vegan fruit crumble recipe

I LOVE fruit bordering on the obsessive side. During the winter months, I like making crumbles using what I can find at the farmers market, which is usually apples and pears.

I recently started experimenting with making dairy free crumbles.  This recipe is vegan and uses gluten free oats. I added strawberries, to give this recipe a hint of summer and used a medium size, stoneware casserole dish from american bakeware that cooked this recipe perfectly. 

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VEGAN STRAWBERRY, APPLE & PEAR CRUMBLE  // serves 8 - 10

by brunchpants

prep time: 30 minutes // cook time: 35 - 40 minutes // TOTAL TIME: 1.25 hours

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING:

• 4 ripe peeled pears
• 4 peeled apples ( gala or fuji preferably  )
• 1 cup whole strawberries 
• 3 tbsp. almond meal
• 1 tsp. cinnamon 
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/3 cup maple syrup 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE TOPPING:

• 1 1/4 cup of almond meal
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 10 large juicy ( or soaked ) dates 
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 cups of gluten free "old fashion" oats
• 1/2 cup of sliced almonds
• 1 cup of sliced strawberries ( set aside for decor on top )  

METHOD: FILLING

1. Preheat the oven to 350' F.

2. After peeling the apples and pears, cut them into quarters, remove the core and seeds, and slice lengthwise to create even slices.

3. Core and slice the strawberries.

4. Mix everything together and put into a 9" baking dish and set aside.

METHOD: TOPPING

1. With the exception of the strawberries, pulse all of the ingredients ( using only half of the oats at first )  in a food processor to evenly blend.  You want everything to be mixed well but not pureed. 

2. Once everything is well blended, add in the second half of the oats and pulse only a few times, so you keep large pieces of oats in the mixture. 

3. Add the topping to the filling mixture, patting it down so it is evenly distributed. 

4. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until bubbling and browning on top. 

5. While the crumble is cooling, add the sliced strawberries to the top in a pattern of your choice. 

NOTES:

• You can refrigerate the crumble after you put the topping on and bake it before you want to serve.

ratatouille recipe

My dad used to make ratatouille from his collection of French cookbooks when I was growing up.  The aroma from the kitchen of making this recipe is almost as comforting as the food for me. I particularly love making Ratatouille in the colder months and use the leftovers for breakfast dishes. I have tried a few different ratatouille recipes in the past, however my Dad's adaptation uses anchovy paste which puts the end result in a class of its own. 

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RATATOUILLE  // serves 8-10

by brunchpant's dad Marcel

prep time: 30 minutes // cook time: 25 - 30 minutes plus 2 hours for reducing sauce // TOTAL TIME: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil

• 1 tbsp. anchovy paste

• 1 large yellow onion - cut into "Rondelle" ( large circles )

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• eggplant - 1 kilo ( about 2.2 lbs. ) preferably the longer Italian variety, cut into 1.5 inch pieces or rounds ( depending on the size of zuchinni you are using ) 

• zucchini - 1 kilo ( about 2.2 lbs. ) - cut into round pieces

• 3 - 16oz canned organic peeled tomatoes - roughly chopped

• 1 red pepper - sliced into strips, lengthwise, about 1 cm thick

• 1 yellow pepper - sliced into strips, lengthwise, about 1 cm thick

• 1 green pepper - sliced into strips, lengthwise, about 1 cm thick

• 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme and/or optional herbes de provence

• 3 bay leaves

• 4 whole cloves

• 1/4 tsp. clove powder

• salt and pepper to taste

• handful fresh basil leaves - roughly chopped ( save a small amount for garnish )

• handful fresh flat leaf parsley - roughly chopped ( save a small amount for garnish )

DIRECTIONS:

1. Use a medium size stock pot and over medium heat, start by "perfuming" the olive oil with Anchovy Paste" ( in french called huile d'olive parfumée ). Be sure not to overheat the olive oil.

2. Add the onions, cut into “Rondelle” ( big circles ) and sauté them until translucent.

3. Add the chopped garlic and stir for a few minutes until fragrant.

4. Add the eggplant first so it soaks up some of the olive oil and continually stir for about 1 minute.

5. Add the peppers and zucchini in alternating layers, stacking them on top of each other.

6. Pour in the tomatoes with the juice, covering all of the vegetables.  ( note - If you need more liquid to cover the vegetables, add a little no-sodium chicken stock or water ) 

7. Add the remaining herbs and spices - thyme, cloves, clove powder, bay leaves, basil and parsley and lightly stir to cover all the ingredients in liquid.

8. Cover and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes.  Use a knife to pierce through the zucchini and eggplant to test, if it slides in easily, you know it is finished. 

9. Strain out the vegetables and set aside, saving the liquid to reduce. ( cover with foil and set aside in the oven if you want to serve this dish hot, otherwise leave uncovered )

10. Reduce the sauce by boiling over medium-high heat. You want the sauce to reduce to a glaze-like consistency.  The time this will take depends on the type of pot you are using, but expect at least 1.5 hours.  Stir frequently to avoid burning.

11. Once sauce is reduced to a glaze, pour over the strained vegetables and garnish with leftover basil, parsley and thyme.

NOTES:

• You can serve this dish hot or at room temperature.  

• glaze the dish with the reduced vegetable sauce right before you serve and sprinkle with some of the leftover basil and parsley.

• do not use the long Chinese zucchini for this recipe as it doesn't have the right flavor.

homemade chai tea recipe

After making homemade chai tea, I was obsessed. The spices and flavors are addicting.  I like to make this on cold rainy days.  

Chai tea recipe:

4 cinnamon sticks, 4 black tea bags, 8 whole cloves, 12 cardamom pods, 2 star anise, 8 whole black peppercorns, 4 cups water, 4" sliced piece of ginger, 1 vanilla pod, 1/8 tsp nutmeg.

Bring all to boil for 10 min. add almond milk and honey to taste. Makes 4 cups.

grapes arrangement for centerpieces

This arrangement will show you how to make a flower centerpiece using grapes.   (I recently posted a similar flower arrangement for small tables, which can be used together) 

In this post, I used champagne grapes and small half cup size glass dishes. I suggest using small shorter bowls or cups so the flowers in the centerpiece don't get too high, making it difficult to see over them.  

Note: use different color grapes & flowers depending on the event and the season

Materials:

• 3 small clear glass cups - 1/3 filled with water

• scissors

• large bunch of grapes

• 8 - 9 flowers with the stems cut down

• 4 green leaves ( I used asplenium crispy wave leaves )

• extra greenery as needed - I used some ferns and leaves that I found outside 

Materials

asplenium crispy wave leaves

place the outside leaves first, making sure the leaves are not angled out too wide on your table

fill the cups half full with water

drape the grapes over the glass dishes, letting some of the branches fall outside 

keep draping until you have covered most of the dishes and a "cage" is in place to start placing flowers

place the main white flowers into the grapes, making sure they stay in place where you want them

after the main flowers are in place, fill in with smaller flowers and green accents 

finish

make custom greeting cards with artifact uprising

Check out the print service through the artifact uprising mobile app.  They offer a square print set that lets you print straight from your instagram account or camera roll.  The 5" x 5" prints have a white border and a textured matte finish which I paired with 5.5" envelopes from paper presentation that fit the cards perfectly.  I plan on using these cards for birthday and thanks you cards. I am looking forward to creating a second set, customizing them with photos of friends and family.  natural kraft square envelope 5.5" x 5.5" - 25 pk