I am truly amazed by the countless ways you can use an apple, and I’m not talking about the device I’m using to type this post on! Apples. Green, red, yellow, brown. Apple sauce, jams, butters, pies, cakes, breads, juices, stuffings and I could go on, but I won’t. When I was a kid I hated apples because I thought you had to eat the skin and back then, it just wasn’t my thing, unless it was the skin of a Granny Smith. And the same goes today.
I love cooking with Granny Smith apples because the texture of the skin is much softer than most apples, and you don’t necessarily have to peel the skin off, which is a tedious task! But if you do peel it, save it and make an overnight apple jelly… see recipe next week! Also, I love saying Granny Smith because it reminds me of my Gram who lives in Rhode Island, and who I talk to for at least 30 minutes, twice a week on the phone. She’s almost 90, sharp in the mind, fast with hands (she’ll knit you a blanket in a week!) and is a real spit-fire; the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
My Gram and BFF, Cecilia Mulligan Forte, partying it up!
I made up this Apple Cinnamon Pecan Spice bread recipe yesterday, using my leftover Granny Smith apple’s that I picked up at Lori’s house. Since this is a Paleo bread, and made with coconut flour, it is moist and not dry like some apple breads tend to be. Let it cook for a good hour while you bust some yoga moves out with your pups!
_____________________________________
Apple Cinnamon Pecan Spice Bread- makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:
-6 Granny Smith apples
-1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
-2 T melted coconut oil
-1/2 cup almond butter
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 cup coconut flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 T cinnamon
-1 tsp nutmeg, grated
-1 tsp allspice seasoning
-1/2 cup chopped pecans
Fresh eggs from my student Lorraina’s chickens! Thanks girl!!
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350. Spray your bread pan with non-stick coconut oil and set aside.
2. Peel, cut and core 6 apples. Puree 5 of the apples in your food processor and set aside. The remaining apple with be used later.
3. In a bowl, mix oil, butter, eggs and vanilla together.
4. In your food processor, combine the flour, powder, soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and milk, slowly adding in the pureed apples, and the other wet ingredients.
5. Combine until you have a cookie dough like batter. It will not be too smooth and creamy!
6. Fold in nuts and the remaining apple chunks and gently stir. Pour the batter into the bread pan sprinkle some allspice on top. Bake for 60 minutes, using a tooth pick to check if the batter is cooked enough. The top of the bread will look crumbly, like a coffee cake when finished.
7. Eat with no guilt!
Finished product!
Golden dark brown and delish!
And like I mentioned before, save the peels and put them aside for a jelly to be made overnight. You may be thinking I’m crazy to save the peels, but I HATE throwing away food! (My mom is probably saying, “Now Niccola, hate is a very strong word!) But I do! Three years ago in Chicago I tried to carry around my trash in my backpack for one week, so I was able to see my carbon footprint on this Earth. During this time, I was teaching 25 yoga classes a week and riding my cruiser bike back and forth, five miles a day. I made it four days. Eventually, my pack got too heavy and my lower back ached, so I gave up.
Now I try to reuse, recycle and restore anything and everything I can. This girl’s size eight shoes are determined to leave an infant-size carbon footprint on this Earth and it’s no easy “feet”. Haha. I will fill you in later as to how the jelly turns out. Right now, I have the apple peels soaking in five cups of water that I brought to a boil and then covered with lid. I will let this sit all day with a cinnamon stick in it!
Thursday night is Falafel night with my friends at Jaffa Cafe in Arroyo Grande. It’s no Sultan’s Market in Chicago, but I’ll take what I can get! I always get the falafel wrap with fresh veggies, pickles and Sambal on the side. And at only 273 calories a wrap, (My Fitness Pal app tells me that) I can enjoy a little “fried” food, if even in the form of a chickpea!
Jaffa Cafe in the village.
Less than $7… cheap eats!
I’m heading to teach my power flow class at the Yoga Centre in SLO now, and preparing to leave on a camping trip to Big Sur on Sunday. I’ll be posting all the cool “glamping” ideas I have for you. It won’t seem like you’re roughing it at all and the recipes are quick, easy, fun and kid/dog friendly! If you’ve never been to Big Sur, it’s the reason Andy and I moved here… so we could be closer to this little slice of heaven. Here’s some pics from our last trip! Happy Friday! Keep calm and camp on!
And we will be bringing our favorite game Apples to Apples to Big Sur. It’s sure to draw some friendly campers to our site!
I LOVE this game!!!