Make No Bones About It We're Vegan


Sunday, November 7, 2010

MoFo 6 The Humble Crumble

In another lifetime, in fact in a galaxy far, far, far away I made a living as a tennis pro and coach. I worked with a few phenoms and tournament players which was naturally rewarding in of itself. But some of the most gratifying moments for me were teaching adults who were self proclaimed klutzes. They are easy to spot, it's the same kid that stood on the sidelines while every body else got picked to play. You know the one...The kid with the fogged up glasses held together with a paper clip and attached to an eyeglass sports elastic band that circled his head . I've seen quite of few of those kids as adults. They don't change much. They sweat with the look of defeat before I even tell them how to grip a racket. You can't spend an hour teaching a klutz how to a hit a basic forehand.  You gotta pull out your bag of tricks and show them how to hit an approach shot and rush the net for a forehand volley winner before they leave their first lesson. I promise it can be done. Why shouldn't everybody feel like a winner?
The same thing goes for cooking and baking. Why does whipping up something delicious have to be so daunting? I teach beginning vegan cooking classes. Klutzes are replaced by the, "I can barely boil water", "I made a sandwich once" type cook. Why shouldn't a beginning cook or baker make something so delicious their first shot? That's what makes life so much fun. Sometimes life's journey isn't just about trial and error it's about rejoicing in an immediate achievement. Why does everything have to be about delayed gratification?
I bring you the humble crumble. The original recipe called for chopped apples, or diced peaches...This is simple and delicious especially if it is paired with a dollop of vegan whipped cream. I love the vegan whipped cream from Colleen Patrick- Goudreou's, "Joy of Vegan Baking." Have no fear! Go forth new vegan baker!
The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets




1/2 C flour
1/3 C Cornmeal
1/3 C sugar
1/3 C Earth Balance (cold)

1 jar (1lb. 6 oz. or 22 oz.) TJ chunky spiced apples
1/3 C sugar
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice or cinnamon

Preheat oven 375 degrees. In a bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sugar. Cut Earth Balance into mixture between your thumbs and fingers until coarse crumbs form. In a separate bowl combine fruit, sugar and spice and, (everything nice), and spread into an unoiled 9" or 10" pie pan. Bake until topping is golden and bubbling. About 30 minutes.

Have a winning day!

5 comments:

  1. I love crumble - I can't decide whether my favourite's apple or rhubarb,

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  2. Thanx, me too. I'm a little freaked out by rhubarb though.

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  3. I can bake, but I'd be the semi-klutz at the side of the court. I don't have the glasses, but I can't play most sports to save my life!

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  4. yummy! yummy! love this! I want to win! what do i do to enter?

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  5. Hi Gold Dust woman. You can add yourself as a follower and yoiu will be entered! Thank you for inquiring.

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