I love getting to the point in a friendship where you can just come around in your PJ's, eat the food from their kitchen and having them be OK with it all.
That was what the girls and I did tonight. We caught up to catch up on Ruth's holiday over some baking and hot drinks.
We were in the mood for apple pie but decided to go with a berry and apple crumble recipe I found in my Now Vegan! cookbook by Lynda Stoner. It was a very quick and simple recipe and it tasted really good.
We made our own variations to the original recipe. We halved the amount of sugar and added cranberries, walnuts, sunflower seeds and some almond and hazelnut meal. All the flavours went well together and made the simple dessert into something a bit more special.
You can modify this recipe in any way you like. Add all your favourite things and enjoy this in the company of people you love being around :)
Vegan Berry and Apple Crumble
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 4 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 500g (1 lb) mixed berries, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (we only used 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour (we used plain flour)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
- Grease a 20cm (8in) baking dish (we make ours in ramekins). Place the sliced apples on the bottom and top with berries.
- With your fingers, rub together the flour, vegan margarine, brown sugar and cinnamon until finely crumbed, then spread evenly over berries.
- Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
I don't drink alcohol all that much. If I had the choice between an alcoholic drink and anything else, I'd probably pick the anything else.
For me personally, I don't really need alcohol to release inhibitions and I'm probably more fun without it in my blood stream. In fact, when I do drink, I get so sleepy and sleepy Theresa is not much fun at all.
Don't get me wrong, I've tried beer, wine, champagne and all the fruity ones in between, but I'm just not a fan of the taste. I don't hate it, I just would prefer a drink that tastes just as nice which doesn't make me drowsy.
Alcohol also has a lot of sugar and so I'll skip on the extra calories too.
This all being said, I'm totally fine with being around people that drink. It doesn't bother me at all and I'm always willing to try something new. That's why, when my friend gave me a free bottle of Rekorderlig Swedish apple cider, I didn't say no.
I can't remember how we got onto the topic but she thought I might like it. She told me that it tasted great either hot or cold, so I decided to test out both at the same time.
I must say, even though it's so cold outside right now I preferred the drink served cold. This is probably the nicest alcoholic drink I've tasted; but that doesn't really say much to be honest since I don't drink.
This particular flavour was apple cinnamon and vanilla. It had a lovely apple taste with a hint of vanilla and spices. I preferred it cold because it just tasted like soft drink. Served hot, the drink is very sweet and I couldn't really handle the sugar rush to my brain.
I really enjoyed this drink, and luckily for me it hasn't made me sleepy just yet. However, it's been a long day so I'm welcoming the idea of curling up in bed.
