apple cider cinnamon donuts!

Donuts! These apple cider cinnamon donuts are WAY better than the bland farmer's market fare. The key is to reduce the apple cider to a rich concentrated sweet sauce. This adds a much more pronounced apple taste. And of course dousing them in cinnamon sugar glaze couldn't hurt either. 

Donut Recipe: 

1 cup apple cider

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk (or add 1 teaspoon of vinegar to soymilk and let sit for 10 min) 

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

oil for frying 

Glaze recipe: 

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 cup apple cider

1 teaspoon of sugar

Instructions: 

Reduce apple cider first. Boil one cup of apple cider in  a small saucepan until it is reduced to 1/4 cup (about 8 to 10 minutes.) Set aside to cool. 

Prepare glaze. Add the cider and cinnamon to sugar and mix well, until it resembles a thick glaze. 

Cream the sugar with the margarine. Add eggs, mix well. Add buttermilk and reduced apple cider. Mix. 

Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Sift together flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. 

Add dry to wet ingredients and mix just enough to combine. Dough should be sticky, not dry. 

Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and pat to 1/2 inch thickness. Form into donut shapes or donut holes. 

Prepare fryer. I added a standard vegetable oil to the deep fryer. Heat oil to 375 degrees. 

Add about two to four donuts at one time, depending on size of donuts and size of fryer. Turn once. Donuts only take about a minute to fry. 

Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Cool for a couple minutes, then dip in glaze or slather glaze on top. Enjoy!! 

boerenkool stamppot

Boerenkool. This translates from the Dutch to "farmer's cabbage." And stamppot means "mash pot." Pretty obvious what this dish is. A staple winter recipe in Holland. It's a simple blend of mashed potatoes and kale, with an option of some sort of smoked sausage. My vegetarian version has veggie bacon (Morningstar brand) . Usually I'm not a big fan of the fake meats, but this one is pretty good when you bake it in the oven till it gets super crispy and bacon-like. And mixed in with this warming potato hash, it adds a lovely salty crispy bite. 

There really isn't a recipe for boerenkool. You kinda just make it up as you go along. A couple pounds of potatoes, boiled til mash-worthy, a large bunch of kale, chopped finely (which you can either saute lightly with olive oil or add raw to the mashed potatoes), and a good amount of olive oil or butter to bring the hash together. Optional bacon or bacon-like product added at the end. 

orange glazed tempeh with onions and yellow peppers

Tempeh can be really bland. It's just fermented soybeans, after all. But it can be so amazingly good if you marinate it in orange juice, agave nectar, ginger and garlic. Chop up some chives, red onion and yellow peppers and throw it in a tortilla, and you got yourself an awesome burrito! 

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 teaspoons agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon coriander

2 cloves of garlic, minced

one 12 oz package of tempeh

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 lime

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Mix orange juice, ginger, agave, coriander and garlic in a small bow. Set aside. 

Cut tempeh into small bite-sized pieces. 

Heat olive oil in a medium sized pan and add tempeh when hot. Cook for five minutes on each side or until brown. Pour orange juice mixture in pan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until sauce is thick. 

Serve tempeh drizzled with remaining sauce. Squeeze lime and add chopped cilantro.