Home-made Applesauce

It is apple season in Ohio and our apple tree has given us quite the hall this year. This past weekend we harvested about a whole wheelbarrow full of apples and this only from the low-hanging branches. Even though li'l Coder used a ladder, he is all of 4 feet tall and didn't get much higher than I did. 

Anyhow, I gave away loaded grocery bags full of apples to at least 4 different families and I used a bunch myself. One of the things I made and set aside in the freezer was applesauce. 

Prep Time: 30 min (or so).

Ingredients:

1. 6 cups Apples, peeled, cored, quartered.
2. 1 cup Water
3. 2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

In a non-stick pan, bring water to a boil and add apples. If you prefer, leaves the skins on. Since our apples were never sprayed or really taken care of, the skin on my apples was quite pockmarked and blemished so I removed it completely. 

Bring to a boil, cover and allow to simmer for 15-20 min until the apples begin to disintegrate. Mix frequently as the apples are cooking to prevent the bottom from sticking. Mix well with a rubber spatula to break down any large chunks. If the consistency is too thick, add more water until it achieves the right thickness. Always start with less water than you think you needed. Its hard to make something less-soupy!! Add cinnamon and mix well. 

If you're planning on eating it 'as is' add some brown sugar or maple syrup to taste. I'm planning on using it in Oatmeal and baking, so I didn't use any sugar. 

Freeze (or can) in several serving size containers, as appropriate for your household. I froze it in about 1/3 cup servings, one for each single serve Oatmeal recipe. Enjoy!!!

Uses for Applesauce:

1. Baby food - a gentle wholesome food to wean a baby with.
2. Adult food :) its excellent as a snack, warm or cold, and as a side dish. Ever try peanut butter and applesauce on toast? You'll eat it every day. Its a lot healthier than sugar-loaded jellies too.
3. As an oil substitute and egg-substitute in baked goods (1 egg = 1/4 cup applesauce). Avoid using more than 1 cup/recipe. 
4. As a natural fiber-filled sweetener in breakfast cereals, oatmeal etc. 
5. As a sauce - combine sauteed onions, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and light brown sugar and use it to smother pan-seared tofu or seitan (or pork chops, if you're an omnivore!). 

Salted Brownie Baked Oatmeal

So I'm on an oatmeal kick this weekend and I've found just the site to help me through it .. The Oatmeal Artist. A whole blog just dedicated to oatmeal. I tried one of her recipes yesterday (Poached Pear Oats) and so in my quest to find another great recipe I went back to her site this morning!! 

Salted Brownie Baked Oatmeal

Adapted from: Salted Brownie Baked Oatmeal, The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 40 min

Ingredients (Serves 1):

1. 1/2 cup Old-Fashioned (Rolled) Oats
2. 1/3 cup Apple Sauce
3. 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond milk
4. 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
5. 4 tsp Cocoa Powder
6. 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
7. 1 tbsp Dark Molasses
8. 1 tbsp Pecans/Almonds/Cashews
9. One large pinch of coarse Kosher/Sea Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  I used a Pyrex 'Ramekin style' Soup dish since I wasn't sure how much this mix was going to rise. I should have just used a single serving ramekin dish as the rise was not super high, just enough to form a nicely rounded crust. I sprayed the dish with non-stick spray and then used a dry paper towel to wipe off all the excess, leaving a thin film all around the dish. Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl and then add the dry ingredients. Mix well. The original recipe did not call for any sweeteners and although I don't like my oatmeal to be super sweet, I do like some sweetness, especially in chocolate based dishes. I added an extra tbsp of molasses. And I added a tbsp of crushed pecans to add some crunch to this dish. Transfer contents of the bowl to the greased dish, sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt. I wasn't sure if the original recipe called for covered, or uncovered baking, so I just baked it uncovered. I started with 20 min at 350 F and since it was still too runny, I baked it for another 10 min. I might have taken extra time as my dish was more deep than wide. The original recipe calls for 18-25 min. 

My Assessment: I liked it. But it felt more like I was eating dessert for breakfast. I've never been that person who eats chocolate for breakfast so I was skeptical to begin with, but tried it nevertheless. I think I will definitely have this again, but more as a dessert than as a breakfast cereal. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 323 (Fat Calories 91)
Total Fat 10.1 g; Carbohydrates 57.4 g; Fiber 8.1 g; Sugars 19.8 g; Protein 7.4 g

Update: July 28, 2013: I baked this tonight as a combined dinner/dessert since we were both feeling lazy this Sunday evening. I made a double batch, split into 2 shallow ramekin style dishes. Once baked, I layered each one with fresh sliced strawberries for an even more appetizing look. 

Even Tony, the self-professed Oatmeal hater cleaned up his dish. Call anything a brownie ;) and he'll eat it!! The fresh strawberries (about 1/3 of a cup/dish) only add 15 additional calories but make for a very decadent dessert, that is filling enough to be a supper. 

In Search of the Perfect Loaf #3

My adventures with bread making continue. After a brief hiatus, I attempted another loaf today. After a quick Google search revealed nothing immediately promising, I decided to improvise based on my last few attempts. I've been reading up on bread making and all in all - basic bread should consist of 4 ingredients - Flour (is the body of the loaf), Water (to dissolve all the ingredients; both too much and too little water prevent adequate rise in the loaf), Yeast (which helps the dough rise) and Salt (which helps retard the yeast and tempers the fermentation process). As the old fairy tale goes ... salt is essential also for our taste buds ... it adds flavor. Some folks would say that bread making also requires Sugar - to help feed the yeast, which is basically a microorganism that uses starches (and sugars) to grow and multiply. During this process, any simple sugars are converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide is released which bubbles through the dough and causes it to rise. During the baking process all the alcohol evaporates .. so you don't need to be worried about serving alcohol to your kids in the form of bread. So today, I tried a rather simple recipe, with only these basic ingredients and some Chia seeds for added fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.

Prep Time: 10 + ~3.5 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients: (8 servings/slices):

1. 1.5 cups Water
2. 1/4 cup Apple Sauce 
3. 3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
4. 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
5. 2 cups All-purpose White Flour
6. 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
7. 1 tsp Salt
8. 2.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast 

So I placed all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of my bread machine. Started the machine for Basic White bread. Set it to a medium dark crust. I peeked in a couple of times as the dough was mixing and it looked pretty wet. I thought that would not be a huge issue and it would be okay once it rose. the dough rose really well and then .... poof!! It fell in on itself!!! BIG FAIL!!! The loaf that came out was so bad, its not even worth a picture!!!  Oh well ... I learnt something from this failed attempt. .... and I will try again tomorrow!! :)

In Search of the Perfect Loaf #2

So last weekend, I started up my brand-spanking new Bread Machine and after 2 attempts at making Multi-Grain bread ... I was left with 2 half-loaves of dense bread that no one would touch about 30 min after the loaf had been cut into. Both loaves tasted great while still warm ... but they turned out to be bricks when allowed to cool. So this entire work week, as and when I got the chance, I researched recipes and techniques for multi-grain bread. One of the cool websites I found - The Fresh Loaf -has lots of interesting tips and recipes and even a primer for the novice bread-maker. One of the interesting things I read this past week, is that even supposedly whole-grain breads actually are "cheater" breads in that they are made predominantly with white flour with a portion of whole-grain flour mixed in. So that's why my loafs were like bricks. I can't find the website where I read this ... but I know I did. 

Also, this week, I saw a McDougall Moment video about the use of white rice vs brown rice. And one of the things Dr. McDougall says in this video is ... white rice is OKAY!! ... brown rice is better, but white rice, white pasta and white bread, are not deal breakers. So I decided to make an about face - no I'm not switching to white bread completely. But, I'm going to first find the perfect white loaf ... and then, I'm going to tweak it with whole grain flour, seeds and nuts and whole grains where possible to make it as nutritious as possible. Sound like a plan?? Here's the first recipe I'm trying today. I found it online Its intended for bread machines and uses 1/2 a cup of Oatmeal and 1/2 a cup of sunflower seeds and white all-purpose flour. So, its not all bad!! :)

Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Bread

Adapted from the Betty Crocker website:  Bread Machine Oatmeal-Sunflower Bread

Prep Time: 10 + ~3.5 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients: (8 servings/slices):

1. 1cup water
2. 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
3. 2 tbsp Apple sauce
4. 3 cups All-purpose White Flour
5. 1/2 cup Oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned)
6. 1.25 tsp salt
7. 2.25 tsp Active Dry Yeast 
8. 1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds

Directions: 

The Perfect Loaf?

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine, with the exception of the Sunflower Seeds. Start the machine using the menu selection for Basic white bread. Set the crust to medium or light. According to the original recipe - do not the delay cycle (I'm not experienced enough to know why!). Start the cycle and when the machine beeps at the 'add ingredient' stage (just before the last 5-10 minutes of kneading), add the sunflower seeds.  Allow the baking cycle to complete, remove the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes before slicing/cutting into the loaf.

My Assessment: First off, I liked adding the nuts at the end of the kneading cycle. The last 2 times, the poor sunflower seeds I added were beaten to a pulp by the time the bread was done. This time I could see the whole seeds in the dough and also on the crust. Secondly, we had air ... yes, the dough actually rose and we had air pockets in the middle and the bread was soft and spongy. Lastly, it wasn't perfect. It was a great recipe and the bread came out real good - but tasted a bit sweet. I think I may need to cut back on the maple syrup. The sunflower seeds added a good amount of chewiness to the bread. And guess what? It was not a brick!!! :)

See the air in that baby?

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 237

Total Fat 2.3 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 47 g; Fiber 2.3 g; Sugars 6.3 g; Protein 6.5 g

Multi-Grain (Machine) Bread - Take 2

Homemade Multi-Grain Bread - Take 2

So my first attempt at using my bread machine turned out pretty good. It wasn't great 'to die for' bread but it had a lot going for it. It had 3 different whole grains, it had a nice and crunchy crust, and was soft inside. The downside - it had 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance (a vegan butter replacement) and it was pretty dense - almost the consistency of a dense banana bread. So this morning, I decided to make a few changes that would help reduce the density and replace the fat with a more healthy alternative. 

Prep Time: 10 min + ~4 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients (8 servings/slices): 

1. 1 cup almond milk
2. 2/3 cup water
3. 2 tbsp Natural (No Sugar) Apple Sauce (replaces Earth Balance)
4. 2 tbsp Agave syrup (I removed this because I figured Apple Sauce would add some sweetness)
5. 2 tsp Salt (I removed this because I added Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds)
6. 3 cups Whole Wheat flour 
7. 3/4 cup All Purpose flour
8. 1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed Meal (replaced 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats) 
9. 1/4 cup Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds (replaced 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats)
10. 2 tbsp Chia Seeds (I doubled this from Take 1, as I added less than 3/4 cup seeds) 
11. 2.25 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions: 

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine.  I used the menu selection on my machine for whole wheat bread. 

Allow the baking cycle to complete, remove the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes. Let the awesome yeasty aroma penetrate the senses of every living being :) !! Once they're all begging for you to cut some slices ... slice away!! 

My Assessment: Its still not there yet! Even though Joules, the old dog is begging for a slice (and she got a little piece!) it was still too dense in my opinion. So its back to the drawing board for me. Also, next time I will add back the agave as replacing both the salt and the sweet with only roasted seeds and 2 tablespoons of applesauce made it rather bland. This was definitely a better version than yesterday's attempt.  

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 198
Total Fat 10/9 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 22 g; Fiber 4 g; Sugars 1.3 g; Protein 5.8 g