Laura Erdman-Luntz, MA, E-RYT(500) | Yoga | Yoga Teacher Training | Minnesota | Costa Rica | Life Coaching

What's For Dinner: Apple Crisp

This recipe comes from an amazing publication I have loved for, well, decades.  It was a simple newsletter sent out monthly on recycled newsprint.  The author, Barbara McNally, filled it full of loving thoughts, recipes, personal confessions about living a mindful life in this day and age, research on natural living and more.  It was (and is!) the perfect bathtub read.  Even though she stopped publishing 10 years ago.  I still read my copies.  I start with the first issue (I have them all!) and read to the last and then begin again.  It is grounding and reminds me of what is truly important in my life.  This recipe is one she shared and I tried it for the first time yesterday.  My kids LOVED it and I loved making it for them.  I filled it with love and blessings.  May you enjoy it as well!

1 C rolled oats
1/2 C flour (ww pastry or, I did a mixture of oat and brown rice flour)
1/2 C chopped pecans
1/4 C maple syrup
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/3 C sweet butter or grapeseed oil
1 t lemon juice
3-4 firm, large Granny Smith, peeled and cut into thick slices or chunks (I used 4 but would do 3 next time!)

1.  Preheat the oven 375 degrees.
2.  Oil an 8x8" baking dish.
3.  Arrange the apples in the dish, sprinkle lemon juice on top.
4.  Mix topping in a bowl, smushing in butter until distributed throughout, making little pea-sized lumps.  Sprinkle over apples and bake about 20 min. until apples are bubbly and topping is golden.
5.  For a very moist apple crisp, add a 1/2 C of apple juice to the pan before baking.

Apple Crisp
Originally uploaded by cremesoda!

What's For Dinner: Maple Rice Pudding

I haven't shared a recipe in eons!  Decided tonight was the night.  I have a houseful of sore throats (myself included) so was looking for something to soothe throats AND would be easy for a tired, under-the-weather mom to prepare.  It was wonderful!  It came mostly from Moosewoods orignal cookbook -- my first cookbook and STILL my favorite!  Of course, as always, I made modifications to fit the diets of my family members.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup short-grain brown rice
• 3 cups rice milk (I used Original and stuck in extra vanilla) 
• 1/2 t salt 
• 3 T maple syrup (plenty sweet for us. add more if your family likes extra sweet) 
• 1/2 t vanilla (again, let it drip over a bit) 
• 1/2 t, rounded of cinnamon 
• dash nutmeg

 

How to:

• Place rice in saucepan with the milk
• Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat as much as possible and simmer until tender. It can take up to 1.5 hours. It took only 1 hour for me.
• Just before done, add the rest of the ingredients.
• Yummy!

rice pudding
Originally uploaded by fruitcakey

What's for Dinner: Baked Olives

Originally uploaded by yoshiko314

I made this recipe for the Saturday Muse Meeting.  They were devoured! So, yummy!

• 2 c Kalamata olives
• 1/2 c red or white wine
• 3 T olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, 1 sliced, 2 minced
• 1 bay leave
• 1 t oregano or marjoram

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Rinse the olives if salty and put them in a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer.
3. Add the wine, half the oil, the sliced garlic, and the bay leaf.
4. Cover and bake until they are fragrant and swollen, about 45 min.
5. While they are baking,make the minced garlic and herbs into a paste. You can use a mortar or I just pressed them with the back of a spoon on a cutting board.
6. When the olives come out, if they are pitted, poke them with a fork, then stir in the garlic-herb paste and the remaining oil.

Baked Olives @ Group Recipes

What's For Dinner: Yummy Coconut Curry Sauce

White Rice
Originally uploaded by Brave Heart

I love this recipe!  I created it one night when I was craving the sweet taste of coconut curry.  I found a recipe but only had the following ingredients.  It was delicious!  And, so, a family favorite is born!

• 1T olive oil
• 1/4 t - 1 t curry powder (depends on the strength of your curry and how hot you want it.)
• 1/2 c coconut milk
• 1/2 c soup stock (I have used water before and then added salt. A tasty stock is better but the water was okay, too.)

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet.
2. Add the curry powder and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add the coconut milk and the soup stock.
4. Heat.
5. Add put this over rice and golden tofu.
6. Seriously yummy!

Coconut Curry @ Group Recipes

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies
Originally uploaded by dorotron

I just realized I haven't shared a recipe on my blog since I moved over to my new site. So, here is a great one. I love these cookies. In fact, I love the cookbook they came out of. Anything I make from it, people love. No one even knows the recipes are wheat-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. Yummy! I will share another cookie recipe soon. Until then, be sure to check out the cookbook.

• 1 ½ c rolled oats, divided (You need to process ¾ c of the oats into oat flour. I just use Oat flour and skip that step.)
• ¼ c plus 2T canola, safflower, or sunflower oil
• 1/3 c maple syrup
• ½ t vanilla
• ¾ c raisins
• ½ c chopped nuts (I use pecans)
• 1 c barley flour
• ½ t baking soda
• ½ t baking powder
• ¼ t cinnamon
• dash of grated nutmeg
• ½ t salt

1. Oven 350 degrees
2. In small bowl, mix the oil, syrup, and vanilla.
3. In separate, larger bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well incorporated. If it seems dry, I add a few drops of water.
5. Using an ice cream scoop, place heaping tablespoons full of dough onto a cookie sheet. (I use parchment paper. These cookies stick!)
6. If necessary, wet your hands and gently press them together.
7. Bake for about 8-10 min. Check them regularly. I find I prefer them undercooked slightly so they are chewy.
8. Remove to a cooling rack.
9. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies @ Group Recipes