2 days shy of a month ago today I shared the amazing news of having been accepted in the Secret Recipe Club.  Well kids, today is "reveal day" (yipppppie!!) and I am super stoked to share my October recipe with all of you. 

My assigned blog for this month was This is how we eat (by Laura Rees).  The milisecond I got the notification email I hopped right over to see what was potentially in store for me.  Intrigued by the fact that she does olive oil tasting for fun (and cracking up over this post), I browsed through the recipes, beginning with the healthy choice section, but jumping around from there.  It took me all of two minutes to realize that choosing only one recipe was going to be extremely difficult.    Five minutes after that I realized there was only way I'd be able to make a decision:  over cocktails (and by cocktails I mean, mimosas and sangria).

Returning to my computer, adult beverage in hand, I clicked on "breakfast".  Back in the day I loved breakfast: french toast, waffles, omlettes & hashbrowns...  I was lucky to have two top notch diners close to my house to indulge my taste buds.  Then I went vegan and while I can make vegan and/or raw versions of my lost loves, I feel not need to pretend that it even comes close..... cause it doesn't....  I may eat breakfast on a daily basis but it's by far my least exciting meal of the day (unless of course, your excited by oats, fruits, and the occasional parfait).  As I recollected my last rendevenous with challah french toast, I scrolled down page two and BAM!, I found my recipe:  Crockpot Apple Pear Butter!!!!!

Despite my hatred for temperatures below 80F, my favorite season has always been fall with October being my favorite month.  Pumpkins, apples, foliage, halloween, and my crockpot (don't judge me) top the list as far as fond memories and associations go, which made the apple pear butter recipe perfect and the fact that I've never made anything like this made it that much more exciting.  The recipe is brilliant as is, but unable to leave well enough alone, I decided to go balls-to-the-wall fall with one minor tweak: substitute pumpkin for pear!  The result was mind blowingly delicious :-)  Big thanks to Laura for a truly amazing recipe! 

Live Delicious!
xo

Crockpot Pumpkin Apple Butter
Adapted from This is how we eat. // by Laura Rees 

I 15oz can Organic Pure Pumpkin
3 small green apples, peeled, cored and shredded*
3/4 - 1 cup All Natural Organic Appple Cider
1/4 cup Sucanat
Apple Pie Spice, to taste

Place all ingredients into the crockpot.  Place lid 3/4 of the way on and cook on low approximately 6 hours or on high approximately 4 hours.  Transfer everything to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.  Pour mixture into mason jar and store in refrigerator. 

Note:
Apples can be pureed from the start instead of shredded as seen in Laura's recipe.

Anyone who has ever made their own nut butter knows exactly what I am talking about when I describe the process as magical.  Over the last two years or so I have drastically reduced the number of pre-packaged goods I purchase, and it terms of nut butters, I generally only purchase a few of the Peanut Butter & Co flavored peanut butters, specifically Dark Chocolate Dreams, White Chocolate Wonderful, and Cinnamon Raisin.  However this may soon change.  Homemade nut butter is relatively easy to make and flavoring your own nut butter is ideal since taste preference is highly personal.

Starting July 1, I decided to be place some focus on eating healthy on a budget.  This, in my opinion, requires that I take a closer look at my own grocery expenses.  My goals are to cut back on unnecessary spending and impulse buys,  purchase only what I really need, and overall become more efficient in terms of making my own foods .  In order to do this, I will need to menu plan on a weekly basis as well as do some price comparison and bargain shopping but to me this extra time is time well spend as in the long run sticking to a budget will ultimately better my overall fiancial situation.   Recent interactions with a particular person have reaffirmed my desire to take responsibility for the direction in which my life is headed.  There are area's of my life that I wish to change for the better (ie: my toxic living situation) but my lack of funds definately holds me back from doing such.  In addition to this, I have always felt money to be a necessary evil and while I don't place significant importance on having alot of money, it's nonetheless important to be able to suppport yourself.  Two people in particular stands out in my mind as I type, one of which is seemingly a day llate and a dollar short every single tiime and there's always an excuse:  "I didnt get paid", "I don''t have gas" .... and this individual demonstrates no shame in draining the resources of others, all with an over inflated sense of entitlement.   There is no borrowing and rarely if ever is there giving.  It's take take take.  The second person makes no excuses and instead brings freeloading to a new level with no apologies.  Life sometimes hands you lemons and I wouldnt work in the helping profession if I didnt believe in helping those in need but when the person "in need" does nothing to better his/her own situation  and instead seems perfectly coontent on sucking others dry I draw thhe line.  At the end of the day, you can't help someone who won't help themself. 

So, what does this have to do with nut butter?  Well the last few weeks I have cut back on all grocery shopping and instead forced myself to use up what I already had.  This resulted in the finding of a perfectly goood, unopened 16 oz bag of brazil nuts.  YUM!!  I ran upstairs to fetch my food processor and excited dumped the nuts in. (Note:  I know alot of people who soak the nuts first as this makes them more digestible.  However, if you soak the nuts you must dehydrate them and that takes 10 - 12 hours.  Therefore, I didn't soak the nuts this time as I wanted brazil nut butter and I wanted NOW!!)  With the nuts in the processor I secured the lid and turned it on.  The process takes about 12 minutes so it must be done in a processor that won't overheat, burn out, or for any other reason fail.  (A high speed blender, such as a vitamix or montel can also be used).  Along with this, you will likely need to scrape the sides during the beginning stages until the oils release, which is the magical part I was referring to in the beginning of this post.  If you have never made nut butter be sure to watch the entire process as the nuts go through several different stages along the way.  They crumble, they clump together, they ball up almost like forming a dough, they redistribute and then it happens - the magic transpires - the oils from the nuts release and eveything turns to silky, creamy, sinfully delicious buttery spread.  Mmmmm... so freakin good!!  

Upon completion of your nut butter, you have the option to flavor it:  salt, agave, vanilla, maple syrup, dried currants, cinnamon.... the possibilities are endless!!  I like to break mine up into two or three small glass jars so I have a few different flavors on hand.  When stored properly, your nut butter will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. I promptly used some of mine for raw nut butter cups.  In a word:  heavenly!!

Enjoy!