It’s apple & pear season in Niagara! I can’t tell you how much I love having access to local tender fruit. Or how much I love munching on a crisp healthy delicious apple that came from a local farm. Apples and pears carry us through the winter months in Niagara. Both of these fruits store well through the fall and winter months. And they each have a wide variety of uses. I love how versatile they both are.
Lucky for me, it’s autumn time; both of my fave fruits are at their prime and I do love me some variety! How does it get any better?
Because of my quest for variety, I’m always experimenting, trying new things or looking for inspiration. Recently I pulled out Doug McNish’s Eat Raw, Eat Well cook (well un-cook) book. I made a version of his Apple Crumble recipe (page 333 if you have the book). Here’s my tweaks to his recipe:
Filling
5 medium sized organic apples, diced with skin left on (I used Gala apples)
1 lemon, freshly juiced
1/4 c sultan raisins (soaked in warm water for 10 minutes, then drained)
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Topping
1 c walnuts
4 medjool dates, pitted
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch of Himalayan salt
What you do
- Place diced apples in a medium size mixing bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice
- Toss apples with date paste, soaked raisins and cinnamon until well coated
- Place the apple mixture in 4 individual dessert dishes (I used ramekins)
- Process all of the topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture is still slightly chunky but crumbly
- Spread the topping evenly over all four of the dishes with the apple filling
- Cover & refrigerate until ready to serve
Serves 4
Next time I’ll mix apples and pears together and I might even jazz it up by adding some fresh ground ginger and ground cloves.
Let me know if you try any other variations.
Peace,