Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

An experiment we loved, made with some of the apple bounty from my last post.

Printable Recipe (includes "Amaretti Crumbs" recipe

BRYANNA'S ROASTED APPLESAUCE/AMARETTI VEGAN GELATO
Makes 8/ 1/2-cup servings.
This is really delicious. The brown rice syrup adds a faintly caramel-like flavor that makes the ice cream seem very rich.

2 1/3 cup plain soy milk, or almond milk (such as Almond Breeze Original) or So Delicious Coconut Beverage, Original
1/2 cup raw cashews or cashew pieces, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes and drained
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
1/2 cup light-colored granulated organic sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon Instant Clear-Jel (See about this product and where to get it at this post ) OR 1/4 teaspoon Xanthan gum or Guar gum

ADDITIONS:
1/2 cup Vegan Amaretti Crumbs (see recipe in Cooking Tips) OR, you can simply use chopped toasted almonds instead
1/2 cup Chunky Roasted Applesauce (pictures at end of post)

Place the milk into a blender along with the soaked, drained cashews, and blend until VERY smooth and frothy (make sure that it is not grainy at all).

Mix all of the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the Additions, into this mixture and blend again until it is VERY smooth.

Chill the gelato mixture thoroughly, and then freeze according to directions for your ice cream machine. Add the Amaretti Crumbs 30 seconds before stopping the machine. Remove the dasher and add the applesauce to the center. Using a small spatula, swirl the applesauce roughly through the ice cream.

Scoop into a quart container, cover and freeze until hard before serving.

Servings: 8
Yield: 1 quart

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/2 cup): 273.7 calories; 18% calories from fat; 5.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 131.1mg sodium; 182.5mg potassium; 55.8g carbohydrates; 1.1g fiber; 45.0g sugar; 54.7g net carbs; 5.0g protein; 5.8 points.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S "AMARETTI" CRUMBS (SOY-FREE)
Makes 2 and 1/2 cups
From my book "Nonna's Italian Kitchen".

Italians use crumbled amaretti cookies (almond macaroons) in many desserts (and even in a few savory dishes with Renaissance roots). Since macaroons are made with eggs, we can't use packaged cookies for this purpose.

You can use this easy recipe when you need amaretti crumbs, and do away with the need to have baked amaretti on hand.

Nuts and breadcrumbs can be quickly toasted in your microwave, if you like.. You can grind them easily and quickly in a small electric spice or coffee grinder, or mini-chopper.

1 c. lightly toasted ground almonds
1 c. toasted white or sweet bread crumbs
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. pure almond extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Mix all of the ingredients together well. Spread the mixture on 2 cookie sheets and place in the heated oven.

Toast the mixture for about 15 minutes or until it has dried out a bit, but is still slightly chewy. Cool the mixture, then freeze in rigid plastic containers.

Chunky Roasted Applesauce after 45 minutes in the oven:


Chunky Roasted Applesauce after broiling, before adding sugar:

Enjoy!!

 Organic apples from a friend's backyard

It has been a great apple year and the other day a friend gave me a huge bagful of them. I just got around to dealing with most of them today and only have that bowlful left to use up before the week is out.

Of course, I made a pie-- a freeform type with a few raisins added.

And I froze some extra pie fillings:

Just pile each portion of filling in a foil-lined cake or pie pan, freeze it solid, and then take away the pans and pop the foil packages into plastic bags. This way, you have just the right amount and shape to fit into your pie crust.

According to The Perfect Pie by Susan G. Purdy:

"To bake, line a pie plate with a layer of thawed frozen pastry (or fresh--BCG), brush with... fruit preserves. Unwrap the frozen fruit packet (do not thaw) and set it in the pastry. Cut steam vents in the rolled-out top crust. Moisten the edges of the lower crust, then cover the pie with its top crust. Fold the edges of the top crust over the lower one and pinch to seal. Mold the edge into a raised rim and flute... (Note from BCG: If you like a shiny crust, brush it with soy or nut milk-- sprinkle with sugar if desired.)

Bake in the lower third of a preheated 425 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, raise the pie to the center of the oven, and cover the pastry edges with a foil if they seem to be browning too fast. Continue baking for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit tender. Serve warm for best texture and flavor."

Then I made two kinds of applesauce:

I made a smooth pink applesauce (see how I make this without having to peel, pit or core the apples on this blog post). I made it pink by adding 2 cups of crabapple sauce that I had in the freezer to the cooked, pureed apples. I just added a little unbleached sugar to taste-- it's tangier than usual with the crabapple. Very refreshing and pretty!

The second type is a chunky roasted applesauce. I don't really have a recipe for this, but here's what you do:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Clean and core the apples and cut into chunks no bigger than 1". I don't peel them, since they are organic-- just cut out any bad spots. Get a large shallow roasting pan (or pans) and fill the bottom with about 1/4" of water. Add a splash of lemon juice and a little unbleached sugar. Pile in the apples no more than 2" deep. Toss with the liquid. Cover the pan(s) with foil and cook for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil. Place under the broiler (about 1 foot below the broiler element) in order to cook down the remaining liquid and char the apples a little. Watch them! Printable Recipe

Remove from the oven and add brown sugar to taste-- not too much! Delicious! (See pictures of roasting process at this post.)

MORE APPLE RECIPES FROM THIS BLOG (Updated Nov. 1, 2015):
(See more here:
http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.ca/2009/10/using-up-fall-bounty-apples-and-pears.html )

Massaged Kale Salad w/ Red Cabbage, Apples, Pecans & Pomegranate Molasses Dressing
Oat Groats w/ Chanterelle Mushrooms & Apples in Creamy Wine Sauce
Crispy Marinated Tofu/Breast of Tofu with Apples & Onions in Creamy White Wine Sauce Whole Grain Apple-Almond Cake
Rhubarb and Apple Crisp with Mint and Orange
Irish Apple Bread Pudding
Apple and Cranberry Oat Crisp
Sherried Autumnal Apple and Potato Stew

The Denman Is. Fall foliage on the road where we take our walks

Enjoy the fruits of Fall!