Cranberry Apple Sauce

I made a pretty, nutritious, and yummy side dish that you might want to make to serve at Christmastime. There are only four ingredients: cranberries, apples, cinnamon (optional), and sweetener. So maybe only three. I used my Vitamix and my crockpot, but the recipe could be adapted to leave out the apple peels and hand chop the apples and cranberries, and it could be cooked on top of the stove (or not cooked at all). Another adaptation is to vary the proportion of ingredients, using more or less cranberries/apples, according to taste preference or what you have on hand. I love recipes that can be made in whatever way works for me.

Ingredients:
4 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen, washed
12 small or 8 medium or 6 large apples, washed and cored
Sweetener

First, I washed the cranberries.

Then I washed and cored the apples.

I peeled the apples.

I measured the peels: 2 cups.

I Vitamixed them with a little water. Time: about 10 seconds.

I added the cranberries and Vitamixed them, too. Time: about 15 seconds.

I rough chopped the cored and peeled apples and placed them in a crockpot. I added the apple peel and cranberries mixture. I added two sticks of cinnamon after I took this picture. I cooked on low for about an hour.

I removed the cinnamon sticks, added some sweetener to taste, stirred, and spooned some into a dish. Would you like to try some? I put one container of it in the freezer to take with us on Christmas when we will have dinner with dear friends.

p.s. Two quick things about my Vitamix: 1) I was able to minimize waste and optimize nutrition by using my Vitamix to puree the apple peels and 2) it takes about 20 seconds to clean the Vitamix. Really. After I give the container a quick rinse, I put some warm water and a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid (note: not dishwasher detergent), putting on the cover and placing it back on the stand, turning it to High, and Ta Da! It's clean. Rinse and air dry. It is cleaner than if I hand washed it.

Disclaimer: I am an approved affiliate for Vitamix. You can get free standard shipping and handling (a $25 US/$35 CN value) by purchasing through Vitamix and using code 06-007841 when placing your order.

Blessings and peace...

You Can Use Those Outdoor Pumpkins

A friend gave me her great big pumpkin that had been on her front porch since before Halloween. Now, this wasn't one of those little "cooking" or "pie" pumpkins. It's bred (is that the right word for food?) for size and color, I think. It's not bred for using to make a pumpkin pie. But, having some experience with this winter squash, I knew just what I would do with it. (If you're not going to use yours, I can assure you that I will put it to good use!)

I forgot to weigh or measure it. (I'm still getting used to the documentation that accompanies blogging.) When cut up, it filled my large roasting pan, the one that can hold a 20 lb turkey.

First, I scrubbed it with hot, soapy water because, well, you know how nature is. I then cut it up and, using a grapefruit spoon (love those little serrated edges), scooped out the pulp and seeds. I placed the cut-up pumpkin in the large roasting pan, added a little water, covered it, and baked it at 350 degrees F for about 2 hours. I might have cooked it a little longer than necessary. No problem.

Meanwhile, I placed the whole glop of seeds/pulp in a dish and microwaved it (you could simmer it on the stove) for a few minutes, then I let it cool. Then I "whisked" it with a fork (like you would if you were making scrambled eggs, which I'm not these days), and the seeds separated from the pulp quite easily. I ended up with 2 cups of pulp.

When the cooked pumpkin had cooled, I used my grapefruit spoon to separate the skin from the pumpkin. Here’s the skin (not much waste from such a huge pumpkin).

I placed the pulp and some of the pumpkin into my Vitamix blender (for this project, any blender would work) and pureed it. This variety of pumpkin is quite stringy, so pureeing it helps to get the desired consistency. Now it is all as smooth as silk.

I pureed the remainder of the pumpkin and poured it into a stockpot. It was almost 6 quarts of cooked pumpkin!

I used about 1 quart of the pumpkin for tonight's pumpkin (and carrots and kale) soup. I froze 6 pints of cooked pumpkin for soup and smoothies.

I had a few apples to use up, so I have some apple pumpkin butter simmering in the crockpot (recipe follows).

Apple Pumpkin Butter (all amounts are approximate)
4 cups of apples, cored and peeled
1/2 cup water
2 quarts of cooked pumpkin
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Core the apples. Peel the apples and rough chop the peels. Place the peels into the Vitamix and add 1/2 cup water. Turn On, quickly increase the variable speed from 1 to 10, then turn on High. Pour this pretty pink liquid into a large pot or slow cooker.

2. Rough chop the apples and place into the Vitamix. Process about 1/3 to 1/2 at a time. Add a little water if needed. Turn On, quickly increase the variable speed to about 5 or 6, using the tamper as needed to get all of the apples finely chopped. Pour into the large pot or slow cooker. Repeat with remainder of apples.

3. Add the cooked pumpkin and spices. Adjust the spices for your preferences.

4. Cook on the stovetop or slow cooker on Low for 2 hours or more. Pour the finished Apple Pumpkin Butter into containers and chill. Freeze some for later.

Serve on bread, toast, crackers, bagels, banana bread, and muffins. Add to cooked cereal. Serve on pancakes, waffles, or French toast. Use in place of oil and some of the sugar in carrot cake (reduce the other liquid accordingly).

Disclaimer: I am an approved affiliate for Vitamix. You can get free standard shipping and handling (a $25 US/$35 CN value) by purchasing through Vitamix and using code 06-007841 when placing your order.

Blessings and peace...

I Make My Own Almond Milk

Why:
I'm following a fat-free vegan diet for health reasons. So that means no (cow's) milk.
Homemade almond milk contains no additives or preservatives.
It takes only a few minutes to make (not counting the soaking time).
It's so convenient to make it when you need or want it.
Homemade almond milk costs about half (or less) to make as it does to buy it. I will save more than $100 in the next year by making my own. The price of almonds varies, depending on where you buy it and whether you choose options such as organic. I recently bought a 3 lb bag of almonds in the baking aisle of BJs (similar to Costco). It contains 9-1/2 cups of almonds and cost about $11.00, or $3.66 per lb, or $.86 per quart of almond milk.

Supplies:
Vitamix (mine is Model 5200)
Strainer or nut bag (I use a paint strainer from Lowes that I triple-washed before using it for the first time)
Bowl
Pitcher

Ingredients:
1 cup dry roasted almonds
Water
Vanilla extract (optional)
Sweetener such as dates (optional)

1 cup almonds

Steps:
1. Rinse the almonds.

2. This next step is optional -- I like to do it because the resulting almond milk is as white as snow. Soak the almonds for an hour or more (or overnight in the refrigerator), then slip off the skins. If they don't slip off easily, you can place the almonds in a saucepan and cover them with water, bring to a boil, simmer for a few minutes, then turn off the heat. When cool, slip off the skins, keeping the unskinned and skinned almonds in water. Rinse the almonds again.

After soaking

Skins peeled

3. Place 4 to 5 cups of cold water into the Vitamix, add the soaked, rinsed almonds, add a few drops of vanilla and/or sweetener (optional), and cover.

4. Turn On, quickly increase the variable speed from 1 to 10, then turn on High. In a few minutes, the almonds are liquified.

Almost almond milk

Looking into the container

5. Pour the almond milk through a strainer into a pitcher or bowl. Pour into a jar and refrigerate.

Almond milk filtering

After filtering

6. Spread the pulp out on a baking sheet and dry it in the oven at the lowest setting. When completely dry, store it in the refrigerator and use it in baking.

Notes:
1. I don't add any sweetener; it's just my taste preference.
2. I used to squeeze the bag to get every drop of liquid, but that adds more of the almond solids to the milk. Now I just let gravity do the work.
3. The solids can be added to a smoothie, soup, or cereal; and they can be dried and used in recipes.

Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy. Fresh. Cold. Healthy. No milk cartons to throw away.

Disclaimer: I am an approved affiliate for Vitamix. You can get free standard shipping and handling (a $25 US/$35 CN value) by purchasing through Vitamix and using code 06-007841 when placing your order.

Blessings and peace...