We stopped at Frecon Farms this afternoon and picked our own Roma and Granny Smith apples. Frecon Farms is located in Boyertown, Pa. The weather was lovely, the breeze was cool and the sun warm. The bugs were out, apples were ripe, and the view along the orchard field was beautiful. It was the first time I went apple picking.

We had the opportunity to pick Rome, Stayman, Red Delicious, Granny Smith apples and pumpkins at Frecon's. We picked Rome and Granny Smith apples. We left with nearly 3/4 of a bushel combined and one pumpkin. We also purchased four bottles of their hard cider and one quart of their sweet apple cider.

We came home and I made baked apples with a side of roasted pumpkin for dinner.

Baked Apples with a Chestnut Bulgur Stuffing
Serves 2-3 (as a side)
Small oven safe casserole dish to nest 3-4 apples comfortably

20 dried chestnuts
2 cups water

1 tsp dried ground ginger
1/2 cup bulgur wheat
1/2 small onion chopped
salt and pepper to taste

4 small apples (Rome), tops cut off, cored, and middle removed (save editable apple scraps for stuffing)

Rehydrate the dried chestnuts in the 2 cups of water on the stove top. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the chestnuts have softened. The water will slightly reduce. Reduce water to no less than 1 cup. Remove from heat, remove the chestnuts, chop. Place the dried bulgur and chestnuts back into warm water, bring the water back up to boiling point, add the dried ginger, stir briefly and cover. 1/2 cup of bulgur to one cup of boiling water is the working ratio. If you have more chestnut water, add slightly more bulgur according to the ratio. Reduce heat. Check after 11 minutes to see if all of the water has absorbed. Set aside.

Place your chopped onion, salt, pepper, apple scraps, into the cooked bulgur. Over stuff each apple with the bulgur stuffing. Place each stuff apple into the baking dish. Place extra stuffing around it and top each apple with the top of the apple. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove foil during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Alternatives: drizzle with maple syrup instead of olive oil before baking.

I found that Matt liked melted sharp cheddar cheese on top of his baked apple. It's a delectable addition to the recipe.

I swung by the local farmers stand on my way home from work tonight and realized the bountiful summer season of produce has ended. I have one more week to visit the farmer's stand until they close for the season. Their end of the season bell peppers were 3 for a dollar, their eggplants, 4 for a dollar. I whipped up a simple quick vegetarian meal using the eggplant and peppers for dinner. Here's a gluten free, vegan recipe that you can whip up in less than a half hour with some basic pantry ingredients.

Sautéed Eggplant, Bell Pepper, and Rice Noodles
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1-2T organic olive oil
Two bell peppers cut into 1/2" strips
One small to medium eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1/2" cubes
1 T halved and roasted peanuts (from the jar)
1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp peanut butter (I like Arrowhead Mills or Wegman's Organic)
1 1/2 tsp Mirin
4 dried red thai peppers (use less or none at all if you're sensitive to spice)
sea salt and fresh ground pepper (to taste)

1/2 package of thin rice noodles

Ginger People Sweet & Spicy Sweet Ginger Chili Sauce (optional)

Begin by pre soaking the rice noodles in cold water (20mins) or hot water for 9 mins. Alternatively follow the directions according to the packaging as to not to over cook the noodles. Drain and set to the side.

While noodles are soaking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. A flat bottom pan with flat straight sides is best. Add the bell peppers. Stir occasionally with a wooden spatula or spoon while you are preparing the eggplant. Add the eggplant to the pan. Stir. Add the peanuts and whole coriander seeds. The peanuts and seeds will turn lightly golden brown during the sauteeing process. Add the pinch of salt and continue to sauté. Swirl the Mirin over top and stir. Add the peanut butter on the side of the pan. Let it slide to the bottom and watch it soften. As it softens, gently stir to coat all of the vegetables.  Add the thai peppers. As the bottom begins to develop flavor (brown), use a wooden spoon to break up the flavoring and to ensure that the vegetables cook evenly. The entire cooking process of the vegetables takes about 15-20minutes. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Re-heat the rice noodles if necessary. Toss with a small amount of olive oil using tongs.

Serve by placing the rice noodles on the bottom of the plate and top with the sauteed vegetables.

For an additional pleasant sweet and tangy flavor, lightly drizzle The Ginger People's Sweet Ginger Chili sweet and spicy cooking sauce on top. For additional heat, add a few drops of Siracha chili sauce.

 This Sunday I met up with my dad for father's day. This weekend I wanted to make my dad something just as delicious as the blackberry shortbread bars I made last weekend for my boyfriend's family. Vegetarian Times recently posted a wonderful recipe for a cashew cheesecake. I've modified it quite a bit, but see their website for the original recipe. I'm certainly not the only food blogger that has made adaptations. Find a recipe that works for your tastes and what ingredients you have available.

Next time I make this recipe, I might use a springform pan and double or triple the amount of the cashew cream to make it as thick as a New York Style Cheesecake. The bottom of the tart is made with an almond crust topped with thick cashew cream and then with fresh pitted sweet cherries from my favorite local produce stand. It's a no-bake recipe and if you have a food processor, it's a recipe that's quite easy to whip up. My father was so pleased with the recipe that he decided not to share it with his family guests over the weekend.

 

Cashew Cheesecake Tart
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
(The changes are significant enough that I'm really tempted to call it my own.)

Almond Date Crust:
1 cup raw, unblanched whole almonds
3/4 cup pitted organic dates
1/4 cup unsweetened unsulphured organic coconut
1/2 cup of rinsed and drained raw cashews (see below)
small handful of pecan halves

Cashew Cheesecake Filling:
1 container of Giant's Nature's Promise organic raw cashews, soaked in water overnight, rinsed, drained
1 packet of vanilla sugar (or alternatively use vanilla extract and subtract equal amount of soymilk)
6 T raw turbinado sugar
4 T soymilk
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T walnut oil*
squirt of flax oil

Suggested toppings: berries, cherries, or left as is!

Day before: soak cashews overnight in water.

Combine the almonds, dates, coconut, 1/2 cup cashews, and pecans in a food processor until small crumbs form and when pressed the dough holds its shape. It will be slightly sticky. Press firmly into a prepared tart pan. Refrigerate. Clean the food processor and prepare cheesecake filling.

Mix remaining cashews, vanilla sugar, sugar, soy milk, lemon juice, and oils in the food processor until thick, creamy, and dense. Remove crust from refrigerator. Scoop out cashew cream with a spoon and spread on top of almond crust.  Refrigerate. Top with toppings of your choice or leave plain. Cheesecake will become more firm as it's refrigerated.

*Except with the addition of the oils, this recipe could be considered raw.