This is my favorite applesauce recipe, I give it out whenever people ask me how to make homemade applesauce. It's a simple recipe, easy, delicious and healthy too. On top of that? Kids love it --at least mine (and their friends) gobble it down every time we make it.

Another benefit of making applesauce from scratch? It's an easy and nourishing recipe for children. Mine really get involved in peeling and chopping the apples; we've been making apple sauce together to mark the change of seasons (summer moving to fall) since they were toddlers.

Today, September 23, 2011 is the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of fall.

For me, the first day of autumn is about giving thanks for the bounty of the harvest (which is overflowing in my backyard garden at this very moment). It is also about acknowledging the change of seasons and the need to gather together our harvests (think of the squirrel stashing away nuts) and put them away for the colder, less abundant season to come --winter.

I posted this recipe when I first started my website 5 years ago, and I'm re-posting it today for those looking for a family friendly activity to partake in this weekend, honoring the start of autumn.

We will have this simple applesauce recipe when we break our fast at Yom Kippur.

So, the month o' cupcakes is over here at Elana's Pantry and none too soon.  I'm totally ready to hit the green veggies and today I have a nice roasted asparagus recipe for you all.  We are growing asparagus in our garden, though it takes about 3 years for it yield anything, so we've got a bit of a wait on our hands for actual productivity.

Gluten Free Girl has a wonderful post on an Asparagus Frittata, so you may want to check that out if you're in the mood for asaparagus alternatives.

In terms of the nutritional value of asparagus, I was not fully aware of its super food status until reading the wikipedia article. Here's what wiki has to say:

Asparagus is low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium.

Wow! That's a lot for such a stalky green!

How to Roast AsparagusNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 bunch of asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ - ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Trim dried parts from bottom of asparagus stalks, removing ½ an inch
2. Line asparagus spears side-by-side, in a single layer, in a 9x13 inch Pyrex baking dish
3. Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with salt
4. Give the pan a few shakes to roll the asparagus a half-turn
5. Roast in an oven at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes, remove from oven when tips start to brown
6. Cool a few minutes, then serve

I based this recipe on an article I found at ehow.com on how to roast asparagus. You can check that out too if you're in the mood for more detail --I like to keep things short and sweet.

If you are in Los Angeles on June 12th I will be doing a book signing at Erewhon Natural Foods from 1-2:30pm.  Hope to see all of you Californians there!

I love beets.  They're delicious, healthy and a "grounding" root vegetable.  I usually steam them, which is simple --other than the times that I run out of water for steaming and burn the pan.  Usually I save them in the nick of time though.

Alternatively, roasting beets, is just as easy and delicious.  Roasting adds a rich flavor to foods and also "warms" them, according to Asian medicine, making roasted veggies an idea dish for winter. Yesterday in the late afternoon, I roasted beets.  My family and I enjoyed them as part of our dinner and they were gone in no time.  Here's how you can make your own:

I'm eating a salad of roasted beets (the ones in the photo above) over a bed of greens with balsamic and olive oil (and a sprinkle of celtic sea salt as I write this). 

And finally, Colorado's own magazine, 5280, recently featured Elana's Pantry and The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook in their March issue.  You can view the feature called "In My Kitchen" here. Happy day!

Roasted almonds?  Yes, one of my favorite foods and an important part of my eating plan.

What about my family's eating plan?  Well, my husband is one of the main reasons I cook and bake as religiously as I do; he comes from a family of excellent cooks who love to eat. However, recently, he went on a diet (I had no one to critique my desserts!).  Then he sent me this email:

"Was thinking you might want to do a post on how I have used the Abs Diet to get in shape and that you and I now eat the same; and then link to them and mention that almonds are their #1 food too."

So, there you have it.  Now we eat the same --tons of veggies, protein, some nuts, the occasional piece of fruit.  OK, so our diets are slightly different.  I'm on the Elana Diet and he's on the Abs Diet.  However, we both eat almonds and not a lot of dessert (not even my desserts).

We do enjoy eating fresh roasted almonds and here's how you can make your own to snack on at any time of the day.

I've been roasting a lot of almonds lately.  I explained to my husband that they taste much better purchased raw and roasted fresh at home (rather than purchasing them already roasted).  After one batch of my roasted almonds he was sold!

Almonds are a superfood.  This ultra nutritious nut is high in antioxidants and full of beneficial fats that raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol.  Further, studies have shown that almonds curb hunger.  I think they taste delicious and keep a little jar of them in my car for when I get a snack attack on the road.  Just a few do the trick.

Check out all of my recipes that use almonds.

If you love whole almonds for snacking, you may also want to try blanched almond flour.  Honeyville (one of my favorite brands) is running a special right now until Tuesday, February 23 6pm (PST). Just enter coupon code PRESIDENT during checkout to receive 10% off your entire order. Their blanched almond flour is of very high quality and I have had good experience with their customer service.

I'm really happy to introduce a super fun and captivating new site called Lilian's Test Kitchen.  Check out Lillian baking my gluten free coconut flour carrot muffins in this video.

The winner of last weeks Friday Freebie, a the half pound of Chardonnay Grapeseed Flour from AprèsVin, is @jenleitch!

Have a great weekend everyone.

It's wonderful to be back at home with my family and kitchen.  I've made myriad soup stocks these last few days in order to help my husband and myself recuperate from the sniffles we each seem to have picked up last week.  We're recovering quite quickly.

To create a bit of variety, I decided to make a roasted chicken stock last night and of course consulted one of my favorite books, Joy of Cooking.  The recipe below is based upon the one in that book.

Gluten Free Girl has a good video on her site which demos how to make a stock and Elise over at simplyrecipes.com has a nice post with instructions as well.

I do have a recipe for a quick and easy chicken stock (that uses everything in the bottom of the vegetable drawer) which I will be posting here this fall or winter.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this delicious, warm and hearty stock!

I am lucky enough to say that my boys love to eat kale. There was actually a kale incident the other night whereby I only made one bunch and some grabbing occurred at the table as the boys "fought" over it. Ok, sorry to brag, however this is what sometimes happens in my house.

Because kale is a hot commodity and because I don't get to the grocery store on a daily basis (who does?), I try to keep kale on hand at all times to avoid said conflict. Here is how I store my kale so that we can have our McKale on a daily basis --that is when we're not eating broccoli --I know, I know, it's not nice to be boastful --I apologize!

McKale
1 bunch kale

1. Fill a large deep bowl with water
2. Take the rubber band or twist-tie off the bunch of kale
3. Submerge the leaves of kale in water, swishing them around gently to remove any dirt



4. Allow kale to soak for a few minutes and swish again
5. Pour water out of the bowl and rinse kale under fresh water



6. Spread some cloth towels out on a counter or your kitchen table
7. Place the kale on the towels and allow to dry for about an hour while you do something else



8. Come back to kitchen and chop kale into 1-2 inch wide strips on a cutting board with a sharp knife



9. Discard the very bottom of the stems; do not remove the ribs, they are delicious and crunchy and besides we don't want to waste food
10. Place chopped kale in a cloth or paper towel



11. Fit into a Ziploc bag, squeeze the air out and zip closed





12. Write the date on a small piece of tape (dog ear your tape for extra easy removal)



13. Place kale in the fridge
14. Keeps for up to 5 days

We all know that fresh vegetables are the best in terms of taste and nutrition.  And we know that cutting into anything (think of an apple that begins to brown) decreases the life force and freshness of that living thing.  However, these are the times (baseball season) that call for creativity and shortcuts.

What I love about this little storage trick is that on a busy night I can come home, put a steamer basket and pot with an inch of water on the stove and have kale ready to serve in 5 minutes.  With 2 children on 3 different baseball teams this year, I'll need as many shortcuts as I can get.

Serve your kale with gomasio or try this "fancy" dish.  Sometimes my boys like to add ume plum vinegar and toasted sesame oil to their steamed kale, though my favorite way to eat it is raw. For other great kale recipes (especially his Kale and Mushroom Stew), see Mark Bittman's blog in the New York Times.

By the way, my 10 year old son was the "hand model" for this shoot and looked forward to it for days --I love how confidently he holds that sharp knife and chops.  The boys have had their own knives (smaller, duller versions to begin with) since they were about 4 years old.

Because fresh food in general tastes better and is often cheaper than processed food, I have put together a short demo on how to roast your own pumpkin:

1. Choose a firm, small pie pumpkin, not more than 3-4 pounds; smaller pumpkins tend to be a bit sweeter




2. Rinse the pumpkin under warm water, removing any dirt or debris




3. Cut the pumpkin in half on a large cutting board, with a sharp knife




4. Scoop out the seeds with a metal spoon, I use an old measuring spoon that has a nice edge





5. Lay the pumpkin face side down in a large baking dish
6. Cover with ¼ inch water




7. Bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes (depending on size) or until tender, using a fork to check
8. Remove from oven and scoop out insides, discarding skin




9. Store in refrigerator in a glass mason jar
10. Keeps for 5 days in refrigerator (at the ready for your pie, muffin and custard endeavors)

If you are in a rush, cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces and it will cook faster. The pumpkin in the picture above was rather large (for a pie pumpkin) and I cooked it for 1 ½ hours. This was far too long (I became distracted during the endeavor) as you can see the pumpkin is rather overdone. However, I think it will still be usable for various dishes.

The above pumpkin preparation technique applies to any winter squash: butternut, buttercup, acorn, kabocha, hubbard, and more. I often substitute these squash in my recipes that call for pumpkin which works very well. For another handy little pumpkin cooking how to, click here.

Here's a list of all my gluten free recipes that call for fresh pumpkin:

Here's wishing you much fun in your pumpkin adventures!

I must confess, for more than a year, my friend Elizabeth has been asking me to do a post on homemade household cleaners. As a result of her prodding, I am proud to present part 1 of a series on non-toxic cleaners for your home. We'll start off with a cleaning spray for my favorite room of the house --the kitchen!

So, first questions first. Why make your own cleaning products? Why go through the bother? To save money and protect the environment, of course! You can pay upwards of $4 for a bottle of cleaning spray or, you can easily make it yourself for less. Below are the top ten reasons for a DIY cleaning spray:

I have mixed my own cleaning products for more than a decade. First, I enjoy doing so! Second, I want my house to actually be clean, not smell of strong synthetic fragrances. Third, I enjoy the scent of simple cleaners made from natural products. That's why I created the kitchen counter spray that follows.

Below you can see the price difference between making your own cleaning product and purchasing it:

Other tips: If you have an old spray bottle lying around the house use that instead of purchasing a new one; to further save money (and trees) use rags instead of paper towels to keep your kitchen spic and span.

Easy solutions are at our fingertips. We can save money and protect the planet's precious resources in the process, creating win-win situations that show us why the words economy and ecology share a prefix!

Now go ahead, let us know your favorite eco-cleaning tip in the comments section below!

Update: Thanks to a comment from Lucas, I have modified the cleaning spray recipe above.

This gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe video tutorial is the first in a series of video tutorials that I will be making of my favorite recipes. I hope you have as much fun watching this as I did making it. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip CookiesNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 ½ cups blanched almond flour *
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
½ cup dark chocolate chips

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form ½-inch 1-inch balls and press onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
6. Cool and serve

Makes 24 cookies

*

Please note: Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour does not yield successful results when used in this recipe. For more information regarding this matter please see my FAQs.

Almond milk is one of my favorite drinks. Rich and creamy, it's easy to make and super nourishing. While almond milk is a good alternative beverage for those on a dairy-free kick or raw food plan, I think it's just plain delicious, whatever your dietary predilection! My children drink it by the glassful, while I drink it in my tea and blend it up in smoothies.

I used my favorite nine-year-old hand model to take the pictures above and while he's been a bit of a wild stallion of late, I have to say he was a model passenger for the almond milk photo shoot. Got milk? Yes, we do! He gulped this cupful down as soon as we were finished photographing.

Making this almond milk is quick and dirty, you will definitely get your hands wet as you squeeze it through the paint bag. After you're done, you can enjoy this rich homemade almond milk in chai with a splash of agave nectar; perfect for fall.

You can use the leftover pulp to make my Almond Pulp Crackers!