Apple Crisp

A good crumble has been the bane of my existence for years. Never have I been able to master the art. My good friend Ashley has been dabbling in vegan baking for the last several months and her first attempt at an apple cobbler she nailed it. I was green with envy and a satisfied belly. Last night I requested that she show me the crumble skills. I made the flling and she showed me the crumble. I am confident that I have got it now. In fact, this may have been the best apple crisp ever! Super tasty and nice and syrupy.



Apple Crisp

Filling

5 large tart apples
1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of clove powder
1 teaspoon of allspice

Peel and core all apples. Slice all apples into thin pieces lengthwise. In a large bowl, add all sugars and mix well. The sugar will begin to melt a bit causing a nice brown sugar sauce to form in the bottom of you bowl. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix well again. Add the remaining spices and mix.


Crisp

1 1/3 cup of flour
1 1/3 cup of oats
1 1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of margarine
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla powder

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats. sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. In the meantime, melt the 1/3 cup of margarine. Once the dry ingredients are well mixed, slowly add the margarine, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Using you hands, gently mix the margarine into the dry ingredients. The moisture should cause the mixture to become damp and slightly ball up. You may need to add more margarine. Once the mixture is "crumbly" set it aside.

Pre-heat the oven at 350. Evenly spread the apples along the bottom of a large baking pan. Once the apples are evenly spread, gently sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top. Do not pat down. Bake for 35 minutes or until the crumble get a light golden color.



This was so good that I had to force myself to take a picture before I started to eat any. It was only a minute or so after the picture that my plate was empty. Re-fill!

I am learning how to do some drywall patching today! I am kind of excited. I am looking forward to being able to handle much of the small stuff at my house on my own. Tomorrow is an off day!

Seitan Steaks

It was an unproductive day in the way of house work but that is not what many readers are here for anyway. Food - there was great production!

Ashley and I spent some time together today and had a plan to make some dinner. She said she has really liked the seitan that I have made and wanted to make some more. I told her that I had felt like I had been neglecting the readers of my blog who want recipes. I wanted something new to post. We compromised and decided we would have seitan but I would do something new with it. Introducing...




Seitan Steaks

The broth

4 cup of water
2/3 of cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 tablespoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of dried chipotle pepper
1 tablespoon of liquid smoke
1 tablespoon of hot sauce
2 teaspoon of thyme
2 teaspoon of oregano
2 teaspoon of parsley
2 teaspoon of sage

In a very large pot, bring the water to a boil while adding all other ingredients. The color should be a dark brown and should have a potent and strong smell. If the smell in not strong enough or not to your liking, adjust the spices.

Gluten

1 cup of vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of parsley
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt

In a bowl, mix all ingredients together well. Once the mixture is well blended, add slightly less than 1 cup of the above broth mixture. Mix well. The dough should be a light brown in color and somewhat tacky to the touch. If it is too moist, add some regular flour to the mixture. It should not be sticking to your hands or the sides of the bowl once it is fully mixed. Take a cutting board and sprinkle a bit of flour on the top. Place the seitan on the cutting board and begin to kneed the dough, slowly flattening it like a pizza dough. There is not need to use a rolling pin. Be gentle. If the dough begins to stick to the cutting board, add more flour. Do not let it stick. Once the gluten dough is about 1/4 inch thick, let it sit for about 5 minutes. Cut the dough into 5 pieces roughly the same size and place them into the remaining boiling water. Boil for 45 minutes.

Marinade

1/2 cup of chipotle bar b que sauce
1 tablespoon of water
1 tablespoon of ketchup
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of hot sauce
1 teaspoon of liquid smoke

Mix all ingredients together in a pan. Once the gluten has finished boiling, take out each piece and place it in the marinade. Let soak for at least 1 hour. The longer the better. Feel free to let it go overnight.

Frying

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup of oil
2 tablespoons of onion (chopped)
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

In a saute pan, heat the oil and cook the garlic and onion until the onion is translucent. This should take about 5 minutes on med-low heat. Add all other spices and stir well. Carefully remove the garlic and onions without removing the oil. You want to leave the flavors intact. Then gently set 2 pieces of seitan into the oil and fry for about 8 minutes until it begins to brown. Then flip and fry the other side for about the same time. Remove. Repeat until all piece of seitan are cooked. Serve the seitan topped with the garlic and onions that were removed from the oil and a spoonful of the marinade.


This may be one of the best seitan recipes I have made. If you only try seitan once, this is it. Try this out. No joke. This is extremely good. Juicy, succulent and savory. I made it tonight with mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts. All around, a great meal!

If you have questions about making seitan, please check the Seitan Tips post and feel free to ask.

Burritos and Cobbler

Extremely full from a large lunch. I need to head to work soon but I may need a nap after all this food. I have been thinking about some easy foods for one and burritos came to mind. I found a nice avocado the other day so it was on.
Two huge burritos may have been a bit overkill but I just could not stop eating them. My special guacamole brings it to the next level. That recipe will have to wait for the cookbook. I need to keep some things a secret.
I also whipped up some blueberry cobbler with some frozen berries that Jamie and I picked last summer. Tasty! Cobbler is something I have always struggled with and I need some help. This tastes good but it is not what I had in mind. Oh well.










Hiking or something fun tomorrow looks to be in the works. It should be a nice day out and although I should do something more productive, I may just go do something fun. Next month should bring a lot of visitors to the house and I have many exciting things to look forward to.

Jelly Donuts?

Typically I am not a user of cookbook. I tend to find following a recipe very limiting. I like to write them but not follow them, ironic, I know. Actually, I think that the need to follow someones instructions in order to have a healthy, delicious, and nutritious meal is a sad testament to our self domestication.

Recently, I received a great cookbook for my mother that I will be exploring in depth. It has a lot of great information beyond just simple recipes. Ashley got a copy of the Veganomicon for her birthday and I have been poking around in this treasure too. With my recent donut fanaticism, I was very intigued by the jelly donut recipe that I found. I failed. I do not think they remind me of jelly donuts at all, however they are tasty! I have proven it before, sometimes a failed idea is a new discovery.
I will continue to work on this item until it is perfected. A recipe (and name) for this jelly filled circle will be posted soon!

Back splash

Ten hours later but Jamie is moved and somewhat unpacked. It is at least livable for the moment. This will settle as they get more organized. In the meantime, the last bit of work was being done at my house, so I thought. There now needs to be some touch up work on a few things. My slate back splash was completed and most of the master bathroom hallway was re-tiled. I grabbed a quick photo of the back splash. I need to clean the place up a bit more now that there has been grouting and whatnot. Dust everywhere.I am going to begin painting the interior of the house very soon. I am committed to it. Actually, I am a little afraid of committing to colors. I know that I can just re-paint the walls if I change my mind but it is a lot of work. Painting coupled with the yard work is slightly overwhelming but exciting too. Day off soon, hopefully. Big things coming up.

The last supper

I went to the condo for the final time last night. Jamie will be moving out on Sunday. She was not feeling well so I made dinner. I insisted that she pull up a chair near the stove so that she could keep me company. After a minute or so, we decided that Tato might want to join us in the kitchen. We dragged his bed beside Jamie's chair and he immediately jumped in. He is so cute sometimes.

He joined us for quite some time, however he was not nice for very long.

For dinner I wanted Jamie to pick something that reminded her of things we made in the condo together. She choose Indian food. I had been wanting to try some new things I had picked up recently so, it worked out great! This may have been the best Channa Maslsa that I have made yet. and it was the easiest. Not sure if it is worth posting a recipe considering all the other Indian food recipes on the net.

Productive

I was extremely productive today and was heavily rewarded! I got up early on my day off and grabbed my new hedge clippers. My front hedge was out of control. It had not been trimmed in a long time. It was a task I have never attempted but I think I did a good job. I cut my hands all up on the holly but it was worth it. It was blocking my walkway into the house.

I then grabbed my new rake and started what I thought would be an afternoon of yard work. To my surprise, 2 years worth of leaves and pine needles are for than an afternoon operation. Thirteens massive piles of leaves later, I was only half way done with my front yard. I had not even begun on my side and back yard. I immediately felt blisters beginning on my thumbs so I called it a day. One hedge trimmed and thirteen piles of leave left me still feeling pretty good. There is something strong about working outside. I can not wait to get some more done.

I think my yard is going to be awesome...eventually.

After my yard work, I took a drive to a few thrift stores. Nothing great but it was a nice ride. The weather has been great and it is nice to roll my windows down and let Lucero and Jose Gonzales ring through my car. A nice afternoon drive. I even saw one of my new neighbors and they waved to me. It is fun to live in a neighborhood that I choose.

Home. Nap. Knock at the door? Delivery. I got the finally check for the contractors and a awesome package from my mum. Surprise! A new spice rack, new tote, caulk removal tool, and a copy of The Conscious Cook. It is nice to know my mum is thinking about me. I wish I could cook like this guy, this book is amazing and has a lot of fun information too. Thanks mum!

Chocolate Donuts

The lemon cake is nearly gone and after a long weekend at work I wanted to make some donuts! It has been awhile since I tried a new flavor and today I went with chocolate. Lemon Donuts with poppy seed icing have been on my mind but after the recent cake, I figured I should mix it up. I am not sure if too much lemon is a bad thing but I did not want to press my luck in fear of a whammy.



Chocolate Donuts

1 egg worth of vegan egg substitute (powdered replacer works best)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup soymilk
1/3 cup of coco powder
4 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees.

In a sauce pan, melt the margarine and stir in the soymilk, vinegar and vanilla. In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together thoroughly. When the liquid mixture is warm (not hot), pour it into the dry mixture and stir until well mixed.

Pour the batter into your donut baking pan (greased and floured). This recipe should make 6 donuts, only fill the pan about 2/3 of the way to the top to avoid overflow.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes at 375 degrees. Let donuts rest in the pan on a baking rack for 30 minutes. In order to remove the donuts from the pan, you may need to use a butter knife and some gentle twisting with your hands.

Hawks vs. Suns

As a child, basketball was a large part of my life. As a teenager, basketball represented several things (and people) that I did not want to be reminded of. As a young adult it was mainly ignored until I moved back to Maine for a year. At the time, I lived with my mother, brother and sister. Both my brother and sister were star players on their high school teams. In fact, my sister is the star player on her college team as well. I began going to their high school games mainly to support them, I was a quiet spectator but by the end of the year I was one of their loudest and rowdiest fans. Since then, I have had a newly found interest in basketball. For me it seems like more then a game to watch (I watch no other sports), it is something that reminds me of my family. In fact, several years ago I severed 2 of my tendons in my left ankle playing a pick up game at a local park. This game is no joke.

Since living in Atlanta, I have made it a point to try and get out to several basketball games. Last year I attended 3 in the season. This season is not half over and I attended my first game last night. It was a great game. Phoenix Suns (one of my all time favorite teams) vs the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta won by one at the buzzer with a three point shot. The crowd went bonkers and I was a happy guy. Highlight real below.

getting ready for tip off

behind the back pass from nash

layup by hill

nash on the line. easy two.

I am brave

I fell asleep watching X-files, as usual. A typical later night at work leading to bed at 3am. I was startled awake around 4am by shadows racing overhead. I was disoriented and confused, jumped out of bed and turned the light on. As my eyes focused to the light and flicker of the X-files menu screen I noticed a large bat flying around my bedroom. Alarmed and haunted by the X-files theme song playing in the background I started to panic about bat bites. I realized that I did not know much about bats so I closed it in my bed room and googled them. One of the things that stood out in my half slumber was rabies. There seemed to be no quick online suggestions about how to get a bat out of your bedroom. I tucked myself into the hallway bathroom and worked on a game plan as I began to wake up. The best idea I could come up with was to try and get the bat into one of the unused bedrooms, open the window, shut it in and hope it flies out of the window on its own.

I chose my bedroom, opened the windows and began the daunting task of trying to encourage the bat to fly into that particular room. It was on the wall of my bedroom and I began tossing things in the bats direction (pens, tato toys, and any other small objects I could find). The bat seemed to get very irritated and was spinning aorund the room to the hymn of the X-files theme still playing in the background. After nearly an hour of throwing random objects the bat finally flew down the hall into the desired bedroom.

The next hour was spent trying to encourage the bat to go out the window. Ironically, the bat sat on the windowsill of the unopened window for about 40 minutes. Eventually, I just shut the door, stuffed a towel under it and went to bed.

Four hours later I woke up to see if the bat had flown out of the window. It had not. It seemed to be asleep on the floor (or dead). At this point, I was on the phone with Ashley who I had plans with today (remember? Hawks vs Suns!). She said she was in the area and headed over to help me with the bat issue. When she got to the house we tag teamed the bat who was apparently sleeping. She was fearless and put a plastic bucket over the top of the bat. I slid a piece of cardboard under the bucket. Then we took the bat outside and set it in the leaves. Done deal. The kinks of a formerly vacant house.