Bonne Année/Happy New Year!!!

Wow, well, it's 2008. A friend of mine suggested to set goals and not resolutions. I think that's a great idea. I tend to set goals quite often. But it was great to have that reminder, that little extra push is what we all need sometimes. So it is 2008 and I'm happy to have kept this blog alive...I know! Perhaps a goal that I should set is to complete projects that I start. I always start out with a project with the greatest of intentions, passion, fire, dedication, and then it pitters off and dissapates. And then there's the follow up question from a friend or family member whom asks me...whatever happenend to...knitting, or jewellery making, or rollerblading, or origami, or the other blog you had which was unrelated to food that had a grand whopping total of 5 posts over the course of 7 months, well you can see the trend, can't you? So I started this blog for several reasons, but one main reason is that I love food, another is that I wanted to push myself to continue to find ways to incorporate healthier ingredients into my meals, snacks, desserts etc. Nutrition is important to me and eating healthy is a life style I'd like to make permanent. I find it very challenging, but I am also discovering that this really can be done. So, no, eating healthy is not my resolution for 2008 but it has been a goal that I set in the summer of 2007 and one that I am glad to have maintained. No I usually don't make resolutions in the new year, but I do take the time to reflect on the year past. Yes, i get a little misty-eyed and introspective, I think about what needs tweaking.

What doesn't need tweaking is the Apple Cranberry Crumble recipe I recently adapted from Smitten Kitchen once again. I do tend to adapt alot of recipes don't I? Well, its not because I think these recipes need improvement, but I have a need to incorporate, gentler ingredient alternatives. I made this Crumble at Christmas and New Year's Eve. But not to worry, I was the only person who had to sample this dish twice. poor me ;-)

Apple Cranberry Crumble
Topping:
1 1/3 cups millet flour
¾ cup rolled oats, ground in blender
½ cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg, beaten to blend

Filling:
2 cups fresh cranberries
2/3 cup (packed) organic light brown sugar (by "Wholesome Sweetner" if possible)
1½ teaspoons finely grated orange peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


For topping:
Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add cold butter and cut in with a butter knife or with a pastry cutter; until mixture resembles coarse pea sized crumbs. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Drizzle beaten egg over entire mixture and coat all ingredients with egg until everything is evenly moistened.

For filling:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl; stir to blend. Add apples and lemon juice; toss to blend. Transfer filling to 11×7x2- inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 2-quart baking dish).

Crumble topping finely over filling. Bake dessert until apples are tender, juices bubble thickly, and topping is crisp and golden, approximately 50mins. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm Vanilla Soy Ice Cream or Vanilla Gelato.