Feasting on Fruit
I live alone, and I already make a lot of food for just one person. To avoid food wastage, I like to single-serving size recipes. That’s why I’ll often make a half batch of recipes, or sometimes even a quarter batch. Unless it’s pumpkin pie; then I make a double batch. Truth be told, leftovers are alright, but freshly made is always better.
These are similar to my Chewy Cherry Vanilla Bars, but chocolate! And blueberries too!
Even though I don’t follow a 100% raw diet anymore, my favorite form of chocolate is still cacao powder. Or more specifically Navitas Naturals Cacao Powder. After adding it to my raw desserts and endless blenderfuls of frozen banana, I developed a real affinity for its mild taste. Not roasting those precious little beans makes for a less bitter flavor according to my taste buds. You can use cocoa powder in these bars too though.
Have I mentioned that I love blueberries + chocolate? Well I do…a lot.
It isn’t exactly the peak of blueberry season. Recipe ideas don’t always come to me in the proper season, but sometimes I’m anxious to make them anyways. So I’m using frozen blueberries in these chewy chocolate bars, so you can enjoy them 365 days a year. For a sippable form of the splendid blueberry-cacao combo, try this smoothie.
It’s pumpkin pie confession time. I didn’t even like pumpkin pie until about 4 years ago. I was an anti-pie child, unless it was chocolate and had mini M&M’s in it. That means I missed out on 16 years of potential pumpkin pie enjoyment…so sad. But I’ve made up for it in the few short years since.
Once I realized the miracle that is pumpkin pie, I went pie-making crazy. I’ve made back-of-the-can pumpkin pie, tofu pumpkin pie, cornstarch and almond milk pumpkin pie, crustless pumpkin pie, burnt pumpkin pie, date-pumpkin pie, and even squash-that-wants-to-be-pumpkin pumpkin pie. I average at least 11 pumpkin pies every fall, and have been known to devour an entire pie myself in less than 24 hours.
And now I’m adding Banana Pumpkin Pie to the list! It’s like the fruity member of the vegan pumpkin pie family. The pie filling is blended with a few bananas till creamy, generously spiced and lightly sweetened, poured into a crumbly 3-ingredient oat crust, then baked to pumpkin perfection.
Trick for non-stick: A fat-free crust in an unlined pie pan can lead to a sticking situation, but here’s a handy little trick that doesn’t require spreading coconut oil all over the pan. Simply dust your pan lightly with flour before pressing in the crust, and your pie will come right out, no chisels needed.
Makes a 9″ pie
Crust
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
3 tbsps coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice)
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
Filling
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
3 ripe bananas
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice)
I like my pie with no toppings, just pumpkin. Add toppings if you wish.
My new toy right now is a spiralizer, so I’ve pretty much been spiralizing everything in sight.
Following my spiral theme, I made these fresh, fun Spiralized Apple Tartlets. These little tartlets are simple, raw, and fall-inspired, with apples and cinnamon inside and out . The crust is a sticky-sweet combination of dates and dried apples, with a, fuji-noodle filling and even more cinnamon. It’s fall now, so I don’t feel bad about going a little cinnamon crazy.
No spiralizer? If you don’t have a spiralizer, don’t quit reading. Believe it or not, apples, cinnamon, and coconut sugar still taste phenomenal together even if the apples aren’t shaped like spaghetti. Just dice them up and go along with me.
Juicify [jew-suh-fie] v. To add sugar to fruit and allow it to rest until the fruit releases sugars and everything melds together and gets all juicy and sweet and tender and enticing and…mmm
I think Mr. Webster should consider it 🙂
In this recipe, I let the apples juicify overnight. After a night of sugar-coated chilling, the apples were as soft and sweet as cooked apples, but with a fresher more balanced flavor. Fall perfection!
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UPDATE: I have recreated these tortillas, new recipe here! The new version is easier to work with, more flexible, tastes better, and doesn’t require potato starch.
Tortillas are so simple, yet so perfect. I really wanted an easy, fat-free, gluten-free tortilla recipe without an array of ingredients like tapioca starch or guar gum or xanthan gum. After a bit of experimentation, I’ve come up with one that I love. These tortillas use brown rice flour instead of wheat flour, and potato starch as the “glue”. Since there is no gluten, something has to hold it all together.
Potato flour, not potato starch: There is a difference. Potato flour is made from cooked potatoes, that are dried and ground into a fine flour. It contains both the flesh and peel of the potato. Potato starch is made from peeled, uncooked, dried, ground-up potatoes. Since it has been cooked, potato flour has more potato flavor and absorbs more water. I used Bob’s Red Mill potato flour because the only ingredient is potato, and that is lovely.
What now? Once you have a fresh batch of these in your fridge, the sky’s the limit. There are tons of delicious things you can make from a simple tortilla. And if you aren’t full of ideas like me, don’t worry I have some recipes coming up featuring them. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
A tortilla-making video too:
Makes 4
1 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup potato flour
3/4 cup water
Optional: 1/2 tsp salt
