Saucy Apple Sauce

Trader Joe's Gala apples made great sauce!

I love the fall season.  The smell of apples cooking on the stove top or pumpkin pie sitting and cooling on a rack brings a smile to my face.  These simple pleasures not only warm the heart on a brisk November day, but it also warms the spirit...OH and it makes the house or apartment, in my case, smell delicious!

This evening I had a bag of apples sitting in my refrigerator that have been staring at me for the past week begging for me to use them.  I know, I should have just eaten them raw if it bothered me so much, but these were not the best apples to eat raw.  They were a bit flavorless and blah, so I decided my only option for these apples were to mash them into submission and make sauce.

When I visit my parent's home in the fall, I mentally cross my fingers that my mom will make apple sauce.  I don't know why or how, but she makes the best apple sauce I've ever had.  Every year I try to recreate her sauce, but it never quite comes out like her recipe.  I think this has something to do with the simple fact that it is made by my mother.  What I find most entertaining about her apple sauce is that it is not just a sauce, but a dessert. 

Below is my own creation that was tangy and delicious on a cool Culver City evening.
The Hungry Vegan Bear's Saucy Apple Sauce
2 lb. bag of Gala apples
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp Bourbon vanilla
2 tsp nutmeg
splash of water

Begin by peeling the apples and cutting out the core.  Next, slice and cut the apple into cubes.  I like the cubes because this allows for a thicker version while mashing.  I usually have a few larger lumps in my sauce, which I like because it feels more filling later on when I'm consuming a bowlful.  Add the cubed apples to a pan with a splash of water and set the heat on the stove top to about a medium heat.  At this point, I add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.  Then cover the apples and let it simmer on the stove top until it comes to a boil.  Then uncover and begin to mash a few of the softer apples on the bottom of the pan.

I'm a firm believer in heat fluctuation, which means that I usually dip down the heat from the medium and then back up, if the apples or stove top is not cooperating.  Once I've done this a couple of times, I set the sauce on low, mashing and stirring, and allow the sauce to simmer. 

The preparation and cooking time is around 30 minutes.  Once the sauce is done, allow it to cool, and then serve with soy milk, whipped cream, or soy dessert.  Or, for you traditionalists out there, simply dish out a scoop or two into a bowl and serve.

Calzone Amore

Sometimes, but not very often, The Hungry Vegan Bear becomes restless with her pizza recipes.  This past weekend, for a bit of inspiration, I turned on some Dean Martin (yup, I went old, old school for this) and suddenly "That's Amore" motivated me to stop thinking about pizza and start thinking about calzone's, which was how Calzone Amore came about.

 

When I was a ski school instructor (pre-vegan days) I remember consuming a few calzone's at a local restaurant in Dillon, CO, but I was never really crazy for their calzone's.  There was too much cheese-hard to believe such a thing coming from a Wisconsinite.  And, now, as a vegan, I've tried several variations on the calzone and, again, too much vegan cheese.  Most vegan calzone's are too sticky, too bland, and too gummy.  These are calzone's not bears!

In my humble opinion, it's fun to play with Calzone recipes, so I created a meatless cheese calzone and a potato and jalapeno recipe granting some variety for my taste testers.

Tools

baking sheet

knife

cutting board

garlic press

bowl

spoon

cheese grater

gloves (might need them for the jalapeno)

If you have time, I suggest making your own pizza dough, but if you don't have time, no worries.  Once again, I used Trader Joe's pizza dough.

Calzone Sauce for the Meatless Calzone

This is the meatless cheese calzone fresh from the oven.

3 oz tomato paste

1/4 c water

1 tsp olive oil

3 lg garlic cloves

1 Tbsp oregano

1 tsp basil
dash of Cayenne pepper
2 dashes of hot sauce
1/4 crushed red pepper

1 Tbsp vegan Parmesan cheese

12 minced lg black olives

1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

I created the sauce separate from the stuffing and once I had this prepared I mixed it with the stuffing.  I decided to keep them separate in the beginning, because I did not want to squash the living daylights out of the fresh veggies, because that would be vegetable abuse and that would just be wrong.

Meatless Calzone Stuffing

1/2 Roma tomato

2 mushrooms

1/2 handful of fresh spinach

1/2 c yellow onion
1/4 c vegan mozzarella cheese
1/4 c meatless meat crumbles

Add the sauce to the stuffing and mix together until the veggies and meatless meat is coated. 

Once the calzone's are cooking in the oven for about 6 minutes, slice about three holes in the top of the dough.

Creates 1 large and 4 medium size calzone's.

Cook at 450 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.



These potato calzone's were surprisingly light.



Potato and Jalapeno Calzone Stuffing

1/2 Roma tomato

1 lg Russet potato

1/4 c yellow onion

1 1/2 Tbsp fresh chives

1/2 jalapeno

salt to taste

black pepper

1 lg garlic clove

1/2 lemon

1 Tbsp vegan cream cheese

The potato was leftover from my potato salad on the 4th of July and it was already boiled and sitting in the refrigerator just waiting to be used.  I peeled the potato and then grated the potato into a glass bowl.  Then I chopped the tomato, onion, and jalapeno.  Once you have the stuffing fully prepped in the bowl, mix everything together until it blends together.

Again, cut about three holes in the top of the calzone's about 8 minutes into the cooking process.  The potato calzone's take a bit longer to cook, but are very much worth the extra effort. 

Creates 1 small and 1 medium sized calzone.

Cook at 450 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.