1. Place all ingredients in your crockpot and stir to coat apples with cinnamon. Cook on high for several hours (4-ish) until apples are very soft. 
2. Turn off the crockpot and let apples cool until they are no longer steaming hot. Pour into a blender and blend until smooth. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, mash the apples with a fork or potato masher instead of blending.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (vegan)

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour works well)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2/3 cup non-dairy milk
• 2/3 cup real maple syrup (this is a pretty sweet bread and this could be reduced to 1/3 cup)
• 1/4 cup oil (canola, coconut, olive - your choice)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups grated zucchini
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds (optional, adds protein, iron, and omega 3s)

1. Preheat the oven to 375º F (190º C). In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the milk, syrup, oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and zucchini. Add to the dry mixture and stir gently to combine. Fold in the raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts, and hemp seeds.
3. Pour batter into a loaf pan* lined with parchment paper (or lightly oiled). Bake for 45-50 minutes, until lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

*Note: You can also bake this as muffins. Reduce baking time to approximately 20-25 minutes.

• 3/4 cup pureed persimmon (peel and chop ~2 fuyu persimmons and puree in a blender or food processor)
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds (for protein and omega 3s)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp each: cinnamon, cardamom, fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Topping: 1/4 cup chopped pecans, 1 tbsp melted margarine (Earth Balance), 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Combine the persimmon puree, non-dairy milk, vanilla, and oil in a small bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (all remaining ingredients except the apples and topping). Add the wet ingredients and the apples to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour the batter evenly into a cake pan lined with parchment paper.
3. Melt the margarine in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add the rest of the topping ingredients and combine well. Sprinkle the topping over the batter. Bake for about 50 minutes or until browned on top and edges look done. Cool before slicing.

1. Line a bread pan (or other small pan) with plastic wrap, letting it drape over the side (you will use the plastic to lift the cheesecake out of the pan later).
2. Process all ingredients in a food processor until they start to stick together and form clumps. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Butterscotch
2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, melted
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon rum or butterscotch extract

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mixing well.
2. Pour into a skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously, until it starts to thicken.
3. Pour butterscotch over prepared crust.

Pumpkin cheesecake
1 1/2 cups cashew ricotta
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons coconut oil or coconut butter
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned is fine)

1. Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour over the butterscotch layer in the prepared pan. Place in freezer for several hours or overnight.
2. Remove frozen cheesecake from the freezer and lift it out of the pan using the plastic wrap. Cut the cake into ~1 inch squares and return to the freezer until the chocolate coating is ready. You may want to leave the squares in the freezer and take out only a few at a time as you're dipping them.

Chocolate coating
12 ounces of vegan chocolate, chopped (chips work too)
1 tablespoon non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

1. Place chocolate and shortening in a glass bowl. Melt on a low power setting in the microwave (stirring every 15 seconds) or in a double boiler.
2. Dip each cheesecake square in the chocolate using a toothpick or tongs. Place the dipped squares on a wax or parchment lined baking sheet and use a spoon to pour a little more chocolate over the top.

Store the finished cheesecake bites in the fridge. These have a little condensation on them because they are still cold. They taste good at any temp!
Happy (early) weekend! I'm off to Lake Tahoe for a training weekend with my triathlon training group. Think warm thoughts for me, it is supposed to be COOOOLD!

For our luxury dinner, I set the table with my grandmother's China. This China has been in my family since my grandmother purchased it for her mother in the 1920s. It is a soft shade of yellow with a delicate flower pattern and gold trim:

Sharing a meal with friends and family is about more than just eating. It is about connection and sharing and bonding. My grandmother passed away at age 97 in 2006. Whenever I use this China, I almost feel like I've invited her to the table. I love that!

Some words on planning: When I was creating my menu for this dinner, I wanted to include seasonal produce but I also wanted to create some unique flavors that went well together.

My tips for pulling this off:

• Choose produce that is in season for the best flavor. Also, shop locally if possible. The closer the produce was grown to your table, the better it will taste!
• When creating your menu, select dishes that include similar ingredients. For example, my pate and soup both contain thyme; my salad and dessert are both centered around pears; etc.
• A well-planned menu should draw its variety from multiple ingredients that go well together. Varying textures (crunchy, creamy, chewy, etc.) are okay, but the foods should have similar flavor profiles. No one course on the menu should drown out the others with over-powering flavor.

On wine: With our meal, I served a light white wine (Elva from Jodar Winery which was, coincidentally, named after the vintner's grandmother). For those who prefer a sweeter flavor, an orange muscat would be great (especially with this dessert).

Cheers!

Let's get started!



We began our meal with a baby greens salad with red pears, pomegranate arils, and pine nuts. I tossed the greens in a light pear vinaigrette of my invention and the result was colorful and delicious!

For the pear vinaigrette: In a blender, combine 1 ripe pear (peeled and cored), 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Blend until very smooth. The dressing was a pretty pale yellow that looked so much like the yellow of my China!

Allow me to pause here to talk about feeding children. My kids are two and four and they are not yet into eating so luxuriously. Planning to feed them isn't tough, though.

Here are two tips to consider when you have little people to feed:

• Younger kids prefer foods that are disassembled or in pieces. For example, instead of serving my boys a salad, I gave them a plate with pears, pomegranate arils, nuts, etc. that they could enjoy one thing at a time.
• Serve sauces on the side in a dish that facilitates dipping. Kids are sometimes suspicious of sauce, but they love to dip!

Back to our meal!



Along side the salad, I served a walnut mushroom pate. This pate was out of this world! It tasted great on the warm bread and would also make an excellent sandwich spread.



For our next course, we enjoyed a rich and velvety smooth butternut squash soup with crispy sage leaves. The fresh thyme in the soup went well with the thyme in the pate and the smell of the onions and sage cooking together for the soup was heavenly. It is one of my favorite things this time of year!

Fresh thyme in my garden.
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