◊ An Apple is a Rock

Dear mom,

I don’t have time to write this letter. I’ve been totally crazed at work and somehow my personal obligations have picked up. I’m writing, auditing two classes, making new friends, doing my job… so this letter will be brief. My eye is still twitching (2 months!), my supervisor (who I share an office with) caught the eye twitch, and Arielle’s eye just started to spasm.

It’s something in the air.

This transition to fall has been the weirdest. The leaves have turned and nighttime starts early, but every other day is a different season. Right now I’m wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Yesterday I was wearing a fleece jacket and boots. Global weirding.

I’m dedicating this post to the apple because it is my autumn marker this year. Just like tomatoes kept me present this summer…. now, in autumn, apples are my rock. As global warming/weirding takes it’s toll, I’ve become more dependent on food to mark the seasons.

Anyway… they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but what about three or four apples a day? Apples in yogurt, apples in oats, apples in rum, apples in salads; apples roasted, apples pureed, apples boiled (only when I’m sick). And so many different kinds! My recipes for this post all include apples… I hope they will inspire you to crunch and munch away!

Fall is exciting. It’s fresh and new. I’m starting to feel like the world has something for me to find, and the overwhelming lost-ness that I was feeling this summer is transforming into a streamlined GO GET IT, girl. And even though I still don’t know what “it” is, I still feel pulled towards… it.

We went apple picking

For example (not quite sure if this is an example?), last night Arielle and I changed all the furniture in our house. Our dining room is now our living room and vise versa. We had been talking about it for long and our house couldn’t come to a consensus about our unified feelings. But last night we just did it. And it’s amazing. I’m blaming the fall air.

Changing the furniture changed my life. I can’t wait to eat breakfast in our new dining room with light streaming in from the windows.
And now I need to wrap up this letter and get this posted so I can move onto my next project.

So here’s to apples. And the things we make with them.

Hope you enjoy these apple-licious recipes! They’re all on the cleanse!

Love,

Shaina

Charred October Slaw

1 head of green cabbage
three apples, chopped
mustard
apple cider vinegar
salt
pepper
1 tbs olive oil
fresh rosemary
chives
parsley

Cut cabbage into eighths. When you cut the cabbage, make sure that part of the core remains attached to each segment so it can hold the leaves from falling through the grates of the grill. Lightly brush cabbage segments with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on grill and turn the flame to medium.

Let cabbage cook for ten minutes and then flip onto other sides. Watch carefully – you want the cabbage to be slightly blackened, but not burnt to a crisp (it happens fast!). Remove from grill and let cool.

Once cool, chop the cabbage into small pieces. Add chopped apples, rosemary, chives and parsley, and remaining ingredients.

This is the closest thing I’ve had to a hot dog in 12 years. It’s the mustard.

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Muffins (on the cleanse!)

These are the healthiest muffins you will ever eat. Packed with protein, whole grains and fiber. They’re nutty, mild and apple yummy – perfect with breakfast yogurt or for any time of day!

1 c buckwheat flour
1 c oats
1 c gluten free flour (rice flour, arrow root flour, all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1/2 c flax meal
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 tbs coconut oil
2/3 c coconut milk
3 mashed ripe bananas
4 chopped apples
1/2 c raisins
1/3 c pumpkin seeds and walnuts (if desired)
1 c pumpkin puree
vanilla
cinnamon
cloves
cardamom
ginger
nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix coconut oil, coconut milk, pumpkin puree, apples, spices, bananas, raisins, nuts and vanilla in one bowl. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Fold together. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil fill with batter. You can add batter to a cake dish to make a dense cake.

Quinoa with Roasted Carrots and Apple Relish

1 c dry quinoa
2 c Roasted Moroccan Carrots with Raisins (recipe below)
1/2 c chopped cilantro
1/2 c chopped arugula (or other greens)
Sea salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Crushed roasted almonds for garnish
1 c Apple relish (recipe below)

Roasted Moroccan Carrots and Raisins:

6 large carrots
3 tbs Moroccan spice mix
sesame seeds
1/2 c raisins
sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut carrots into thick medallions and cover in Moroccan Spice Mix and sea salt. Lay carrot medallions flat onto parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Once browned, add sesame seeds and bake for another ten minutes. Then, add raisins and bake for 5-10 more minutes, depending on your oven and your taste for burntness (raisins burn to a crisp quickly, so keep an eye on them!). The carrots should be shriveled, chewy and browned. If you want them crispier, leave them in the oven a bit longer.

*Note – I do not add oil to the carrots, but I think it would be a welcomed addition.

I stir these carrots into yogurt with beets and chopped arugula for breakfast, sprinkle them into salads for lunch, and eat them in this quinoa recipe for dinner. You’ll be shocked at how sweet carrots taste when roasted!

Moroccan Spice Mix: