rustic apple galette.

preparing a crust from scratch is intimidating. there are so many unanswerables: how do you strike just the right level of buttery flakiness? what's the ideal baking temperature? how long should you cook it to ensure that the crust is cooked through but the toppings aren't charred?

luckily, this galette recipe - which beautifully accomodates both sweet and savory toppings - sidesteps many of the common challenges. it comes together easily and is ready to use on the spot. all you need is a food processor, 4 ingredients, and 15 minutes. 

i went with an apple topping this time for dessert, but if i were to venture into the savory world, i'd eagerly spring with some caramelized onions, chard, and goat cheese. 

rustic apple galette

from food and wine

dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup ice water

topping

4 apples

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon honey, preferably wildflower

in a food processor, combine the flour with the sugar and butter and process for about 5 seconds. sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture and process until the pastry just begins to come together, about 10 seconds. you should still be able to see small pieces of butter in it. transfer the pastry to a work surface, gather it together and pat into a disk. if there are extra clumps that aren’t sticking, pat them into the dough and then wrap the pastry in plastic or wax paper and refrigerate until chilled.

halve and core the apples and slice them crosswise 1/4 inch thick. you can peel them if you want, but you don’t have to. in a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.

preheat the oven to 400°. on a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet. arrange the apple slices on top of the dough in concentric circles or in slightly overlapping rows. drizzle the honey and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the chopped apples. fold the pastry edge up and over the apples to create a 1-inch border.

bake the galette for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned and crisp and all of the apples are tender. baking time will depend on the verocity of your oven! transfer the pan to a rack and let the galette cool. serve warm or at room temperature.

autumn apple crumble.

the weather is finally starting to cool off, and the fruit scene at the farmer's market is slowly transitioning from one of peaches and plums to apples and citrus. while i hate to see stone fruit on the way out, my sweet tooth can't wait to whip up a storm of apple crisps, cobblers, and crumble over the next few months.a lot of people have asked me what the difference is between these three c-desserts. it's actually pretty simple: a crisp involves fresh fruit with a streusel-like topping that gets baked until the fruit is cooked. the streusel is usually a mix of brown sugar, butter, flour, and spices. a crumble is the same thing but with some oats tossed into the streusel. a cobbler adds a biscuit topping to the fresh fruit. the biscuits are usually dropped onto the fruit in small rounds which gives the appearance of a cobbled road. alright, that's enough education for today. i made this apple crumble from a mix of tart apples (jonagold, gala, and mcintosh). it doesn't actually matter what kind you use, but i would recommend avoiding any variety that is already very sweet on its own. i found this site a particularly helpful resource on the subject. a few notes: the original recipe said to peel the apples. i did that for the first 3 and then i got lazy and stopped. it makes little difference. if anything, keeping the skin on makes this dessert exponentially more rustic. healthier too.i made this recipe vegan by substituting margarine in for butter. it can be made gluten-free by swapping out the regular flour for an all-purpose gluten-free blend. i added almonds into the topping, but i bet walnuts would work just as well. cashews would also be tasty!finally, this is a great dish to prepare in advance. i assembled the entire thing one afternoon in my own kitchen and brought it over to a friend's for dinner to bake. the aroma of apples and cinnamon in her apartment while we finishing up dinner, and the hot, gooey, fresh out of the oven taste made this an instant hit. 

apple crumble

inspired by hell yeah it’s vegan!

7 tart apples, cored and diced in various sizes

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp cinnamon

⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

⅛ tsp ground cloves

1 cup all purpose flour

¾ cup rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup sliced almonds or walnuts

½ cup vegan margarine, melted

spread the chopped apples in an ungreased 9×13″ pan or baking dish. in a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, water and cornstarch. cook on medium, stirring constantly, until thickened and semi-translucent (about 15 minutes).

pour the mixture over the apples, then sprinkle everything with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

in a large bowl, mix together the flour, oatmeal, and brown sugar. stir in the margarine until the mixture is crumbly. use your hands to break up any chunks.

sprinkle the streusel evenly over apples and press lightly.*

bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until apples are tender and streusel is golden. serve hot!

the easiest apple sauce.

i don't have much to say about this apple sauce, other than that you should make a lot of it immediately. it uses five ingredients, has a start-to-finish cooking time of a half hour, is ridiculously tasty, and lasts a week in the fridge. need i say more?ok, one more thing: this apple sauce is of the chunkier variety, though i'm sure you could puree it with a hand blender for a creamier version. personal experience says it goes well with oatmeal, yogurt & granola, and this porridge.

chunky apple sauce

adapted from cookie and kate

6 pink lady apples

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

a big drizzle of honey (optional)

peel, core and chop the apples into 1 inch chunks. in a dutch oven or big pot, combine the apple chunks, maple syrup, cinnamon, lemon juice, and salt. cover and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. apples should be softened up.

now uncover the pot and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft but still have some texture. when the apples are the texture you want, turn up the heat to high for a few minutes and let some of the extra juices absorb. drizzle in some honey or maple syrup.

remove from heat and add more cinnamon to taste. serve warm or chilled. let cool to room temperature before canning.

coconut apple muffins.

and after a 3-month hiatus, we're back! starting with more muffins!

coconut apple muffins

from vegan cupcakes take over the world (thanks, molly!)

2/3 cup almond milk

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup agave nectar

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 apples, cored and chopped

preheat oven to 325F.

mix the almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl. let sit for a few minutes until it curdles. beat in the agave, vanilla, and almond extract.

sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. mix until smooth.

add in the apple chunks and mix just enough to combine.

fill silicon muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. bake about 22 minutes until a tester comes out clean. let cool for at least an hour before devouring.

guest post: regina's incredible autumn coleslaw!

has it really been 3 weeks since my last post?! apparently, long gone are the days of planning meals days ahead and scavenging german farmers' markets for rare and seasonal produce. just as distant are the leisurely hours spent browsing cooking blogs along with the agony of trying to decide on just one time-consuming recipe to try.

turns out: being in grad school and reveling in culinary creativity/maintaining a blog aren't as compatible as i thought. these days, i make a lot of veggie stir fries.

(not that there's anything wrong with that!). but - and you can trust me on this one - they're not terribly exciting. certainly, grad school has its lot of advantages. sadly, as of yet, ample time for experimental cooking isn't one of them. not to fear: i don't plan on  indulging this culinary dry spell forever. but in the meantime, i'm ecstatic that my good buddy regina (whose absurdly appetizing blog you should check out, like now) has offered to step in! it was her healthy recipe blogging that inspired me to launch my own food blog, so i couldn't be honored to have her guest posting today.

if you're in a cold weather climate, you'll appreciate this very timely, mouth-watering recipe for autumn-inspired coleslaw. and if you're in a place where seasons aren't quite as pronounced as they should be, this is the perfect recipe to remind you of the current time of year. thanks regina, and enjoy, readers!

Autumn “Coleslaw” with Dates, Apples and Pecans

I was scrolling through my Google Reader updates this morning and raised an eyebrow: Sixty-seven unread blog posts?  Wasn’t I down to eleven last night?  How many of these things am I reading?  A quick double-click in my “manage subscriptions” area told me that I’m reading 128 cooking blogs.  Yikes.  Hello, I’m Regina and I’m a blog nut.

Suffice it to say, with the overwhelming surplus of recipes that hit my computer screen each day, I read food blogs the way non-food-dorks read People Magazine—I tend to skip to the most eye-catching, funny or tested recipes.  “Muffins on Sunday” is my Cosmo.  Have you read Priya’s Gordon Ramsey blog post about broccoli soup?  If you haven’t, stop now and go read it.  I was hooked.  I laughed through her entire post, made soup that night and haven’t stopped loving her self-effacing, hysterical, drool-worthy posts.  Priya invited me to share one of my favorite recipes on her blog and I’m honored and thrilled to continue recipe swapping with my hysterical, childhood chum.

This recipe is a breeze to put together and calls for seasonal ingredients—cabbages and apples, both ready or nearly-ready to harvest in east coast (and soon, west coast) gardens.  I tweaked and tested this recipe in Maine while I was living on an heirloom apple orchard with gazillions of apple varieties at my disposal.  At the orchard, our favorite “coleslaw” batch used an apple variety called Red St. Lawrence.  Go ahead and use whatever variety you have on hand that’s your favorite apple to eat out-of-hand; I think it’ll taste best if it’s a bit tart and a bit sweet.  This salad is great the day-of and is still snappy and refreshing for next-day leftovers.  Be sure not to skimp on the dates, cilantro or pecans—while that mix of ingredients may be unexpected, I promise they unite into the most lip-smacking cabbage salad I’ve ever had.

Ingredients for the Slaw:

8 cups green or purple cabbage, shredded

3 large, firm apples, cored and cut into matchsticks

1 cup dates, chopped

¾ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1 small early onion/shallot, thinly sliced

Ingredients for the Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice

½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper

2 tablespoons honey, optional

Method:

In a large skillet, toast pecans, stirring frequently on medium-low heat until fragrant and slightly browned (approximately 8-10 minutes). Meanwhile, quarter cabbage; lay each section on its side and slice into thin strips with a sharp knife.  Set shredded cabbage aside in a large bowl. Chop dates, cilantro and onion and combine with cabbage.

In a separate bowl, whisk dressing until incorporated.  Pour onto shredded cabbage and toss.  Let sit at least 10 minutes before serving.  Garnish with toasted pecans.

a curried apple couscous.

one month has passed since i celebrated my birthday in bremen. since then, i'm moved up and out of germany, into the US, stayed with my parents in tucson, made pit stops in chicago and san diego, and have now resettled in palo alto. whew! even typing all those transitions makes me want to kick my feet up and take a breather.while i've been cooking a bit in the past few weeks (stay tuned for some vegan oatmeal raisin cookies and a summer curry sauté), there's also been an unusual amount of eating out. while most of the food has been really tasty, i must confess that i'm looking forward to cooking more meals now that i've finally "landed" in what will be my home for the next years. (and this time, i've brought my recipe books with me!).

the first recipe i'll be repeating is this one from that aforementioned birthday gathering in august (stolen and adapted from one of my all-time favorite cooking blogs). filled with fresh apples and green onions, it's the ideal potluck dish to help ease the transition from summer into fall. the fresh mint adds a much-needed kick, and i would venture that throwing in chives or cilantro wouldn't hurt one bit.

curried apple couscous

from 101 cookbooks

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 gala apples, cored and chopped

5 green onions, thinly sliced

2 cups couscous

3 ½ cups water

3 teaspoons salt

2 large handfuls mint, roughly chopped

salt and pepper to taste

heat three tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. add the curry powder and 1 teaspoon salt. cook, stirring regularly for about 1 minute. add the apples and cook for another 5 or 6 minutes, until they are slightly softened and absorbed with curry. remove from pan and place in a large serving bowl.

in the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. add the green onions and cook for a couple of minutes, until they are slightly softened. add the water, another teaspoon salt, and the couscous. give the couscous a good stir, then cover the pan and remove from the heat. let steam for about 10 minutes.

when the couscous is cooked through, fork it up with a fork and add in the apples and mint. season with salt, pepper, and curry to taste. let sit for at least a half hour to reach room temperature, and transfer back to the large serving bowl when ready to be consumed.