PPPB&J

When we stopped by the library the other day, I started flipping
through a cookbook that was entitled something like exotic
sandwiches, or unusual sandwiches-- I can't remember. But the first
thing I opened the book to was a pickle and peanut butter sandwich.
The name was much less memorable than the sandwich, obviously.

My title? Babysitter’s Nightmare, what else is so fitting?

I don’t ever ever ever eat potato chips, but my family had some and
I just had to replicate this recipe. So I pulled out some of the
pickles I made and my apricot jam and sat down for a very strange
lunch.


whole wheat bread
peanut butter
sliced dill pickles
apricot jam or preserves
plain potato chips
a very open mind


The verdict? Not really sure. It was ok, not bad. Strange.
Some bites were kind of like I bit into something smelly, but
overall it was decent. I probably won’t make it again very soon,
but I just had to try it to say that I've eaten a peanut butter
and pickle sandwich. I don't think I'll ever get to the mayo and
banana, but I can live with that.

Preserving Some Summer

I wrote before on how much I love preserving the tastes of the seasons.
While Monkey-man is into pickling, his assignment while I'm gone is
pickling 1 lb of jalapenos and maui onions for me. Before I had to
whip up the rest of our apricot yield.

When it comes to apricot jams and such, I prefer mine as preserves.
Not only are you using much less sugar, but I love that chunky type
of jam where it is more reminiscent of real fruit. The lemon juice
acts as a natural pectin to help thicken along with the cooking redux.

Absolutely perfect! You can just as easily substitute peaches or
nectarines, but I love me some apricots. You don't need to worry
about peeling the apricots because the skins break down with cooking
and the peel also contains natural pectin that assists in thickening.

Apricot Preserves



4-5 cups of halved, pitted apricots
3/4 cup raw sugar
juice of one lemon
1 cinnamon stick



In a medium-large sauce pan over medium heat, melt sugar.



Add in your apricots, juice and cinnamon and slightly turn up
the heat. Continue to cook just short of a good boil for about
20 minutes or until it visibly looks thickened.

Don't worry, it will thicken a little more after cooling.
Once it looks thick enough, remove from heat and spoon carefully
in to sterilized jars. After that you can either process or just
allow to cool before refrigerating. It will keep for a couple
weeks in your fridge, but it probably won't last that long because
its sooo yummy!



I love mine on some 'buttered' toast for breakfast.
It's also my favorite fruit spread for some nut butter sandwiches
right up there with my famous pumpkin butter!

Overwhelmed by Apricots

The apricot tree in my backyard has gone crazy! Last fall it was
majorly trimmed back, leaving only the larger of the main branches.
I always worry when they cut the trees that short and amazed when
they spring back into full bloom again. And full bloom is right.

This smaller tree of ours is covered in apricots. Thankfully they
are ripening in waves, so I can use them in a variety of ways.
I froze a whole pack last night, plan to make jelly today, and eat
them at almost every meal and snack. I really wish I had a dehydrator
so I could dry a bunch... I've been wanting to build a solar
dehydrator for a while, I think it may be time to get on that before
all the apricots disappear.

I love apricots, more than peaches or nectarines. They are so little and
cute! And super tasty if you get them from the farmers market. I
wouldn't trust super market apricots for a second. I've had too many
mealy, dry, tasteless apricots from super markets. Plus they are so
much more delicate than peaches and nectarines, they need extra care
to harvest.


Here is my apricot oatmeal... mixed in are some raisins, walnuts,
flax and a tad of brown sugar.


And our thin, rustic styled apricot pizza. It sports onions, garlic,
peppers, and apricots (obviously) all topped with some mixed daiya.

I was thinking of making apricot bread again or even apricot liqueur,
but I figured those are best for using dried apricots.

How do you best like apricots?

Twas 4 Days til Christmas: Vegan Sugarplums

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

I wrapped lots of presents to send, burned an entire
batch of grapefruit marmalade, and ate way too many
cookies that I was supposed to be frosting. Hee!

There is only a few days left til Christmas and why
not get in on some traditional recipes? I really want to
make some figgy pudding. I made an excellent pudding
last year... (or was it the year before).

I’ll be making a tofurky casserole which my papa and I make
for Thanksgiving, but I didn’t this year because we were all
over the place and didn’t have a full sit down Thanksgiving.
With harvest roasted veggies, that will be our Christmas Dinner.

More than a Christmas Dinner though, we’d have a Christmas
brunch. We would have eggs and potatoes, pancakes, (veggie)
ham, and I would make my grandpa’s special orange sweet rolls.
That! is something I really remember at Christmas. We could
have our stockings before breakfast and open the rest after.
My Grandpa would make these sickeningly sweet orange sweet
buns, my parents would drink champagne with cranberries,
and my brother and I would have sparkling apple cider.

If you really want to awe your in-laws this year on Christmas,
forget the store bought cookies and pumpkin pie and pull out
your food processor. Leave them with visions of your kitchen
magic dancing in their heads. Forget the Starbucks giftcards,
who gives home baked goods anymore?

I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful it is to receive
something that really has that direct love and attention that
is so often lost. Every thing comes out of a box or from
a bakery at the supermarket, filled with artificial crap.
So people are shocked when someone does even basic
cooking. I love making something like this that is actually
pretty easy, but seems like you probably spend hours and hours
on it. Let them think you worked your butt off and bask in
the glory of these spicy, sweet little puff of Christmas Heaven.

From what I can gather, Sugarplums were named only for their
appearance, as they look like tiny little plums rolled in sugar.
Most call for orange liqueur, but instead I used fresh
orange zest for a more natural approach. This is also a
good substitute gift to cookies when your friends (etc) may
have wheat or gluten allergies. Not so good if they have nut
allergies, but hey.

Vegan Sugarplums

Sugarplum Faerie Dust
1/3 cup vegan powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice

Filling
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1 cup dates
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried figs
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 tbsp fresh orange zest

Toast the almonds in the oven at 350F for about
ten minutes.














While almonds are toasting, sift together
the faerie dust onto a dish or pan that will be easy to
roll the plums in.
















With a food processor chop the nuts first and set aside.
Next process the dried fruit from largest to smallest.
This will keep the fruit at a pretty uniform size. 

Continue to process them until it all starts to clump together,
then add the nuts and zest.





































As you can see from my photos, I don’t have a processor.
So, as the sadist I am, I did this all by hand. It took me
a crazy long time, so if you don’t have a processor or alot
of spare time, I strongly suggest you go ask a neighbor to
borrow one! I just put Home Alone on and resigned myself
to chop for about half the movie.


























Once you have this all mixed together, with clean hands,
shape into small balls (a little smaller than 1" in diameter).
The sticker your hands get the harder it is to shape them,
so you’ll have to wash up a couple times. The key to
keeping them together is being gentle while your rolling them
out and shaping them.

















Finally toss in your spiced faerie dust!



































This make about 24-30 Sugarplums depending on size.
Store chilled in airtight containers, layered with wax
paper.

Using raw date sugar and raw almonds, this recipe
could easily be made completely raw if you like!

The Pie Saga finally concluded: Raw Fruit Pie

Things finally seem to be falling into place with the internet,

food, the coming Holiday, and our health. Thank goodness.

I promised it so here it is... my first Raw Pie.

No kidding around, I'll voice my comments throughout the

recipe. This is across the board refreshing and guilt-free!!

Raw Apple-Pear Pie

Crust

2 cups almonds, soaked overnight

2 tablespoons mildly flavoured oil

1/4 tsp salt

Blend all together- better yet throw it in a food processor.

Unfortunately, I do not have one. But process it until the almonds

have the consistency of sand. From now on this is how I am going

to use my almond pulp leftover from when I make almond milk.

Make sure to scrape down the sides as you go so it has an even

consistency. Press into

a pie pan evenly and set aside.

Filling

1 gala or fuji apple

2 ripe pears

1 tsp lemon juice to prevent browning

1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped

6-8 dried apricots, chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

For easier blending , chop the apple and pears and blend

with lemon juice to obtain a chunky apple sauce texture.

Mix in dried fruit and spices.

Pour into prepared crust and serve! Easy as pie.

My only complaint? A little wetter than baked pies.

But the filling is amazingly just like a cooled cooked apple pie!

Sooo tasty.