Toast Topper #43: Flavourful Brown Sugar - Apple Jelly

My family is definitely an apple-cinnamon loving group. It's impossible for me to think of a year going by without a trip to the apple orchard, followed by endless afternoons of pie, sauce, square and butter making and a still-warm serving of the finished product for dessert. Last year, being in possession of a hand-me-down juicer and more apples than even we could take down at once, I juiced the leftovers (a mix of Spy, Mutsu and Spartan) and froze it in jars for later cooking, baking and pure enjoyment. 

Eventually we came to the end of the stash (although there is still *one* more pie in the freezer) except for a pint jar of juice. I was pining for the rich, caramelized flavour of my Roasted Apple Butter by then (it just doesn't taste the same with storebought fruit) and decided what better to do than highlight the hints of Autumn in a jelly? With the help of dark brown sugar, maple syrup and organic Pyure stevia along with spicy cinnamon, the juice turned from pale and plain to a brew similar to mulled cider. I relied on the low-sugar setting power of Pomona's pectin (definitely my favourite pectin!) for the "heavy lifting" of the gel, and while I kept one half-pint jar in the fridge for immediate enjoyment I canned the other one for later. I have a feeling that it will disappear before we know it - a sure "toast" to successful preserves!

Curried Basmati and Beluga Soup

When it comes to packing lunches, my mom and I love to travel the world through a variety of soups and stews. It's not just a Winter thing either - in the Spring and Summer when the produce starts looking healthier and coming down in price, we stock up and I get into the kitchen with more of an inspiration than a recipe as my roadmap. With the fresh flavours of the garden as a strong backbone, it's child's play to pick a "theme" of flavours and run with it - allowing us to travel the world with nothing but a spoon.

Sadly, it's not quite warm enough for the tender crops to grow yet, and it will be at least July before the peppers, zucchini and tomatoes are starting to come out in the garden (if we're lucky). However, the hardy crops like carrots, storage onions and celery are omnipresent in the stores, and almost always economical "fillers" for a bowl of soup. Likewise, the bulk foods aisle (or store) is packed with cheap, healthy inspiration with it's bevy of whole grains, dried legumes ad spices. Making those items into the cornerstones of my latest batch of soup, I managed to simmer my way into a fragrant, lightly spicy pot of Indian flavour. Brown Basmati rice thickened the vibrant yellow broth that was filled with carrots, onion and celery, pairing beautifully with the tiny black lentils. I love using black lentils in soup and stews like this because they hold their shape, unlike red lentils and split peas which tend to disintegrate with cooking. Don't get me wrong - a red lentil pureed potage is perfectly delicious when you're aiming for that, but with so many other "chunky" things going on in this I wanted the texture to remain. A simple but effective finish of fresh ginger and tamari heightened the spice and umami while keeping all the other flavours bright. It's a deliciously healthy way to warm up your surroundings and forget that there's still snow on the ground outside!

Shared with Wellness Weekend and Gluten Free Fridays

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Blondies - It's #chocPBday!

I am so excited - today is probably one of the best days ever for a sweet and salty flavour-holic like me - it's Chocolate Peanut Butter Day! Carla  (my pal from Chocolate Moosey) and Miriam (the Overtime Cook) created this event, joined by 31 bloggers with a passion for the PB&C mashup. We've got all sorts of recipes for you today, from cookies and bars to scones and muffins, not to mention fabulous prizes from our sponsors - OXO, King Arthur Flour, and Peanut Butter & Co.!

Not only will we each have the roundup links on our pages, but you can join in the fun all day by following the hashtag #chocPBday on Twitter,  social Facebook and Instagram and sharing your favorite chocolate + peanut butter recipes. Need inspiration for your own creations? Just follow our Pinterest board, you'll find all sorts of goodies!

What about those prizes I mentioned?

#chocPBday is fortunate enough to be partnering with OXO, King Arthur Flour, and Peanut Butter & Co. to bring you three fabulous prize packs perfect for indulging your inner (or outer) baker. If you love to bake, you don't want to miss this! You'll find the RaffleCopter widget underneath my recipe.

What are we waiting for? It's time to get our #chocPBday on!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Parfait by Hip Foodie Mom
Dark Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies by Mind Over Batter
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Crumb Parfait by Hungry Couple
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Doughnuts by It's Yummi!
Flourless Peanut Butter Cup Swirl Brownies by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Buckeye Cheesecake Bars by Chocolate Moosey
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Scones by All Day I Dream About Food
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Jam Bars by Poet in the Pantry
Crunchy Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cannolis by Souffle Bombay
4 Layer Chocolate Brownie Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting by Neighborfood
Mini Chocolate Caramel Peanut Butter Cheesecakes by The Spiffy Cookie
Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars by Crumb: A Food Blog
Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies by Jen's Favorite Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies by In The Kitchen With KP
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies by The Cooking Actress
Chocolate Peanut Butter Trifle by Kelli's Kitchen
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream by Kelly Bakes
Peanut Butter Chocolate Biscotti by Lauren Kelly Nutrition
Chunky Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies by Snappy Gourmet
Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Bars by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Peanut Butter Bundt Cake with Chocolate Cheesecake Filling by Overtime Cook
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls by Gotta Get Baked
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Quick Bread by Magnolia Days
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream by Kudos Kitchen By Renee
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips Bars by Roxana's Home Baking
Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Blondies by What Smell's So Good
Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake by I Wash You Dry
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares by Food Lust People Love
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cups by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispie Cheesecake Bars by Food Faith Fitness

My contribution to the party is one of my old favourites from childhood, gussied up for the occasion. I have been a fan of chewy peanut butter blondies for as long as I can remember, and when I went to university it took a lot of self-restraint not to blow my whole food plan budget on the cafeteria's to-die-for chocolate covered version. After a few excuses to eat trial runs, I discovered a combination of ingredients that created exactly what I was going for - sweet, salty, moist (but not greasy) and chewy. The aces up my sleeve, as far as I can tell, are the apple butter for an intense moisture (without sogginess or grease) and my homemade Egg White Mallow Fluff, which brought a sweet, sticky chew. There's enough sweetness between the sugar, xylitol and Fluff that natural-style peanut butter worked beautifully, especially when paired with whole wheat flour.

Of course, Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Blondies are nothing without the chocolate! For that, I picked my favourite stevia-sweetened dark chocolate and melted it over a double boiler with a small scoop of coconut oil. Cubes of blondies got a quick dunk, then were sprinkled with peanut butter chips to finish. The slightly bitter edge of the chocolate perfectly balances the salty-sweet cake interior and gives a gorgeous colour pop too!

Egg White Mallow Fluff

Egg whites are marvelous things. I don't know of anything else that is so versatile and fascinating to work with - an intricate web of proteins that can be made sweet or savoury, scrambled or baked for breakfast, whipped into lunch or dessert souffles, piped into delicate macarons or dolloped into crisp-chewy pavlovas, there is almost nothing they can't do.

One of my favourite applications for the humble egg white is marshmallow fluff. Since finding the recipe in Marshmallows: Homemade Gourmet Treats by Eileen Talanian, my variation has been my go-to answer when I have at least two whites left over from bread, cookie or cake baking. Not only is it a gooey, sticky and more flavourful version of the storebought Fluff perfect for your next hot cocoa or crispy cereal treats, but it makes a killer ice cream swirl, frosting and general baking ingredient. It's even perfectly freezer-friendly... and if I may add, tastes delicious scooped out of the frozen tub in the middle of the night! 
 

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays

P.S. --> Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a copy of Homemade Condiments: Artisan Recipes Using Fresh, Natural Ingredients! Find all the details on this post - good luck! 

Coffee Crisp Coffee Cake

I come from a family of coffee fans. One of my most concrete memories is when my parents, sister and I would go up to our sailboat on Georgian Bay on summer weekends - while the days could be hot and sunny, you could bet those mornings were as chilly as the lake, and definitely required a hot beverage alongside the cereal or pancakes that started our day. Without electricity for a coffee maker, though, my parent's brew was from instant crystals and usually milked way up - cafe au lait style. While my sister never got on the coffee bandwagon (she's a tea gal through and through), by the time I was 5 or 6, I got my foot in the "coffee" door and was matching them cup for cup, and now my cup is black and unsweetened. 

Two of the other things my parents and I share a love for are Coffee Crisp bars and coffee cake. What can I say? You stick "coffee" in the title of something and you can be sure we'd at least give it more than a passing glance. When I came into possession of a bagful of Coffee Crisp bars after the holidays (courtesy of my workplace), I threw them in the freezer with no definite plans. I figured something would eventually percolate (excuse the pun) into fruition.

And it did - a delicious combination of nutty whole grains, flax, and psyllium, the bitter edge of espresso and the sweetness of the chocolate bars all baked into a moist, rich cake. I used Truvia for half the sugar to cut down the sucrose a little bit (I was cooking with candy after all), but make no mistake - this is definitely a treat.

Note: I know Coffee Crisp is a Canadian product - if you can't find it, something like Loacker Quadratini Cappuccino Wafer Cookies is a good substitute, or use your favourite chocolate "sugar wafer" cookies and up the instant espresso a touch.

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a copy of Homemade Condiments: Artisan Recipes Using Fresh, Natural Ingredients! Find all the details on this post - good luck!