Simply Marvelous Apple Compote

Friday afternoon, I decided to make apple compote. I had hoped that it would distract me from eating cake on Shabbat for dessert.

First I cut up a bunch of apples, keeping the peels on, and put them in a pot. Then I added cinnamon bark, though the ground cinnamon would have been fine, too. For a bit more flavor and sweetness I added very little dark brown sugar.

While it was cooking, I got inspired and decided to add some pitted prunes.

Our guest and I absolutely loved it. My husband was happy with the cake and isn't a fruit lover.

The prunes added so much to the richness of the flavor, and to be honest, if you're adding prunes, leave out the sugar. BTW prunes have more flavor than raisins.

Now that I have four burners, bli eyin haraa, I ought to remember to make compote more often.

Ingredients
apples
prunes
cinnamon
dark brown sugar (optional)
water

Directions
slice apples, cutting out core
add cinnamon, prunes and optional sugar
other fruit, fresh and dried, can be included
water, almost to cover
cover pot
bring to boil then simmer until colors change
turn off flame
leave covered until it cools down

Eat warm or cold from fridge.

Coconut Milk "Ice Cream"

The other day I bought myself some coconut milk/liquid to use in coffee, with the hope that reducing cow milk would make my cold better. There was one minor though crucial problem. I just couldn't stand the taste. The coconut milk was creamy and sweet, no need to add any sugar at all, but it totally overwhelmed my very strong French Press coffee bought in Power Coffeeworks.

The coconut milk cost too much money to waste/dump, so I needed to figure out something useful to do with it. Since I remembered from a previous purchase of the "milk" that you can freeze it and make a sort of ice cream, that's what I did. I decided to combine the coconut milk with a couple of perfectly ripe bananas, chocolate chips and some of my coffee and then mix them up in the food processor.

I used the plastic "dough hook blade," hoping that the bananas would get a bit mashed, but the chocolate chips would stay whole.

To thicken the mixture, I added some coconut flakes. I let it whirl until the most of the bananas were mashed. Then I poured the mixture into a plastic container and put it in the freezer.

I plan on serving it Friday night for Shabbat dinner dessert. Coffee liquor will be offered as a topping. If I had some chocolate liquor that would be good, too. I'll look for that in the grocers today, Gd willing I should remember.

Gd willing, bli neder, I'll report on the success of this ice cream after Shabbat.

I highly suggest using coconut milk/liquid for vegan,  parve, non-dairy dairy-like, lactose free desserts. It is much better and far healthier than the totally synthetic factory-made stuff most people use. So many times I've felt sick after eating tempting desserts people have made with Rich's*. Many of the same people who won't let soybean oil in their houses, insisting it's unhealthy and cook with canola oil instead, have no compunction about serving desserts made with the soybean oil based Rich's.

* non-dairy whipped topping based on soybean oil. Wikipedia 

Easy to Make Non-Dairy Ice Cream

When I discovered that the coconut cream had separated into a pale liquid and a very solid "mass," I decided to experiment. I made Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

It was amazingly easy to make. All I did was mash up a very ripe banana, added the coconut cream to it.

Then for extra flavor I added some vanilla and cinnamon. I mashed all that up with a fork and then added chocolate chips. You may have noticed that I didn't add any sugar to this ice cream.

I served it on Succot, so there's no photo of it served in the pretty little glass bowls decorated with more chocolate chips. We all, my husband plus a guest and myself, finished our portions to the very last drop. I didn't hear any complaints about my latest creation.

IMHO this easy to make non-dairy vegan ice cream is much tastier than what most people make  with the commercial artificial "Rich's." I didn't need a mixer or any other kitchen tool. We all have forks; don't we? So, if you find yourself with thick coconut cream, you have the base for a very easy, simple and tasty ice cream. And as ice creams go, whether commercial or homemade, this one is pretty healthy.

The Case of the Missing Fruit (Date-Coconut) Balls

One nice dessert I can make sans working oven is Fruit (Date-Coconut) Balls.

Fruit (Date-Coconut) Balls

They are amazingly easy to make and relatively healthy, non-lactose/dairy and totally vegan. All you need is date spread and desiccated coconut. Mix ingredients until you can form into balls, and then freeze. That's it. You can add cinnamon, cocoa powder and other things if you want. I've added sesame paste to make it a "full meal." Since the date spread may be of varying consistency, and you may be adding other things to it, I can't give exact measurements/quantities. 

I made them to serve on Rosh Hashana, at meals with guests.

We had an enjoyable meal, and then it was time for dessert. I took out the cake. No problem. But then I went to the freezer to get the Fruit (Date-Coconut) Balls. I couldn't find them. I remembered very distinctly taking out a bag and packing them away into the freezer. I pulled out everything, once and then again. No bag of Fruit (Date-Coconut) Balls. Luckily the guests were good friends who had been over many times before. Finally I gave up.

We finished the meal with the chocolate chip cake which I had made with my granddaughter and something else I had in the freezer.

After they left, I reviewed in my mind everything I could possibly have done with the fruit balls. I had used baking paper as the work surface and then got out a clean plastic bag, and... Eureka! I had folded up the paper and bagged them all wrapped. I couldln't find them, because I was looking for a bag with dark balls, not a bagged white paper package.

It was right there on the freezer shelf in front of me all the time. ↓⇓

If I hadn't been so hysterically stressed, I would have easily seen them. ➡➜

This wasn't a disaster. If I had misplaced the main course, that would have been more of a problem.

The following day I saw my neighbor and told her that I found them. OK, next time, Gd willing, I'll serve the Fruit (Date-Coconut) Balls. Actually there are enough for quite a few meals.

Super Easy and Tasty Homemade Applesauce

We had all of the Israeli based descendants over for Friday pre-Chanukah lunch, since there wasn't a single evening during Chanukah when everyone was free to get together. And since this was the family Chanukah party gifts and all, so too was the menu. I fried your classic potato latkes, and one of my daughters brought over a half a dozen other sorts of "latkes" of all different vegetables. And since there was a vegan in attendance, she used mashed potatoes as a binder instead of eggs.

I made applesauce for the latkes. Here are the instructions:

Peel and cut up apples in a pot. Then add lots of cinnamon and some sugar, preferably brown. But white is OK if that's what you're used to. Then add some water and cook until soft.

Let it cool a bit and then mash it.

And you have the most delicious applesauce. 

ENJOY!! It's good on latkes or all by itself.

Healthy Dessert and Pot-Luck Contribution

One does not need to get all fancy, high calorie when making desserts. This is a photo of what I brought last Saturday night to Pre-Rosh Chodesh celebration at a neighbor's. I make the same sort of fruit plate when I need to contribute to a Kiddush in shul or even when I have guests for a meal. I simply take fruits in season, cut and add toothpicks for easy serving and eating.

This flower-like arrangement has a red grapefruit, an apple and a banana. That's it. You can add more fruit, sprinkle with raisins or other dried fruit, add nuts etc. This sort of fruit plate is relatively hygienic for serving large groups, because almost all of the pieces have their own toothpick, so people don't handle the food.

And obviously, it's not laden with sugars and fats. So it's good for a group trying to stay healthy. And of course it can be made at the very last minute.  I hope this helps you with ideas.

Popcorn, The Old Fashioned Way

On facebook one of my friends was asking how to make popcorn, and I realized from the conversation that in this microwave world the art of popcorn-making is a dying skill, if not dead already. I've always liked real popcorn and couldn't stand the fad of the air-popped popcorn. My method is also safer than the method that has hot oil in an uncovered pan.  This is it:

 Easy to make but must have good stainless steel pot and cover.Just put in kernels to cover bottom of pot and a spoon or two of oil. Cover and start on high flame of similar diameter. When you hear popping shake a bit and keep covered. When it pops loudly again lower flame. When it quiets shake again. Turn off. Wait a few minutes before opening to add salt

Sorry, but I don't give exact measurements.

The amount of corn depends on the size of your pan. It should just cover the bottom, and the pan must be high enough so there will be room for the popped corn which is much larger than the dry kernels.

Also if you open too soon, the corn will pop all over the place. If you don't have enough oil, they won't pop.

Simple Winter Compote

The other night I came home from work hankering for a cooked fruit dish, so I quickly cut up an apple and an orange, placed it in a small pot with some water, not much, and cooked it up.

The orange spiced up the apple. And it ended up being absolutely delicious.

The fruits had enough natural sugar, too. They cooked up quickly and hit the spot. I highly recommend this simple, easy to make dessert or just "comfort food."

Very Healthy Fruit Candies

I've been making a version of these fruit candies for a while and have even blogged about it. But my new version is much healthier than the old one. Now, instead of using the ready-made date spread which has lots of added sugar, I found a block of pitted dates.

Yes, that does mean that I had to "mush it," make it spreadable or pliable. When I was the cook in the local infant daycare center, I was taught to add some boiling water and mix with two forks. We were also told to add some cinnamon.

So that's what I did. Then I added coconut. You can add small seeds or nut flour or unflavored sesame paste. You can also add unsweetened cocoa.

Then I formed balls and put them in a plastic bag with more coconut for coating and gave it a shake.

They keep well in the freezer.

Better and Simpler than the Finest Sorbet

I was going to say that's what I'm going to show you is better than the best ice cream, but in all honesty, if I had a choice between this simple treat and Häagen-Dazs Mint, I'd probably take the mint.

Since I only eat the mint ice cream on rare visits to the states, my super easy and extremely healthy "Mango faux sorbet" gets my vote.

As you can see, all it is in this recipe is a mango. At the end of the mango season here in Israel, they are very inexpensive. All you need to do is to freeze a ripe mango.

About fifteen 15 minutes before you want to eat the mango or serve it, take it out of the freezer. And then, after waiting the fifteen minutes, cut bite-size pieces with a sharp knife. If you're just eating yourself, like I do, then eat. If you're serving it, put the pieces in a serving dish with toothpicks. Serve immediately or return to the freezer.

The frozen mango has the same texture as a good sorbet, but without any other ingredients.

Unbelievably Easy and Pretty Healthy Candy-like Dessert

I wanted something to serve for dessert on Shabbat since we were having guests. Considering that the guests, my husband and I all try to avoid cakes, I wanted to serve something else. I didn't have melon or watermelon; they seem to be going out of season. Rami Levy didn't have any.

So when I went down to get a package from the mail on Thursday night I went into our local store and bought a large (they didn't have small) bag of coconut and date spread. I decided to make fruit candies. There were only three ingredients:

• date spread
• shredded coconut 
• sunflower seeds, which I had just bought to use in a salad, but didn't 

Sorry, but I can't give exact measurements. I poured a lot of the coconut into a bowl, added the sunflower seeds and date spread and then mixed. You may have to add either more coconut or more date spread until it gets to a consistency like "play dough," easy to shape. 

Then I placed it on some "baking paper."

Then with the help of the paper, very easily rolled it in to a "log."

Then I sliced it, wrapped it again in the paper, put it in a bag and then into the freezer.

On Shabbat I served it to my husband and guests. For some strange reason, they all insisted that it was necessary to sample a few pieces before giving their opinions. And... they all loved it! Yes, even my husband ate more than one piece and he usually doesn't go for fruit.

For variations, you can roll into balls and then roll that in more coconut, ground nuts or even sprinkles... Also, instead of sunflower seeds, you can use any ground nuts.

Enjoy!