Stupid-Easy Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Apple Crisp

I’m not sure if this qualifies as a crisp or a cobbler or a brown betty or none of the above, but it’s delicious and it’s apple-y and I made it up yesterday.

Apples (I used 5 or 6 Macintoshes), peeled and thinly sliced

Coconut oil

Lemon juice

Maple syrup (1-2tbsp.)

Cinnamon

Pamela’s gluten-free dairy-free Ginger Mini Snapz (we used ¾ of a bag)

1. Preheat oven to 375° and put a sliver of coconut oil in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.

2. Add the sliced apples to the baking dish along with a couple small slivers of coconut oil. Add maple syrup and toss to combine. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss. Sprinkle with cinnamon and toss to combine.

3. Pour the cookies into a food processor and grind ‘em up. Add about 2 tsp. or so of coconut oil and pulse until the crumbs start to get a little clumpy.

4. Spread the cookie crumbs over the apple mixture in the baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the apples are soft.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Meringues

I used to make these all the time. And then I stopped. In fact, I totally forgot about them until I agreed to make a gluten-free dairy-free dessert for a baby shower. I will not forget about them again (partly because Pete keeps asking for more). And…they’re not just delicious. They’re easy to make—stupid easy.

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

A little less than 1/8 tsp. salt

½ cup organic sugar

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup mini semisweet dairy-free chocolate chips (of course, if you don’t need these to be dairy-free, any mini semisweet chocolate chips will do)

1. Preheat oven to 250° and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Place egg whites in a bowl and, using an electric mixer on high, beat the egg whites until foamy.

3. Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating until the mixture begins to stiffen (ie. hold its shape when the beater stops).

4. Continue beating and gradually add the sugar.

5. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.

6. Gently fold the chocolate chips into the mixture using a rubber spatula.

7. Using a spoon, drop the meringues on the cookie sheets. (They won’t expand much so don’t fret about spacing.)

8. Bake for one hour. Let them cool and then store in an airtight container.

Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding

It’s no secret that I love tofu. I love it with vegetables and marinades and whatnot—as a meat substitute, essentially. I have never had tofu with chocolate. I understand that tofu is a fantastic source of protein and all that, but tofu is a main course type of food, not a dessert food. Just as there are breakfast cereals (like cornflakes) and dessert cereals (like frosted flakes), there are main course foods (like tofu, vegetables, fish, beef, etc) and dessert foods (like chocolate, cake, cookies, brownies, etc). The two things are separate—for a reason. Combining chocolate and tofu would be like combining chicken and frosting… And yet, I tried it (chocolate and tofu). Why? Because Mark Bittman said it was good. He was right.

(Adapted from The Minimalist)

¾ cup organic sugar

¾ cup water

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

1 lb. silken tofu

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. chili powder

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Set aside, allowing the mixture to cool for a few minutes before adding it to the blender.

2. Combine the melted chocolate, tofu, vanilla, cinnamon, chili powder and sugar water in a blender. Blend until smooth.

3. Pour the mixture into ramekins (we filled six ramekins and one small bowl).

4. Transfer the ramekins to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes. (The pudding is still rather delicious the next day so chilling for 24 hours seems totally appropriate.)

Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Pete eats brown bananas. That means we rarely have brown bananas for banana bread or other scrumptious dishes that require mushy bananas. But I got lucky yesterday—I snagged two bananas that were “brown” by my definition (merely “freckled” by Pete’s definition) and made my first attempt at banana ice cream. It was an enormous success! Even doubtful Pete thought it was so good that we should start buying brown bananas in bulk.

(Adapted from the advice of two brilliant friends and Cooking Light)

brown bananas

chocolate chips

1. Slice the bananas into rounds and place them on a baking sheet.

2. Freeze the sliced bananas for a few hours.

3. Put the frozen bits o’ banana in a food processor and process until creamy.

4. Add chocolate chips and process until they’re sufficiently mixed into the banana ice cream.

5. EAT!