Pie and Blasphemy

I finally got everything required to make a pie. I had planning on making Figgy Apple Hand Pies from Vegan Pie in the Sky for a few weeks, but kept having ingredient shortages. Over the weekend, I solved that problem, and got to work.

The pies were easy to make, even with a series of user errors that stalled the crust completion. Even the folding of little dough rectangles was easier than I would have anticipated.

They are lovely little pies, and the taste is completely pleasant without being cloyingly sweet. They almost seem appropriate for breakfast.

I will definitely make these again, but that's actually my chief complaint. I followed the directions and measurements perfectly. That includes filling the dough rectangles with a "scant 1/4 cup of filling." Well, it did until I immediately realized that I'd have more filling than necessary, and went with a not-so-scant 1/4 cup in each.

Even after that, I had only used half of the filling made. That means I had 2 entire cups of filling left over. Seriously? That's very annoying. I would have happily made a double batch of dough before I'd cleaned everything up. Hell, if it didn't need 40 minutes chilling time in the fridge, I'd have made a whole new batch right there.

It's one thing to have a little left over, but to have literally twice what you need gets wasteful. Of course I'll make another batch of pies, and yes, I know it could be worse. Nearly everything could be worse.

So I put a note in my book to make double the dough next time around, but I wonder if that should be my rule of thumb for hand pies from the book? I will make them again beyond this week to use up the dough. They'd be brilliant in kids' lunch boxes.

The thing is, this is the third pie I've made from this book. I didn't do a write-up on the Grasshopper Pie, but I wasn't really impressed with the texture or taste. I found the Apple Crisp a little ho-hum. Now I have a pie that's pretty good, but with an avoidable error in the recipe. This all makes me uncomfortable because I swear by Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I have never had a flop from either.

In fact, anything by Moskowitz or Romero has been a smashing success for me. Maybe such consistent high performance sets an unfair standard. Writing this, I couldn't help but feel guilty about criticizing the work of two people who I admire so much.

I know three pies from a book are not enough by which to judge, though. You won't see me over at Amazon, writing a lengthy review based on such a pathetic sample size. In fact, I'll be even more determined to try more pies, and to see what the book really has in store.

Vegan MoFo 29: Apple Crisp and Waiting for the Storm

We're all waiting for the storm now.

As part of my disaster preparedness plan, I used up my 4 lbs of apple to make the crisp recipe from Vegan Pie in the Sky. Despite having had this book for about a year now, this is only the second recipe I've made from it.

To be honest, I'm not in love. I've made simpler crisps with more flavor. I'm not going to give up on the book though, I'll try a bunch of pies before I make my decision.

The major obstacle in this was that I didn't have any ground cinnamon. I did, however, have cinnamon sticks, a magic bullet, and a coffee grinder.

We went back to the farmers' market this morning, and it was a bit of a ghost town. On the plus side, we got two deluxe trays of mushrooms again because they were on sale! Also, the line at the pickle stand was finally not some twisted waiting game, so we got wasabi pickles!

12. Apples and Onions, Huh?

That's a combination I wouldn't have come up with on my own. In fact, I'd never heard of anyone doing such a thing until I stumbled upon it twice in the same week.

First, I just got a copy of The World in your Kitchen a few days ago, and while doing some before-bed reading, I found the Apple Bean pot. I like apples and beans, and was intrigued by this dish from Saudi Arabia, but the ingredient list contained onions. Hmm, I was skeptical at best.

Then, at the beginning of Vegan MoFo, I found this recipe for Apples with Marjoram. Sounds delicious - I love those things ... but wait, what's that I see as the second ingredient? "2 big onions (there should be about 1 cup of diced raw onion)."



I figured it must be a sign. I was destined to eat apples and onions (and beans). I decided to make the bean pot first, since it's more of a complete meal, but I've marked the other recipe to use as a side to a casserole or roast.

The Apple Bean Pot was snap to make. I had soaked and cooked the beans ahead of time, so I just did a little chopping, sautéing, and measuring. The spice combination of turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, and cumin smelled divine when added to the pan of caramelized onion. I left the optional sugar out of the cooking, since I make enough desserts that I'm in no danger of deficiency.



I decided to pair this dish with bulgur, a staple of Middle Eastern diets, and plain coconut milk yogurt, the vegan version of what the author of the book recommends.



As it turns out, everything about this was a good idea. The spice combination is rich and subtle. The apples were perfectly sweet, and a bit tart, and the onions soft and caramelized. The flavors combined perfectly. This is a warming and filling fall dish that could easily be elevated to comfort food. It would also be great with some flatbread and sautéed greens.

Sorry, no finished product shot of this meal!