Pies and Procrastibaking

No new pies! These have been on the blog before...

I'm not going to lie, it's been a while. If you thought things were bad while I was finishing my masters, the five month hiatus we've just experienced might have you reconsidering. Although the blog may lie neglected while 99% of my writing energy goes into thesising, the baking has prospered. Some may call it "stress baking" (I do at times), but the term I find most appealing at the moment is "procrastibaking". The former suggests that this enjoyable past-time is stimulated by periods of anxiety, but I find that makes up only a small percentage of the driving forces behind my baking activities. More often, it is for one of three reasons: 

1. as ritual or routine - I start a sourdough loaf every Friday night or Saturday morning and then relish the wafting aroma of bread fresh out of the oven as the sun rises on Monday morning; 
2. to express gratitude, affection, and other warm fuzzy feelings - exhibit A: for a while, my sister would find in her mailbox a little tin of homemade shortbread cookies in late January for her birthday. Even if they were slightly stale, they were baked with love...; or
3. to slow down, meditate, and avoid other less gratifying tasks - feeling the flour, sugar, and oil come together between my fingers often is both relaxing and much more tangible outcomes than typing away at a computer.

My housemates are hilarious...

The last reason captures the essence of procrastibaking. Interestingly, recent research has linked procrastination to emotional barriers rather than an inability to manage time well. While, I'd like to think procrastibaking doesn't go quite as far as the "self-harm" described in this New York Times article, putting "short-term mood repair over the longer-term pursuit of intended actions" seems to fit. Procrastination is a classic case of discounting and distancing - that presentation or thesis chapter outline (or job search...) are future self's problems. Plus, baking is almost always going to be a lot more fun! 

But perhaps it's not fair to associate baking with procrastinatory behaviours, which have such a negative reputation. For those of us who love some nice science to back up our whims, there has also been a recent bit of research suggesting that baking has positive psychological effects and can improve mental health. According to a couple psychology studies, baking can be seen as a little act of creativity that promotes positive emotions, or even a form of mindfulness and meditation, which can help manage symptoms of depression. Apparently, a cake can also be worth a thousand words; baking for others often communicate messages in ways that words can't, particularly during difficult situations, like after the loss of a loved one. 

So, baking justified. As such, maybe it's not too great a leap to convey the joys of baking pies and feeding them to people. It's been nearly five years since my last pie post. This seems like an egregious state of affairs. And so, in celebration of celebrating my birthday with pie (for the fourth time, apparently), I will leave you with favourites from the last ten years.

A Patchwork of Pies

Chocolate Garden Pie (and reminiscing about dirt cups) - September 2015

A Classic Pumpkin Pie (and some seed saving) - February 2014

Spiked Rhubacot Pie (and a birthday pie party) - July 2013

Cardamom Peach Pie (with some food musings and a pie contest) - December 2012

Mushroom Spinach Quiche (and a previous pie party) - March 2012

Rhuberry Peach Crumble Pie (and some history) - July 2010

Past Birthday Posts

The End of an Era? Some Perspective (2016)

A Birthday Musings (2014)

Another Year, Another...Pie? (2013)

What's Cooking? Casado Vegetariano (2012)

Of Wine and Weather (2011)

Another Year as an Eater (2010)

Making Mud Pies...Grown-Up Style

Do you remember mud pie? Not the mass of soil and water that you would serve in the backyard, at tea parties with butterflies and snails. But that special treat your mom would make, layering chocolate pudding and crushed Oreos, with vibrantly coloured gummy worms emerging from the chocolate brown substrate. This was a favourite at birthday parties, where each guest could have her own 'dirt cup'. At some point desserts became sophisticated and classy, mixing flavors and aromas only a more refined palate would appreciate. Yet deep down I think many of us long for the childhood pleasure that comes with dressing up a simple dessert as something it's not.

While a mud pie is a far cry from the dynamic soil ecosystem it attempts to mimic, it is a strange homage to the roles and support functions of organisms beneath the ground. Worms play a decomposition function, breaking down leaf matter and aerating the soil profile as they 'worm' their way through. Things like bacteria make essential nutrients available to plants - such as fixing nitrogen in the atmosphere into a usable form. Fungi can extend root structures to help plants mine the soil for what they need, permeating minute books and crannies.

Now professing to be some semblance of an adult, I haven't ventured back quite to the point of the pleasures of yesteryear. However, in making a 'grown-up' (and vegan) version of the mud pie, I have somewhat intentionally brought together the vegetal and sweet (wc). Avocado and dark chocolate, both tropical agroforestry crops that require well-drained soil, form the base. Concentrated juice from boiled beet root creates an impressive burgundy colour in the marzipan beets. Another root crop that depends heavily on the composition of the soil, tiny carrots culled during thinning the allotment dot the cake crumb surface. 

Chocolate Garden Pie

1 pre-baked vegan pie crust

1 large ripe avocado

100 g dark (65%+) chocolate

1/3-1/2 cups unrefined sugar

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

1 tbs coconut oil (optional)

1/2 cup crumbled chocolate cake

1. Purée avocado and sugar until no lumps remain. Old school smashing with a fork will also work, but the consistency will be coarser.

2. Melt chocolate and oil, either over a double broiler or in the microwave for 1 minute then 30 second intervals. 

3. Pour chocolate into avocado purée and fold together with the vanilla. No green should be visible.

4. Fill the pie shell and then refrigerate at least overnight. Top with crumbs and any garden accoutrements you like. Worms (and spiders, etc.) are optional, but are a sign of a functioning agroecosystem!

Enjoy with a dollop of coconut whipped cream in a verdant place. 

*brought to you from a train!

That Slice of Pie

To all the American readers out there, Happy Thanksgiving. With such a large expatriat community here in Oxford, observations of the aforementioned holiday don't diverge too drastically from previous States-bound celebration, except perhaps in that they are marginally more international in character and cuisine. Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays, and most definitely not because of the increasingly insane sales (which actually has relevance for the rest of this post...) or equally ridiculous amounts of food Americans consume and waste (also relevant to the rest of this post) on the day. Rather, I find that the general sentiments underlying Thanksgiving encourage reflection and gratitude instead of the materialism and excess that dominate narratives at present.

But I am not procrastinating on my school work to gush about harvest festivals or how important family is this time of year. I want to talk about pie. Pumpkin, pecan, apple, chocolate cream - it doesn't matter. The division of said pie is what is important. Last week I attended the launch of a book authored by a suite of Oxford academics - Is the Planet Full? - which got me thinking. After hearing an economist, a demographer, an ecologist, a zoologist (keen on food security), and an ethicist speak, it was clear that the punchline was not a Malthusian vision of resource depletion and societal collapse. Yes, we live on a planet with finite resources and a growing human population. But these variables are overshadowed by the decisions of a minority in excessively consumptive lifestyles, and the problem we face is the entrance of a greater portion of the globe at such levels. Right now the pie is grossly unequally divided, but one of the great fears for a sustainable future is everyone demanding a big slice of pie, and thus having to borrow the pie for next year and maybe the year after to comply with all requests. In this case, unfortunately, we only have one pie available (hoping it's pumpkin...) - this blue planet we call home.

We already know that the pie is not evenly divided, that so-called "developed" nations use vastly more resources than the lower income countries. One of my earliest memories of thinking about poverty and inequality involved a spinner and a bag of rice. In the Klutz book Earth Search*, you had the option to get born again. Based on the population at the time and the proportion living in developing countries, your odds were pretty strong against ending up in America again. To reinforce the divide, the book provide a bag of rice split into two portions - born into the developing world and you can have the smaller bit that day, an industrialized nation takes it all (plus whatever else you fancy, apparently). This is a very simplistic take on global inequality, as there are a vast gaps in wealth, education, nutrition, etc. within countries of similar income classes. But this concept struck a chord with my ten-year-old self (and perhaps inadvertently shaped my path nearly two decades later).

So, bringing this back to Thanksgiving, and taking this holiday as a space for a little contemplation. While there are indications of progress towards making the world a more equitable and just place, there are still vast inequalities. Thanksgiving itself has embodied some of those by being associated with consumption. I guess it's tricky as an individual, because there is little one can do to shift the structures and governance that underpin and perpetuate this state of affairs. But we can still turn current practice of Thanksgiving on its head - use it as an opportunity to be grateful for the great fortune to be where we are and practice moderation, not excess.

In the end, you may just want to forget about inequality, about environmental and social injustices, and just eat some pie. Maybe it's a nice vegan pumpkin pie, but at the very least, think about the slice you're take and what of the pie is left for the rest!

Past Thanksgivings:

2012 - A Smoky Soup 

2011 - Thirty Second Thursdays Snickerdoodle "Fudge"

2010 - A Squash by Any Other Name...

2009 - A Holiday to be Thankful For

*sorry kids, no longer in print! But check out a fun an interesting Economist article on the best places to be born.

No Bees and Not Enough Thyme

What am I doing leading with a 'bees' headline? We just turned back the clock from British Summer Time last weekend, and the crisp chill in the air is a sign of the imminent winter. This talk of bees is six months late, no? No. In fact, this may be the most relevant time to discuss bees, because Autumn is when we feel the impacts of plenty or a paucity of spring-time pollinators. 

It's been rather hit-or-miss this year, depending on which farmers or gardeners I speak to. Some have told me that a windy spring deterred their essential pollinators, resulting in a very light fall fruit crop. Others have attributed a bumper crops to the combination of a rainy August when fruit mature and dry weather during harvest. This surplus is what has made the news. It means prices for farmers will go down, and puts us in the territory of how market demand and consumer preferences influence what farmers decide to grow.

But what about when the bees really don't fly? Two years ago, heavy rainfall in the UK during April and May not only has left some growers with blemished fruit, but many without any at all. According to a BBC article, bees should have pollinated during those spring months, but wet wings do not fly well. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that the unfavourable conditions for pollinators is only going to worsen. Temperature changes, shifts in seasonality, and more extremes, all coupled with other threats from pollution, chemical use, and habitat change, does not leave a rosy future.

If there is one lesson we can glean from all this, it is that farmers are resilient. They are used to weathering variations from year to year, trying to keep a long-term perspective. We have a lot to do in the face of climate change, and not much time ... but we do have some time for apple pie.*

Rose(mary)-Coloured Glasses Apple Pie
Crust:

1.5 cup strong white flour

1 tsp salt

2-3 tbs sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup iced water

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tbs fresh rosemary**, chopped finely

Filling:

8 medium apples, chopped

1/4 cup golden sugar 

1 tbs lemon juice

Lots of Cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and allspice

(optional) 1 tbs arrowroot powder or tapioca starch

Crumble:

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3-1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp rosemary, finely chopped

1. For the crust, use a fork to mix flour, salt, sugar, rosemary, and oils until flour is well mixed with the oil. Add the vinegar to the water and then add the water to the dough one tablespoon at a time, just until it comes together without being too sticky. 
2. Roll out dough on a floured surface and then transfer to a pie dish.
3. Fill with the apple mixture (optional thickener) and then top with the crumble.
4. Bake in a 360F/180C oven for 30-45 minutes. Consider covering with foil, so that crust doesn't burn and apples cook more quickly.
5. Serve warm with a nice cup of spiced cider!

*While supplies last...
** theoretically you could use thyme, instead, and which works better with my title and post content.

Frugal Foodie on a British Pound: A Seed Saved is a Seed Grown?

We live in a pretty funny world. One in which companies, big ones in fact, can obtain the intellectual property rights for a piece of the natural world. But sure, their scientists may have happened across a certain plant gene first or had the resources on hand to submit the patent application (this is even more true for genetically modified organisms...). We also live in a world where most of the seeds farmers plant (particularly in developed countries) does not actually produce a second generation of viable seeds. You might as well just toss them in the compost heap. 

Why sell these 'hybrid' seed varieties, then? Through controlled 'field trials', laboratory-like settings of cross-breeding, crop breeders can produce seed that yields uniformity and consistency, perhaps crops enhanced in certain favourable characteristics (super-sweet corn, anyone?). It also puts the control squarely into the hands of seed companies. In contrast to thousands of years of history, in which farmers saved the seeds of their best producing plants, this process is removed from the farmer or backyard grower. It also passes over a critical function that seed-saving performed: preserving the vast genetic diversity found over hundreds, thousands, millions of farmers' fields! This year, while planning out our backyard allotment, the importance of sovereignty over our seeds came out in catalogue perusal. We ended up ordering only non-hybrid seeds with the grand aspirations to contribute to, rather than detract from, crop diversity. 

Now, I bring this up in my frugal foodie segment because saving seeds, and actually being able to cultivate a next generation of crops from them, is critical to the livelihoods of many of the poorest farmers in the world. While there is much talk around generating "improved varieties" or genetically engineering traits favourable to projected climatic shifts, there seems to be little talk over what adopting these seeds means for planting the next year or the year after. Does taking on bigger and better seeds wrest control of a farmer's future out of her hands and place them into the seed supplier's? Good question. And if anyone has an answer (or a thought), I'd be keen to hear. But for now, our little seed packet purchase was a mini-rebellion and a very practical step for a set of thrifty grad students!

Sitting on my window sill, furthermore, is a plate filled with drying winter squash seeds. The beauty of saving is that favorite varieties (in this case buttercup squash) are at our disposal. And, hopefully come next fall, so will be some fabulous winter squash pie! Here is my standard vegan pumpkin pie, with pretty consistently tasty results, and at times the ability to win over even ardent butternut squash haters.

Classic Winter Squash Pie (1 9-inch round)

1 medium butternut (or firm and dense fleshed squash - like buttercup or crown prince!!), quartered, roasted, skinned, and pureed (so about 2 1/2 cups) 1 cup full fat coconut milk (or almond milk)

2/3 - 3/4 cup golden granulated or turbinado sugar 1/3 cup cornstarch 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. ground ginger ¼ tsp. ground allspice (optional)

1 tsp light molasses (optional)

1 deep-dish pie crust (you can try a gluten-free one)

0. Take your winter squash and chopped it into quarters or slightly smaller. Place in a greased or lined baking dish and pop it into a preheated oven (~200C). Bake for 35-45 minutes, turning over once halfway through, until the flesh is melty and the skin wrinkly. Yum. Do not consume yet!!

1. Blend squash flesh after it has cool for ~15 minutes. Add in all remaining ingredients barring the crust. Yes, it is really that easy. Keep going until you have reached a smooth consistence. Test the flavor; if you don't have a huge sweet tooth, make sure to start off with the lower measures of sugar.

2. Stick the unbaked pie crust into the oven while it preheats to 180C (~375F) and you prepare the filling. When ready, pour filling into the quasi-warmed pie crust. You may have extras that can be baked in ramekins for tasty pumpkin puddings! Replace pie in oven and bake for another 30 minutes until crust starts to brown. Top of pie will look firmly set and maybe even a little browned, as well.

3. Remove from oven. Allow to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight. This is important. It is much better and much firmer if allowed to rest. Serve with some coconut whipped cream or some vegan ice cream!

Check out: a much better explanation on why NOT hybrid seeds!

Another Year, Another...Pie?

A stand-in for a slice of pie?

Yes, it has been all of two weeks since I posted to the blog (gasp!), but perhaps in my defense I should note that this is the first time since 2010 that I have written something for my birthday (which, by the way, was a nice musing and you should check it out)! And while this birthday is not particularly notable - 27 being a pretty unremarkable mid-twenties age - entering the next year of life is always a fun time to reflect. Sometimes on deep, earth-shattering issues, and other times on the simple pleasures in life. 

Growing up, I was one of those kids who rarely had birthday cake at her parties. We did ice cream cake (which is a complete misnomer), brownies, cupcakes, mud cups, cookies, and I'm sure others. But I have never much cared for cake. Yet one of the sweets I love - second to good dark chocolate - is pie. And more than eating said pie, I love to make them (which could be why I have so many darned pies on my blog)! It should come as no surprise, then, that for a little birthday potlucking this weekend three pies made an appearance and were completely consumed. 

You know how much I enjoy a good history of food lesson. So, I dug up an older Time magazine article on the history of pie just to get my facts straight and my ducks in a row (going into the baking fully armed with knowledge). Not surprisingly, the first pies were savory - full of meats or seafood - and can be traced back to Greek and Roman times. Not until the final years of the 18th century did sweet pies begin to take hold, and in the States there was no looking back. Despite most of our favorite pies having roots across The Pond, it seems that Americans have embraced the humble shelled dish as one of our own, and continue to pay homage to both our beloved classics and burgeoning innovations.

Now, I wish I could say that my own creation was some amazing gluten and sugar free, raw, macrobiotic example of culinary magic. Alas, this was my traditional, whip-up of white shortcrust and crumble topping. The pie does, however, reflect the amazingness of mid-July in the mid-Atlantic region. At the moment, rhubarb season is winding down, peaches are winding up, the few delicate apricots that made it through our bizarre spring weather are absolute gems, and somebody relatively nearby grows pecans (ok, so perhaps a friend's grandfather down in Florida...but still).

Spiked Rhubacot Peach Pie

Crust

2 cups white, unbleached flour (can sub half whole wheat for hardier flavor)

3 tbs granulated sugar 

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 cup ice water w/1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp vanilla extract

1.  Combine flours, salt, and sugar. With a fork, mix in oils until the dry mixture is completely coated and has almost a wet sand texture.

2. Mix in liquid mixture as needed, so that the dough will form a ball, but not be extremely sticky. Only mix until the dough comes together so as not to overwork the gluten. 

3. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Transfer to a deep-dish greased pie pan and fold/crimp edges. Put into the refrigerator.

Filling

2 cups diced ripe peaches (~4 large-ish)

1 cup diced apricots (~5 medium)

1 cup chopped rhubarb

1/4 cup bourbon (brandy would also work; optional)

1/4 cup arrowroot powder

3/4 - 1 cup sugar (evaporated cane will work nicely)

1 tsp vanilla

1. Simple, while the crust is resting in the refrigerator, mix everything together! Pour into pie pan. Place into preheating 350F oven.

Yeah, I was cute 24 years ago...

Crumble Topping

1 cup oats

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup pecans, broken

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar (evaporated cane/raw is lovely)

Vegetable or nut oil to consistency

1. Add crumble to the top of pie. Bake another 20-25 minutes until crust is just getting golden and filling is starting to bubble.

2. Remove. Let cool slightly for the filling to gel. Consume with a large scoop of non-dairy vanilla almond or coconut frozen delicacy.

On that note, I suppose it's time to sign off. Here's to another year of eating good local and seasonal food. Here's also to a year of more changes (don't want to jinx myself, so more to come in the next couple of weeks).

Fifty Second Friday: A Confused Pie

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind (and there will be updates in the near future...), but I somehow always manage to find time for pie. This week, the impetus for pie-baking was a friend's birthday...and not just any friend. One who writes about food, works at the farmers market, and has a collection of cookbooks that would incite envy in just about anyone. So, I had grand plans to make a stellar strawberry rhubarb pie, with the season's first berries and luscious stalks. However, it was not meant to be. The abnormally cool spring weather (barring this week's thunderstorms) has pushed back many of the typical springtime produce!

Just as the weather seems to be confused, so was my pie. With the remains of the Autumn apple harvest and the scrapings of some new rhubarb clippings, a pie was born. It was in my usual style of crumble topping and partially whole wheat crust, but differs in that I cooked the filling first! Would be amazing served warm with some non-dairy ice cream or whipped coconut cream...

Rhubapple Crumble Pie

Crust

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 tsp salt

2-3 tbs sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup iced water

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1.  Combine flours, salt, and sugar. With a fork, mix in oils until the dry mixture is completely coated and has almost a wet sand texture.

2. Mix vinegar and water. Add one tablespoon at a time, so that the dough will form a ball, but not be extremely sticky. Only mix until the dough comes together so as not to overwork the gluten. 

3. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Transfer to a greased pie pan and fold/crimp edges. Put into the refrigerator.

Filling

3-4 medium, tart-ish apples, chopped (about 3 cups)

4 large stalks rhubarb, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 tbs coconut oil (or buttery spread or grapeseed/some other oil)

1/3 cup evaporated cane sugar

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs cinnamon

1/2 tbs all-spice

4. While the crust rests, heat oil on medium-high in a large skillet until melted. Add in apples, rhubarb, and sugar. Cook until sugar starts to caramelize. Add cinnamon and all-spice.

5. Remove from heat and let sit while you mix the crumble.

Crumble

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/3-1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 tbs cinnamon (optional, but who wouldn't?)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6. Super easy...stick everything in a bowl. Combine until the pieces all start to clump together!

7. Assembly: add lemon juice to apple mixture. Pour fruit into pie crust. Top with crumble. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, until crust starts to brown, top is crunchy, and fruit bubbly! 

8. Optional, but awesome: remove pie from oven and immediately pour 1/4 cup rum or brandy over the pie (it will evaporate, but leave a lovely residual flavor). ENJOY!

SIDE NOTE: I'm off to Sicilia for two weeks...look out for fun posts when I get back, but in the meantime, just eat more pie :)

Thirsty Thursday: A Pie Full of Love

You are probably thinking, why is she writing about pie on this fine Thursday? And even more importantly, why is she mentioning love? Well, I am not talking about romantic love, but rather the care and compassion one feels for a fellow human being. In a yoga class you might hear the word Namaste, which is a Hindi greeting with many different translations. It essentially acknowledges the spark in another person, where truth and love reside, and then recognizes this same spark in yourself. The light in me sees the light in you.

It's also Pi Day! Yes, you read correctly. Not pie, but Pi, like 3.14, like March 14. Ok you get it. So, in celebration of Pi Day, I made a blueberry pie for work and then brought in mini gluten-free mixed berry rhubarb pies for two of my favorite yoginis (one of whom took the photo)! Giving to others, who you care for, without any expectations of return, is I think one of the greatest joys one can experience. It definitely brightened my morning.

Finally, before I let you get to the pie recipe, I wanted to raise a topic related to both expectations and love. In the Yoga Sutras, one of the main teachings is this notion of non-attachment. In its simplest understanding, this means letting go. Not detachment, and not avoiding connections with someone or something. But rather building an awareness of your attachments and gradually ceasing to be beholden by them. You might have a thirst (ok, it's a stretch for a Thursday), and unquenchable desire for some entity or objective, but relying solely on reaching that end state will not necessarily lead to happiness nor wisdom. For me, having experienced considerable disappointment in the past few weeks, practicing non-attachment has been important in recognizing that my self-worth is not tied up in the achievement of a certain outcome. I think this also comes back to love and the idea that no matter what each of us has spirit and beauty inside. That's enough sappiness. Let's eat!

Very Berry Rhubarb Pie (gf, makes 3 small)

Crust

1/2 cup millet flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1 tbs tapioca starch

3 tbs agave (can use sugar or a pinch powdered stevia instead)

1 tsp salt

1 tbs oil

2 tbs coconut oil

2-3 tbs cold water

Filling

1 cup mixed berries

1/2 cup rhubarb, diced

1 tbs arrowroot

1/4 cup agave (or sugar)

1. Combine flours, salt, sugar, and coconut oil with a fork until the fat coats all flour. Add in vegetable oil, and then water one tablespoon at a time until you can form a ball of dough. 

2. Break into three pieces. Sprinkle more rice or millet flour on a wax piece of paper and roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Place into a small tart pan. You can also just press the dough into the pan. Repeat for other two pies

3. Mix all filling ingredients together and then divide between the three crusts.

4. Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely, because gluten-free crusts tend to crumble otherwise. Enjoy!

Check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Wellness Weekends for more.

What's Cooking? Power-Packed Pie

I signed up for a marathon. After much talk, after several halves, I finally made the move. With a little less than four months to go, there is a great deal of running ahead (though a slight hiccup with a sore foot). Now, along with an increase in distance and number of long runs, I'm going to need some way to fuel this energy expenditure. As I was contemplating how to get the most bang for the nutrition buck, I recalled Quintessence's marvelous raw pecan pie I had in New York. It was full of protein and good fats, that would be a quick source of energy and compact in size. Plus, that pie was absolutely phenomenal. I finally got around to trying my hand at replicating the dessert-turned-protein boost, so here goes:

Power-Packed Pecan Pie

1 cup raw pecans, soaked for an hour, drained

1 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight, drained

1/4 cups raw walnuts

14 dates, pitted

1 tbs raw agave

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

(1 tbs cocoa powder - optional)

1. Combine almonds, walnuts, and 7 dates in a food processor until everything starts to stick together. Press into two small tart pans.

2. In the food processor, mix dates, agave, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until almost smooth. Then add in the pecans until it starts to come together. Press into the pies.

3. Optional - add the cocoa powder to half of the pecan mixture and pulse. Press that into the other pie crust. 

Makes 16 mini slices (or you can roll into little balls). Serve with a side of coconut whipped cream. More tasty goodies can be found at Wellness Weekends.

Best of MMM: Local Flavor

Today is a momentous and bittersweet occasion. It is our last day at market for the year, and really until the spring rolls around again. For me, it will likely be the last Fall market in Washington, DC. With applications in, I don't know where my next steps will take me, but that path will undoubtedly be outside of the DC metro area. That said, I have grown to love the local flavor of the region, the change of the seasons, and how each one brings something so completely new. This post from back in 2010 captures the discourse around locavorism. And while the photos I threw in from this fall reflect our current harvest, the recipe following provides a taste of what I looked forward to for the past three summers.
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First of all, I apologize for neglecting all of you and my blog. While my time has been consumed by finding lodging, my heart has been yearning to play in the kitchen. To revel in summer's bounty and the wonderful local food options. Oops, did I say local? About a week ago, an OpEd in the esteemed NY Times gave locavorism a bad rap. Fortunately for me, there are some very vocal proponents out there.

So, Stephen Budiansky (a name I had never heard of before) wrote a scathing article arguing the pointlessness of eating locally. Ouch. But his myopic critique of this food movement left me less than satiated. While he makes a couple of good points, his wanton disregard for all other externalities associated with the production, distribution, and consumption of food boils my blood:
"The relative pittance of our energy budget that we spend on modern farming is one of the wisest energy investments we can make, when we honestly look at what it returns to our land, our economy, our environment and our well-being."

Stay calm. We have some food advocates on our side! Grist ran a stream called Food Fight, that let some big names (and others a little smaller) take their best shot at Mr. Budiansky.

Jennifer Maiser, founder of Eat Local Challenge, encapsulates the entire issue of food very nicely, say: "We need to pay attention to how we get to the farmers market, how we treat our food when we get it home, and how much food we waste. But eating locally is a joyful step in the right direction -- for our economy, our community, and our local sustainable farmers."

Elanor Starmer, the Western Region Director at Food & Water Watch, tackles the idea of voting with you fork and your wallet. She advocates "getting involved in the policies that shape our food system ... We can't buy our way out of the problem if we don't have any choice about what we buy."

Others talked about the joys of tasting local and seasonal produce, feeling a sense of community, and supporting a local economy - even as a way to buffer future risk of the implosion of our current industrial and fossil-fuel reliant food sector. This is definitely a two-way street, and self-proclaimed foodies can often come off as self-righteous and too inflexible. We both have areas for improvement, but that shouldn't be cause to throw in the towel.

Food-system analyst and executive director of Crossroads Resource Center, Ken Meter, concluded so poetically, that I will end this quasi-rant with his last line: "I build a new food system because the one we have is so fundamentally broken, even at low oil prices, and because we have no choice but to build a new one."

Another good rebuttal was published on the Seattle Local Food Blog! Why did I leave, again?

With all this talk of local local local, I felt justified in including my experience at the DC "State" Fair this morning. While the fantabulous pie I entered did not win (who's judging this, anyway?), the amazingness of the Columbia Heights and nearby community coming together - in this case eating copious amounts of pie - was well worth the toil. The pie received good reviews from all who tried, so let me know what you think!

Cardamom Crumble Peach Pie

Crust:

1.5 cups All-Purpose or Whole Wheat Flour

0.5 cup Fine Cornmeal

2 tbs Brown or Turbinado Sugar

Pinch Salt

1/3 cup Oil

1/4 cup Water (perhaps more, depending on consistency)

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet, working together gently until just forms a ball. The dough should be soft. DO NOT over-knead or the gluten will cause tough crust.

Filling:

3 cups Peaches (white preferred), sliced

¼ cup Agave Nectar or 1/3 cup Turbinado Sugar

1-2 tsp Cardamom, ground

2 tbs Tapioca Starch (or organic corn).

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)

Combine all ingredients. You're good.

Crumble:

1 cup Flour

½ cup Almonds, chopped

1 tsp Cinnamon, ground

¼ cup Turbinado Sugar or 3 tbs Agave

Oil to consistency

Same as above. Should start clumping.

1. Let crust bake in preheating oven to 350F.

2. Add fruit. Bake another 15 minutes.

3. Add crumble. Bake another 15-20 minutes until crust is just getting golden and peaches are starting to bubble.

4. Remove. Let cool slightly for the filling to gel. Consume with a large scoop of non-dairy vanilla soycream or LOCAL ice cream. Haha.

Fifty Second Friday: Cocktail Kiwi Pie

Happy belated Food Day! Yes, the U.S. National Food Day is officially on October 24th. I won't go into the detail, and if you really want to know about the event here in DC, check out my blog post for work. Essentially, though, this celebration is attempting to providing a coalescing point for all of the disjointed "food movement" activities so that it can more water in terms of shifting a food system. Different aspects of a new food system are important to various people - emphasis on health, or no pesticides, or less meat - but one of the rapidly growing subsets of foodies (not in a negative sense, but just those concerned with food and agriculture) is the local and seasonal cohort.

As I am a big proponent of locality and seasonality, you can imagine how ecstatic I was to find kiwis growing within easy distance of my home-base farmers market! Now these are not your typical grocery store kiwi, the Actinidia deliciosa, but rather the hardy kiwi (A. arugata). Also know as the baby kiwi, kiwi berry, or cocktail kiwi (oooh, now that's an idea!), the arugata is capable of surviving temperatures well below freezing. While the grape-sized fruits rival its better know cousin for flavor, this rapid-growing vine has become an invasive weed in parts of the northeastern United States.

Still, I was super excited them at the market on Sunday. However, after eating a good handful of them, I had plenty more and not an idea of what to do with them. After toying with a few ideas, in typical Rachel fashion I turned to the pie. And of course, being only one person, I opted for a mini tart pan. So this recipe is optimal for 2 people.

Cocktail Kiwi Pie (vg, gf)

crust

1/3-1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/3 cup almond meal

2 tbs arrowroot or tapioca starch

1 tbs agave nectar

1 tbs tahini

1 tbs coconut oil

1-2 tbs almond milk

1. Combine all crust ingredients. Adjust proportions of flour and milk to obtain a not-so-sticky dough ball. Press into small tart pan.

2. Place into a preheating 350F oven while you mix the filling.

filling

1/2 medium ripe banana

10 baby cocktail kiwis, very ripe

1 tbs arrowroot

1. Skin kiwis (they should be ripe enough to just squirt out the insides). Mash with a form or hand blender along with banana and arrowroot.

2. Fill partially baked shell. Place in oven for about 20 minutes until crust starts to brown. Remove and let cool. Then refrigerate at least an hour, but preferably overnight. Serve cold!

Check out more fun recipes on Wellness Weekends!

What's Cooking? Portable Pies

I've spent the past week playing on the west coast. Oh, it's been marvelous - lots of good food, very little good cooking. However, I thought I would take this opportunity to bring back one of my favorite posts on 'Portable Pies' that I wrote nearly two years ago. Why? Well, yesterday as I was leaving San Francisco I grabbed dinner for the airport at none other than a little shop called Peasant Pies...specializing in, you guessed it, hand pies!

By now most of you know how much I love pie! Yet rarely does one find a store that actually sells vegan versions of these tasty tarts. This shop sold not one, but three different savory portable pies (oh, the west coast). I purchased the Moroccan lentil and spicy black bean and tofu pies to munch on at the airport before my red-eye last night. Let me tell you, these were wonderful. Flavorful filling, the sturdy dough of a typical portable pie, and very filling. It was the perfect comfort food before a long flight, and something I definitely plan on recreating.

Happy second week of Vegan Month of Food!

What's Cooking? Not Blueberries...

So I meant to present a dish with blueberries. I really did. But, honestly, by the time I made it home from market on Sunday, there were none left. We had the first blues of the season at market this Sunday, and boy did they taste good! Our mild winter, warm weather in March and April, and rain this spring has resulted in an early blueberry season. In fact, farmer E. (with whom I work at the Sunday market) said this is the first time in all his years of farming that he has seen blueberries arrive as early as May. Goodness.

And while this unusual weather is of course a little worrisome, blueberries are definitely cause to celebrate! They are one of the few indigenous fruits, and have been used for millennium by Native Americans for sustenance, flavoring, and medicines. The cultivated domesticated blueberry industry only began in the early 1900's, but through breeding over the century has resulted in a deep blue, sweet, and firm berry found in most stores. In fact, the most important blueberry breeding program is in my backyard, with the USDA-ARS in Beltsville, MD. High in antioxidants, and oh-so-tasty, blueberries are definitely the highlight of early summer.

However, I didn't have any blueberries left. What I was planning to do was make a tasty lemon blueberry dessert, based on these old favorites I made. I guess it will have to wait until next week.

Lemony-Blue Summer Pie

Crust from I Am Rapture Pie (could also use the lemon filling)

Ice cream filling from Patriotic Trifle (but blueberries are optional)

Blueberries. Lots. Toss them into the ice cream once made. Top the whole pie. Pop a few into your mouth. Enjoy blueberry season, as spring and summer produce is ephemeral at best.

Check out some healthier treats on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Wellness Weekends.

Fifty Second Friday: Using Last Year's Bounty

Welcome to the spring-time limbo land. During the winter you don't expect much from the farmers market - maybe some hardy greens, some root veggies, and a bag of cold-stored apples. In the summer there is often a plethora of choice from stone fruits and berries, to delicate greens and thermophilic peppers and eggplants. Come autumn, we understand that the major production season is winding down. But spring, oh that is a tricky season. You sit, breath held in anticipation of the best and brightest, as it creeps into season. At the same time, weather is still widely variability, start dates for first harvest unpredictable, and leftover pickings from summer and fall still sitting patiently in the freezer or jarred under one's bed. 

So that's where we are. A bag of frozen rhubarb, a jar of canned peaches, and one sad end-of-storage-season granny smith apple.

Several Season Crumble

1 medium apple, chopped

1 cup peaches, cubed

1 cup rhubarb, chopped

2 tbs tapioca starch

1/3 cup turbinado sugar (or can sub agave or stevia to taste)

1 tbs cinnamon

1/2 tsp all-spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup rice or other gf flour

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup walnut oil

3 tbs agave nectar (or turbinado)

1. Toss together fruit, sugar, tapioca, and spices. Put into a casserole dish. Combine all crumble ingredients and then pile on top of the fruit.

2. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes, until top crispy and starting to brown and fruit bubbling.

3. Serve warm with, hmm, some non-dairy vanilla ice cream?

Check out more health bites on Wellness Weekends and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays!

Fifty Second Friday: Ginger Plum Pie

There has been a serious shortage of pie in my life. And with next week being my "Live Below the Line" week, I thought I need to get in my baking fix before the (albeit brief) drought. It just so happens that I had a bag of frozen Italian plums from the fall that were dying to make their escape before the summer fruit infiltration (oooh, peaches...). But I have to admit, that sometimes I'm at a bit of a loss when it comes to baking with plums. In fact, you may only find a couple of recipes on the blog. I guess it's time for another, then. Here we go, gluten-free and potentially refined-sugar free!

Ginger Plum Pie

1/3-1/2 cup canola oil

2 tbs almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup turbinado sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup corn meal

1/3 cup millet flour

1/3 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup almond meal

2 cups sliced plums

1 cup slice peaches

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup turbinado sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1. Mix oil, milk, vanilla, salt, and sugar (start with 1/3 cup oil). Add in flour and combine until it clumps like wet sand (adjust liquid or dry ingredients to achieve this). Press into a greased pie tin.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Place pie plate in oven. 

3. Toss (defrosted) plums, peaches, sugar, tapioca, and spices together until evenly coated. When oven has preheated, remove pie pan. Fill crust with fruit and replace in oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until fruit begins to bubble and the crust edges are just starting to brown. 

4. Remove, cool, enjoy! Maybe try with some nice vanilla almond milk (or coconut milk) ice cream...

Check out more healthier treats on Wellness Weekends!

What's Cooking? A Pi(e) Party!

Perhaps a couple of weeks late, I hosted a post-Pi Day pie party this weekend. There was sweet potato pie, brownie pie, and my chocolate mousse pie; the was pizza pie, chili cornbread pie (gluten free!), and even a raw Mediterranean pesto torta! And of course any good pie party must have a quiche. According to Wikipedia, pies are defined by their crusts. A filled pie has only a bottom crust, a top-crust pie is also known as a cobbler, and the two-crust pie fully encapsulates the filling. And while the crusts can be your typical pastry or something more like mashed potatoes (shepherd's) or graham cracker crumbs (chocolate creme), they really are just conduits for amazing fillings.


Now the quiche is by rights and egg and cream custard in a standard pie shell. Below you will find that vegans can enjoy a delicious quiche, also. Ironically, quiche comes from the German word for cake, kuchen. Yet there has been a longstanding rivalry between cake aficionados and pie lovers (me being the latter). Luckily, a very scientific analysis was brought to my attention by one of the party guests. The conclusions support my earlier statements that the filling is key and that pies dominate cakes any day. 

Garlicky Mushroom Spinach Quiche
Crust
1 box ritz-like crackers (I used TJ's multi-grain)
2 tbs olive oil
Water until consistency

1. Grind crackers to crumbs in a food processor. Pulse with oil, and then add water in tablespoons intervals until the crumbs begin to stick together.
2. Press into a standard pie pan.

Filling
16 oz firm tofu
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
1 cup spinach
1-2 tbs red wine (optional)
1 tbs garlic powder
Olive oil for pan
Salt to taste


1. In a pan, sautee mushrooms until tender, adding spinach, garlic, and wine towards end.
2. Run tofu and nootch through the food processor until smooth. Stir on veggies and salt. 
3. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes until it begins to brown. Allow to cool and set.

More yum at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays!