Fruits and Veggies
If your childhood was like mine, you were probably told more than once to eat your fruits and veggies. Sometimes, if it was one of my favorites, it wasn't much of a problem.
Somehow, though, the idea of fruit and veggie desserts never seemed to come up. Maybe if it had, more of us (as kids) would have eaten them. Check out today's offerings, which include Whole Roasted Pineapples and Fudgy Zucchini Brownies. (Yes, you read that right.) Enjoy!
BUTTERSCOTCH PEACHES
This is from Celia Barbour in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Celia wrote, “I make a peach-butterscotch sauce that I dreamed up to impress my children, whose love for me, though unwavering, I am nonetheless constantly trying to cement with food. The result was delectable. We ate the sauce straight from the pot. We ate it from the serving dish. And we ate what was left for dessert that night, poured over Ronnybrook vanilla ice cream with chewy gingersnaps from Hawthorne Valley on the side. My children’s adoration of me was unaffected by the butterscotch, but their energy level definitely got a boost from all the sugar.” Yield: 4 to 6 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “Ode to the Peach: A Cook Baffled, and Then at Peace” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
6 medium or 5 large ripe peaches
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
Pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Vanilla ice cream
Almond biscotti, gingersnaps or other cookies
Preparation
Fill a large bowl with ice and water, and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place peaches in boiling water for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice water. When cool, drain and pat dry.
Working over a bowl to catch the juice, peel skins from peaches, squeezing as much juice as possible from the skins. Slice each peach into 10 to 12 slices, and set aside with juice; discard skin and pits.
In medium skillet over low heat, melt butter. Raise heat to medium-high and cook butter until it foams, subsides, foams again and begins to brown. As soon as butter is nut-brown, add the peaches with juices. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes, then place skillet over low heat to keep warm.
In medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine cream, sugar, honey and salt. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely melted. Raise heat to medium and let boil without stirring until it turns a rich golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. (Because of honey and cream it will appear to turn pale brown before it has caramelized; wait until it has darkened noticeably, thickened and reduced before proceeding.) Carefully pour contents of skillet into saucepan; it will boil and spatter; stir to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add vanilla or other flavoring. Serve warm or at room temperature over ice cream, with cookies on the side.
WHOLE ROASTED PINEAPPLES
This was in an article titled "Vision Quest, Recipes for Eye Health" in the July 2020 issue of Taste for Life (page 15).
I had picked up a copy of Taste for Life at Rollin' Oats, a Florida health food store with two locations (Tampa and St. Petersburg). Since I live close to the St. Pete store, I try to go there as often as possible (though not often enough, as far as I'm concerned). If you're ever in the area, I highly suggest giving them a try.
This recipe has a prep time of 30 minutes and serves 6.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 pineapples, peeled
To Garnish
Toasted coconut flakes
Dairy-free ice cream
Fresh mint
Maple syrup
Lime zest
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add coconut sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper to a small bowl and mix together.
Place a large non-stick pan over a medium heat and add coconut oil. When hot, add whole peeled pineapples. Turn pineapples so they color on all sides. Sprinkle over sugar mixture while they are cooking.
When pineapples are golden, place them onto a baking sheet and then into over for 15 to 20 minutes.
Once pineapples are baked, carve them at the table. Serve with toasted coconut flakes, ice cream, fresh mint, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a little lime zest.
QUICK VEGAN CROCK POT APPLE CRUMBLE
This comes from Jolinda Hackett, who wrote for The Spruce Eats. Jolinda wrote, “A quick and easy recipe for a vegan apple crumble (just like an apple crisp, if you prefer!) that you can make in your crockpot or slow cooker. Make sure to read the ingredients of whatever kind of granola you use, as many are not vegan.
“Refined sugar-free and vegan, this apple crumble or apple crisp recipe takes just minutes to prepare. It's made from fresh sliced apples sweetened with a bit of maple syrup (use real maple syrup, not bottled flavored corn syrup!) and topped off with a crumble granola, cinnamon and nutmeg topping. Using granola for the top of this apple crumble means that there's no bowls to get dirty and nothing to mix. Just sprinkle everything over the top of your crock pot or slow cooker.
“Like waking up to a hot and delicious breakfast or coming home to a sweet dessert already ready to go? You might also want to try this recipe for crockpot peach cobbler or scroll down for a few more vegetarian and vegan crockpot recipes including a few desserts.
“Enjoy!” Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 480 minutes (8 hours); Total Time: 500 minutes; Yield: about 4 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Note: Jolinda’s Cranberry Peach Cobbler recipe follows immediately after this recipe.
Ingredients
4 apples, sliced
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp margarine
2 cups granola
Preparation
Place apples in your crock pot or slow cooker. Drizzle with maple syrup, spices and margarine, then cover with granola.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
CRANBERRY PEACH COBBLER
As promised this also comes from Jolinda Hackett. Jolinda wrote, “Crock Pot Cranberry Peach Cobbler makes for a sweet breakfast treat or a light dessert. The cranberries add texture and color, making for a vibrant and tasty recipe. Serve your crockpot peach cobbler recipe plain or with a dollop of whipped cream. This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.”
Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to find a working link for this. When about.com (where Jolinda, and many other wonderful cooks posted) morphed into .dash (dotdash), which The Spruce is part of, many of the recipes and their links didn't follow.
Ingredients
5-6 peaches, sliced
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup water
3 tbsp melted margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
Preparation
Toss the peaches in the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the cranberries, cinnamon and oats.
Place the water and peach mixture into the crock pot or slow cooker. Pour the the margarine over the peaches and and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until peaches are tender.
FUDGY ZUCCHINI BROWNIES
This comes from Audra, otherwise known as The Baker Chick. If you haven’t check out her site, you really, really should. (Hint, hint.)
Anyway, Audra write, “I put green vegetables in your brownies - please don’t hate me.” She then goes on to talk about putting zucchini in her brownies. What can I saw, but I love her comments, as well as these brownies.
To view this online (and to check out Audra’s comments), go to http://www.thebakerchick.com/2014/08/fudgy-zucchini-brownies/.
Recipe adapted from: All Recipes
Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil (another vegetable oil will work as well)
1-1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely shredded zucchini*
For the Frosting:
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray or grease a 9x13 baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar and vanilla until smooth and well-combined. Sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt over the wet ingredients and stir until just incorporated. (The batter will be dry at this point- worry.)
Fold in the zucchini and mix for just a few seconds or until batter is well combined.
Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the pan comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Allow brownies to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
In a medium-large bowl, stir together the butter and cocoa powder until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the milk. Stir in the vanilla.
Spread frosting over cooled brownies and enjoy!
Notes
*Finely shredding the zucchini helps it release more liquid leading to the right texture of brownies. If your batter seems extremely dry after combining all the ingredients, your zucchini may be on the dry side. You can add a tablespoon of water at a time until the batter comes together. The zucchini will release a lot of water during baking and help bind the brownies and give them their rich and fudgy texture!
RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY REFRIGERATOR CAKE
My family spent several years in northeast Connecticut. When I was 15, my parents bought a new house in South Woodstock (we'd lived in Thompson).
One of the new house's charms was a good-sized garden; a large patch of rhubarb threatened to overrun the entire garden. While Dad claimed most of the garden (as “John’s Pea Patch”), Mom decided that the rhubarb was hers. This is one of the many rhubarb desserts we had that year.
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking.
Ingredients
6 C rhubarb, cut in 1/2” pieces
1 tsp. vanilla
3 dozen lady fingers, split
1/2 C sugar
whole fresh strawberries
2 pks. (3 oz. each) strawberry gelatin
2 C heavy cream, whipped
Directions
Combine rhubarb, sugar and 1 C water in saucepan. Bring to boil. Boil 6 – 8 minutes until soft. Drain 1 C syrup and save. Put rhubarb and remaining syrup in blender. Make pulp (3-1/2 C). Bring pulp to boil. Pour over gelatin and stir until dissolved. Chill until slightly thickened but not firm. Fold in whipped cream. Add vanilla. Line 9” springform pan (3” deep) with ladyfingers. Alternate layers of rhubarb mix and ladyfingers, ending with rhubarb. Chill overnight, or until firm. Top with glaze and strawberries.
Glaze: Mix reserve syrup and 1/4 C sugar. Bring to boil & stir in 1-1/2 T cornstarch. Blend with small amount of water. Boil and cook, stirring until thickened and clean. Add a few drops of red food coloring. Cool.
Somehow, though, the idea of fruit and veggie desserts never seemed to come up. Maybe if it had, more of us (as kids) would have eaten them. Check out today's offerings, which include Whole Roasted Pineapples and Fudgy Zucchini Brownies. (Yes, you read that right.) Enjoy!
BUTTERSCOTCH PEACHES
This is from Celia Barbour in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Celia wrote, “I make a peach-butterscotch sauce that I dreamed up to impress my children, whose love for me, though unwavering, I am nonetheless constantly trying to cement with food. The result was delectable. We ate the sauce straight from the pot. We ate it from the serving dish. And we ate what was left for dessert that night, poured over Ronnybrook vanilla ice cream with chewy gingersnaps from Hawthorne Valley on the side. My children’s adoration of me was unaffected by the butterscotch, but their energy level definitely got a boost from all the sugar.” Yield: 4 to 6 servings; Time: 1 hour.
This was featured in “Ode to the Peach: A Cook Baffled, and Then at Peace” and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
6 medium or 5 large ripe peaches
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
Pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Vanilla ice cream
Almond biscotti, gingersnaps or other cookies
Preparation
Fill a large bowl with ice and water, and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place peaches in boiling water for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice water. When cool, drain and pat dry.
Working over a bowl to catch the juice, peel skins from peaches, squeezing as much juice as possible from the skins. Slice each peach into 10 to 12 slices, and set aside with juice; discard skin and pits.
In medium skillet over low heat, melt butter. Raise heat to medium-high and cook butter until it foams, subsides, foams again and begins to brown. As soon as butter is nut-brown, add the peaches with juices. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes, then place skillet over low heat to keep warm.
In medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine cream, sugar, honey and salt. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely melted. Raise heat to medium and let boil without stirring until it turns a rich golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. (Because of honey and cream it will appear to turn pale brown before it has caramelized; wait until it has darkened noticeably, thickened and reduced before proceeding.) Carefully pour contents of skillet into saucepan; it will boil and spatter; stir to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add vanilla or other flavoring. Serve warm or at room temperature over ice cream, with cookies on the side.
WHOLE ROASTED PINEAPPLES
This was in an article titled "Vision Quest, Recipes for Eye Health" in the July 2020 issue of Taste for Life (page 15).
I had picked up a copy of Taste for Life at Rollin' Oats, a Florida health food store with two locations (Tampa and St. Petersburg). Since I live close to the St. Pete store, I try to go there as often as possible (though not often enough, as far as I'm concerned). If you're ever in the area, I highly suggest giving them a try.
This recipe has a prep time of 30 minutes and serves 6.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 pineapples, peeled
To Garnish
Toasted coconut flakes
Dairy-free ice cream
Fresh mint
Maple syrup
Lime zest
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add coconut sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper to a small bowl and mix together.
Place a large non-stick pan over a medium heat and add coconut oil. When hot, add whole peeled pineapples. Turn pineapples so they color on all sides. Sprinkle over sugar mixture while they are cooking.
When pineapples are golden, place them onto a baking sheet and then into over for 15 to 20 minutes.
Once pineapples are baked, carve them at the table. Serve with toasted coconut flakes, ice cream, fresh mint, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a little lime zest.
QUICK VEGAN CROCK POT APPLE CRUMBLE
This comes from Jolinda Hackett, who wrote for The Spruce Eats. Jolinda wrote, “A quick and easy recipe for a vegan apple crumble (just like an apple crisp, if you prefer!) that you can make in your crockpot or slow cooker. Make sure to read the ingredients of whatever kind of granola you use, as many are not vegan.
“Refined sugar-free and vegan, this apple crumble or apple crisp recipe takes just minutes to prepare. It's made from fresh sliced apples sweetened with a bit of maple syrup (use real maple syrup, not bottled flavored corn syrup!) and topped off with a crumble granola, cinnamon and nutmeg topping. Using granola for the top of this apple crumble means that there's no bowls to get dirty and nothing to mix. Just sprinkle everything over the top of your crock pot or slow cooker.
“Like waking up to a hot and delicious breakfast or coming home to a sweet dessert already ready to go? You might also want to try this recipe for crockpot peach cobbler or scroll down for a few more vegetarian and vegan crockpot recipes including a few desserts.
“Enjoy!” Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 480 minutes (8 hours); Total Time: 500 minutes; Yield: about 4 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Note: Jolinda’s Cranberry Peach Cobbler recipe follows immediately after this recipe.
Ingredients
4 apples, sliced
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp margarine
2 cups granola
Preparation
Place apples in your crock pot or slow cooker. Drizzle with maple syrup, spices and margarine, then cover with granola.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
CRANBERRY PEACH COBBLER
As promised this also comes from Jolinda Hackett. Jolinda wrote, “Crock Pot Cranberry Peach Cobbler makes for a sweet breakfast treat or a light dessert. The cranberries add texture and color, making for a vibrant and tasty recipe. Serve your crockpot peach cobbler recipe plain or with a dollop of whipped cream. This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.”
Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to find a working link for this. When about.com (where Jolinda, and many other wonderful cooks posted) morphed into .dash (dotdash), which The Spruce is part of, many of the recipes and their links didn't follow.
Ingredients
5-6 peaches, sliced
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup water
3 tbsp melted margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
Preparation
Toss the peaches in the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the cranberries, cinnamon and oats.
Place the water and peach mixture into the crock pot or slow cooker. Pour the the margarine over the peaches and and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until peaches are tender.
FUDGY ZUCCHINI BROWNIES
This comes from Audra, otherwise known as The Baker Chick. If you haven’t check out her site, you really, really should. (Hint, hint.)
Anyway, Audra write, “I put green vegetables in your brownies - please don’t hate me.” She then goes on to talk about putting zucchini in her brownies. What can I saw, but I love her comments, as well as these brownies.
To view this online (and to check out Audra’s comments), go to http://www.thebakerchick.com/2014/08/fudgy-zucchini-brownies/.
Recipe adapted from: All Recipes
Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil (another vegetable oil will work as well)
1-1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely shredded zucchini*
For the Frosting:
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray or grease a 9x13 baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar and vanilla until smooth and well-combined. Sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt over the wet ingredients and stir until just incorporated. (The batter will be dry at this point- worry.)
Fold in the zucchini and mix for just a few seconds or until batter is well combined.
Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the pan comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Allow brownies to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
In a medium-large bowl, stir together the butter and cocoa powder until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the milk. Stir in the vanilla.
Spread frosting over cooled brownies and enjoy!
Notes
*Finely shredding the zucchini helps it release more liquid leading to the right texture of brownies. If your batter seems extremely dry after combining all the ingredients, your zucchini may be on the dry side. You can add a tablespoon of water at a time until the batter comes together. The zucchini will release a lot of water during baking and help bind the brownies and give them their rich and fudgy texture!
RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY REFRIGERATOR CAKE
My family spent several years in northeast Connecticut. When I was 15, my parents bought a new house in South Woodstock (we'd lived in Thompson).
One of the new house's charms was a good-sized garden; a large patch of rhubarb threatened to overrun the entire garden. While Dad claimed most of the garden (as “John’s Pea Patch”), Mom decided that the rhubarb was hers. This is one of the many rhubarb desserts we had that year.
This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking.
Ingredients
6 C rhubarb, cut in 1/2” pieces
1 tsp. vanilla
3 dozen lady fingers, split
1/2 C sugar
whole fresh strawberries
2 pks. (3 oz. each) strawberry gelatin
2 C heavy cream, whipped
Directions
Combine rhubarb, sugar and 1 C water in saucepan. Bring to boil. Boil 6 – 8 minutes until soft. Drain 1 C syrup and save. Put rhubarb and remaining syrup in blender. Make pulp (3-1/2 C). Bring pulp to boil. Pour over gelatin and stir until dissolved. Chill until slightly thickened but not firm. Fold in whipped cream. Add vanilla. Line 9” springform pan (3” deep) with ladyfingers. Alternate layers of rhubarb mix and ladyfingers, ending with rhubarb. Chill overnight, or until firm. Top with glaze and strawberries.
Glaze: Mix reserve syrup and 1/4 C sugar. Bring to boil & stir in 1-1/2 T cornstarch. Blend with small amount of water. Boil and cook, stirring until thickened and clean. Add a few drops of red food coloring. Cool.
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