It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And no, I don’t mean the holidays (they’re fine). I mean DUTCH OVEN season.
My enameled cast iron dutch oven is one of my most prized kitchen items, especially in the cold months. My reasons:
It lasts *forever.* I got mine five or six years ago and even though it looks worn in, it still functions just as well as the day I got it. And I use it A LOT.
It’s naturally non-stick, but still gets an incredible sear because of the heavy bottom.
It’s multi-purpose. I use it for soups, stews, braised meats, pastas, literally whatever. It also bakes bread beautifully.
There is nothing on this earth more convenient than a one-pot meal, and dutch ovens are one-pot meal royalty.
Nothing says “cozy” more than standing over a heavy pot, cooking up something piping hot and nourishing while your kitchen smells like heaven. Some of my favorite, most lasting food memories have been created around my dutch oven, or dutch ovens in general.
If you don’t have a dutch oven yet, I HIGHLY recommend you invest now or tell Santa (or whatever you call your aunt) to put it on your gift list, because it will be the real MVP when you’re staying at home this winter. I use a Lodge brand 6 qt., which at less than $100 (sometimes less than $75!) is an incredibly good value for its durability.
I digress. The moral of this very long introduction is… Get your hands on a dutch oven, and then make this soup.
I try to live by the simple rules in life. You know, like, always treat others the way you would want to be treated. Always start the day with breakfast. And NEVER go into Trader Joe’s without a plan.
Raise your hand if this has ever been you at TJ’s:
“Well, my cart is at least 85% vegetables, so I guess one box of dark chocolate peanut butter cups won’t hurt. Or 4…”
“FALAFEL SPICED VEGAN CAULIFLOWER GNOCCHI DUMPLING NUGGETS?!? Where have these BEEN all my life?!”
“I don’t know what a ‘Quartet of Snacks’ is supposed to be, but it’s going in the cart.” *SIDENOTE: filing away under ‘genius string quartet names’*
But rules are made to be broken after all, which is why I have more hummuses in my fridge than I can possibly finish, and also why this recipe exists.
Somebody please stop me from eating all of these immediately.
I made these last night, and as of the exact moment I began writing this post (12:32 AM) I had already eaten two of them.
Okay, I had eaten three. But I didn’t eat enough dinner last night. ALSO, I hadn’t yet photographed them, so I had to get rid of all the ugly ones. See? It’s ok. I was doing you a favor… Yeahhh.
I have been dying to make a healthy version of cinnamon rolls since birth, basically. I LOVE cinnamon rolls. In college, one of my roommates would make those amazingly delicious and crazy easy cinnamon-rolls-in-a-tube for special occasions. You know, the ones with the dough that you have to wear protective eyewear to open because the package is GOING to explode? Yeah, you know. SO good.
Unfortunately, those don’t exactly fit into an unprocessed lifestyle, and my goal is to make everything as delicious as possible while also using “real-food” ingredients. And so, these were born. And they are STILL gooey as all heck.
I threw some apples into the mix, because I’m still a li’l bit stuck in autumn and am not loving this weird transition into winter. It has been raining like crazy in NYC for the past few days, but it has been FREEZING. It might as well be snowing. Except that it’s not, so instead of making snowmen in the park and getting days off from school, I’m getting soaked by tsunamis of cold taxi puddle water on my way to class. Do I look amused to you? (Imagine that you can see me, and that I look unamused.) The change in seasons is always a weird time on the East Coast, but cinnamon rolls are for all the time. So, let’s just call these seasonal and be done with it.
Since I didn’t want to use powdered sugar, these do not have your typical “icing,” but they are soaked with a maple syrup glaze, which I think is probably the next best thing. They’re SO delicious warm, with a piping hot cup of coffee or tea on the side. Also, when I was looking for recipe inspiration, I saw that Chocolate Covered Katie put raspberry jam IN her cinnamon rolls. So, obviously, I put some raspberry jam on a warmed up roll for breakfast, and my life was changed. Like, really forever.
The fact that I have a pan and a half of these in my kitchen is really dangerous. Anybody want to help take some of them off my hands?
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, almost boiled
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 c. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 c. Whole Wheat Graham Flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
Filling
1 Honeycrisp or Gala apple, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup walnuts
1 tbs. cinnamon
2 tbs. coconut sugar
1 tbs. honey
3 tbs. melted coconut oil
Glaze
2 tbs. melted coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Dissolve yeast in warm water.
In a saucepan, heat almond milk on medium heat until almost boiling. Reduce heat and add coconut oil and honey, whisking until melted. Remove from heat and transfer contents to a large bowl – let cool until a bit warmer than room temperature (so that the coconut oil is still a liquid)
Once cooled, whisk in yeast slurry, egg, and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine flours.
Slowly add flour to wet ingredients until completely combined and dough can be handled. Extra flour may be added. Knead dough for a few minutes with floured hands.
Let sit in a warm place to double in size, about 1 hour.
Combine filling ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a coarse paste forms.
Once dough has risen, punch it down and roll out on a floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick.
Spread filling evenly over dough.
Roll the long end of the dough inward to create a log.
Using a very sharp knife, cut into 16 even slices.
Arrange slices together into two greased cake pans.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Whisk together glaze ingredients and drizzle evenly over warm rolls.
Last week was full of the most fortunate accidents.
Last Wednesday, while seeing a friend of mine perform at Carnegie Hall (casually), I ran into a different friend who I hadn’t seen in forever backstage – he was seeing a friend of HIS performing on the same concert. Crazy, right? Sometimes the music world is just the right amount of small.
Then on Halloween, I had dinner with two former teachers, one of whom was in town with the Philadelphia Orchestra. They were going to be playing Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, also at Carnegie, but they sold out before I was able to get a ticket. *Commence hysterical crying sequence* So, I went to the hall 40 minutes before the performance to test my luck.
While waiting on the cancellation line, I met the nicest concertgoer who had an extra balcony center ticket she was trying to sell. I don’t usually trust total strangers, but in the name of Mahler… Who KNOWS what atrocities I would commit in the name of MAHLER 😉 The concert was incredible, and I’m sure I cried for about 33% of it.. Ok, I cried the whole time. I miss that orchestra and everyone/everything in Philadelphia so much. It was a bittersweet (but mostly sweet) taste of my second home!
But even before all of this, the week of happy accidents kicked off on Sunday with a little brunch I put together for family at my apartment. You know those days when you have something REALLY specific in mind to cook, but then the grocery store doesn’t have every single EXACT ingredient you plan to use? No? First world problems? I’ll stop talking.
…No I won’t, that’ll never happen. The plan was to make crostini with a crusty whole grain bread and then this here relish. My grocery store didn’t have any kind of fresh baguette that was made with whole grain flour. So, I settled for a whole grain bagel. This was, weirdly enough, the best decision I could have made. I cut the bagel into very thin rounds, tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and baked them (until they were ALMOST burnt – this was a less fortunate accident). Homemade crunchy bagel chips? IS THIS REAL LIFE?!
The rest of the recipe went exactly as planned. Sweet and tart pomegranate arils, briny chopped olives, thyme, and citrus all mixed together and left to sit overnight, and then sprinkled over the bagel chips which had been generously schmeared with ricotta. Oh, and then I drizzled honey on top of alllll of it because I have zero self control. You drooling yet? If you’re not, I’m worried.
Not only are these toasts like a holiday in your mouth, they LOOK like something you should be serving for the late fall and early winter holidays! Between all the deep reds, greens, and earth tones, all you need is a crackling fire and some hot cider and you’re good to go. I felt a little guilty for sneaking some summer ingredients into the relish, but they worked! I’m not trying to hold onto summer or anything, but not everything has to be cold all the time in the fall and winter. I’m all for seasonal ingredients, but sometimes in the winter, you just need to “wake up” a little.
Plus, these ARE perfect for entertaining! Super easy to put together, minimal cooking required, and taste fancier than they actually are. Make them for your family, friends, and neighbors at your next holiday. They will definitely be back. Make them for your book club – instead of discussing the latest chapters in The Fault in Our Fifty Shades of Twilight, you may end up spending the whole time convincing your winedrunk friends that no, these are not in fact that hard to make. Impressive, delicious, and low maintenance. Just how entertaining should be!
My one word of advice: whoever you do make these for, make more than you think you’ll need – it’s pretty much impossible to stop at just one.
Combine all relish ingredients into a mixing bowl. Let sit for at least 4 hours (or overnight) in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 325˚F.
Slice bagels into rounds – the slices don’t have to be the same shape, but should maintain even thickness.
Toss bagel slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Arrange on a baking sheet. After about 5-7 minutes, check to see if the first side of the bagel slices are browned and crispy. If so, flip them and return to oven. Watch frequently to prevent burning!
Once both sides are crispy, remove from oven and let cool.
Spread ricotta on each toast, then top with about 1 teaspoon of relish.
Once all toasts are assembled, drizzle them with honey and serve.
HEY THERE!
Welcome! I'm Sarah, a violinist, culinary instructor for musicians, and blogger here at The Hungry Musician. Click here to read more about me!
