Apple Crumble June 25, 2008

The other day my neighbors invited me over for a barbecue at their place and I decided to take dessert. I’ll be the first one to admit that desserts are not my forte. So, this was a challenge for me. I decided to make Apple Crumble and in true tinkering style decided to make it as healthy as possible. My first attempt at this recipe was resulted in a pretty good Apple Crumble-the second attempt perfected it (if I may say so, myself )

What you need

4 Apples (Granny smith or McIntosh)

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 Cup of unsweetened Mango Juice

1 Tbsp of honey

1-2 tsp of cinnamon

4-5 cloves, powdered with a mortar and pestle

For the crumble

1 Cups of oats

1 Cup of almond flour or meal (or ground almonds)

1/4 Cup of brown sugar

2 Tbsps of Flax seeds, ground

Dash of cinnamon

Mango Juice for additional moisture, if needed

How its done

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees farhenheit
2. Slice the apples and coat them with the juice of the lemons as you slice them so they do not brown
3. Mix the mango juice (or any natural unsweetened fruit juice you have on hand), one teaspoon cinnamon and the powdered clove
4. Layer the bottom of a baking dish with the fruit
5. To make the topping, mix the oats, almond flour, brown sugar, flax seeds and the second teaspoon cinnamon. If too dry, use the mango juice. The consistency should be such that you can make a crumbly ball of the mixture when you take some in your palm.
6. Top the apples with the crumble mix.
7. Place the baking dish in the center rack of your oven (the flax seeds tend to burn easily if you put the dish on the top rack). Bake for 30 minutes till you see a crisp brown topping.

Tastes awesome and light by itself- is decadent with ice cream!!

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Siri’s Open Sesame 2 and decided to play- it was harder than I thought!! The riddle was as follows:

I am a flower but  adorn a bouquet, I do not
I have an inbuilt perfume in my being
So strong and so intense that my oil will make your insides ‘hot’
My medical impact all over the world seen.

My ‘Yorubas’ infusion is the ’savior’ of star wars
I have been used as a barter by the fellow ’sadiqi’s’ during trades
One does not have to fight tooth or ‘nail’ for me
I am usually pink but mostly available browned in shades

I may be dry , I may overpower your tongue
But add a little for that midas touch
Come now, start thinking of that spice
Whose bite make your ‘teeth’ say Ouch!

It took me two hints to guess….and my recipe today includes the ingredient? Can you guess what it is? You wouldn’t dream of it in an Apple Crumble, but it really complements the sweetness of the Apple…

This quick, easy and healthy (low fat, natural sugars) dessert is my contribution to Dhivya’s and Siri’s OS2