Awesome Autumn Desserts From Our Past.Cool autumn days often send me retreating to the kitchen to recreate comfort desserts from the past. Memories of my grandmother's kitchen linger in my mind, and I can almost taste her sweet-tart apple pie apple pie typical, wholesome American dessert. [Am. Culture: Flexner, 68] See : America . A frugal cook, she used sweetened sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. , seasonal, or dried fruits and often combined them with what was on hand--leftover rice, bread, or cookies. She grew up on a Kansas farm with a tradition of farm cooking--using simple ingredients to create delicious comfort foods. These days I'm challenged to recreate the same flavors without dairy or eggs and with a much lower fat content. This usually means being more creative in the kitchen. When trying to alter a traditional recipe, I make small changes at first. Replacing the cow's milk is as easy as substituting plain or vanilla soy or rice milk. To get a buttermilk buttermilk residual fluid after removal of fat from milk in butter manufacture; a protein-rich supplement fed to pigs. flavor, add 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or rice vinegar Rice vinegar is a vinegar made from fermented rice or rice wine in China, Korea, and Japan. Rice vinegar is similar in properties and taste to balsamic vinegar, though usually less sweet. to your soy or rice milk and let the mixture sit five minutes before using. Eggs are next in line to be replaced. An excellent egg-replacer for cakes, quick breads, and biscuits is a flaxseed flaxseed /flax·seed/ (flak´sed) linseed. egg-replacer. Like eggs, this mixture gives a bit of a lift as well as a binding quality. (You can buy flax seeds at any natural foods store. Keep them in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use them to preserve their natural oils.) For every egg to replace, measure 1 Tablespoon flax seeds. Grind them in a spice mill (or use a clean coffee grinder Grinder A slang term for a person who works in the investment industry and makes small amounts of money at a time on small investments, over and over again. Notes: ) until they resemble a coarse meal. Then, using a hand blender or standing blender, whip them with three Tablespoons water until the mixture is thick and foamy foam·y adj. foam·i·er, foam·i·est 1. Of, consisting of, or resembling foam. 2. Covered with foam. foam . (A hand blender works best, as it can easily blend small quantities.) Add this mixture when the recipe directs you to add eggs. I have successfully replaced up to three eggs in baked goods. Along with eggs, fat is sometimes a tricky ingredient to tinker with. Fat contributes flavor as well as texture in your desserts. Hard fats like butter and shortening make a pie crust flaky flaky - (Or "flakey") Subject to frequent lossage. This use is of course related to the common slang use of the word to describe a person as eccentric, crazy, or just unreliable. and give a fine, smooth crumb to biscuits and cookies. If a recipe calls for butter, I first try halving the amount called for and substituting soy margarine. If the first revision works well, the second time around I may try canola oil Noun 1. canola oil - vegetable oil made from rapeseed; it is high in monounsaturated fatty acids canola vegetable oil, oil - any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants or half oil and half margarine. If you take all the fat out at once you may end up with a dry cake or rock-hard biscotti Biscotti (plural of Italian biscotto, roughly meaning "twice baked") are crisp Italian cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in two long slabs, cutting these into slices, and reheating them to dry . However, if you prefer to cut all the fat out, try one of the commercial fat replacers on the market such as Wonderslim, which is made from pureed prunes. You can find Wonderslim in the baking section of natural foods stores. Another consideration when reducing the fat is making sure to enhance the flavor of your dessert with sweet spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom cardamom (kär`dəməm): see ginger. cardamom Spice consisting of whole or ground dried fruit, or seeds, of Elettaria cardamomum, a perennial herb of the ginger family. , or adding a bit more vanilla or maple syrup maple syrup: see under maple. . Ideas for the recipes below came from various regional church recipe publications (available at yard or tag sales), Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregon Trail Oregon Trail, overland emigrant route in the United States from the Missouri River to the Columbia River country (all of which was then called Oregon). The pioneers by wagon train did not, however, follow any single narrow route. by Jacqueline Williams, and, of course, my grandmother's kitchen. So, what are you waiting for? Start cooking, and while you're at it, bring a bit of nostalgia into your kitchen. SOUR CHERRY AND APPLESAUCE BROWN BETTY brown Bet·ty n. A baked pudding of chopped or sliced apples, bread crumbs, raisins, sugar, butter, and spices. Noun 1. brown Betty - baked pudding of apples and breadcrumbs (Serves 8) There are numerous versions of Apple Brown Betty Apple Brown Betty is an American dessert that dates back to Colonial American time. A ‘betty’ is a baked pudding, made with layers of sweetened and spiced fruit and buttered bread crumbs. It is usually served with a lemon sauce and/or whipped cream. , each having a slightly different character, depending on additions, alterations, and regional inflections. Crumbs used are often bread crumbs combined with butter, but sometimes crushed cookies or graham cracker crumbs Noun 1. cracker crumbs - crumbs of crackers used especially for coating or thickening crumb - small piece of e.g. bread or cake are used. In this recipe, I've found that graham cracker crumbs are a nice complement to the sour cherries. If you can't find dried sour cherries, use dried cranberries or dried sweet cherries. One 24-ounce jar unsweetened applesauce 1/2 cup dried sour cherries 1/2 cup sugar (vegan granulated sweetener(*)) 1 teaspoon cardamom (or use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg) 2 medium-sized apples or pears, peeled, cored, and finely chopped 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 12 medium graham cracker squares, crushed into fairly uniform crumbs (about 1 1/4 cups) 1 Tablespoon soy margarine, melted (optional) (*) Note: Some cane sugar is processed through bone char filters. See <www.vrg.org/journal/vj97mar/973sugar.htm> for further information, or send a SASE and a request for a copy of this article to VRG, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend the applesauce, dried cherries, sweetener Sweetener A special feature added to a debt obligation or preferred stock to promote marketability. Notes: Warrants and convertibles are two popular sweeteners. See also: Convertible Bond, Kicker, Warrant Sweetener , and cardamom. Set aside. In another bowl combine the apples or pears and lemon juice. In a 2-quart casserole, spread 1/3 of the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 of the applesauce mixture, and 1/2 of the apples or pears and lemon juice blend. Repeat layers. You will have 1/3 of the graham crackers left. Combine this with 1 Tablespoon melted soy margarine for a browned and crispier topping, if desired. Sprinkle the last of the graham cracker crumbs over the top and press down lightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Total calories per serving: 193 Fat: 3 grams Carbohydrates: 43 grams Protein: 1 gram Sodium: 107 milligrams Fiber: 2 grams CRANBERRY-RASPBERRY SLUMP (Serves 6) The awesome combination of fresh cranberries and frozen raspberries creates a sweet-tart flavor. New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. is the origin of this old-fashioned, simmered fruit dessert with sweet dumplings. Each person gets a dumpling or two with the steaming fruit served over the top. Do not use a cast-iron skillet for this dish, as the acid in the fruit will draw out too much iron and give your dessert a metallic flavor. 2 cups fresh cranberries 2 cups frozen raspberries 1/3 cup orange juice or juice of 1 orange 1/2 cup vegan granulated sweetener 1 Tablespoon arrowroot 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier liqueur (optional) Dumplings: 1/3 cup vanilla soy or rice milk 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or use barley flour or unbleached white flour) 2 Tablespoons vegan granulated sweetener 1/2 Tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Zest of 1 orange (about 1 Tablespoon) 2 Tablespoons cold soy margarine Combine cranberries, raspberries, orange juice, granulated gran·u·late v. gran·u·lat·ed, gran·u·lat·ing, gran·u·lates v.tr. 1. To form into grains or granules. 2. To make rough and grainy. v.intr. sweetener, arrowroot arrowroot, any plant of the genus Maranta, usually large perennial herbs, of the family Marantaceae, found chiefly in warm, swampy forest habitats of the Americas and sometimes cultivated for their ornamental leaves. , and Grand Marnier Grand Marnier: see liqueur. , if desired, in a heavy skillet. Mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes. While fruit cooks, prepare dumplings. Blend soy or rice milk with lemon juice. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda baking soda: see sodium bicarbonate. , and orange zest Noun 1. orange zest - tiny bits of orange peel orange peel, orange rind - the rind of an orange . Mix well, making sure there are no small lumps of soda or baking powder. Cut in soy margarine until mixture has a mealy meal·y adj. meal·i·er, meal·i·est 1. Resembling meal in texture or consistency; granular: mealy potatoes. 2. a. Made of or containing meal. b. consistency. Add the soymilk-lemon mixture and stir until a batter forms. Do not overmix. The batter will be fairly thick. Drop heaping teaspoons of the batter onto the fruit mixture, going around the outside of the pan in a circular pattern until you reach the middle. Most, but not all, of the top should be covered with small dumplings. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until dumplings are done (when a toothpick toothpick, n a wood sliver used to cleanse the interdental space. toothpick, balsa wood, n a triangular wedge of balsa wood used to clean the teeth interproximally and stimulate the interdental gingival tissues. inserted comes out clean). Serve dumplings in individual dishes with the hot fruit sauce spooned over them. Add a dollop of frozen vanilla soy or rice dessert or a nondairy non·dair·y adj. Containing no milk or dairy products: nondairy coffee creamer. frozen whipped dessert topping, if desired. Total calories per serving: 297 Fat: 5 grams Carbohydrates: 63 grams Protein: 3 grams Sodium: 198 milligrams Fiber: 7 grams RUM RAISIN RICE PUDDING (Serves 8) Puddings and pies were popular desserts made by pioneer women crossing the Oregon Trail in wagon trains. They were a welcome treat at the end of a long day. According to Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregon Trail, by Jacqueline Williams, puddings were made of a mixture of rice or bread, milk, eggs, or fruit, and were probably baked like pies. To bake pudding or pie, the dessert was placed in a baking dish inside a Dutch oven (a large cast iron kettle with a lid), which was set in a bed of coals with coals heaped on the top. This is a much easier stove-top vegan vegan /veg·an/ (ve´gan) (vej´an) a vegetarian whose diet excludes all food of animal origin. ve·gan n. version of an all-time favorite rice pudding. 1 cup uncooked brown rice, rinsed (Basmati or short grain brown rice) 1/2 cup raisins, divided 3 cups water 1 cup soy or rice milk, plain or vanilla flavor 1/3 cup maple syrup 3 Tablespoons rum (or 1 Tablespoon vanilla if you don't want to use rum) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 to 4 Tablespoons toasted, ground walnuts or pecans (optional) Soak the brown rice and 1/4 cup raisins in the water for 8 hours before cooking. Combine water and soaked rice and raisins, soy or rice milk, maple syrup, rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or until grains are done. Puree pu·rée or pu·ree tr.v. pu·réed or pu·reed, pu·rée·ing or pu·ree·ing, pu·rées or pu·rees To rub through a strainer or process (food) in a blender. n. pudding in a blender or food processor until fairly smooth but not completely creamy. (Leave some chunks of rice in the pudding.) Return to pot and add remaining raisins. Heat on low until pudding is the desired consistency. Serve garnished with ground nuts, if desired. Total calories per serving: 208 Fat: 4 grams Carbohydrates: 39 grams Protein: 4 grams Sodium: 168 milligrams Fiber: 2 grams TART APPLE KUCHEN ku·chen n. A coffeecake raised with yeast, often containing fruit and nuts. [German, from Middle High German kuoche, cake, from Old High German kuocho.] (Serves 6) My husband's grandmother from Germany had a favorite kuchen recipe that she passed on to my mother-in-law. I didn't get the recipe, but I liked the idea so much I played around with it until I got a decent vegan version (pictured on front cover). The cake is traditionally made with eggs, but I found silken tofu tofu Soft, bland, custardlike food product made from soybeans. Believed to date from China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), tofu is today an important source of protein in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. makes a nice binding ingredient and works well in this recipe. This can easily be made with peaches, nectarines, or blueberries, too. 3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons maple syrup 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 Tablespoon arrowroot (or cornstarch) 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry or barley flour 1/3 cup vegan granulated sweetener 1 teaspoon each: baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon 1/4 cup cold soy margarine 1/2 cup silken tofu 1/3 cup soymilk 1 Tablespoon vegan granulated sweetener with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon blended in (optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 12-inch pizza pan. Place apple slices, lemon juice, maple syrup, nutmeg, and arrowroot in a bowl and mix until the arrowroot is dissolved. Let sit while you prepare the crust. In a medium bowl combine flour, 1/3 cup sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly, making sure there are no small lumps of sweetener or baking soda. Cut in the soy margarine with a pastry blender or fork, mashing and mixing until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Set aside. Place the tofu and soymilk soy·milk n. A milk substitute made from soybeans, often supplemented with vitamins. Noun 1. soymilk - a milk substitute containing soybean flour and water; used in some infant formulas and in making tofu in another container and, with a hand blender or mixer, whip them together until creamy. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture. Mix with a spoon until a soft dough forms. The consistency you want is somewhere between a cake batter and brownie mixture--a little too stiff to pour and too sticky to pat out. Scrape the batter onto the pizza pan, and with lightly oiled fingers, spread it evenly to the edges of the pan. (The dough will stick to your hands if you don't oil them a little.) The crust will be thin. From the center out lay the apple slices flat in a circular pattern, very close together, going around until the whole top is covered with apples. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sweetener, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. The crust will be brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes. With a large spatula spatula /spat·u·la/ (spach´u-lah) [L.] 1. a wide, flat, blunt, usually flexible instrument of little thickness, used for spreading material on a smooth surface. 2. a spatulate structure. , carefully remove from pan and place on a cooling rack. Total calories per serving: 253 Fat: 9 grams Carbohydrates: 42 grams Protein: 4 grams Sodium: 391 milligrams Fiber: 3 grams GINGERED FRUIT COMPOTE (Serves 6) Compotes are simple desserts made with fresh or dried fruit cooked on the stove-top or baked in syrup. During the fall and winter, I use dried, organic fruit from summer's harvest instead of resorting to the off-season, tasteless fruits that are shipped in from long distances. Since the fruit needs to be rehydrated, it should be soaked overnight or all day. This ginger-spiked compote is good on its own, or it creates a sublime dessert when used as a topping for frozen vanilla soy dessert such as Soy Delicious. 12 ounces frozen apple, peach, or mango-peach juice concentrate 3 cups water 1 to 2 Tablespoons grated ginger (plus juice, if any, reserved) 3 cops assorted dried fruit (peaches, pears, figs, nectarines, apricots, mangoes, or cherries) Combine the juice concentrate and water. Blend well. Squeeze the juice from the grated ginger into the apple or peach juice. (Use more ginger for a stronger ginger flavor.) Pour the blended juice over the dried fruit in a ceramic or glass baking dish, and let the fruit sit overnight or for about 10 hours in the refrigerator. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting baste 1 tr.v. bast·ed, bast·ing, bastes To sew loosely with large running stitches so as to hold together temporarily. occasionally. The fruit will be very soft when done. Total calories per serving: 283 Fat: 1 gram Carbohydrates: 70 grams Protein: 2 grams Sodium: 26 milligrams Fiber: 6 grams BOURBON BAKED PEAR CRISP (Serves 8) Usually made with a crispy topping but no bottom crust, these popular fruit desserts are often topped with whipped cream or ice cream. Today we have soy or rice-based frozen desserts as well as frozen vegan whipped toppings to choose from. Just about any kind of seasonal fruits go well under this crispy topping. To prevent a watery filling, add 2 Tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch cornstarch, material made by pulverizing the ground, dried residue of corn grains after preparatory soaking and the removal of the embryo and the outer covering. It is used as laundry starch, in sizing paper, in making adhesives, and in cooking. to a fruit mixture with a high-water content fruit such as blueberries. 1 cup uncooked oats 1 cup whole wheat pastry or barley flour 1/4 cup vegan granulated sweetener 1/2 cup finely chopped or ground almonds or walnuts 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/4 cup soy margarine 3 pounds Bosc pears, cored and sliced (about 6 cups of sliced fruit) 1/4 cup bourbon (or apple juice if you don't want to use bourbon) 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 cup vegan granulated sweetener 1/4 cup raisins Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine oats oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other , flour, 1/4 cup sweetener, ground nuts, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice allspice: see pimento. allspice Tropical evergreen tree (Pimenta dioica) of the myrtle family, native to the West Indies and Central America and valued for its berries, the source of a highly aromatic spice. . Mix well. Cut in soy margarine until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Spread 1/3 of the mixture in a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Save the rest for the topping. Combine pears, bourbon, nutmeg, 1/4 cup sweetener, and raisins. Mix well. Spread pear mixture over the crumb mixture. Then spread the rest of the topping over the top of the pears and press down. Bake for 50 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Total calories per serving: 439 Fat: 14 grams Carbohydrates: 70 grams Protein: 9 grams Sodium: 529 milligrams Fiber: 9 grams ORANGE-SPICE CAKE (Makes 9 x 5-inch loaf) Though now we usually call something baked in a loaf pan a "quick bread," early in the 20th century they were called "loaf cakes." My great-grandmother's cakes were always made with eggs, but I've found that flax seeds blended with water make an excellent egg replacer when you want to make a traditional recipe that calls for eggs. 2 Tablespoons flax seeds 6 Tablespoons water Zest and juice of 1 orange 1/3 cup soy or rice milk, or as needed 2 cups flour (unbleached white or whole wheat pastry flour) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (apples, dates, apricots, raisins, blueberries, or cranberries) 1/3 cup oil 1/2 to 3/4 cup vegan granulated sweetener Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Grind the flax seeds in a spice or coffee mill to a medium-fine meal, or the consistency of wheat or oat oat member of the plant genus Avena in the family Poaceae. oats see avenasativa. oat grain seed of Avena sativa, and as 'oats' the favored grain for the feeding of horses. bran. Place the ground seeds in a blender and mix with the water until seeds are thick and foamy. Set aside. In a liquid measuring cup combine orange juice and enough soy or rice milk to make 3/4 cup. Set aside for the milk to curdle cur·dle v. cur·dled, cur·dling, cur·dles v.intr. 1. a. To change into curd. See Synonyms at coagulate. b. . (This will give a buttermilk-like flavor to the bread.) In a large mixing bowl combine orange zest, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Mix well, making sure there are no small lumps. Mix in the dried fruit. In another smaller bowl, cream the oil and sweetener together until smooth and creamy. With a spoon, blend the flax seed egg-replacer with the oil and sweetener mixture until smooth and creamy, then beat in the orange-soy milk mixture. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid ingredients into the well and mix in with a spoon. Mix until a thick dough forms. Scrape the dough into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the loaf. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from baking pan. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cold. Total calories per serving: 163 Fat: 8 grams Carbohydrates: 22 grams Protein: 3 grams Sodium: 234 milligrams Fiber: 3 grams Debra Daniels-Zeller is a frequent contributor to Vegetarian Journal. |
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