Sugar-Free January

Right now I'm in our basement, which is actually the coziest room in the house. There's a wood stove right next to a rough-hewn bar, and a very 70's style rec room that has the TV, a dart board and an old Wurlitzer organ, the Funmaker edition. I like to call it the Honeycomb Hideout, for those of you oldsters who remember the old cereal commercials. The rain is coming down, freezing and slushy, drumming on the metal Bilco doors that go to the backyard. It's a miserable January day, which I'm not all that disappointed in, as the days have been quite forgiving of late. Since the new year, we've been taking hikes down along the Hudson river and up on the Shaupeneak Ridge, favorite local walks of ours. My son's latest fascination is ice, so we've been finding safe spots to poke with sticks and crunch with our boots.

Another thing I've been doing is staying the course on my New Year's detox. I have been given up meat, dairy, alcohol and the biggest one for me, sugar. The sugar rules are this: for two weeks, nothing but fruit sweetened things. At week two, I will introduce honey and maple syrup. I was encouraged to go a full month without refined sugar by Rebecca at Cakewalk; originally my goal was two weeks. We set up a Facebook page in order to discuss our sugar-free month. It's a place where we can post links to recipes we can make, or recipes we are looking forward to making when we can eat sugar again. Or maybe complain about how badly we are craving something. Or talk about the dreams we have about food. So far, I've had dreams about eating blackberry jam filled donuts and a large spread that included charcuterie and cheeses. My dreams lately have been fairly obvious.

Let's also note that as I've removed these foods from my diet, my son and husband are still eating them. That means, I'm still cooking things like chicken and dumpling soup, and personal pizzas that I can't eat. It sounds horrendous, doesn't it? But it's really not that bad. I just keep on thinking about how quickly two weeks pass. On New Year's Day, I made pan-seared duck breast with quince jam, and I didn't eat it. Not sure if I'm stupid or strong, but I really didn't feel denied. I had sauteed kale with preserved lemon and baked french fries, and they were incredibly savory.  (Did you read Mark Bittman's article and recipes in the Times magazine on going semi-vegan?)

I'm most fascinated by giving up sugar, probably because I've never done it before. Never crossed my mind! What's most interesting about it is how many things there are that you don't think have sugar in them. Like some of my homemade pickles. Oops! Forgot they have sugar. Or almost all condiments, aside from mustard and soy sauce or tamari. I realized that I pop a piece of gum or a pastille more often than I thought. And I knew this, but coming to terms with it was hard: how many muffins, pancakes, cookies or sweet breads I eat. I don't think the baked goods I eat are entirely bad for me, as they are homemade and I always lower the sugar, but they are pervasive.

One of the reasons I gave up sugar is that I need to be more responsible with it. This idea comes from watching my son start to have a similar relationship to sugar. I was starting to see how most of his diet was in some way sweet: toast with jam, peanut butter and jelly, yogurt with fruit. He used to eat everything, but slowly he's begun to refuse the savory items. In the short time I've giving up sugar, he's most certainly been eating better too.

I think the best thing I've learned, so far, from giving these things up, especially the sugar, is that you become more thoughtful about them. I think a big problem with how people eat today is that they are attached to craving something. People used to eat the same thing everyday, with special things every once in a while. Now we can have those special things every day, whenever we want.

Another benefit of cramping your style is that you get out of your cooking ruts. I found that when I needed a quick snack I would most often melt cheese on top of something. If you're concerned at all about your weight, you'll agree that this is not a good idea. Now I keep a container of brown rice in the fridge. My quick indulgent snack is rice with avocado on top, sprinkled with a bit of tamari. (Not that I will ever give up grilled cheese sandwiches. They are one of the best things in life.)

The foods that I am allowed are better than I ever thought. The other night I was craving a sweet and I ended up with a banana. And it was one of the best bananas I've had in a long time. There's no doubt that the reason being was because of giving up sugar. My palate has been cleansed. My best friends for the first two weeks have been fruit and dried fruit. And it's amazing how sweet they are. Now I'm on to honey and maple syrup, and I must say I am breathing a sigh of relief. It's really easy to make things with those two, and I won't feel so denied. However, I'm still dreaming of that jelly donut.

Here's some of the things I had to sweeten things up:

Apple Cider Syrup: This is a brilliant thing to have on hand. Lots of recipes add sugar, but really all you need to do is boil down apple cider. I used 8 cups and boiled it down to almost 1 cup. It's not super sweet, and has tons of deep apple flavor.

Applesauce: I like to make a chunky version with a few pounds of mixed apples, a little  more than a splash of apple cider, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The vinegar boosts the natural sweetness of the apples, and, along with the cider, also deepens the apple flavor.

Dried Fruit and Nut Balls: Sounds dismal, right? A handful of apricots and a handful of almonds thrown in a food processor, with a little cider syrup to bind are just amazing, actually. There are a ton of variations on the internet. I'm going to make some with some cocoa added today.

Banana Cocoa Muffins: This link is to a great article on NPR about baking with sweet alternatives. I made the muffins, scroll down to see the recipe, and they were great.

Fruit-Sweetened Jam: Whoah, this was a revelation for me. We eat jam everyday. It's my profession now! But you know what, that's a lot of sugar in there. I just made a strawberry raspberry jam with Pomona's pectin, and it does the trick. I can't believe I've never done this before. Now, our everyday jam is no-sugar, and my regular jams (for my personal stash I use about 60% sugar) are for special times.

Vegan Fruit-Sweetened Applesauce Cake: I ate this so quickly that I didn't even take a picture. My son loved it too! I want to develop a banana bread and carrot cake version, too.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a square 8"x8" pan.

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of applesauce
1/2 cup of cider syrup
1/4 cup of raisins

Add mixed wet ingredients to mixed dry ingredients quickly. Pour and smooth in pan, bake for about 30 minutes.

Did you give anything up? Have you given up sugar? What did you eat? I'd love to know.

My besties, clockwise from right: dates, prunes, apricots, and swoon, dates covered in coconut.

Almond Butter Cookies

My new favorite cookie. How can you not love a cookie that you can make when camping? How can you not love a cookie with three ingredients, one of them (the sugar) optional? For those who follow a gluten free diet, you are in luck! I found the recipe for these almond butter cookies at ShowFood Chef and put it on the top of the list immediately. I had a bunch of almonds that I needed to attend to and here was my opportunity. Ever since I saw a bit on making almond butter on The Wynk (which I can't find now), I've been thinking about it. It was one of those moments when you smack your forehead and think, of course! I have nuts, et voila, I can make nut butter. Sometimes I'm a little thick.

So, making nut butter was a breeze, just whiz up the nuts and add a little olive oil to make it smooth. There's a bunch of things to read on it if you need more information, but basically I roasted the nuts at 350 degrees for about eight minutes, until toasty. Then I whizzed it in the food processor for a while, scraping down the sides every so often--you want to wait until it balls up, then it will break down again and turn creamy. It's then that you can add a little stream of olive oil to further the creaminess. I didn't add much, perhaps a tablespoon?

Cathy has great directions on this recipe, so I'm not going to foul things up and omit a detail, which I tend to do in my haste to get things done. Just go and check out the recipe and make these little cookies. Of course, peanut butter will do just fine, too!

Brandied Apricot and Almond Cake

It is bitter cold outside--blustery, snowy and f-f-freeezing. I am not going outside at all today, especially since I am nursing a cold. I have the help of a big pot of mushroom barley soup that has leeks and leftover chunks of that awesome lamb roast in it. And a big bowl of greek yogurt with walnuts and honey on top, as per my mother. We are going to make it through all right. Sometimes you have to do battle with a cold, and I am breaking out all the artillery. Citrus, lemons in particular, ginger and all sorts of tea are working their jujitsu on this congestion. It's a very restful war, but a war nonetheless. I hate colds.

Moving on. I want to quickly post this cake, because I love it. In thinking about it, I realized it's not quite a cake, although it could be with more refinement. Like with separated eggs and beaten egg whites, for example. It's more of a sweet bread or a tea cake. Or perhaps I can call it a rustic cake. It's the kind of cake that you can leave out on the kitchen table so when passing people can cut a hunk off and eat it right then and there. It's available. Not too precious. I like a cake like that.

I used my lemon curd cake recipe and just subbed in pureed brandied apricots for the curd. Then I made little balls of almond paste and studded the batter with them so each piece gets a bite of almond goodness. Blast, it's good!

So, with hunk of cake in hand, off I go to wrap myself in a snuggie knock-off and read the new re-vamped issue of Organic Gardening. They've done such a good job with it--you should check it out. Time to start dreaming about next year's garden!

Christmas Cheer: Coffee Liqueur and Marzipan

This is a dangerous post for me. First, let's be honest, I didn't make marzipan. I made almond paste. But I just love the word marzipan, and it sounds so much better than almond paste. Paste is an unfortunate word forever colored by the image of children eating kindergarten glue. (Not that I didn't indulge myself, but, moving forward.) I love marzipan more than any other sweet, and find it odd that others don't have the same compulsion. I'm surprised to find that people even have an aversion to it. And doesn't it look dull? Like I photographed some pie dough. But to me it looks rich and heavenly.

When I was a girl my family went to Germany, and it was there in the small town of Aachen that my little mind exploded. There was a marzipan festival going on. Every where you looked there was marzipan in every form. Even in the shape and color of a large head of cabbage. Even in the form of Donald Duck, which was what I decided upon as my special treat to purchase. Torn between having it and eating it, I think his legs and arms began to go on the long plane ride home. Every Christmas was made brighter by a tube of Odense marzipan or almond paste stuffed in my stocking, and sure enough, it would be empty and squeezed clean by the end of the day. (These obsessions can border on disgusting, really.)

So, I'm a little silly for marzipan and it's sister, almond paste. The difference is that almond paste is not cooked, more almond to sugar ratio and usually used for cooking and baking, whereas marzipan is cooked (the sugar is cooked to firm ball stage and added to the ground nuts) and is usually a formed candy. When I started realizing that they were both relatively easy to make, wheels started turning in my head. Last week I finally picked up some blanched almonds (slivered, not whole--couldn't find them) and the dream turned reality. See why its so dangerous? Because now I can make it any. time. I. want. It took all of fifteen minutes to make, the baby completely involved--just a matter of measuring and using the food processor (which he loves to push on and off). When the "dough" comes together, it's just a matter of kneading it a bit and wrapping it in plastic and keeping it in the fridge. It will stay for a month. You can also freeze it. I have plans for it, but I know deep inside that I will probably slice off pieces and slowly finish it after pulling it from my stocking. Then I'll have to make more.

Almond Paste, from the Joy of Cooking

1 1/2 cups blanched almonds

3/4 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup (I used half honey because I only had a bit of corn syrup left)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Grind almonds and sugar fine in the food processor. Add the mixed syrup and extract while the processor is on. It will come together like dough--if it doesn't add a small bit of water. Knead just a touch to bind together on a surface dusted with powdered sugar, wrap tightly and either use, or refrigerate for one month, or freeze for up to three months.

Paired with this treat is a coffee liqueur that I saw on Delicious Days. It, as the original post says, takes all of five minutes to whip up. You just have to be patient while it sits. I love making infused vodkas. So easy. So special to break out on a Sunday afternoon. Or on Christmas Eve!

Apple Apricot Almond Jelly

This isn't a picture of the jelly, but rather a picture of it's by product, artfully named jelly bag butter. I think I prefer the title apple-apricot sauce, but that's just me. I got savvy to this when making my quince jelly. That the pulp left over from jelly making can be put through a food mill rather easily and ecco, you have another two jars of loveliness. I used my apple plum star anise recipe as a guideline, subbing apricots for plums.

The numbers looked like this:

2 1/4 pounds apples

2 1/4 pounds apricots

8 1/2 cups water

The apples were Ida Reds, and they were quartered. Apricots were halved and pitted. Simmered for thirty minutes. Juice strained from the fruit mush. I let the juice sit in the fridge overnight whilst it strained a second time.

Meanwhile, I put the fruit through a food mill. The puree measured about five cups; I added one cup of sugar and a few cloves, and let that all simmer a while. Tart and tangy. Mmm. I didn't process it, but instead put it in the fridge. Not only will it be good just spooned right out, but also in some recipes I've got swimming in my head.

The next day, I measured out 4 1/4 cups of the juice and still had 4 1/4 to freeze for future jelly. I love that. In a pot with 4 cups of sugar, and 2 tbsp of lemon juice, it simmered until almost jelling, when I added one tablespoon of apricot brandy and one teaspoon of almond extract. I was looking for that marzipan scent. Reached the jelling point and canned it. The end.

I didn't take a picture of the jelly because who needs another picture of gorgeous golden jelly all nice and pretty in a jar? Besides, it's rainy and I have several things on the stove to tend to, oh, and I hear someone waking up from their nap!

N.B.: All my jelly recipes are written pretty loosely, mostly for my own documenting purposes. If you have any questions, by all means leave a comment or e-mail me. Jelly is dangerous. Make your jelly responsibly.