the edible perspective » vanilla

Vanilla Bean Pumpkin Spiced Pie

Ashley — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:18:24 +0000

I’m excited.

It’s Thanksgiving!!

And it’s THEE official day of pumpkin!!

If there were ever an official pumpkin day, today would be the day. Maybe I should have posted pumpkin pie last week, but maybe sometimes I’m not the best at planning.

Like when planning to type out this post, and then deciding to go to the bar beforehand.

Bad planning.

Luckily [for you] I typed out the recipes ahead of time.

As mentioned many times before, I am a vanilla freak. I just love it. So why not infuse it into pumpkin pie?

I tested this recipe twice. It was based off the 101 Cookbooks Pumpkin Spice-Kissed Pie. What I wasn’t a huge fan of was using all coconut milk. While the flavor was subtle, you could definitely taste it. I didn’t not like it, but I didn’t want that flavor to come through quite so much. For round 2, I decided to use half coconut milk and half almond milk.

I also used more pumpkin, and decided to try cooking it for about 5 minutes in a pan. I thought this would deepen the pumpkin flavor, allow some of the moisture to cook off, and make the pumpkin silky smooth.

Totally worth the 5 extra minutes.

You can definitely find easier pumpkin pies to make, but this is by no means hard. There is just a little extra time involved.

The gluten free crust exceeded my expectations. It was just what I was looking for!

A few years back, I decided to try making an oat based crust for pumpkin pie. I’ve never been a huge pastry crust fan, especially paired with pumpkin pie. I feel like it needs something a bit heartier. Something with texture.

I had a hard time photographing this pie and spent a little too long trying…

The texture was spot-on, classic pumpkin pie. Just what I was looking for. And the crust?

Buttery rich, slightly sweet, with a not too chewy bite. The crust held together very well, and with a serrated knife, cut easily.

Round two! New slice, new plate, + new whipped cream!

As you can see from the photos, the crust went slightly past the “golden brown” stage. It wasn’t burnt, but was a little darker than I would have liked. For round 2, I shielded the crust with foil. It was a little bit of a pain, but worked perfectly! I basically tore off strips of foil, folded them over so they were thicker, and pressed them into the outer-side of the pan, coming up over + hovering above the crust.

Vanilla Bean Pumpkin Spiced Pie [adapted from Spice-Kissed Pumpkin Pie]

2c pumpkin puree [not pie filling]
1/2c full fat coconut milk
1/2c unsweetened almond milk
1 vanilla bean
1/4c sucanat
1/4c honey
1.5T arrowroot starch
3 eggs
1.5t cinnamon
3/4t ginger
1/4t all spice
1/8t nutmeg
1/16-1/8t clove
1/4t salt

Slice the vanilla bean down the center, and scrape all of the seeds out with a spoon or butter knife.
In a saucepan over medium heat, add the coconut + almond milk, vanilla beans and vanilla bean pod.
Whisking frequently, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat + cover the pot for 20min to let the vanilla steep.
Meanwhile, in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, nutmeg, clove + salt.
Preheat oven to 350*.
Stir to combine and stir frequently for about 5min, until slightly thickened, glossy, and smooth.
Remove from the heat and stir in the sucanat until combined.
Once the vanilla is done steeping, discard the vanilla bean, and place the mixture in a large bowl.
Vigorously whisk the arrowroot starch until there are no clumps. [If you’re having problems getting rid of clumps, you can always use a hand mixer.]
Whisk in the eggs, then the honey until well combined.
Add the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely smooth.
*Optional* Fold over 4-5 long strips of foil, to make little guards over the crust. Press it around the pan, but not actually on the crust, just hovering above. This will ensure the crust will not burn.
Slowly pour into the pie shell and bake for 50-55min, until the center is set. It should be golden brown on top and cracked around the edges. If the center jiggles, bake for a few more minutes and re-check.
Cool on a cooling rack for 1-2hrs, before placing in the fridge. Do not wrap with saran, or foil, until fully cooled.

tips/substitutions: All pie pans are not the same. I used a 9.5” wide 2” deep pie pan, which fit perfectly with the crust about 1/4” below the top of the pan. If you don’t have a vanilla bean, sub 2t vanilla and forgo the steeping process. Sub in 1T pumpkin pie spice, instead of all the spices listed, if that’s what you have on hand. Cornstarch can be subbed instead of arrowroot. Pure cane sugar/brown sugar/white sugar can be subbed for the sucanat. Brown rice syrup or maple syrup can be subbed for the honey.

This crust is a definite keeper!

Oatmeal Walnut Pie Crust [I used a 9.5” wide 2” deep pie pan]

1.5c GF rolled oats
3/4c walnuts
4T butter
1/2c GF oat flour
2T honey
3T sucanat
1/4t cinnamon
1/4t + 1/8t sea salt

Preheat oven to 350*.
In a food processor, process walnuts until crumbly. ~20sec
Cut butter into pieces and pulse until just combined.
Add sucanat + oat flour and process until combined, and a thick dough has formed.
Empty into a bowl and add rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, and honey and mash with a fork until fully combined.
Spread evenly into the bottom of your pie pan and then start to work from the middle out to the edges and up the sides. Press into the sides, rotating the pie pan, keeping the dough about 1/4” from the top. Make sure the dough is firmly packed around all sides and the bottom. *Refrigerating your dough for 15min or longer will help, but is not fully necessary.
Bake for 10-12min and let cool.

tips/substitutions: A mini food processor will work for this. If you don’t have a food processor, chop or grind the walnuts until very crumbly, then mash in the softened butter, then oat flour, etc. I would imagine that the dough could be made and refrigerated 2-3 days ahead of time. Feel free to sub 1T molasses + 1T honey, instead of 2T honey, if you want a rich, spicy flavor. Pure cane sugar/brown sugar/white sugar can be subbed for the sucanat. Brown rice syrup or maple syrup can be subbed for the honey. Sub pecans instead of walnuts, if desired. *Make sure to use certified gluten free oats if necessary to make sure the crust is completely gluten free!

If you’re looking for vegan pumpkin pie, check these recipes!

Hope you savor every last bite this Thanksgiving!!

Ashley

oat bake birthday breakfast cake!

Ashley — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 05:33:00 +0000

Let’s go backwards a little bit.

To the start of the birthday celebration.

Breakfast.

If you live 4 blocks away from me.

And it is your birthday.

I will make you breakfast.

Apparently I’m obsessed with sprinkles. I feel like I just discovered their existence. It seems like I’ve been putting them in + on everything, but really it happened all in 1 day.

So how do you make birthday breakfast extra special, while still staying super healthy?

OAT BAKE BIRTHDAY BAKES

In 2 varieties.

Because, well, I like variety and I know the birthday girl does too.

So what do we have here?

BAKE #1 – Vanilla “funfetti” Oat Bake

My favorite cake for years, was the Pillsbury Funfetti vanilla cake. Right mom? I’ve always been obsessed with all things vanilla. That’s not going to change.

Bake #2 – Lemon Oat Bake

The oat flour gives the bakes a little softer + sweet texture in comparison to the buckwheat bakes. I thought it would make a much better “cake” texture, while still being super healthy. It worked! Very cake-like!

Vanilla “Funfetti” Oat Bake [serves 1]

1/4c oat flour [freshly ground from whole oat groats or steel cut, in a blender]
1T chia seeds
2T unsweetened applesauce
3T unsweetened almond milk
1T raw buckwheat groats
1 large egg
1/4t baking powder
1t vanilla extract
1.5t sucanat [opt]
1T sprinkles [opt]
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350* + grease a small baking dish. [~4-5” diameter 1-2” deep, or 3 muffin tins, or 2-3 ramekins]
In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
Whisk in applesauce, vanilla + almond milk.
Mix in oat flour, groats, chia seeds, sucanat, salt + baking powder until just combined.
Stir in sprinkles, if using.
Pour into well-greased or parchment lined baking dish, spread evenly, and bake for 32-36min, until a toothpick comes out almost clean.
Slide a knife around the edge and flip out onto a plate.

Lemon Oat Bake [serves 1]

1/4c oat flour [freshly ground from whole oat groats or steel cut, in a blender]
1T chia seeds
1/2 banana
3T unsweetened almond milk
1T raw buckwheat groats
1 large egg
1/4t baking powder
1/2t vanilla extract
1/2t lemon extract
1.5t lemon zest
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350* + grease a small baking dish. [~4-5” diameter 1-2” deep, or 3 muffin tins, or 2-3 ramekins]
In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork, until egg-like.
Whisk in the egg.
Whisk in vanilla, lemon extract, lemon zest + almond milk.
Mix in oat flour, groats, chia seeds, salt + baking powder until just combined.
Pour into well-greased or parchment lined baking dish, spread evenly, and bake for 32-37min, until a toothpick comes out almost clean.
Slide a knife around the edge and flip out onto a plate.

*For high altitude set your oven to 375*

*I didn’t add any extra sweetener in the lemon version because the banana helped sweeten, without leaving much, if any, banana flavor.

*Feel free to sub raw buckwheat flour instead of oat flour, but add 1T extra almond milk.

The next question was, what to top them with?

Local + organic peaches? Yes!

Banana? Yes again.

Cake Batter Cashew Butter? Ohhh yes.

And probably a little coconut butter as well.

Sinful looking.

Sinful tasting.

Filled with healthy, gluten-free, birthday goodness.

Funfetti lives on!!

Birthday breakfast has never been better.

Here’s how Kelsey enjoyed hers!

[source]

Happy Saturday!

Go eat something delicious.

Ashley

success + goodnight

Ashley — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:21:04 +0000

The shower was a success!!

Everyone enjoyed the food, the candy, and dessert. Hooray!

The onsie decorating was so much fun, and the girls came up with such creative designs.

It was a gorgeous evening, with not a cloud in the sky and temps in the mid 70’s. After dinner + gifts, we decorated the onsies outside and then I brought out dessert.

Fondue always goes over well, especially with a group of all girls.

The gluten free mini cakes turned out to be delicious! I adapted my lemon blueberry mini cake recipe into a vanilla cake recipe.

Slightly springy, thick + cakey, with a warm vanilla flavor and a slight hint of coconut [from the oil].

Dipped in peanut butter chocolate fondue? Even better.

We’ll get to the fondue in a day or 2, as well as the rest of the party.

Right now, I need my bed.

But not before I give you this recipe! Eat them plain, frost them up, dip them in chocolate, drizzle maple syrup, whatever suits your style.

If you’re gluten free or not, these cakes are worth your time.

Vanilla Mini Bundt Cakes [makes 10-12 mini cakes]

2T coconut flour
1/2c sweet rice flour
1/2c oat flour [ground in blender from whole oat groats]
2 large eggs
3T unsweetened applesauce
1/2c almond milk
1t baking powder
1/4t salt
3T coconut oil, melted
1/3c sucanat
2t vanilla extract
1/2t almond extract

Preheat oven to 350*
Thoroughly grease a 12 mold mini bundt pan.
In a large bowl combine coconut flour, oat flour, sweet rice flour, baking powder, sucanat, and salt.
Whisk the eggs in a medium sized bowl and then whisk in the applesauce, milk, vanilla extract and almond extract.
Whisk in melted coconut oil.
Add wet to dry and stir until combined.
Evenly scoop batter into the molds and bake for 16-20min.
Toothpick test one of the cakes, and pull out when the toothpick is slightly moist.
Let cool for 10min and carefully, using a small silicone spatula or butter knife, remove each cake.

*I’m sure you can use a 6-12 mold donut pan, or a 12 mold muffin pan. The cook time for the muffin pan will probably be a few minutes longer, since there is no hole in the middle of each muffin. If you’re making them in a 6 mold donut pan, they will also take longer. They should be golden brown on top and toothpick test for doneness.

Everyone really enjoyed these and were surprised they were gluten free.

Time to dream about more cake flavors…

I’ll be back again tomorrow afternoon!

Ashley

what’s in that bowl

Ashley — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 01:39:07 +0000

Sorry to leave you hanging for over 24hrs with what was in the mystery bowl yesterday. So many of you guessed, but no one was exactly right.

guesses:

cookie dough dip
cookie dough
chocolate chip peanut butter
cookie dough hummus
cookie dough looking stuff
gooey deliciousness

It is in fact, gooey deliciousness.

To be a little more specific…

It’s cookie dough almond butter…

…with chocolate chips!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Almond Butter

If just the name didn’t set of Pavlovian triggers, I don’t know what will!

SECOND best nut butter, ever. My best nut butter is still the maple cinnamon almond butter, but this comes extremely close. I kid you not, it tastes like straight up raw cookie dough. You definitely could use this as a dip, but it differs from the cookie dough dip recipes that are out there.

The crunchy pieces of chocolate chips woven throughout are amazing.

I developed this for my sis-in-law Natalie, who is currently preggo. Her birthday was this past weekend, and she requested all foodie gifts. That, I can do! I made her this nut butter, Mama Pea’s chocolate cookie doughballs, and cinnamon toast crunch crackers.

Now what if you…crumbled up the crackers, and rolled them into the doughballs and then topped it with this nut butter? Can you imagine???

We have ourselves a winner, folks! [cheeseball alert]

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Almond Butter

2c raw almonds
2-3t pure cane sugar
2-3t safflower oil [neutral flavor oil works best]
1/4t salt
2t vanilla bean paste [or extract]
1/3t almond extract [key ingredient!!!]
1/2c coarsely chopped dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Toast almonds until golden brown, turning 3-4 times, for about 12-18min total. Watch carefully, so they don’t burn.
Let cool 5min.
Place in a heavy-duty food processor and turn on, scraping the bowl often to keep things moving.
Process until it finally starts to butterize. This took about 6-10min, approximately.
Keep scraping and processing until smooth. Be patient. *If it’s been 10min and things still aren’t together, add 2t oil.
Add in 2t sugar, salt, vanilla, and almond extract. Process again until smooth.
Taste and add more sugar if it’s not sweet enough, but remember the chopped chocolate will add a bit of sweetness as well.
Once it’s nice and smooth, like the photo I show above in the food processor, empty into a bowl and put in the fridge for about 1hr, until room temperature. The processed nut butter will likely be very warm. If you mix the chocolate chips in at this point, they will melt.
Once the nut butter has come to room temp, stir in the chocolate chips.

Taste tests are encouraged!

*Almond butter is the hardest to process into nut butter, so be patient. I have an 11c Cuisinart food processor. If you have a 7c, I would suggest cutting this recipe in half or at least by 1/4. If using an 11c, do not increase the size of this recipe.

*I recommend using pure cane sugar, instead of a liquid sweetener like honey or maple here, because 1 – I didn’t want a honey/maple flavor 2 – They tend to make the nut butters extremely thick and sometimes turns it into a nasty thick dough. The cane sugar combined perfectly.

*I’m keeping this nut butter in a glass jar on the counter. I only refrigerate my nut butters with ground flax. They’re usually only around for about 3 weeks before I finish them off, so I don’t find it necessary to refrigerate. I’m not sure what food safety protocol technically is in this manner…but I’m still alive! I keep them in the cupboard, but you definitely can store them in the fridge.

If you don’t have a food processor, make friends with someone who does. Pronto!

Ashley

detox recap week 6 + 7 {soy}

Ashley — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:16:37 +0000

I’ll get to the soy reintroduction recap soon!

For now, I’m overly excited to have reintroduced gluten back into my diet. I think gluten is by far, the hardest food to not eat. I think soy is harder to avoid, but I think gluten is the hardest to let go of. At least for me! I know this because I’m having NO trouble at all bringing it back into my diet, on the very first day. When I brought back dairy, I had to try and remember to eat it or fit it into my daily eats. The same goes for soy. I avoid processed soy and try to not eat soy [tempeh or tofu] more than once a week. For this purpose, I ate it a few more times during the 2 week reintro period just to see what it’s effects were.

What I’m trying to say, is that, I’ve been waiting seven long weeks to once again eat farro. Remember my farro obsession during November + December? Farro is one of my favorite grains ever. It’s without a doubt my favorite breakfast grain, even beating out buckwheat. Yes, you heard me right!

When you grind this grain, about half-way to flour, it turns into magic.

This is the magic it turns into. Broken farro porridge.

I first had this lovely treat while dining with two fabulous ladies, Emily + Teri. We were at the Foodbuzz festival, in San Fran, last November. You can even find a photo or two, from that lovely breakfast, in my Etsy print shop.

I’ve almost perfected it, but can tell you it will never quite be as good as the bowl in San Fran. It may have had to do with eating it waterside, or the lovely company, or the butter melted within. Whatever the case, this will have to do!

It is worth the hunt to find farro. Trust me! [check Costco for the green bag I showed at the top]

It’s nothing like oatmeal, except for the fact that it is a warm breakfast cereal. The flavor is smooth + delicate, the creaminess is beyond imagination, and the texture is just right. I’ve experimented quite a bit and make this differently than oats. I don’t like how it turns out when you whip banana into it, as opposed to oats. Banana tastes much better as a topping instead! I also don’t add in flax or chia to farro, because it’s just way better without! I think it would really ruin the amazing texture. Almonds, currants/raisins, and vanilla seem to blend really well with this grain.

Vanilla Cinnamon Farro Porridge

1/3c rounded ground farro
3/4c milk [any will do]
1/2c water
1t vanilla bean paste [or vanilla extract]
2t maple syrup
1/2t cinnamon

Grind farro until powdery, with small pieces mixed in. [food processor does not work well for this]
Put 1/3 rounded cup in a small pot, with the milk, water, maple syrup and cinnamon.
Bring to a boil, over medium heat and reduce to simmer.
Stir/whisk occasionally for about 7-10min, until desired thickness is reached.
In the last 1-2min stir in the vanilla. Add extra liquid if you let it get too thick.

This recipe goes fabulously with my vanilla maple almond flax butter. One of my top 3 nut butter recipes ever!

bananas + currants + almonds + cocoa-nut almond butter + pnut butter

The currants look like they’re dancing on the banana. Soon after, they were dancing in my mouth. This bowl was licked clean. You would have done the same!

And now to the latest detox recap!

Weeks 6 + 7 – Reintroducing Soy

The past 2 weeks have left me a bit stumped. The stomach bloating I said goodbye to in the first 5 weeks, has slowly been creeping back. What I can’t tell, is what it’s from!
I ate tofu once in the past 2 weeks and tempeh 2-3 times. I felt pretty good after eating each of those meals. Typically I can tell something is bothering me a few hours after I eat it. That didn’t really happen with tofu or tempeh, but would happen at random times throughout the days following.
Like I had talked about in previous posts, after the 3rd week of keeping out gluten/soy/dairy, my bloating decreased by at least 80%. The 20% left, was probably from vegetables, and it didn’t leave my stomach nearly as uncomfortable.
However, it could be from a few other things besides. ie: garbanzo flour, a few huge veggie loaded meals, black beans + tempeh dinner
At this point, I’m a little frustrated. It’s so hard to pinpoint exactly what is resulting in the discomfort! I don’t really have high hopes for gluten. Today [my eighth week] I’ve felt so-so. I ate tempeh + black beans last night and about 2+ servings of gluten today, plus some cinnamon sugar socca crackers. I’m trying to give the bean flour a little rest, but those crackers are SO addicting!!
I don’t want to completely point the finger at soy just yet. I thought maybe I would notice things a bit more intensely because these foods have been cleared out of my body for quite a while now. However, not the case! I would love to be able to narrow things down better so I don’t have to completely wipe soy completely. It’s not something I rely on in my diet, but I do enjoy it.
We ate out quite a bit more during the past two weeks. While I was able to find gluten free options at every restaurant [yay Colorado!!] all of these meals left my stomach feeling less than stellar. I typically have problems when eating out [bloating, nothing else] and can never tell exactly what it’s from. I do know that if I eat restaurant lettuce 98% of the time my stomach is killing after. That is without a doubt! Luckily a few places around here offer organic greens and it makes a noticeable difference. I don’t think I’d have a problem eating conventional lettuce at home, but I think it has something to do with the preservatives a lot of restaurants use on their greens to keep it fresh longer.
I’m still drinking warm lemon water in the morning with about 1t of local raw unfiltered clover honey added in. Quite tasty!
The dry brushing has also continued. I would say I forget to brush about once a week, if that.
I’ve been maintaining my workouts, even though I’m not talking about them as much lately. I workout about 6 days a week, with a mix of cardio/yoga-stretching/weights/climbing/swimming.

Where to go from here?

I don’t really know. I’m just going to see how I react with gluten and reintroduce it slowly, in whole grain form [ie: whole farro, instead of processed wheat bread]. Whatever the culprit is, it’s not something that makes me physically sick or keeps me from the day-to-day, at all. It’s just something I would love to figure out, so my stomach can return to it’s normal size! Nobody likes to be around a goose!

February goals overview + drool-worthy recipe tomorrow afternoon!

Ashley

*For links to all detox posts, check my last recap.