(click here to see larger)

this warm chopped brussels salad is tossed in a blueberry vinaigrette, great for snacking or before a really heavy dinner. if you don’t like brussels sprouts yet, you might like this one - the dark bitterness you sometimes get with this cabbage-like vegetable is balanced with the light sweetness of the sauce.

1. steam some brussels sprouts until they turn bright green and you can easily bite through one. (about 10-15 minutes.) we used about 4-5 cups of brussels sprouts and it could feed 3-4 people as a side dish, easily.
2. while the veggies are steaming, start your sauce. in your blender or food processor, blend together until consistent: 1 cup oil, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 3 tbsp blueberry preserves, about 2 tsp ground ginger, two pinches sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper. (you could use any fruit preserve you’d like, we just like the color and flavor of the blueberries. try to find a brand that uses whole berries - you get a better flavor and texture.) add more of any ingredient you like to taste - this is a simple sauce you can put your stamp on.
3. once the veggies are steamed, cut off the non-edible stem of each sprout, then coarsely chop up each one. i like slightly larger than a dice.
4. place the chopped sprouts in a big bowl, and drizzle the sauce over top. toss them until coated, and add more sauce as needed. you may not need all the sauce you made - use it on your lunch salad the next day and/or store any excess in the fridge for up to a few days.

and that’s all there is to it. serve immediately with a pasta or seitan meal or with more veggies. hopefully you try this one out and see that brussels sprouts aren’t so terrible after all! :P

hot apple cider

i’ve never had such amazing cider until this year - first at the kickstarter hq, then at a craft show i did recently. suddenly i really wanted to try making this for myself, and i’m so glad i did. it’s just as warming as hot chocolate or tea but a perfect weight - not as heavy as hot chocolate, not as light as a quick cup of tea. plus it makes the house smell amazing, which is a great bonus.

1. pour into a pot some apple cider. i do about half a gallon jug at a time, as some of it cooks away and i’ll drink a lot of it at one time.
2. use whole spices here if you can, but if not that’s fine too. place into the pot 3 cinnamon sticks (about a tbsp ground cinnamon), 1 tbsp whole cloves, 1 star anise, a sprinkling of ground ginger, and 1 tsp nutmeg. (for those larger spices, try using a tea infuser instead of just throwing them in the pot. it makes it easier later to control the flavor.)
3. let the pot heat on medium low, covered, for about 10-15 minutes. taste the cider to see if it needs more of a certain spice or if it needs more cider to tamper down the spice taste. if everything’s good, turn the heat to low and, if used, take out the tea infuser and whole cinnamon sticks.
4. keep on low heat and stir before serving.

we drank this with these great peanut butter blondies from the post punk kitchen. (we used chocolate peanut butter, though, so they look like brownies, really. but they’re sooo good!)

anyway, hope you’ll like this cider as much as we do!

baked bourbon apples with maple cinnamon walnuts

these are so easy to make, but look spectacular to a group of friends and/or family. if you don’t consume alcohol you can easily substitute the bourbon with some flavored agave or apple or pear juice.

1. core some apples, one per person is enough. if you don’t have an apple corer, just use a paring knife. be careful not to poke through the bottom, though!
2. place the apples in a baking pan, or in individual ramekins.
3. in the center holes you just created, pour in each: 1 tbsp pure maple syrup, 1 tbsp bourbon*, and 1 tbsp apple cider. if it spills out, don’t worry about it at all - it’s good to have some liquid in the pan here. (*you can use a non-alcoholic alternative as mentioned above. if you’re out of bourbon but still want the alcohol, you can freely use amaretto, wine, or brandy. [apple brandy would be especially good in this!])
4. sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the tops of the apples, and stick a whole cinnamon stick in the liquid of each.
5. bake at 450F for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft but not mushy.

a few minutes before the apples are done, make the walnuts.

1. pour into a small sautee pan about 1/3 cup walnuts per person you’re serving. 
2. drizzle maple syrup over them and dust on some cinnamon.
3. stirring constantly, let them cook on medium heat for just a few minutes.
4. let cool on some parchment paper until the apples are done.

to serve, place each hot apple in a bowl and cut it into slices. sprinkle the walnuts over top and enjoy!