Hot Apple Pie

hot apple pie closeup

Tastes just like the real thing….so perfect for sitting in front of the fire on a cold winter night.

Recipe

1 oz. Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
3/4 oz. Flor de Caña rum
4 oz. spiced apple cider
graham cracker crumbs
sweetened whipped cream
ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick

Instructions

1. In a small sauce pan bring your hot apple cider to a boil and remove from heat.

2. Put graham cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl. Use a lemon wedge, melted butter, or water to moisten the rim of an Irish coffee mug, then dip the rim of the glass into your graham cracker crumbs.

3. Add the Frangelico, Flor de Caña and hot apple cider.

4. Top with a spoonful of whipped cream and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick.

hot apple pie

The finished product.

Salmon Carrot Cauliflower Burger

curried salmon burger

Our curried salmon burger with fried green tomatoes and baked sweet potato fries

The patty itself is gluten and dairy free and is AWESOME on a bed of arugula greens. Steve and I came across this recipe when trying to find a recipe for a friend with gluten and dairy intolerances and fell in love with it ourselves. This recipe from Sprout is one of many delicious ones on her site. She also has lots of info about eating healthier and about cleanses that are both healthy and safe.

Recipe

Makes 6-8 patties.

3 carrots, peeled
1/2 head cauliflower
1/2 cup almond Flour
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 pound salmon, cooked
1 tablespoon high heat coconut or grapeseed oil

Instructions

1. Pulse carrots and cauliflower in food processor until evenly grated.

2. Combine carrots, cauliflower, salmon, almond meal, curry, and cinnamon and stir well.

3. Heat oil in a medium saute pan on medium-high heat.

4. Form patties and cook in the pan, 8-10 minutes on the first side and 5-8 on the second side. These patties have a tendency to fall apart if handled too much, so make sure to not mess with them too much after they’ve been put in the pan.

5. Serve on a whole wheat or onion bun with fresh arugula, onion, and a dollop of lemon curry remoulade or on a bed of arugula with a simple lemon vinaigrette. We had a few green tomatoes in the garden and had gotten a few sweet potatoes in our Organics to You shipment, so we whipped up some fried green tomatoes and baked sweet potato fries.

Lemon Curry Remoulade

4 tablespoon mayo
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
dash of paprika
1 garlic clove,minced
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and season to taste.

 

Orange Spiced Pumpkin Macarons

orange pumpkin spiced macaron

orange pumpkin spiced macaron…no feet, but perfect texture and flavor

This recipe is nearly identical to the one found on plant food fabulous. I just made a couple of spice adjustments to suit my taste. She has some great tips for macaron making and troubleshooting too.

Cookie Recipe

30 cookies (more or less)

2/3 cup almond flour/meal
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 aged egg whites (left out on the counter overnight)
orange gel food coloring

Filling (you’ll probably have leftover)

1/4 cup butter, room temp
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree, moisture removed by drying between two paper towel layers
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

Instructions

1. Sift together powdered sugar and almond meal, at least twice.

2. Stir in spices.

3. Beat aged egg whites until just frothy then add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over beat your eggs.

4. Preheat oven to 375 (know how your oven cooks and adjust accordingly) I usually turn mine down and cook a little longer.

5. Add almond mixture to your egg mixture; stir with a rubber spatula. Then macaronage  by spreading the mixture against the side of the bowl and then scraping it back down. Do this between 8 and 10 times. This removes some of the air from the batter. You’ll know it’s done when the batter folds back on itself in ribbons and spreads out slowly. You don’t want it to be runny.

6. Fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the batter and pipe 1 1/2 inch circles on to a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Once your baking sheet is full tap the baking sheet on the counter 5 or 6 times to remove the air bubbles from the macarons.

7. Let your macarons rest for 15+ minutes to form a skin on the surface.

8. Bake your macarons for 6-7 minutes, then rotate your baking sheets and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. They should be just golden around the edges with nice frilly feet.

The macarons pictured don’t have any feet…maybe due to the rain, over (or under) worked batter or maybe undercooking, but they were still nice and chewy with a slightly crunchy exterior.

Filling Instructions

1. In medium sized bowl combine butter, cream cheese, pumpkin, powdered sugar, vanilla and orange zest and mix with your hand mixer to desired consistency.

2. Pipe or spoon on to the bottom side of a macaron and then press another macaron to the frosting creating a “sandwich.” Repeat until they’re all matched up.

3. Let macarons mature in the fridge for 24 hours (if you can resist) and the flavors will all blend together nicely.

Here is a tutorial video on how to make macarons: macaron tutorial.

Pumpkin Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Caramelized Pears

So we opened a can of organic pumpkin puree to make our pumpkin crème brûlée last week, but we didn’t finish it off, so we made orange-pumpkin spiced macarons, and still hadn’t finished the pumpkin. So to finish it off we created this slightly wacky panna cotta. Panna cotta  means cooked cream in Italian and is historically from the Piedmont region of Italy. It’s a super smooth, creamy eggless custard that is super easy to make and is great with fresh fruit, or in this case pumpkin and caramelized pears.

goat cheese pumpkin panna cotta

okay…so maybe we used more than a dollop of whip cream

Pumpkin Panna Cotta Recipe

3-4 servings.

4 oz. plain goat cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 ½ cups half and half (heavy cream or even milk, you can make this as full fat as you want)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 packet gelatin (1/4 oz)

Instructions

1. To soften gelatin add it to 1/3 cup milk and stir gently. Let sit while you prepare rest of the panna cotta mixture.

2. In a sauce pan combine goat cheese, pumpkin, half and half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a quick simmer.

3. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture. Whisk briskly to make sure everything is blended well. We used the whisk attachment that came with our Cuisinart hand blender’s whisk attachment and the cream turned out super smooth.

4. Divide into 4 lightly greased ramekins and refrigerate for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Caramelized Pears Recipe

2 pears
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Peel pears, quarter and core them; then dice into small cubes (1/4 in. or smaller).

2. In a small frying pan melt the butter until frothy then add pears, sugar and cinnamon. Over medium heat continue stirring until pears are tender and golden.

3. Remove from heat and set aside till ready to use.

goat cheese pumpkin panna cotta with caramelized pears

Serving Instructions

1. Remove the panna cotta from the ramekin by boiling an inch and a half of water (enough to cover atleast ½ of the ramekin).  Remove the pan from the heat and dip one ramekin at a time in the water for about 45 seconds. Then take a butter knife and run it around the inside edge of the ramekin. Take your ramekin and place it upside down on a pretty plate, tap each side of the ramekin a few times to loosen the panna cotta from the ramekin. This takes practice, but the presentation is way prettier than serving it in a ramekin….unless of course you have beautiful ramekins.

2. Once you’ve successfully removed the panna cotta, dress it up with a spoonful or two of caramelized pears and a dollop of homemade whip cream.

3. Serve with a whiskey or rum spiked hot apple cider or strong french pressed coffeecoffee for an ultimate fall treat.