By Amy Barton

An apple a day, my friends, does not keep the doctor away.  Unless you happen to be a minor-league caliber pitcher with a wicked fastball (fast apple?).  But yes, apples ARE good for you.  They're high in fiber, have a high water content, and are high in FLAVOR!  I'm a big fan of just sitting down with an apple (or two, if we're being honest) and just going to town.  On occasion, I like to get crazy.  Baked crazy.  Not that kind of baked.  Geez.  Cooking apples gives them a whole new warm, fuzzy, lovely dimension of flavor.

There is one exception.  The king of all apples:  The Honeycrisp Apple.  Don't cook this guy.  Don't cut him up and make him into apple chips.  I mean, you can.. But don't!  If you've never had a honeycrisp, you're in for a real treat when you find one in season (look around in October/November for the best ones).  They're huge, about as crisp as you can imagine, ridiculously juicy, and sweet sweet sweet!  So, get some of those while you're out.  Look for sales - their only drawback is they're typically upwards of $4 per pound.  Yikes!

But, I digress.  Apples are soooo versatile.  You can bake with applesauce in place of butter.  You can make pies, crumbles, crisps, bars, dehydrated apples, freeze dried apples, apple chips, candied apples, apple fruit leather.... I'm like the Bubba Gump of apples here, people.  

Let's take a trip down Apple Chip Alley...

INGREDIENTS & GADGETS
Apples, however many you'd like (I used 2 for this batch)
Cinnamon, ground (to taste)
optional: sweetener of choice
1 very sharp knife or mandolin slicer


DIRECTIONS
First, decide how you want your apple chips to look.  If you want them to be round and have the pretty little "star" in the center, then you'll slice them whole.  If you want to core them first, that's fine too - you'll end up with apple ring-shaped chips.  Or, you can cut your apple in half vertically and remove the seeds with a melon baller or spoon, and then slice into chips.


Now, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F.


Take your apples, after you've decided what you're doing with the core, and slice them as thin as you can.  I use a mandolin slicer for this.

If you don't have a mandolin slicer, DON'T FRET!  You're still on the road to awesome apple chips.  I promise.  Just take your sharpest knife (make sure you have a sharp one, it makes slicing things thinly so much easier) and slice your little brains out.  Figuratively.  The main objective, regardless of your cutting mechanism of choice, is that you end up with thinly sliced apples that are all roughly the same size, shape, and thickness.

Lay your apple slices out in a single layer on a baking sheet.  You don't need to line your sheet pan with parchment paper, but I always do - it makes clean-up so much easier and you basically eliminate the chances of your apples sticking to your pan.  Don't overlap your apples or they won't cook evenly or crisp properly.

Sprinkle your apples with cinnamon.  As much or as little as you like.  It helps if you do the happy cinnamon dance while you're sprinkling.


Just kidding (no I'm not ... but you'll never see my dance).


This would be the time to sprinkle your sweetener as well, if you're using one (sugar, Splenda, etc.).  Truthfully, I never use anything other than cinnamon.  If you use apples that are already sweet, you don't need to sweeten them up any more.  If you use, say, Granny Smiths?  Well, you might be in for tart apple chips then.  Maybe add some sweetener.  Unless you like 'em tart!

That's it, really.  Isn't this awesome?  You're almost done!  It's so easy - that's why I love it.  Also, because I apparently have an apple problem.


Leave the apples in the oven for one hour.  After an hour, they'll look a little curly around the edges, but they won't be finished cooking yet.

Flip the slices over.  If you like your apple chips super cinnamon-y, add cinnamon to the second side after you flip.  If not, well... Don't!  (I do.)  Pop 'em back in the oven for one more hour.


Depending on how thin your slices are, your chips may be done after the second hour.  Chances are they'll be close, but not QUITE there.  That's OKAY.  Just leave them in there and check on them every 20 minutes or so.  You don't really want them to brown, but you do want them to dry out and start to crisp.  They'll finish crisping when you take them out of the oven and let them cool.  


Alternatively, you don't have to let them get all crunchified.  Maybe you like apple leather.  Or apple rings.  Or dried-but-not-crunchy apples.  Dried Apple NotChips, if you will.  If that's the case, start checking them just before the two hours are up and you'll have a little chew left.


When they're finished cooking (whether still chewy or crunchy), they'll appear to be quite dried out and a little shriveled up.  Success!! 

I'd love to sit here and tell you all about how many apples I've probably eaten in my life (too many) and about all the other wonderful apple recipes I'm considering sharing with you (I'll save 'em for a rainy day), but... I've got some major munching to do instead.  Ciao for now!  xo

By Amy Barton

Quinoa!  Say it with me: "keen-wah."  Now that your most burning question has been answered, let's talk about breakfast.  Huh?  You already knew how to say it?  Smartypants. 


Most of us think of quinoa as a savory addition to a meal (if we're thinking about quinoa at all).  If you've never had it, I assure you - it IS a fantastic savory side.  You can flavor it with damn near anything.  I'll definitely have to pass along some savory applications soon.  If you need one to tide you over, check out my Lemon Parsley Quinoa with Pine Nuts here.  


For now?  Sweet, sticky, warm, cozy, fantastically filling breakfast.

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from Whole Living.  Hop on over there to view the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS
-  1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or any milk of your choice)
-  1/2 cup half & half (or milk, heavy cream, soy milk, or coconut milk)
-  1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
-  2tsp + 1tsp pure maple syrup
-  ground cinnamon
-  1/2 cup fresh raspberries
-  sliced banana
-  coconut milk (unsweetened, canned - I use full fat)

DIRECTIONS
Before you start cooking, rinse your quinoa.  This is an important step.  The package it came in may say it has been pre-washed or already rinsed, but rinse it again anyway - you'll get a lot of the bitterness out of it and rinse off any dirt or pesticides that might be there.  Run clean water over it (in a strainer) until water runs clear and isn't bubbly any more as it runs off.

In a small sauce pan, combine almond milk, half & half, and quinoa.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  After boiling for 1 minute, reduce heat so your mixture is at a simmer.  Simmer, covered, until most of your liquid is absorbed (12-15 minutes).  Don't take the lid off every minute or two to check on it.  Leave it be until at least 12 minutes, then you can check to see how it's doing.  


It will thicken a LITTLE as it cools, so keep an eye on the consistency.  If you like your "hot breakfast cereal" type dishes less thick, take it off when it's reached the consistency you like.  Remove from heat.  Add raspberries, cinnamon, and 2 tsp maple syrup.  Stir to combine.

Top with desired ingredients.  I top with the final teaspoon of maple syrup, a couple more raspberries, an extra sprinkle of cinnamon, sliced banana, and a drizzle of coconut milk - the thick, rich kind that comes from a can - not the kind in the refrigerated section with the milk.  Not pictured, but a most welcome addition: slivered or sliced almonds.

My recommendation?  Don't make extra.  You'll end up eating it until you explode.

By Amy Barton

Rice Krispies Treats are old and busted.  These Cranberry Twisted Peanut Butter Cereal Treats?  You got it - they're the new hotness.  This recipe was inspired by SavorTheThyme.com and the original is here.  

The original is a nod to Rice Krispies Treats with the addition of a few flavors and the deletion of gluten.  I wanted to keep with the gluten-free theme since I'm on that kind of kick this week, but I wanted to amp it up even more.

Man, I always forget how much I love cereal.  I'm a huge breakfast eater.  Huge.  But I really just never think of cereal.  When I do, it's heavy, hearty, fatty goodness like peanut butter or pumpkin seed granola or eggs and avocados (holy yum, Batman).  But there are so many great alternatives out there.  I'm more prone to eating cereal dry, by the handful, for a snack.  Like, instead of potato chips.

Anyway, you can use any cereal you want in this recipe.  I chose gluten free Vanilla Chex.  They are so freaking good.  You'll see in the photos that I did crush them up a bit (not into a powder, but just so they'd be a bit smaller and compact) before I measured them out.  The other sorta odd thing I did?  I froze these.  I don't know why, but I love them just out of the freezer, just barely thawed a little.  Read on for the recipe and pics.