Blueberry-Lime Compote

This is my very favorite expression of Willa's. (These are all from the same hike. She checks on me often.)

C'mon, mom!

You there?

Still there?

This is my very favorite bowl. It's a family heirloom from my mom. I have several of these little ones, and one gigantic one too. 

Beautiful blueberry bowl.

Blueberries are my very favorite fruit. Usually I just eat them plain, but I had a pint that was a few days old (berries don't last long!), so I decided to make a compote. 

Compote = stewed fruit. 

Compote is delicious on gluten-free pancakes, oatmeal, toast, or crackers. It's also yum inside a rice-flour crepe, dusted with cinnamon. Or on ice cream.

Blueberry-Lime Compote

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/4 cup water 

1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)

juice of one lime (or to taste)

1 tsp cornstarch

Put the blueberries, water, and sugar in a small pot or skillet. Turn the heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer. When simmering, add the lime juice and sprinkle the cornstarch evenly overtop everything. Mix well, turn the heat to low, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until thickened to your preferred consistency. 

That's it! Enjoy berry season!

You might just eat it right from the bowl.

DORKFACE

Paprika-Pepita Potato Salad

I made this up in the spur of the moment, after two days of stripping wallpaper, which left me both unable to do my normal grocery shopping and very, very hungry. I had some potatoes. Some smoked paprika. Some pepitas. So.

Here you go.

Vegan picnic food won't spoil in the sun. 'Cuz it's tough like that. 

Paprika-Pepita Potato Salad

serves 1 or 2

Boil 1 pound of baby yukon gold potatoes for about 15 minutes, until fork-tender but not mushy. Cool. 

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, chop them and put them in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup diced onion, 1 diced carrot (I have no celery! WTF!), 1/3 cup Vegannaise, 1 tbsp gluten-free dijon mustard (or less if you're not as weird as me), and 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika, and mix everything up. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve topped with more smoked paprika and a sprinkling of pepitas.

(Of course, if you have celery like a normal person, you should add some! Also pickles, red pepper, capers, olives. I have no olives! WTF!)

No celery? No olives? Ha ha ha!

Apple Curry

I had some leftover apples I needed to use up this weekend, so I made up a simple apple curry. 

Apple Curry, 2013.

When I was much younger, I made a dinosaur out of clay. My mom recently gave it to me, and now it sits on the mantle in the dining room. I have a vivid memory of taking the side of a popsicle stick and pushing it gently into the clay to make the mouth.

My dinosaur, circa 1982.

I even gave my dinosaur a signature:

That's me.

I've been meaning to try an apple curry for a while now, and I felt a similar sense of accomplishment as when I had sculpted the dinosaur in grade school. This recipe is all mine.

The dinosaur approves. 

Apple Curry

People: try not to overcook the apples! They should be soft but still firm. Cook too long and you will have curry applesauce (which actually sounds delicious. Maybe you should do that).

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 tart apples (I used Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and chopped
pinch of salt
1 tsp minced chipotles in adobo, or more to taste
2 tsp curry powder, or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft but not browned (lower the heat if necessary), about 7 minutes. Stir in the apples along with a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the chipotles, curry powder, and pepper over everything, stir well, and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, about 8 minutes, until the apples are al dente (soft but not mushy).

Enjoy with a side of cooked brown rice or quinoa.

Simple.

Green Giant Salad

I love salad!

A rainbow of green.  

I learned how to make hearty salads from my mom. (Hi mom!) She throws everything she has--greens, chopped veggies, fruit, nuts, and cheese--into a big bowl and serves it up. When I go out to a restaurant and get a salad with only lettuce and tomatoes in it, I think what is this??? To me, salad is a big, meal-sized endeavor full of different flavors and textures. 

This one is definitely filling enough for lunch or dinner, especially if you eat it with a side of homemade hummus (recipe coming soon). It's all-green in honor of spring: lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, peas, pistachios, and--my favorite--avocado.

Dinner. 

Green Giant Salad

2 cups broccoli florets, lightly blanched in salted water

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 cup thawed frozen peas

1 small zucchini, sliced thinly

1/3 cup toasted pistachios

gluten-free salad dressing of your choice (here's mine)

1 avocado, sliced

Combine all the ingredients in a salad bowl and toss with some dressing. Add the avocado just before devouring. 

C'est tout!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I am aware that it is only April and many of you still have snow. An ice cream recipe might seem overly optimistic. But here in Cincinnati, it is 60 degrees and sunny! Perfect hiking weather.

And perfect ice cream weather? Maybe not, but I couldn't wait.

Vegan ice cream. No ice cream maker needed!

Okay, so technically this is probably more "smoothie" than "ice cream." But really, what's the difference?

One difference is that this is some pretty healthy stuff. Ingredients: frozen banana; peanut butter; almond milk; vanilla extract. No sugar, no eggs, no dairy. And really delicious, too, especially if you are a major peanut butter fan like me.

Stick some stuff in a blender, and you're done.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1 banana, frozen and in chunks
1/2 cup peanut butter (I use sugar-free)
1/2 cup almond milk
dash of gluten-free vanilla extract

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times. Stir, then puree until nicely blended. Some chunks are allowed, but I prefer mine nice and smooth.

Eat with a spoon.

Happy spring!!

Willa bathed in light.

Fragrant Spring Cleaning & Cashew Curry

Happy March!

The veggies in this curry are just barely cooked, leaving them crisp and flavorful.

It has been a rough couple of months for me and Willa: I was sick throughout the month of February, so poor Willa didn't get many hikes. We spent a lot of time sleeping on the couch and drinking ginger tea. But I'm better now, back to cooking, back to hiking. Looking forward to spring.

Shadows on the path.

This weekend, I started my spring cleaning. I make most of my own cleaning products homemade, out of baking soda, citrus fruits, salt, and other household staples. I started doing that years ago for environmental reasons--all of the ingredients are safe and non-toxic for humans and animals--but I later found out how cheap it is. And fun! By switching up the ingredients you use, you can make your house smell like anything: lemons, oranges, peppermint tea, lavender. Probably not chocolate. (Though a splash of vanilla extract makes things smell like cookies!) Maybe this doesn't make spring cleaning completely awesome, but it does make it aromatherapeutic. :)

I will be posting some recipes for homemade cleaning solutions in the weeks to come. Today I give you a basic recipe for wood floor cleaner, and an all-purpose spray solution you can use on your countertops, stovetop, etc. 

Lemon-Peppermint Wood Floor Soap

1/8 cup natural dish soap

1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup brewed peppermint tea

2 gallons warm water

Combine ingredients in a bucket, and use a mop or rag to scrub your wood floors clean!

Almond-Orange All-Purpose Cleaner

1 tsp Borax

2 tbsp freshly-squeezed orange juice

1/2 tsp natural dish soap

1 or 2 drops almond extract

2 cups very hot water

spray bottle

Combine ingredients in a spray bottle, and shake well for a minute or so. Spray and clean all of your surfaces!* (Always shake the solution again before use.) 

*though obviously not upholstery.

Now back to food recipes, though I can't take credit for this one. Today I made this cashew curry from 101 Cookbooks, a site that I love. It's not the normal way I make curry--the vegetables here are lightly simmered in curry-spiked coconut milk, and are left barely cooked. The curry is therefore very light, despite all the filling ingredients: tofu, cauliflower, green beans, and of course freshly-toasted cashews. 

The pictures on 101 cookbooks are better.
But isn't there something  charmingly honest about my crappy photos?

Enjoy. I'll be back to posting my own food recipes soon. Also, I have a thing or two to say about Emily Dickinson.

Ginger Applesauce

I never buy jarred applesauce because, let's face it, it's tasteless. Or it's super sugary.

Homemade applesauce is so much better. Plus, you can customize it to your taste.

Appley. 

Today I bought a big pile of apples and set out to make a basic homemade applesauce. At the last minute, I decided to throw in some grated fresh ginger. Ginger is warming, and it is cold out there.

One of these days, I want to experiment with a savory applesauce, adding celery root, onions and some savory seasonings (curry?). I will let you know how it goes.

This recipe is based on my mom's awesome applesauce, which she made for me and my sisters all the time when we were kids. (Hi, mommy!)

Did somebody say APPLESAUCE???

Ginger Applesauce

Making applesauce is a lot like making mashed potatoes. You peel and chop the apples, cook them in water to cover until tender, and then mash with some seasonings.

Here, I cook the apples with lemon juice, a cinnamon stick, and the grated ginger. Then I mash them by hand, with a potato masher, adding a bit more cinnamon (ground), some maple syrup, and a dash of cayenne.

Mashing them by hand leaves the sauce a bit chunky, which is how I like it. By all means, if you like yours smoother, use an immersion blender to puree yours.

6 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
water just to cover
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 or 2 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)
dash of cayenne (optional but highly recommended)

Put the chopped apples in a large pot with water to cover. Add the lemon juice, ginger, and cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil. Stir and turn the heat to low. Allow to simmer for 15 or 20 minutes, until the apples are soft and mashable.

Using a fine-meshed strainer (so that you don't lose the ginger), drain the apples and discard the cinnamon stick. Return the apples to the pot, add the remaining ingredients, and use a potato masher to mash the applesauce to your liking. Taste and add more cinnamon or maple syrup if you like.

Eat it warm, eat it cold, eat it at room temperature.

Like mashed potatoes, but with apples.