Will Run For Apple Chips (& a mandoline)

cinnamon apple chips

When I saw the subject line "4:45 a.m. double crust sandwich" I knew that things weren't good.  My cousin and I use double crust sandwiches as the baseline for a bad day.  Her double crust sandwiches literally involve a double crust sandwich as well as a work week that includes two Mondays (that's cruel), leaving her house at 4:45 a.m. to drive for an hour and working underground as the only girl on her crew.  Now that's a bad day if you ask me.  This particular double crust sandwich involved a dog weigh scale, jeans that didn't fit, and a few other details that I am not at liberty to share (she has stories, and pictures).

The opposite of double crust sandwiches (in my world anyway) are trays of cinnamon apple chips and bowls of thinly sliced beets, carrots, apples, and avocados with white balsamic vinegar.  If you're reminding yourself to tell me to suck a beet chip the next time you see me don't worry it won't be the first time I hear it.  I wonder if Farmer knew that the mandoline she bought me would make me want to thinly slice and eat every vegetable & fruit in sight.

Apple Chips  

3 gala apples

1 tsp cinnamon

lots of patience

mandoline

dehydrator

Wash apples.  Core apples using your apple corer (you could use a knife but the apple corer makes the job painless).  Using your *mandoline (everyone NEEDS one of these) thinly slice apples.  Place apples on dehydrating racks, sprinkle with cinnamon.  Turn dehydrator to 135 F.  Wait 8-10 hours. 

before

It's my birthday!  One little slice won't hurt.

If he gets one I get one too, right?

 Putting your dehydrator on before bed makes the wait less painful and your house smells delicious when you wake up.

8 hours later

While you have the mandoline out you might want to try making some beet & carrot salad.  I used 1 large beet, 2 carrots, 1/4 C parsley roughly chopped, 1/2 an apple, 1/2 avocado thinly sliced with a knife and several tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar.

the reason my hands are pink

Or how about some beet chips?

before

3 hours later (145 F for 45 minutes + 115F for 3 hrs)

Will Run For Harvest Cake

It's my birthday and I can eat cake for breakfast (and lunch and supper) if I want to!

happy birthday breakfast

In preparation of a day of cake eating I started my day at the gym (narrowly escaping the birthday tiara).

Next was a tea party with the beautiful creamer set that Farmer bought me while visiting Prince Edward Island.

sugar lumps from Magog

After that Pace Bunny promised me the workout of my choice for my birthday.  I was really hoping for matching running themed jewellery or dirt in a jar from our favourite running route (please note sarcastic undertones) but the workout of my choice didn't turn out to be so bad.  Six kilometres + a 1 K walk.  There isn't any walking in running with PB and I so this was all kinds of awesome.  I might take up mall walking.   

Finally,I was lucky enough to get to have dinner with Granny & my favourite great aunt (all while watching Y&R).

While a birthday is a great excuse to eat cake any excuse will do.  With more zucchinis, carrots & beets on their way from Spill The Beans Farm I hope to see more cake in my future.

Harvest Cake

1 C wholewheat pastry flour
1 C unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 C buckwheat honey
1/2 C soymilk + 2 tsp lemon juice (stir and allow to sit until thickened)
2 flax eggs (2 T ground flax + 6 T warm water)
1/4 C olive oil
1 T vanilla bean paste
1 C grated carrot
3/4 C grated zucchini
1/4 C grated beet 

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Grease 9 inch square baking pan with olive oil.  Set aside.  I decided that I would cut the cake in 1/2 and make a 1/2 cake instead.  It wasn't my best idea.

half cake

Grate 1 C carrots, 3/4 C zucchini, & 1/4 C carrot.  Set aside.

glorious garden vegetables

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients.

In a large bowl combine honey, soy milk + lemon juice, flax eggs and vanilla.  Stir vigorously or drag out the electric mixture until everything is well combined.  Add grated vegetables and continue to stir.  Slowly add dry ingredients.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

In desperate need of icing

Icing

For the icing I used My New Roots recipe for honey coconut icing.  This recipe calls for only a few simple ingredients: coconut milk, honey, coconut oil, cornstarch, water and a pinch of sea salt.  I would recommend doubling or even tripling the recipe if you are a lover of all things coconut, honey and/or icing.

I need to eat cake more often