A step beyond applesauce.

We have a philosophy in our family that no one goes without. That means that even though we don't eat gluten, dairy, soy, corn, processed sugar, packaged food or other kind of Standard American Diet fare, that everyone gets something delicious to eat and if you want dessert, you get dessert. And it's good. Not just good. It's the dessert that all your friends wish they were eating instead of theirs.

This is a take on applesauce that wound up becoming a seasonal pudding that is sweet enough for dessert, yet has enough fat in it to keep that fructose from turning our not-exactly-placid child into a superball in play at 6pm.

Just be aware, for those of you watching your sugar intake, that one small serving of this pudding is at least one apple's worth of the sweet stuff, so limit accordingly. If you can have dairy, make layers of whipped cream between layers of the pudding, or serve a small amount over a slice of stevia-sweetened or unsweetened coconut bread, or add a layer of ground nuts to the serving dish to lessen the amount of the sugar per serving. (I could see a possibility for a nut/apple/persimmon pudding, too, which would also cut the sugar.)

Apple Persimmon Sauce (or Pudding, depends on how you spin it, really)

Ingredients:
4 or 5 apples
1 nicely ripe fuyu persimmon
2-3 tablespoons ghee
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
a spritz of water

Peel, core and cut up the apples, peel and cut up the persimmon and put in a saucepan with a bit of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft. Drain. Put the hot fruit into a blender. Add the ghee and blend well. Add vanilla if you like. Chill well.

The ghee makes it stiffen slightly when chilled.

GAPS Latkes!!!!

I am thrilled to say that for the first time in 2 years I have eaten latkes with my family on the first night of Chanukah. Happy Chanukah, by the way. :)

So, here it is. It mainly speaks for itself, but I will say that these are probably the tastiest latkes I've had, and since they're not white potato, they don't turn that odd purple color when your back is turned. They're not mealy and turn this glorious golden yellow color when fried. Our four-year-old somehow ate 4 large ones before I could even get to the table. She actually favored her latkes over the slices of apple on her plate. (No time to make applesauce tonight, so everyone had some fresh apple pieces.)

My one issue is that there's not enough starch in these roots to really bind them together. Ours had that consistency of "Chanukah Chash Browns" in places, which was fine. If the solidity of the pancakes is very important to you, more eggs would be helpful, as would a period of draining and more coconut flour.

GAPS Latkes

1 rutabaga
1 celery root
1 kohlrabi
1 onion
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pepper to taste
3 eggs
about 3 tablespoons coconut flour (more if necessary to sop up the moisture)
enough grapeseed oil mixed with ghee to fill a skillet to halfway up the sides of each latke.

Wash, peel and grate the roots, put in a big bowl. Finely chop the onion and add to the bowl. Add the parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Beat the eggs. Add the eggs and mix well. Add enough coconut flour to absorb the moisture (ours were a bit wet, but it cooked tasted fine).

Heat the fat. Fry the latkes on both sides - they take longer than you'd think.
Get to the table fast before everyone eats your share while you're cooking the last few!

Serve with a combination of apple something and something creamy. If you do dairy, raw sour cream would do the trick with applesauce. If you don't do dairy, double culture some coconut milk kefir until it thickens, then put a dollop of that with the apple stuff. I could see a combination of the cream with some nice fresh apple shavings, too.