Maple Apple Scones

I went apple picking this week and thought scones would be the perfect outlet for my abundance of sweet and juicy apples! These are lovely for an autumn afternoon with tea, slathered with plenty of Earth Balance, of course. They would probably lend themselves well to a nice helping of homemade apple butter as well! I wanted to make a scone recipe that was sweetened only with maple syrup, and it is made with whole grain flour, so they're pretty good for you, too! Maple Apple Scones (makes 12 scones)
5 cups whole spelt flour (or gluten free baking flour)
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 cup vegan margarine, cold
1/2 cup vegan non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, cold

3 cups apples, diced small

1 cup soymilk + whisked with 1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple extract
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs oil or melted margarine

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
Cut in the margarine and shortening with a strong fork or pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly and the margarine/shortening are in tiny pieces.
Fold in the diced apples, stirring to coat with the flour.
Add in the soymilk-cornstarch mixture, maple syrup, extracts, and vinegar. Stir until just combined, being careful to not overmix.
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Form dough into 2 separate rounds, about 2 inches tall and 6 inches across. Slice each round into 6 wedges. Place wedges onto prepared sheet pans, allowing for about 1" between scones. Using a pastry brush, brush tops of scones with oil or margarine. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, checking halfway through to ensure they are rising properly and not burning, etc.
Remove from oven when tops are golden and scones are firm to the touch. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling, or serve warm. Store uneaten scones in an airtight container until ready to use.
*If you don't necessarily want to keep these sugar-free, feel free to sprinkle each scone top with some turbinado (or other unrefined) sugar after brushing with oil, before baking.

Climbing Fuel

Today, this being the Fifth Day of Vegan MoFo, was an absolutely GORGEOUS day in Mid-Missouri! The weather was perfect: cool, sunny, breezy...a great day for rock climbing! After our traditional Sunday breakfast, Steve and I went out to Earthquake Hollow to go bouldering...climbing boulders, without ropes... for the afternoon! So, I had to pack some food to fuel our afternoon of climbing! I will tell you what we had, and a few other items that are good for exercise fuel or foods to take on a hike or camping trip!

For lunch, I made my favorite Tofu "Egg" Salad! I probably can't express to you how delicious this salad is. It is sooooo creamy and good and just hits the spot! I'm sure that is with much help of our friend, Vegenasie! :) This is packed with protein, but is not too heavy...so it fills you up but doesn't weigh you down! It travels well, and you don't have to worry about yucky salmonella like you would with egg salad!

Tofu "Egg" Salad (serves 6)

1 block extra firm tofu, crumbled

1/2 cup Vegenaise

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 stalk celery, diced

1 carrot, shredded

1/2 cup parsley, chopped finely

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs turmeric

1 Tbs Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp black pepper

squeeze of lemon juice

In a medium bowl, combine the tofu, Vegenaise, turmeric, Old Bay, pepper, and lemon juice. Mash the tofu with these ingredients to combine fully and make tofu to have and "eggy" texture. Fold in the veggies and mix to fully incorporate. Refrigerate until ready to use. Really good served on some crusty bread with juicy tomatoes and fresh greens!!!

Here's Steve, enjoying the heck out of his tofu salad sandwich!! Perfect for a day of climbing!

Some more great things to bring climbing, hiking, camping, etc. are:

• Larabars (Peanut Butter Cookie is my current favorite!!)
  
• Justin's Nut Butters Individual Packs
• Canned Beans or Rice and Beans Combination
• Nuts and Seeds
• Dried Fruits...we love papaya spears!
• CousCous, Quinoa, and Oats to cook over a fire
• Hot Sauce
• Nooch
• Clif Bars
• Steve's Favorite Climbing Snack: Whole Wheat tortilla with peanut butter, banana, and carob chips. Perfect.
• Jars of peanut butter
• Granola
• Single serving soy/rice milks
• Avocado
• TVP chunks...always a great addition to a campfire meal!

These are just a few things Steve and I like to take along for our fuel! Of course, lots of water, coffee, and tea are also a must! Don't forget the Dr. Bronner's to wash your camping dishes, and your dirty camping body afterward! What are some of your favorite outdoor eats??

Oh, and I am obligated to leave you with pics of us climbing!

Mochi and Yogurt...not together, though.

So my post today isn't really about anything I created or made, but these were some good treats, nonetheless!
First, a product review: So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt! I know several people have blogged about this stuff already, so I may just be reiterating what they have already said. Anyway, I love this stuff! As far as vegan yogurts go, I still like the So Delicious soy yogurt better in terms of texture and creaminess, but this coconut version has a wonderful flavor and is surprisingly light and refreshing. I also like the nutritional aspect, as it is made with very few ingredients and has the great fatty acids that coconut provides. And it's soy-free if you are sensitive AND it has probiotics! yay! I would eat this everyday if it weren't so pricey :)
Out of the few flavors I have tried, I like this plain (which I guess would be coconut then...) and the Passionate Mango flavors. If you have a place near you that sells these, give them a try!
Another new-to-me treat that I tried last night was this Mochi that Steve brought me back from his trip to Colorado last week! I have had mochi once before, a few years ago, but this particular brand is different than what I have previously eaten. This is Harvest Moon brand, made and sold in Boulder, CO, so it was a local product when he was visiting there! He picked up two different varieties: the one we tried last night was the Sesame and he also got a cinnamon raisin, which will get eaten soon, I'm sure!
Here it is in the package, pre-baked (the label was foil, so it would NOT photograph well! ah!!)

And here it is all baked and puffed up. The directions say to cut it into strips so it would puff up properly, so I sliced it into french fry-like shapes, and it worked great!

I served them with some almond butter for our dipping pleasure...yuuuuuum city, u.s.a, population: me!!

I will tell you how the cinnamon raisin variety is soon! I'm sure it won't disappoint...