Recipe: Whole Wheat Apple Tart and Bonus Recipe!

I promised I would share my journey on this blog, succeed or fail, and today I make good on that! My whole wheat apple tart didn't turn out quite how I imagined. I tried to combine a Rustic Apple Tart recipe that we've loved in the past with a naturally sweetened apple filling recipe, and a whole wheat pie crust recipe.  It went a little something like this:

Crust Ingredients:
3/4C Whole Wheat Flour
1/2C Rolled Oats
2t Granulated Sugar
1/3C Cold Butter
2-3T Very Cold Water

Crust Method:
Blend oats and in your food processor until oats are ground to a fine flour.
Cut butter into small portions an dadd to food processor as you continue to blend.
Slowly pour in very cold water and continue to blend until dough pulls together. Watch carefully so you don't add too much water!

Pat the dough into a disc shape and wrap in wax paper. Place in the fridge until cool and workable, about 1 hour.

Remove from fridge and roll out into a 10" circle... or whatever shape you can get it to make once its flat. This is as close as I could get to a circle, so I just rolled with it (he he, see what I did there?)

Filling Ingredients:
7 Large Local Apples*
1/2 Lemon
2 T Melted Butter

1/2C Real Maple Syrup

1t Cinnamon

3T flour

* I had some lovely little apples from the grounds of a local winery, but not quite as many as the recipe called for, so I used 5 small local apples, and 3 large apples from the grocery store. I ended up with way to much for this tart style pie, which ended up being a blessing. Read on!

Method:
Peel and slice your apples into a bowl, lightly tossing with the juice of 1/2 lemon to keep the apples from browning.

Combine melted butter with maple syrup and pour over sliced apples. In a separate bowl combine cinnamon and flour, and then sprinkle the mix over apples. Toss to coat.

Now, this is where things went south for me. Because of the wheat and oats in the crust as opposed to normal white flour, the crust was really prone to crumbling and difficult to move. In an ideal situation, this is how your method would continue:

Slide your pie crust circle onto a prepared cookie sheet or pie pan. Pour the apple mixture into the center (I had about twice as much as needed, which ended up being great actually. Keep reading...) and fold the edges of the crust up over the apples, leaving the center exposed.

Here is what it SHOULD look like:

(source)

Here is what MINE looked like:

Yikes. Cracked crust, overflowing apples... not pretty. I went ahead and put it in the oven anyways, but it was not what I had hoped for! I have made this recipe in the past with a white flour crust and it was delicious! My end result here was edible, but certainly not something fit for a thanksgiving table.

Pop in the oven at 400* for 20-45 minutes or until the crust is crisp and golden. Mine never quite got there before the apples started getting too browned.

BONUS RECIPE- Here's what I did with the extra apples! Even though this isn't a clean recipe, it turned out soooo yummy so I thought I would share!


Pour the apple mixture into ramekins (I had enough for 4), and set on a cookie sheet.
In a separate bowl, combine 4T of cold butter, 2-3T of white flour, 2T of white sugar, and a dash of Cinnamon. Use a fork or pastry cutter to combine into a crumbly mixture of flour & sugar coated butter pieces. Use this mixture to top the apples in the ramekins. You should have enough to cover the top of each container.

Put in a 400* oven for 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

So, today wasn't a total success but not a complete loss either. I will definitely be using the naturally sweetened apple filling recipe again, but I think that all of my future pie crust endeavors will be white flour only! Hey, you can't win 'em all.

Thanks for checking in :) See you next week!

xo Allison

Recipe: All Natural Pumpkin Spice Latte

The weather is cooling down, the trees are changing to reds and golds, and I have a craving for comfort food! Today's recipe will be the first in a series of guilt free, clean versions of some of my favorite fall treats.

Nothing says fall like a hot, delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte! Unfortunately, the popular Starbucks version is packed with yucky additives including artificial colors, tons of processed sugars, sulfites, and the list goes on. Fortunately, there is a healthy (ok, healthier!) way to satisfy your PSL craving this Autumn, and it is actually really easy to make! I found this delicious recipe on Mama Natural's Blog and tweaked it a little to share with you. The recipe below yields about 4 "Tall" sized drinks. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:
4 Cups of Almond Milk or milk of your choice
2 Cups of strongly brewed coffee or espresso
3/4 C Pumpkin Puree (I recommend using organic but it wasn't available in my area)
1/4C + 2Tbsp Real Organic Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method:
First, combine the maple syrup and almond milk. Heat in a pot on the stove.
While your milk is heating, brew your coffee. I used twice the recommended amount of beans to get a nice strong coffee.
Pour the brewed coffee into a glass bowl and combine with vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin puree. Whisk the mixture until combined.
Next, add the milk and syrup to the bowl and continue to whisk. If you want a nice foamy mixture, whip with an immersion blender or in a traditional blender.
Pour out into mugs and enjoy! Serve topped with whipped cream :)

This will be the perfect treat for tonight's Homecoming Parade & football game. Go Bulldogs! :) I hope you enjoy this delicious latte recipe! Check back next Friday for another fall treat, fresh from the oven!

xo Allison

Edit:

I had a reader ask for nutrition facts on this recipe, so here they are! Yes, it is only 157 calories per serving if made exactly as above! Whipped cream not included :)

Recipe: Fresh Pasta Sauce with Home Grown Tomatoes

We visited my in-laws this past weekend and came home with a huge bag of tomatoes from my mother-in-law's garden. As soon as I got my hands on these perfectly plump, shiny, red tomatoes I just knew they were destined to be pasta sauce! My husband and I eat a LOT of pasta with marinara sauce, and while the brand we normally buy is pretty clean, I have always wanted to try making my own.

It was pretty overwhelming trying to find a recipe for homemade sauce as there are so many variations out there, and just as many opinions on what tastes the best. I decided to take the advice of an Italian girlfriend of mine and kept it simple. "All you need is onion, olive oil, tomatoes, and basil," she said. "Ok, I can do that," I thought! Here is what I came up with...

For my sauce, I used:

7 large garden-fresh tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp dried basil (or use fresh if you have it!)

1 large white onion

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Set a large pot of water to boil. Wash the tomatoes and cut out the tops. Cut an "X" shape across the top of the tomatoes.

Chop the onion and garlic, and saute in a pot with the olive oil until fragrant. 

Drop each tomato into the separate pot of boiling water for a few seconds. By the time I dropped in the last tomato, the first was ready to come out. This loosens the skin and makes the tomatoes very easy to peel.

Peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds, leaving you with only the meaty part of each tomato. There is no need to dice or chop these at all- they will cook down. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to the pot with the onions and bring to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer for 2-3 hours. 

Remove the mixture from heat and puree with an immersion blender, or pour into a regular blender and blend to desired texture. We found the regular blender to be easier and less messy!

Voila! This pasta sauce was incredibly delicious. It has a bright, fresh flavor that is simply unmatched by canned sauces. This sauce can be canned (follow can manufacturer's instructions) or frozen for later use. The recipe above yielded about 3-4 cups of sauce.

Do you grow your own tomatoes? What is your favorite way to use them? Please share in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy this delicious Fresh Pasta Sauce recipe! 

xo Allison

Homemade All Natural Baby Wipes

Hey everyone!

Since I'm just getting my feet wet with this project, I thought I would start with something inexpensive and very easy to make. Homemade baby wipes fit the bill perfectly, and I can't wait to share the recipe with you!

Here's what you'll need:
1 Roll of Paper Towels
Baby Lotion
Baby Wash
Baby Oil
2 Cups of Water
A bowl, fork, knife, and a tupperware container for storage

First, take your paper towel and cut the roll in half width-wise. I like to use Viva paper towels for this project because they are really sturdy and stretchy, which is perfect for messy baby booties! Set aside one half of your paper towel roll as you will only need one half for this project.

In your bowl, combine 2 cups of water with 1 Tbsp each of Baby Lotion and Baby Wash, as well as 1 tsp of baby oil. We use Arbonne brand baby products on Felicity because she has very sensitive skin and all Arbonne products are completely natural, safe, and yes, even vegan. No harmful junk in there! Of course, you can use whatever brand of baby products that you like best. Stir the mixture with your fork until the elements are combined well.

Set your paper towel roll into the storage tupperware, and carefully pour the water mixture over the roll. As the mixture soaks in, the paper tube in the middle should release from the towels. Remove the center tube and seal the lid. I laid my wipes down in the container because I didn't have a tupperware tall enough, but you can easily store them standing in a taller container.

Done! How easy was that? As with any wipes, always remember to reseal the lid properly so they don't dry out.

These wipes are totally safe for sensitive baby booties, and faces, hands, feet, legs... and everywhere else babies get messy! These work so well, I will seriously never buy baby wipes again! I hope you enjoy this recipe, thanks for checking in!

xo Allison