-)  So there was more cake for us.  This was very easy to make, and it was moist, and so delicious!  Next time I make it I'm going to double the recipe and put it in a bigger cake pan.

Here's what you'll need for the cake and glaze:

2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten free flour, which is what I used because I have more gluten free flour than regular flour at the moment, just remember to add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum to it)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar (I used apple)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 Gala or Braeburn apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons soy, almond, or rice milk (I used almond)


First preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease an 8 or 9 inch square pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk oil, vanilla, and vinegar.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Gently fold in walnuts and apples.  Fill prepared cake pan with batter.

Bake for about 30 minutes in a 9-inch pan or 45 minutes in an 8-inch pan, or until center is set and the cake is lightly browned on top.

 In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and nondairy milk until smooth.  Ice the cake, let set, and cut into squares.  Ice the cake while warm or let cool to room temperature.

Enjoy!  

No-Sugar Apricot Applesauce

Yesterday afternoon I decided to finally try this yummy sounding applesauce recipe.  It's from  The Everything Vegan Cookbook.   It was very easy to make, and came out delicious! I highly recommend using all the spices listed below if you like a bold spicy flavor. 

You'll need:
6 apples (the recipe says you don't have to peel them but your applesauce won't be as smooth, I peeled my apples)
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
4 dates, chopped
Cinnamon to taste (optional)
Nutmeg to taste (optional)
Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste (optional)

First you'll want to peel, core, and chop the apples.

Add the apples and 1/3 cup of water to a large soup or stock pot and bring to a low boil.  Simmer, covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  I know it sounds like a very small amount of water but the water from the apples leaks out once covered.

Next add chopped apricots and dates to the pot and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

After that you can either mash the fruit in the pot with a potato masher or large fork.  Another option is to put the fruit in a food processor and puree until smooth or desired consistency is reached.

I put the spices in before the sauce was completely pureed, just to get an all over even taste, but you could sprinkle as much on once you are finished.

The recipe makes about 4 cups.