Autumn Apple Spice Cake

 

Autumn is my favourite time of year... There's a nip in the air, the sunlight is honey-gold, and the flavours are rich, warm, and home. If you need to be transported to an autumn tree-lined lane, this soundtrack never fails to work for me.

Generally I'm not a cake person, but in the autumn and winter I love a good coffee cake or spice cake with a cup of maple black tea with a good book or my favourite fall films. 

If you are looking for something cinnamon-spicy and appley-dapply, here is a sour cream apple spice cake recipe for you! 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter*, softened (8 Tablespoons) 
• 3/4 – 1 Cup packed brown sugar
• 1-2 tsp vanilla or maple flavouring (or 1 tsp of each)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream/yoghurt*
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and grated (granny smith are super good!)

I like to add the spices to the wet mixture, but most folks include them in the flour/dry ingredients. You can decide which you prefer. ;)

• • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
    
  • 1 Tbs fresh grated ginger (or 1 tsp dry)
    
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups (270 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  

Optional - Cinnamon Crumble Topping:

    

      2-3 Tbs Butter

      1/4 C Oats

      3 Tbs Brown Sugar

      1 Tbs Flour

       Cinnamon (to taste)

---

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9"×9" or 9"x13" glass pan with butter.
2. In a medium bowl or sifter, combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together/sift flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 
3. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer or whisk 2-3 minutes, until light, fluffy, and well combined.
4. Mix in eggs, one at a time.
5. Stir in sour cream and apples.
6. Add the dry ingredients mixture and gently mix till all dry ingredients are just mixed together. Don’t over-mix.
7. Pour cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with crumble topping, if desired.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
9. Cool on a wire rack. *
10. Make this recipe dairy free by using vegetable oil and apple sauce in place of the butter and sour cream.




Inspired by: https://www.onelovelylife.com/apple-spice-cake/

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash

Smoky Lentil Stew

     

1 can (14.5 oz) beef or chicken bone broth + water (enough to rinse the can)

1 can (8 oz) of tomato sauce or juice

1 knob of butter 

1 large potato, with skin, cubed (I use sweet potatoes, either the orange or purple kind for best nutrition)

3 large carrots, scrubbed and unpeeled (slice into rounds like coins)

1/2 red onion, diced 

2 Anaheim chiles (aka: Hatch chiles), fresh, diced small (veins and seeds retained or removed to whatever degree you can handle!)

3 cups cooked green lentils (I keep the water these have left once they are soft)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 kielbasa sausage (smoked), cut in small cubes

1/2 Cup kale stems (fresh, washed well, diced fairly small—you can use kale leaves if you prefer, but the stems add just the right amount of texture to the stew)

1 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp anise seed

1/4 tsp onion powder 

Sprinkle of smoked paprika (a little goes a long way!)

Dash of red wine or apple cider vinegar (or white wine)

Makes: 6 servings (1-1/4 Cups each, approx 225 Calories)

While your lentils are very gently simmering in water, throw a knob of butter (I like lots of butter, just use your best judgement) into a cast iron skillet. Once melted, add your fennel and anise seeds, cook approx 1 min and add onions, potato cubes, carrot coins, and diced chiles. Coat everything in butter and cover with a lid to cook for about 3-5 mins (be sure to stir often so as not to burn the onions). Add garlic and turn off the heat.

Add these veggies to the cooked lentils once they (the lentils) are tender. Add broth, tomato sauce/juice, and any water to rinse the cans. Add onion powder and a dash or two of smoked paprika. Add cubed sausage. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on very low heat. Throw in your diced kale stems and simmer for 5 more minutes. After you remove stew from the heat, add a splash (~1 Tbs) of red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (or white wine, if you prefer). A squeeze of fresh lemon in each bowl would also be yummy!

Something Yummy for Cranberry Season

I promise that my blog is not simply becoming a recipe site. I have been thinking about a lot of complex things recently, but I have been rounding out those thoughts in various dialogues with friends. Once a few of them get a little more polished I may try to write about them.

Until then, I have been making all sorts of food lately, and I think it is fun to keep a sort of recipe journal for various seasons. No pumpkin this time, on to cranberries! There are plenty of ways to use cranberries, but I made up a recipe today so that I could both make sandwich bread, and eat something tangy.
 

CRANBERRY OAT SANDWICH BREAD

1/2 C rather warm water (110-115º)
2-1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar

Combine and set in a warm place (about 10 minutes) while you complete the next step

1-1/4 C cooked steel cut oats, heated (110-115º)
1/2 Tbs oil (your choice)
2 Tbs sugar or honey

Combine, add proofed yeast

1/2 tsp sea salt
2 [ish] C bread flour (unbleached white/whole wheat), sifted
(If you do not have bread flour, add about 3 tsp of vital wheat gluten to all purpose flour - that is what I do -- it works just fine)
1 Tbs flax seeds (chia, sunflower, or millet seeds work, too)

After you work the flour into the dough, knead by hand for 6 or 7 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and oil a glass bowl. Knead for another 6 minutes. Tuck the seam of the dough on the underside and place in the oiled bowl (roll the top of the ball in the oil so it doesn't dry out).

Cover with a cloth and let stand in a warm place for about 1 hour (I put mine in my gas oven -- it always has a bit of heat inside due to the pilot light).

After the dough ball has approximately doubled in size, spread it on a very lightly floured workspace. Knead for 30 seconds to 1 minute to work the gluten strands - do not pull the dough, you will break the gluten strands. Flatten into a round about 8 inches in diameter and spread about 1/3 C of cranberries down the middle. Tuck the sides and end of the dough around the berries (you can add walnuts or pecans, too), place the loaf seam-side down in an oiled bread pan. Dust with old fashioned oats. If you wish, put 3 or 4 diagonal slash marks in the dough at this time with a very sharp knife or razor blade.

Let loaf stand in a warm place 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400º, place bread in hot oven. After 5 minutes, turn the heat to 350º and bake for 45-55 minutes (or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped). Allow to cool (if you have patience) for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Makes delicious sandwich bread, or a great side for soup when all slathered with butter. I ate four pieces today alone... I also hiked. ;)

The Taste of Autumn

In case you had not observed this fact, I delight in eating pumpkin. I would say I adore pumpkin, if adoration were not specifically set aside for God alone. I really do enjoy the versatility of the marvellous squash He made. Perhaps my taste buds adore Him when I eat pumpkin things and drink pumpkin spice lattés.

I recently acquired four or five cups of pumpkin when I roasted and puréed a small 'pie pumpkin'. Let me tell you, I have been revelling in pumpkin recipes since that time. I have made a pumpkin roll (with my mum), pumpkin sandwich bread, the afore posted pumpkin pancakes (twice!), a failed attempt at curry pumpkin soup, pumpkin spice cake, pumpkin pastry cream, and the two items I am about to highlight.

(No, I didn't make all those things out of my roasted pumpkin. I also used three cans of the stuff... A very respectable amount of goods to be made from ten or eleven cups of pumpkin, indeed.)

Pumpkin and canned chicken broth are on sale this week, so I 'stocked' up on these delectable (and useful) supplies. Wanting to redeem my miserable failure of 'pumpkin soup', I tried again to make something delicious - with much more success on my second attempt. Taste the result yourself:

SAVOURY PUMPKIN SOUP

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs butter

(sauté these first over low heat - don't burn the garlic! Slowly add liquids next, then pumpkin)

1 can chicken broth (reduced sodium)

1-1/2 to 2 C. whole milk

1 can pumpkin

1/3-1/2 C flour (beat with hot soup mixture in a small cup/can - add this paste to the whole soup, more or less flour depending on how thick you want the soup to be)

3/4-1 tsp applewood smoked sea salt (or 1/4 tsp seasoning salt, optional)

1/2-3/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

dash of onion powder

small dash of nutmeg

Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish and crunchy texture.

Paired with this creamy soup, try these pumpkin, honey-butter dinner rolls. Mine did not look as soft and fluffy as these, but they were very tasty.

Pumpkin Pancakes

For Columbus Day, here is a yummy [sort-of-healthy] Autumn recipe for orange-pumpkin pancakes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1 C pumpkin 
• 1 orange (both zest and juice)
• 1 egg
• ½ C yoghurt
• 1 C whole milk
• ----- 
• 3/4 C whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbs wheat germ
• 1/2 C oats (I used old fashioned, but I think steel cut may work, too)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg (to taste)
• dash of cloves

Mix wet ingredients well and let sit. Sift dry in ingredients (except wheat germ and oats, just add those in by themselves), fold into wet. Stir until just moist, you may need to add more milk for the correct consistency. Do not overmix. For a fun zing, add 1/2 C coarsely chopped cranberries.

Put a little butter or oil in your skillet and cook over low/medium heat. I make them by 1/4 cup-fulls  (each one is about 100 calories) and then toast a pancake or two (or three) as desired all week. They are quite tasty with yoghurt and a sprinkle of brown sugar, or syrup and butter, of course. 

In spite of the length of the ingredient list, these were very easy to make. It took less than 30 minutes for slow-poke me to put them together. It does take about an hour to cook the whole batch, but you can just make as many as you need and refrigerate the rest for the next day. If you do not have wheat germ on hand, just add more oats and call it good.

Final step: Go hiking in the Autumn sun to burn off some of the good carbs and hearty pumpkin you consumed. Perfect combination.  :) 

*Sorry for the photo qualities - since my camera took a kamikaze dive on the floor, I have to exclusively use my webcam for photos around the house.

~ Johanna

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread & Aprons

Preparing to Make Cranberry Pumpkin Bread...

First, one needs an apron. Thanks, Kasey!




Next, you mix together all of the ingredients...
And lick the bowl, of course. ;)

Finally, bake for an hour and eat with a pot of tea.





(Good tea, you know, not American tea.)

ENJOY!

~ Johanna