Pumpkin-Pecan Streusel Cake

 Coffee cakes, crumb-topped loaves, etc. have always been my weakness.

One of them, anyway.  

The crisp, decadent streusel, the toasted, crunchy nuts, the tender, often-spiced cake. Mmm.

                       This recipe is all that, and more; pumpkin puree stirred right into the batter adds

an extra layer of flavor. It's incredibly moist and delicious.
Try it for breakfast with coffee, tea, or (almond) milk.

An indulgence you can feel good about, this cake is vegan! 

                                                   I dare you to eat just one piece.       

The original recipe comes from the excellent Veganomicon (see the "Eat to Live" section of my book recommendations), one of the most innovative vegan cookbooks I've ever laid my eyes on (which is to say, Many). A must-see for anyone interested in vegan cuisine. I've adapted it somewhat, using natural sugar, almond milk instead of soy for a better, richer flavor, and replacing the canola oil called for with sunflower oil. I added more/less spices to my taste; the amounts are general.

Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Cake

 To make the streusel, combine

1/4 cup flour and

3 tablespoons light brown sugar. Drizzle in

1 tablespoon sunflower oil,

mixing with a fork until moist crumbs form.
Add in 1 cup chopped pecans & stir to combine.
Set streusel aside.
Preheat the oven to 350F.

For the cake:
Combine
1 (15-oz) can or 1/2 a large can pureed pumpkin,
3/4 cup almond milk

3/4 cup sunflower oil

1 1/2 cups sugar
and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract,

and mix well.

Add

 1 1/3 cup flour,
1 tablespoon baking powder,
1 teaspoon salt,
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon,
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg,
3/4 teaspoon ginger,

1/2 teaspoon allspice,

and 1/8 teaspoon cloves to the pumpkin mixture,

 folding in with a fork. Fold in
1 1/3 cup more flour,
 mixing just until combined and no dry flour remains.
Pour batter into a well-greased 13"x9" pan, smoothing to spread evenly.
Scatter the streusel evenly over the batter.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested in the center.

Let cool and cut into squares. Makes 18 generous servings.

This recipe adapted from Veganomicon at Any Fig http://anyfig.blogspot.com.



Biscuits, biscuits, biscuits!

This recipe has evolved from one in an ad in MaryJanesFarm magazine. The original is splattered and wrinkled, likely gone forever. Luckily we had the foresight to write it down.
 Our version is completely clean. 

The Basic Biscuit Recipe

2 cups flour*

1 Tbsp. unbleached cane sugar -we use Zulka brand
1/2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
2 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder

2/3 cup almond milk + 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar**

8 Tbsp. oil*

Combine milk & vinegar, then mix all ingredients together to make a sticky dough. Turn out onto well-floured surface and sprinkle flour on top of dough, too. Knead and turn until no longer sticky. Roll out to about 1/2" - 3/4" thickness and cut with a (regular size) canning jar lid.

To cook over a wood-burning stove:

Line the bottom of a frying pan with a circle of parchment paper. Place four biscuits in pan and cover with lid. Bake on top of pot-bellied stove over hot fire (not coals) for around 20 minutes, until risen and slightly golden on bottom.

Or, To bake in the oven, preheat oven to 375F and bake 20 minutes or so, or until golden on parchment-lined cookie sheets.

* Various flours and oils can be used. If using a solid oil, like palm or coconut, use 10 tablespoons, and cut in with a fork or pastry cutter.

The vinegar in the milk can be replaced with vanilla extract for a cookie-like taste. 

Pure red palm oil makes the richest biscuits.

** Coconut milk - the full-fat kind, not the refridgerated type - makes even richer biscuits, and tastes especially good in BisCakes.

barley flour makes crumbly, cakey biscuits,

oat makes very soft, tender biscuits.

rye flour is closest to regular all-purpose flour

and of course, all-purpose flour (unbleached) can be used as well.

To make a BisCake:
Use 3 cups of flour (oat does especially well here),
4 teaspoons baking powder,
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar,
1 full cup milk,
add vanilla to taste.
Be generous with the shortening (pure red palm oil); mounded tablespoons are fine.
Grease a 9" deep-dish pie plate and flour it with whatever flour is being used.
Once dough is ready, dump the whole thing into the pie dish and push to edges.  
Bake at 400F until golden at edges, as shown. Let cool on a rack 5 minutes at least before cutting into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature. These are excellent for brunch along with honey

what November is all about:

Pomegranates, pears, persimmons, and pecans! Pumpkins, too, of course. 

   
    From the above picture, it's easy to tell why local fruit is better; the upper one, from a neighbor's tree, is almost neon-orange, and much richer in taste; the lower one is pale and bland, likely due to being picked far too early for shipping.

    Pecans are another great example of the advantages of locally sourced produce:

  

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, two ways

Just look at that layer of chocolate!

These take a bit of effort to make, especially when making the graham cracker crumbs from scratch like I did, but are so, so good, it's worth a bit of extra time.

I actually put off making these for so long because I just never got around to making a batch of graham crackers and the store-bought ones just don't cut it. The good news is, you don't have to use graham cracker crumbs! Pecan meal is the perfect substitute for them, according to The Wheat Belly Cookbook. I sure wish I'd known that before the first batch - we would have been eating homemade peanut butter cups much sooner!  However, I'm glad to have tried both ways... both variations are equally delicious. The graham crackers, rich with honey and tangy molasses, add a depth to the flavor. The pecan meal has a pure, deeply nutty taste, really addicting. So... 

    

Between the wickedly decadent topping and the rich, nutty bottom, the overall richness and the sweet-salty combo, these won't last long.

Did I mention these are good for you ?! 

Completely clean ingredients - no animal products whatsoever, and none of the freaky chemicals of store-bought,

 + mineral- and protein-rich nuts and dark chocolate means eating these are a guiltless pleasure.

Resistance.  is.  futile. 

The recipe comes by way of the excellent The Kind Life by Alicia Silverstone. The book is filled with amazing, satisfying vegan food and gorgeous photos, too.

This lends itself to endless variation; the peanut butter could be replaced with any number of other nut butters to create a different flavor profile; almond, cashew, hazelnut, or even sunflower seed butter would all be delicious.

 The sugar can be switched for date or coconut as well.

 The chocolate can be varied to preferred strength - white chocolate would be good, too.

The milk can be varied; any nut milk works well. Almond gives an excellent flavor, where coconut makes the topping incredibly velvety.

 The final topping of nuts is essential to balance the chocolate. Any nut could be used (Alicia suggests peanuts, pecans or almonds), but extra-crunchy blister peanuts, lightly salted, put these over the top.        

        First,

make the graham crackers, if using (see recipe variation, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cups, below)

Graham Crackers

1 1/4 cups spelt flour

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup red palm shortening

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons molasses

1/3 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.

In medium pan, warm oil, honey, molasses, and coconut milk just enough to combine. Add the vanilla.

Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir briefly; dough will form into a ball.

Knead dough briefly in bowl to thoroughly combine.

Turn out onto a large piece of waxed paper.

Roll or pat dough out with lightly floured hands to a thickness of 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch (thinner dough will yield crisper crackers, while thicker will be more cookie-like).

Cut in strips about 2x3-inches and place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake up to 15 minutes, until golden and toasty. These are delicious when still-warm from the oven. 

Cool completely on wire rack before using for crumbs or storing.

These can also be cut with cookie cutters.      

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 cup red palm oil

3/4 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (see recipe above)

1/4 cup maple sugar

Pinch salt

1 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Handful salted blister peanuts, whole or roughly chopped

(or nut of your choice), for topping

Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt oil over medium heat and stir in the peanut butter, crumbs, the pinch of salt, and the sugar; stir well to incorporate; remove from heat. Devide mixture evenly among the muffin cups; set aside.

Combine the chocolate and milk and heat over medium-low, stirring until chocolate is melted. Stir in the vanilla. Spoon this mixture evenly over the devided peanut mixture in the muffin tin.

Top with the nuts, lightly pressing into the chocolate layer to adhere.

Chill until set, a couple hours at least.  

adapted from The Kind Life by Alicia Silverstone  

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cups:

Replace the graham cracker crumbs with an equal measure of pecan meal (finely-ground pecans). This gives the candies an even nuttier flavor! 

A batch made this way - using almond milk instead of coconut, along with almond extract in place of vanilla and date sugar in place of the maple sugar - was even more-loved than the original!

Latest Favorite Palette + New Header

Every year when these buckwheats bloom, it seems the perfect time to take pictures. They are exceptionally photogenic.  I thought they made particularly striking pictures, especially against the layered, cracked cement wall. The palette is just so pretty and mellow.  I loved it enough to make a new header... the second time around that buckwheat blooms have starred there (see the other one here).   

Maple-Pear Breakfast Millet

There's something about millet, pears, and maple syrup. 

Maybe it's the buttery, floral millet. Or the deep, sweet maple. Or the juicy, fragrant pear.

Or maybe, it's the way they combine.

Pears are perfect right now. Foraged and given a month's time in a sack to ripen, some are good for pear butter or baking. But not the Bartletts. They are special. They can stay on the tree until almost ripe, and then be left on a counter, or other convenient spot, a few days to finish off.  They are undoubtedly my favorite of the foraged pears, because they require no refrigeration and still ripen to juicy, thin-skinned perfection.  

...The best for fresh eating, or in this case, topping your morning cereal. 

Maple and pear are two flavors meant to be combined, and ideal this time of year.

Maple - Pear Breakfast Millet

To one cup of warm, cooked millet*, add

1/2 a Bartlett Pear, sliced, unpeeled, and

2 teaspoons pure maple syrup.

Mix it up and devour.

Serves one.

* instructions on how to cook millet here

Millet & Zucchini

Millet has all the buttery, floral goodness of a fresh corn tortilla - really an amazing flavor. And I love how it keeps a bit of chew; when cooked just so it has the perfect texture - not mushy, but not crunchy. Millet combines superbly with zucchini for an exceptionally fresh taste - better than the classic zucchini & corn.

This makes the most delicious meal - hearty but by no means heavy.  It's a perfect use for the last of the season's zucchini.

You can taste the life in this dish! I just feel bright after eating it.

This takes around half an hour to make, start to finish, so it's an easy option for a quick lunch.

The spices can be mixed & matched, or left out altogether, but cumin is hard to beat. The point is to have the combination of buttery, salty-sweet caramelized zucchini & onions along with the millet. It's incredible.  

Millet w/ Zucchini & Onions

1 cup millet

2 cups water

3/4 TBSP olive oil

pinch salt

  Toast millet over low heat in dry pot several minutes, stirring or shaking the pan often.  Add the water, oil, and salt, stir, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.  Remove from heat; close lid fully and set aside while making zucchini:

  In another pot, heat over medium-low:

3 TBSP olive oil. Add
1 onion, sliced. Saute while chopping
3 small zucchinis - add them to the pot. Stir and add
black pepper,
red pepper flakes,

dill seeds,

ground coriander,
garlic powder, 

paprika, and

ground cumin,
  to taste.
  Raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, a few minutes until onion and zucchini are nicely browned.

Cover partway with lid and cook a few more minutes to steam.  Remove from heat once done - onions should be translucent and the zucchini tendercrisp - mixture will continue to cook a bit even after removing from heat.  Serve a generous scoop over a pile of the millet.

 An original Any Fig recipe.    

Figs + Whiskey

Figs in Whiskey

1 2/3 cups honey whiskey
1 1/3 cup and 2 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup and 1 Tablespoon water
8 cups black mission fig quarters

Eight cups of fig pieces should fit into four pint jars, with about 3/4-inch headspace. More or less figs may be needed to fill the jars. Set fig pieces aside.  Place jars in canning pot to sterilize.
Over high heat, bring the whiskey, sugar, and water just to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer just until the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring once or twice.
Place fig pieces back into jars once sterilized. Pour the hot whiskey syrup over the figs, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles, wipe rims & seal.
Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Turn heat off and let jars sit in water a few minutes, then remove and let cool 24 hours. Check seals; store up to one year.

Variation: Figs in Brandy.
Replace the whiskey called for with brandy and use the same method as above.
Recipe originally from The Preservation Kitchen.

  

   

Fig & Rhubarb Jam

Fig and rhubarb jam. Oh, the magic of a quick Pinterest search. It sounded too good to be true. It certainly looked good. And after trying out the recipe and tasting, it was decided that this is a keeper, definitely one to make again, one to make more of.  I actually prefer this to plain fig jam (!)

Rhubarb added neccessary tang to the brown turkeys, and they in turn added depth to the rhubarb. Honey highlights these two flavors without overpowering, and lemon juice tempers the sweetness.

The color of this jam is a gorgeous deep cherry-red. Tasty, tangy, slightly chunky, it's just about perfect.
Originally from the delightful Log Cabin Cooking, this is one of the easiest canning recipes I've ever tried.

Fig & Rhubarb Jam

2 lbs. figs, quartered,
 and 2 large stalks rhubarb, chopped - 1200 grams fruit in all

600 grams sugar

130 grams honey

Juice of 4 lemons, 1 cup or so

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive pot and bring to a boil.  Turn off heat, let cool, cover, and let sit over night. Once it has set,
Simmer the mixture, stirring often with wooden spoon, over medium-low heat until no longer foaming and thickened, about 15 minutes.
Ladle into hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims, seal, and
process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. 
Makes 5 half-pints.  

Originally from Log Cabin Cooking via Pinterest

the place where the blackberries grow...

well, one of them, anyway.

Fire & Ice Ginger. Lychee. Smoothie.

Lychees are fragrant, weird-looking, ancient (think ginko), delicious little tropical fruits.  Their knobby mauve skins, covered with slightly pointy bumps, belie the treasure within. The underside of the skin is a shock of hot pink. Once peeled, the single shiny brown seed barely shows through the juicy, translucent fruit.
They have a flavor all their own. Somewhat bitter, lightly sweet, very floral. Their texture is like that of a firm  grape.   

Lychees and ginger were meant to be combined - the spicy ginger is tempered by the lychee, while the floral flavor of the lychee is enhanced by the ginger bite.  

This smoothie is rather like coconut water and horchata; it's milky, in a good, plant-based way, and it's completely beyond refreshing. Not to mention, addicting.

  This is sweet, but not too much, and not too little, with a nice, smooth, balanced flavor.

I feel so awake after drinking it, and without any caffeine! It's my new favorite morning pick-me-up.     

Ginger-Lychee Smoothie

30 (or so) peeled, seeded lychees

1 knob ginger root, roughly 1x1-inch

1 cup ice cubes

Grate ginger over lychees. Add lychees and grated ginger to a powerful blender. Blend until smooth.

Add the ice and blend until no large ice chips remain.  Strain if desired - the little bits of ginger add a flavorful kick, but make for a slightly chunky drink  - and down, ASAP.