Oct 20 2009
Food for Fall
The foods of fall and winter are full of aromatic spices – warming the belly and warming the heart!
Here’s some of the recent recipes from my kitchen:
Fig-Smushed Anise Almond Cookies
1/4 c soy milk
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 1/4 c demerara sugar (or turbinado)
2/3 c canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t anise extract
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
12 dried figs (stems removed and cut in half)Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
Place ground flaxseed and milk in a bowl and blend until frothy.
Add the sugar and oil to the mixing bowl and beat until emulsified. Mix in the vanilla and anise extract.
Add about 1 cup of the flour along with the baking powder and salt. Mix well, Add the remaining flour. Fold in chopped almonds. Use a wooden spoon or your hands, as the mixture will be harder to blend.
Roll the dough into golf ball-sized balls, then flatten them on the cookie sheet to about 2-inch diameter. Smush the fig gently by firmly into the center, cut side down.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. The fig should be soft and the cookies should be golden brown on the bottom. Remove from oven and let sit on the sheets for about 5 minutes. Transfer to cooking rack to cool completely.
Adapted from the amazing Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
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I used Sucanat in place of demerara sugar, and it was perfect. I also quartered the figs, as half of the fig seemed too big for the cookie. The anise was so aromatic – like cloves and licorice – and also quite photogenic, aren’t they?
…and they pair so perfectly with…
Homemade Apple Cider
6 cups fresh apple cider
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (more or less, to taste)
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
6 strips orange peel
6 strips lemon peelPour the apple cider and maple syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan. Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel and lemon peel in the center of a washed square of cheesecloth; fold up the sides of the cheesecloth to enclose the bundle, then tie it up with a length of kitchen string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture.
Place the saucepan over moderate heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cider is very hot but not boiling.
Remove the cider from the heat. Discard the spice bundle. Ladle the cider into big cups or mugs, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving, if you like.
Adapted from this online recipe – with some changes. I used my juicer to make the apple juice directly from the apples, instead of using store bought apple cider.
My dad was in West Virginia for work conference and stopped by an orchard on the way home. He called and asked if I wanted any, and I said sure, and just picked two bushels out of the air. Of course, that was without realizing how many TWO bushels actually is – 4 large brown paper bags filled to the brim – between 150-200 apples, I estimate. So, I had to get creative! The apple cider was just one of the recipes I am trying…
…also pulled down the dehydrator for apple rings - just core and peel, dip the slices in some lemon juice and cinnamon, and set them out to dry over night. Great for granola, trail mix, and oatmeal fixings!
Last but not least, I made this delicious apple butter – already preserved and canned for enjoyment later on! I was inspired by the recipe in this great book, Preserving the Harvest. I used my crockpot – and it made the house smell so good 
I am planning to try a few other recipes from the book with the remaining bushel.
That is all so inspiring! I bet it made your house smell wonderful.
I really have to make time to go and pick apples this year, or I’ll regret missing out on it. And I dream of a less busy autumn that would give me the chance to make apple jelly and apple butter; maybe next year…
I have never heard of putting maple syrup in apple cider, but it sounds absolutely fantastic. Thank you for the recipe! You can never have too many apples, and it sounds like you’re putting your two bushels to fine use.
I picked two bushels of apples last weekend. I sat down to make apple sauce last night, and fully appreciated just how many apples is in two bushels. There’s going to have to be multiple batches….. I wish I had a dehydrater. Dried apples sounds great!
We went to an orchard and purchased some apples yesterday…Jonagold for homemade Apple Crisp and Honey Crisp for eating. Fall is all about the apples:)
Hmm, they all sound so yummy! I love fall.
I love the smell of anise and I agree that they are so photogenic too! We’ve been doing some harvest cooking at our house too but nothing as amazing as yours. Still I love the way our home smells with all of Fall’s bounty a-cookin’
Those cookies sound fantastic! They would be easy to adapt to a gluten-free diet as well.
I’ve been super busy this month, but I did find time to make a butternut squash soup, an Asian-style shrimp and broccoli soup, and sweet potato, okra, and chickpea gumbo. Also, a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.
lately i am a big fan of sauteed apples, carrots and walnuts. i put butter in there, but you could just do olive oil. and curry and apples are a great combination. fall flavours definitely make me happy.
Yum.me. I love all things apple. I made some apple bread and cut up and froze apples for later. I was going to try apple butter, but it seemed too daunting. Maybe I’ll try that recipe – a crock pot sounds doable.
Wow – your gorgeous pictures make me want to lick the computer screen – is that wrong?
Just curious how did you get the apple cider from the fresh apples? Did you just juice them? Possibly a silly question, but they don’t actually sell apple cider here in the UK like they do back home in the US so I would love to be able to make my own!
you busy little bee!!! The cookies sound divine, I love me some figs! Now the apple butter, honey, I am ALL over apple butter. I am too busy right now to have a go at my own but going to an Apple Butter Festival this Sunday where I shall lay in a proper stock.
Mmmmm….I have one box of apples from a friends yard and I am struggling with recipes!
I am going to try that cider tonight.
Thank you.
I’d forgotten about those cookies — mainly because I’ve yet to acquire anise extract, but now that you’ve reminded me of them, I shall redouble my effort! ^_^
I live way too far South for local apples – miss that since I moved down here. Still – I have an abundance (from way too far away, food miles wise, I suppose) – you’ve inspired me to see what I can do!
Thanks for a lovely post!
[...] was wondering what to do with the many, many, many CSA apples in the fridge when I stumbled across Lolly’s Food for Fall post – apple butter it would [...]