Screw pie, I want cobbler. Cobbler is easy (I’m never one to turn down an easy date). I cook the apples in a skillet a bit with sugar and spices before pouring them into a baking dish, it speeds up their time in the oven. And for the crust? Whip out your food processor and dump in the ingredients for this biscuit dough. It comes together in a few minutes and is easy to scatter on top of the tender apples.
INGREDIENTS
Apple Filling
6 Green Apples, peeled and sliced thinly
Juice of one Lemon
1 cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Sea Salt
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
Biscuit Topping
¾ cup Brown Rice Flour
¾ cup Millet Flour
¼ cup Tapioca Flour
¼ cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
4 tablespoons Shortening
¾ cup Milk (a non-dairy alternative will work)
GET BUSY
1) In a medium saucepan, combine the apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat until the liquid is syrupy and the apples are soft but not mushy, about 20 minutes.
2) While the apples are cooking, heat your oven to 450 degrees.
3) In a food processor add the brown rice flour, millet flour, tapioca flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and shortening. Pulse until it is the texture of sand.
4) With the food processor running, pour the milk in slowly. Pulse the dough until it forms a loose ball.
5) When the apples are ready, pour them into an 8×8 baking dish.
6) Sprinkle the dough over the apples, roughly, it doesn’t need to be even.
7) Put the dish in your oven for 13-15 minutes, or until the dough is lightly browned.
8) Remove from the oven, let cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!
Yogurt adds a tang and spring to this cake that is most welcome, especially as we soldier through the winter. Feel free to substitute oranges or grapefruits for the lemons, the cake is splendid with any variety of citrus. An extra dusting of sugar on top before baking will reward you with a shimmering crust to present at the table. Winter baking need not be entirely cinnamon and cloves and apples and nuts. Lighten your load, bake a bright cake, remind yourself that Spring is on its way
Yes, the trail of British colonization/oppression left us with a unique flavor map that is hard to describe without looking through the lens of conquest. I started with the wintry walnut, and thought it might be nice to pair them with currants (I always like a bit of a chew to balance the crunch of the nut when I serve these). I steered the bowl around to early English colonies, picking up some palm sugar to sweeten the nuts and some ground cloves and ginger to spice them. I thought they needed some perfume, and so zested the rind of a few oranges for good measure. They were still missing something, so I took one more trip back around the globe and picked up a heady crush of ground black pepper. With that, I was done. A food map based on British Imperialism, potentially insensitive, definitely delicious.
A good chili deserves more than some crumbly ground beef. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up on chili brewed from the beefy scribbles, but now that I’m an adult and have agency over my food choices I find myself more inclined to use a good cut of chuck roast to braise into a spicy shredded chili. Need an accompaniment? Get into this corn bread.
Corn bread is the quickest of quick breads. No fussy whisking, no tempering eggs. Just throw the ingredients together in a bowl and stir. And what happens when you remove it from the oven? You remember that the nip in the air isn’t so bad as long as you have comforting food like this. Don't forget to brew a pot of chili to eat alongside your cornbread!
I used to think that coleslaw was an abomination. I’m not sure if it was my childhood aversion to mayo or the connotations of cafeterias and dentures that did it in, but coleslaw was on my “no, no won’t eat” list for a long time. Anyway, do you ever feel like your adult food life is spent making up for the mistakes you made in your culinary youth?
The best way to keep your kitchen cool this summer is to cook outside. Hit the grill and have a taco party. Easy to make for a crowd, simple enough for one.
As winter thaws I look through my window and crave a well packed picnic basket. Gingham lining, a nice, dry salami, and a container of lentil salad; this is the picture that soothes my cramped brain. Roast what's left of your winter store of veggies and toss them with lentils for a quick salad.
What sensible person lives without a seasonal cake recipe stashed up their sleeve? Not this gentleman, that's for damn sure. I make this cake no matter the weather, with fruit foraged from the bottom of my refrigerator. Pear and Almond? Divine.
Let me add my voice to the thousands admonishing you for skipping breakfast. Darlings! Breakfast is your first chance of the day to fill your tummy with fuel! Make sure you put some gas in your tank before the long drive ahead.
With an unforgiving Winter this year it seems only appropriate to pepper this list with songs of longing (for another human, another season). I opened the evening with the theme song from Under the Tuscan Sun because I'm masochistic (but seriously, we all love that movie, right?).
It's positively frigid where I am right now, and my tour through America has me yearning for a giant pot of soup. Start your new year with a steaming bowl of soup and you'll be warm all winter long.
Winter baking is full of spice and warmth, none of those lemony midsummer desserts. Looking for a way to kick that old fruitcake in the bum? Try this cinnamon topped cranberry bread using Arrowhead Mills' Gluten Free All Purpose Baking mix and you'll be nibbling before it's had time to cool.
Toast the new year with a charming dinner for two. Elegant and ever so luscious, you'll be happy to stay at home with a friend and a glass of champagne.
Welcome your guests this winter with a cookie platter. Make two cookies from one easy dough. Get your kids in the kitchen to help roll the cookies into balls, you'll have a warm treat to share in no time.
Darlings, root vegetables are here and they're begging to be roasted. Throw some in the oven, cook low and slow, then blend the heck out of them. Stop serving store-bought hummus. You're better than that.
Coconut milk, vanilla, rice noodles. Darlings, it's the gluten free Kugel you've been fantasizing about. Inspired by rice pudding with noodles from Thai Kitchen, this is too easy to skip. Make it tonight.
