Anne was seven when they were first told that dairy and sugar were making them sick. This meant that many birthday parties were full of food they couldn’t eat and parents complaining that Anne was too difficult. In some cases they were even un-invited from the birthday party because the parents didn’t know how to provide food in a way that would be inclusive (or even allow Anne to bring their own food).
Camille’s mom was the first of Anne’s friend’s parents to cook food with Anne’s food needs in mind. If you have food allergies, you know the sheer joy of arriving to a party finding there is food you can eat because someone thought of you specifically. There is so much joy in a meal that was created with you in mind. It’s receiving love on so many levels.
Apple crumble was the first dessert that Camille’s mom made for us after Anne’s food allergies were identified and we still love it to this day. Cooking the recipe brings up warm loving feelings of home and the joy of not being a burden, but just being loved by family. Eating it is bliss, because, well, it’s a very good recipe.
Serves: 4-6
Time: 1 1/2 hrs, 45 min active
Ingredients
Filling
4 apples, peeled and sliced
3 T maple syrup
1 T cinnamon
2 T cornstarch
Topping
3/4 cup almond pulp (can use almond flour here)
3/4 steel cut oats (gluten-free option)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2 T coconut sugar
1 T maple syrup
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (optional candied nuts if you have them)
1/2 c vegan butter, cold
Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
Peel and slice the apples into thin wedges. Toss them in a bowl with all the filling ingredients until evenly coated. Put in the bottom of a casserole dish or a deep pie pan around the size of 8X8. Using the same bowl, put the almond pulp, oats, cardamom, cloves, salt, and coconut sugar together and mix until fully incorporated. Next you cut the butter into by using your hands to quickly pinch the butter with the other ingredients until you have evenish small chunks of butter throughout the crumble topping. These chunks should be about the size of a pea or slightly larger. Drizzle the maple syrup onto the mixture and add the pecans. Use a fork to quickly toss this together being careful not to overmix or melt the butter. Spread the topping out over the apple filling and bake for about 40 minutes. After 40 minutes the topping should have become more solid and less like individual bits of oats as well as being slightly browned and crispy at this point bring the crisp out. It is done cooking now so you can try to eat it hot, although we recommend cooling it slightly to avoid burning yourself. Enjoy!
