Spicy Applesauce with Cardamom, Cloves, and Cinnamon

I eat an apple everyday. When I have too many apples in the refridgerator, or even have some that are not quite up to par (I am picky about my apples), making applesauce is a great option. I always keep the skin on my apples and refrain from adding sweeteners to my applesauce. I suppose the apples COULD be peeled and sugar COULD be added, but it really is not necessary. Apples are beautifully sweet on their own, and their skin adds fiber and a lovely texture to the finished product. Apples also have a lot of natural pectin, so applesauce never needs thickeners, like puddings or custards.

Applesauce is great as a fat substitute (i.e. oil) in muffin and quickbread recipes, or to just snack on before bedtime. Here is my "thrown-together" applesauce recipe. Alter it as you wish.



SPICY APPLESAUCE WITH CARDAMOM, CLOVES, AND CINNAMON

-3 unpeeled apples, diced
-1/4 cup lemon juice/vinegar/anything acidic
-3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/8 teaspoon cardamom seeds, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot. Cover the pot with a lid and heat to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low. Stir the applesauce occassionally and cook until desired level of doneness. Serve hot, room temperature, or cold.

Spiced Flax Muffins (Vegan)

These muffins are so flavorful and moist; you would never guess that they are totally vegan and loaded with flaxseed! Flax is a great source of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and free-radical fighting lignans (a class of antioxidants). I buy my flaxseed ground (I'm too lazy to buy whole flaxseed and grind it myself) and store it in the freezer (this helps prevent rancidity and preserve the integrity of beneficial fats). Ground flax can be sprinkled in oatmeal, yogurt, muesli, granola, quick breads, or muffins. It has a very earthy/bran-ish/granola-like taste, so don't go too flax crazy. You just have to be mindful of proportions. Ask yourself, how much flax is in this recipe compared to other ingredients (whole grain flours, nuts, etc.)? With that mentioned, the following muffin recipe has the perfect amount of flax. These muffins would be great slathered with organic almond or peanut butter, and can easily be frozen and thawed for future use.

I found this flax muffin recipe on the blog of "A Chef in Med School", and immediately fell in love. I thought it was rather odd that the creator of "A Chef in Med School" (Michelle Hauser) and the creator of my blog, "A Chef in College: Chronicles of a Pre-Med Student's Culinary Adventures", (me) had strikingly similar blog names. I guess we think similarly? Anyway, Michelle's recipes and educational videos are great, and I highly recommend that they are looked at by any aspiring chefs.

I took her awesome recipe and altered it a bit (I used many of her suggestions) to veganize it. Feel free to do the same. Other liquid sweeteners, like honey, pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup, etc. could be used instead of the agave nectar. Raisins, craisins, chopped dates, nuts, etc. could be thrown into the batter. Different spices, like ground ginger, cardamom, or nutmeg would be great substitutions for the spices my recipe requests. Have fun and enjoy!


SPICED FLAX MUFFINS (VEGAN)

Yield= 10-12 muffins, depending how generously you decide to fill your muffin tins.






DRY INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used 1 cup wholewheat pastry flour + 1/2 cup millet flour)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/2 cup oats
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

WET INGREDIENTS:

1 cup veganized buttermilk (1 Tablespoon vinegar + enough non-dairy milk to yield 1 cup)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

OPTIONAL TOPPING:

3 Tablespoons oats

Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups, and preheat oven to 400 F.

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate, larger bowl whisk together all wet ingredients. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients all at once and stir until just combined (lumps are okay). Spoon into prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with oats. Bake until muffins spring back when touched and pass the toothpick test (about 15-18 minutes). Let muffins cool, and enjoy!

Gingerbread Cheesecake

I try to make interesting desserts during the holidays. This year I was torn between making cranberry-upside down cake, cranberry swirl cheesecake, French chocolate bread with honey and spices, and gingerbread cheesecake. After taking a poll, I decided to make gingerbread cheesecake, a dessert that sounded fun to bake. Boy, was a wrong! It was an overly-complicated, extremely time-consuming Martha Stewart recipe. Most of my frustration concerned the gingerbread crust. Conventional cheesecakes have a Graham cracker crust, but this Christmas cheesecake called for a gingerbread crust. I thought this was a novel idea (it made the finished cake super special). In order to make the crust, however, fresh gingerbread dough had to be prepared and baked. This was extra work, and Martha's gingerbread recipe seemed very strange. I have made gingerbread cookies with my sister for the past two years, and the process is rather simple (dough is prepared, refrigerated, rolled, cut, and baked). Martha's recipe was unlike any that I have ever seen. Her recipe required the dough to be prepared, refrigerated, rolled, frozen for 15 minutes, cut, frozen for another 15 minutes, and baked. Her cheesecake even called for a water bath, which I have never prepared for a cheesecake. I later asked some of my family members (those who have experience baking) what they thought of the recipe. It was agreed that the gingerbread recipe was odd, but the water bath was not totally unheard of for a cheesecake recipe.

The entire gingerbread cheesecake recipe was composed of way too many steps. I would have chosen a time-consuming gourmet recipe I wanted one. Despite the lack of love that was put into the cheesecake's making, the end product was delicious! The cheesecake had an unconventional gingerbread crust, no superficial cracks (thanks to the water bath), an unbelievably creamy consistency, and a spicy gingerbread-type taste. The cheesecake was a huge hit with family! I would not bake this cake again, but I definitely would eat it again!

To any bakers interested in taking on the challenge, the link for Martha Stewart's Gingerbread Cheesecake Recipe is below:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/gingerbread-cheesecake

Spiced Banana-Oat Vegan Waffles

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I am definitely a "morning person", and I think this is so mainly because I eat well-balanced, nutritious breakfasts that are loaded with fruit, protein, fiber, and whole grains. A good breakfast energizes me so that I can perform to my fullest potential throughout the day. How do I do it? I do all the hard work when I have time (the weekend). Below is a recipe for Banana-Oat Vegan Waffles. The batter can be prepared entirely in a food processor or blender, making clean-up a dream. I added in some fun ingredients to transform my waffles into fancy gingerbread-style waffles. Feel free to add in what you like!

Banana-Oat Vegan Waffles
(originally from http://www.chooseveg.com/display_recipe.asp?recipe=115 )

2 cups oats (I used rolled oats)
2 cups water
1 banana, sliced
(Add in the 5 ingredients below to make my gingerbread-style version)
1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 Teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat your waffle iron. Combine all ingredients in a blender or large food processor. Blend until smooth. Batter may seem thin and watery; this is OKAY. The oats will absorb the water more as they cook in the waffle iron.

Lightly grease the preheated waffle iron, and pour in the batter. Regrease the waffle iron after each batch of waffles is removed. Be sure to mix the batter prior to pouring it in order to redistribute the oats throughout the batter.

Freeze or serve immediately with fresh fruit and blackstrap molasses.