Slow-roasted Cranberry-Apple Pulled Pork Tenderloin

This is a dish chock full of the fall flavors of cranberries and apples, and also full of the simplicity needed around this time of year, when everything seems to be happening 100 times faster than you think it should.  It's a recipe for a slow day - at least, a slow day for your crockpot.  While it's wonderful to be in the house to smell it turning into its wonderful self, this is one that will take you a mere 10 minutes (possibly less!) to throw together.  Then you can go out for the day, and when you come back, a dinner you'd swear had been slaved over is waiting for you.  The broth simmers with a depth of flavor that can only come with the kind of time your crockpot will be putting in for you with this one.  I didn't actually know this would turn into pulled pork until I opened the crockpot when I got home last night and found it to be so tender that it fell apart when I took a knife to it.  But what a lovely surprise!  I served this with mashed sweet potatoes with a little thyme and agave nectar stirred in and sauteed brussel sprouts with garlic, but you could also serve it in sandwiches if you'd like.  I cooked mine for so long (9 1/2 hours) that the broth had reduced and thickened enough for me on its own, but if you can only cook it for 6 - 8 hours, you can thicken the broth by simmering it with a cornstarch slurry (see recipe below).  I can't imagine this going over badly with anyone, unless they happen not to be fans of pork, of course.  And honestly - if they don't it?  That just means more for you.

Slow-roasted Cranapple Pulled Pork Tenderloin
Makes 3 - 5 servings

1 1-lb pork tenderloin
2 tsp. salt
1 jar Trader Joe's cranberry sauce (or a can of your favorite gluten-free cranberry sauce)
1/2 cup cranberry juice or cranberry cider
1/2 cup white sugar
2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 large onion, cut into slivers
2 stalks celery, diced into large pieces

Salt the tenderloin and place it in the slow cooker.  Add the diced apples, onion, and celery.  In a small bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, cranberry juice, and sugar and pour over the ingredients in the crockpot.  Cook on "low" for 6 - 10 hours.  (I cooked mine for 9.5 hours and it was extremely tender.)  Lovely served with sweet potatoes, or you could make pulled pork sandwiches out of it as well.

To thicken the broth, combine 2 tsp. cornstarch with 2 tbsp. water and mix together until there are no lumps.  Place the broth in a small saucepan and add the cornstarch slurry, stirring constantly until it is thickened.  Remove from heat and serve over the pork tenderloin.

Passover Charoset

Charoset (pronounced ha-ROW-set) is arguably one of the easiest Passover dishes to prepare, and one of the best foods of this holiday, in my opinion.  It is also one of the most varied, with recipes and ingredients ranging widely depending on the Jewish tradition, as well as the particular Jewish family.  Some use apples and dates, while others use figs and almonds.  Some people use cinnamon alone, while others use a wider variety of spices.  Check out the Jewess with Attitude's blog post, Charoset Medley, to find out more about the endless possibilities of this dish.  And the best part is that charoset is naturally gluten-free.  No modifications necessary!  Suffice to say, I have yet to find a charoset that I do NOT like.

Charoset is eaten as part of a traditional seder dinner and is a sweet paste made of fruits, nuts, red wine, and sugar, usually eaten as a topping for matzoh crackers. (And by the way, do you all know about Yehuda Gluten-free Matzoh crackers??  They are pictured in this post.)  The paste-like consistency symbolizes the mortar that Israelite slaves used to bind bricks together when they were building cities in Ancient Egypt.  I've seen it as a very chunky paste before (almost like a sweet, wine-infused salad), but also sometimes as a very thick, smooth paste, in which all ingredients have been very well-blended.  My own family's recipe is of the chunky variety, but you could easily puree this to make it more mortar-like if you want to increase the symbolic power of this delicious Passover treat.  What follows is the delicious recipe that I enjoy every year on Passover, but I encourage you to experiment with this and other charoset recipes to find one you love!

Charoset
Makes enough for 3-4 moderately hungry seder guests

1 whole apple, peeled, cored, and very finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds (or as much as you like!)
4 dates, chopped into small pieces
Handful of raisins
Red wine to coat
Cinnamon (to taste)
White and brown sugar (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Adjust sugar and wine to taste.  Chill until ready to serve.  Eat as a topping for gluten-free matzoh.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Apple-Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing

Don't let the length name of the recipe fool you.  This is actually pretty easy to make, as long as you have some time for the squash to roast.  And the end product?  It is so good.  So, so good.  I actually kept nipping away at the stuffing as it baked in the oven because it was so delicious, leaving me with a little less to actually stuff the acorn squash with.  So that's my warning to you, although I'm not saying don't eat along the way - I'm just saying, perhaps plan ahead and make a little extra stuffing specifically for the purpose of gnoshing.

I got the idea for this recipe on the Gluten-free Goddess's website, although my disclaimer is that I did not look at her recipe - only the picture - and went from there.  So I credit her for the idea for this fantastic bit of cooking - thanks, Karina! And since I still have quite a few of the Pumpkin Corn Muffins from last week in a freezer holding pattern, this was the perfect way to use some of them up.

The most contentious part of any Thanksgiving is arguably the stuffing.  Whose recipe is best?  I, of course, believe firmly that my mom's stuffing is the best in the world and would never consider another option for a moment.  So, I used my mom's stuffing recipe here - but if you feel the same way about your mom's recipe, go ahead and use it instead!  Just substitute the cornbread for the regular bread and you should be good to go.  This was a perfect pre-Thanksgiving dinner, full of harvest goodness and filling the house with familiar and comforting aromas. 

Roasted Acorn Squash with Apple-Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing

1 medium acorn squash, cut in half
3 tbsp. maple syrup or agave nectar
2 tbsp. brown sugar, divided
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped leeks (I used frozen chopped leeks from Trader Joe's)
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 large apple, peeled and diced
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of smoked or regular paprika (optional)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (optional)
1 tsp. dried parsley
Ground pepper and salt to taste
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 pumpkin corn muffins (or your favorite cornbread or corn muffins) - best to use ones that are a little dried out or which have been frozen

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Slice the acorn squash in half, scoop out all of the seeds, and place in a baking dish.  Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. brown sugar and drizzle with maple syrup.  Place in the oven to bake.

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil.  Add the leeks, celery, and diced apple and cook over medium heat for at least 5 - 7 minutes. Add the spices, cranberries, and broth and continue to cook until the leeks and celery are quite tender and the broth has reduced by about half (about 7- 9 more minutes).

On a cutting board, chop up the corn muffins into small pieces and place them in a large bowl.  Pour the leek mixture over the cornbread and mix well, coating all pieces of cornbread with the liquid.  Pour into two small mini-loaf baking dishes and place in the oven with the acorn squash to bake.

Bake the cornbread for about 20 - 30 minutes (depending on your oven temperature) or until the edges start looking crispy.  Remove from oven and set aside until the acorn squash has finished baking.  It's done when a fork goes in easily and the flesh of the squash pulls apart easily.  If desired, you can baste the squash in the maple syrup/agave nectar as it bakes.

When the squash is done (and times will vary based on your oven temperature and the size of the squash), remove from the oven and stuff with the cornbread stuffing.  Place back into the oven for 5 - 10 minutes, or long enough for the whole thing to heat through again.  Drizzle a little more maple syrup over the top, if desired.  When the cornbread starts getting crispy again, remove from the oven.

Serve on its own as a delicious, hearty vegan meal, or as a side dish to turkey.

Blueberry Applesauce

It's apple season.  That means weekend trips to apple orchards to take a hayride out into the tree thickets, munching on delicious fruit straight from the tree as you forage for apples that have somehow escaped the notice of apple-pickers past.  A breeze drifts by and you notice a slight chill in the air.  There are children and parents carefully selecting large pumpkins from a hay-strewn patch.

This story almost always ends the same way.  Caught up in the romantic notion of autumn, surrounded by flowering trees and with apples practically falling at your feet, you buy a bag.  Perhaps you buy a 20 pound bag.  And then you get home, and you stare at the bag of apples you've bought, and you think:  What the heck am I going to do with these?

I have yet to finish my own apples from last weekend off, and I only took one-third of the bag that my cousin, her boyfriend, and I bought.  But for a start, I decided to try making applesauce.  And then, halfway through cooking it, I decided to make half of it blueberry applesauce because....well, just because.  Because I had blueberries, and I was curious.  And oh, am I glad I did... 

Both versions of this turned out to be delicious.  You can add more or less sugar (even no sugar!) depending on your own taste and how sweet your apples are on their own.  Mine were a bit tart, so I went the sugar route.  But you don't have to follow this recipe exactly.  Let it tell you what to do.  And if you don't want the blueberries?  Leave 'em out!  Or add your own favorite fruit, and see what happens.

Blueberry Applesauce

6 medium-large apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 cup water
up to 1/4 cup brown sugar
up to 1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice OR 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 sticks cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
dash of vanilla extract (if desired - make sure it's gluten-free!)
1 cup frozen blueberries, rinsed

Place everything but the blueberries into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until the apples are becoming very soft.  Adjust the spices and sugar to your own taste.  Add the blueberries and stir well.  Continue to simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes until the fruit is falling apart.  Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher or a fork.

If desired, serve warm over ice cream or cake, or serve chilled.

Cinnamon Streusel Rhubarb Apple Coffee Cake with Rhubarb Compote

Struck by inspiration while wandering the supermarket here, I picked up a package of rhubarb last week without feeling very sure of how I'd use it.  My grandmother sometimes makes a delicious compote with rhubarb that is very simple to throw together, and that is what I thought of when I put it in my cart.  But as it sat in my kitchen over the next few days, the wheels continued to turn as I formulated a plan for it.  Thoughts of a rhubarb crisp passed through my mind, as did rhubarb jam and rhubarb pie.  In the end, though, the thought of a coffee cake was what grabbed me, so I threw this together, humming as I mixed flours, chopped rhubarb and apples, and stirred it all together, taking in the delicious scents of cinnamon and vanilla that wafted out of the mixing bowl.  I had a hard time waiting for this one to bake, and checked every few minutes in the hope that it would be done so I could try some.  When (what seemed like ages later) it was finally done, I ate a slice warm from the oven and nearly melted.  It held together beautifully, and the cinnamon streusel topping was the perfect complement to the tartness of the rhubarb, now softened into delicious sweetness with the chopped apple.  It's a cake I would not hesitate to serve to a non-celiac.  It tastes wonderful on its own, but for a bit of added flavor, serve with a dollop of Rhubarb Compote (see below), or with some of your favorite gluten-free, dairy-free ice cream (my favorite is So Creamy from Trader Joe's). 

Cinnamon Streusel Rhubarb Apple Coffee Cake

½ cup non-dairy buttery spread or margarine
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buckwheat flour
½ cup tapioca starch
½ cup brown rice flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt
¾ - 1 cup non-dairy buttermilk (3/4 – 1 cup soy milk with 2 tsp. lemon juice)
2 cups chopped rhubarb
¾ cup chopped peeled apple

For cinnamon streusel topping:

Small pat of margarine, melted (optional)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a small bowl or cup, place one cup of soy or other non-dairy milk. Add 2 tsp. lemon juice and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes.

Cream the non-dairy buttery spread in a bowl and add the sugar, mixing very well until the mixture is crumbly. Add the egg and beat into the batter.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Alternate between adding flour and buttermilk to the butter/sugar mixture, mixing well after each addition. Add the chopped rhubarb and chopped apple and mix evenly. Place into a deep 8” x 8” pan.

In another small bowl, combine the melted margarine (if you are using it), the brown sugar, and the cinnamon and mix into a crumbly mixture. Spread evenly over the top of the batter in the pan. Bake at 350 for 45 – 55 minutes or until the top is slightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Serve topped with rhubarb compote, if desired, or plain.

Rhubarb Compote

1 cup rhubarb
1/3 cup chopped peeled apple

Water to cover

3 -5 tbsp. brown sugar

Place the chopped rhubarb and chopped apple into a small pan and add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow the water to cook down until the rhubarb and apples have fallen apart and the mixture has become very thick. Add 3 -5 tbsp. brown sugar to your own taste.

Ways to use this compote:

-Eat it by itself

-Use as a topping for pancakes or French toast

-Use to top cakes

-Use to top granola in the morning

Fried Apples

Breakfast at dinner is one of my favorite things. I remember when I was a kid, how much I loved it when my mom would start scrambling eggs, cooking fat sausages in our cast iron skillet, flipping pancakes, and making a big pot of fried apples instead of drumming up the usual giant pot of spaghetti. I would peek over the top of the stove and watch the food sizzle on the myriad of skillets arranged on top. The apple slices would be simmered over a low flame with brown sugar and cinnamon until they were deliciously tender and perfectly spiced. They tasted like apple pie without the crust, and it was always a treat when I got to have them as part of my actual dinner.

Fried Apples

A pat of gluten-free, dairy-free margarine (such as Earth Balance or Smart Balance Light)

5 – 6 apples, cored and peeled, cut into thin slices

2 – 4 tbsp. brown sugar, to taste

½ - 1 tsp. Cinnamon, to taste

Place the butter in a pot and melt over low-medium heat. Add the apples and stir well, then cover to cook for 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and cover again, cooking over low heat for 20 – 40 more minutes until the apples are very soft. Adjust sugar and cinnamon to your own taste. If the apples are not cooking quickly enough and all of the liquid boils off, add a little boiling water as needed until the apples are soft. Serve immediately as a dessert or as a side for breakfast (at dinner).

Butternut Apple Bake

Squash is everywhere here in Swaziland. They eat it like mashed potatoes with melted butter and milk. They cut butternut squash into thick slices and drizzle it with butter and sugar and bake it for so long that it melts in your mouth and tastes like heaven on earth. They boil slices of sweet pumpkin for a snack. So when I found a 2 pound bag of butternut squash at the grocery store the other day for only about $1.50, I thought of the bag of apples I had sitting in my room at home and bought them, along with an onion. Later, I pulled these three ingredients out, chopped them up, drizzled some olive oil and spices over them, and left them to do their thing in the oven. I let them bake for about 55 minutes until they were very soft and the juice from the apples was bubbling on the bottom of the pan. You could serve this as a hot side dish, but what I recommend is to chill them overnight and then eat them cold the next day. I don't know what happened in that fridge, but something magical took place and they tasted amazing when I took my first bite this evening. I didn't even bother to warm them up after tasting them cold; I just spooned them into a bowl and ate, and it was wonderful and satisfying. I think that I will try this with a mixture of butternut squash, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes to go with the apples; you could really use any kind of squash or potato you have on hand and serve it as a potato/squash salad. Or you could heat it up and eat it with rice. It's versatile, so just make it work for what you have!


Butternut Apple Bake

1.5 lbs chopped butternut squash
3 small apples, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped into slices
2 - 3 tbsp. olive oil or gluten-free buttery spread
Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, and Basil sprinkled to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 - 3 tbsp. brown sugar

Chop the onion and arrange on the bottom of a glass baking dish. Chop the butternut squash into equal-sized pieces and chop the apples, and arrange over the onions. Drizzle the olive oil over the whole thing. Add the salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, and oregano to taste and stir to coat all of the pieces. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 375 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour, testing for doneness. Add more seasoning or brown sugar according to your own taste. You can either serve immediately when it is hot or chill to serve as a cold side dish.

Apple Cranberry Cake

I've made this a couple of times now, and it is a very hearty, satisfying cake with a sweet tartness that smacks of fall. It's another one of Karina's recipes (one of my favorite gluten-free bloggers). I've tried it once with the egg replacer and once with 2 eggs, and both times have been successful, and everyone has been a fan of the taste. It tends to puff up quite a bit while baking, almost overflowing out of the pan, but it just ends up as a nice, high cake. I would put a sheet of foil underneath the pan as it's baking to catch any apple or cranberry juice that drips out of the pan, though. You can find the recipe from Karina here. Enjoy!

Summer Fruit Crisp

I went to my parents' house last night for a belated Father's Day celebration, and when I got there, I found that my mom had made a special gluten-free apple crisp for dessert! She had adapted a recipe from a Cooking with Kids cookbook to make it and used the only gluten-free flour she had on-hand, which was potato starch. It turned out to be wonderful, and even my brother liked it (most of my family politely decline when I offer them a taste of anything gluten-free), so much so that he even had seconds! I thought this was a delicious dessert, and if you omit the egg and substitute Earth Balance Buttery Spread (or something comparable), you could easily adapt this to be a vegan recipe (although my mom said that the texture would suffer without the egg and might not be crumbly anymore). Also, feel free not to use only apples; this recipe would be wonderful with pears, peaches, or any other fruit (or combination thereof). My family topped theirs with ice cream, and I used my Vanilla Rice Dream (which is perhaps the only food I can leave at my parents' house with absolutely no concerns about someone else eating it!). So here is my mom's adaptation of the recipe:




Summer Fruit Crisp

10-12 cups sliced apples (or other fruit)
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
1 cup + 5 tbsp. potato starch, divided (or your favorite gf flour/flour blend)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. gf baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 375 F. Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.

Grease the inside of an 9''x13'' square baking pan with Wesson Oil. Take 1/3 cup sugar and 3 tbsp. potato starch and mix together. Mix the fruit with this mixture (10-12 cups of sliced apples). Pat the fruit into the bottom of the pan. Then take about 1 cup potato starch + 2 tbsp. and mix with 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and mix together well. Beat one egg in a separate bowl and mix it into the dry mixture first using a fork, and then use your hands to mix it further until it turns into a nice, crumbly mixture. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Bake for about 30 min., check for doneness, and if it needs more time, turn it around and bake for about 10 more minutes until brown on top and the sides are bubbling. Turn the oven off and let it sit in the oven until you are ready to serve it; this is best eaten warm. Top with vanilla ice cream or Vanilla Rice Dream (and sprinkle cinnamon over the whole thing, if desired).

**I have also seen recipes for gluten-free crisps using Quinoa flakes, or if you tolerate gluten-free oats, you could top this with one of these as well.

**If you prefer to make a smaller crisp, I believe the original recipe called for using 6 cups of fruit with an 8"x8" pan, so you could probably just halve the entire recipe in that case.