Hello, friends! Happy Tuesday. Sorry for the prolonged silence – remember when I said that summer made a triumphant return to Wisconsin? Well, this weekend things really got crazy – the temperature soared into the low 80s and quite possibly shattered a record or two. So, needless to say, I made sure to get outside and soak up some rays. Gotta stock up on enough vitamin D to get me through the dark days of a Wisconsin winter!

However, the high temps don’t negate the fact that it is, quite obviously, still autumn. Ochre and burnt rust colors dominate the skyline; most of the trees around here have changed already. It’s quite sensorily confusing to feel summer-hot while hearing brittle eaves crunch underfoot and seeing yellows and oranges and reds. These autumnal colors are also prevalent in my food lately, because I haven’t given up on autumn-inspired meals and ingredients. Carrots and apples and pumpkins, oh my! Inspired by a bounty of freshly-picked apples and the beautiful, bright carrots from my latest CSA share, I came up with a perfectly autumnal recipe:

Autumn in bread form?

Apple-Carrot Harvest Bread
Ingredients:
2 medium-sized apples, grated
2 carrots, grated
1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water)
2 T oil
3 T applesauce
1/2 t vanilla
2/3 C rice milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)
1/3 C vegan cane sugar
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
2 t cinnamon
1/8 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t salt
dash ginger
3/4 t baking soda

Preheat your oven to 350˚F and lightly grease or spray a loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the water and ground flax to create your flax egg. This is a great time to grate the carrots and apples. Next, add the oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla, and sugar to the flax egg. Whisk until well-mixed. In a large bowl, sift the remaining dry ingredients together. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just incorporated – be careful not to overmix! Fold in the grated carrots and apples, pour the batter into your loaf pan, and pop that baby in the oven.

I baked mine for probably 45 – 50 minutes, and it was just a little bit under-done in the middle. I recommend keeping it in for longer – just wait until a toothpick or thin knife inserted in the center comes out totally clean. Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy! You now have a slightly dense, very flavorful, and quite healthy quick bread, perfect for enjoying with a mug of tea and a good book on a cool afternoon.

…not that I’ve had any of those recently. :)

Hey, don’t leave yet! You still have one more day to enter my giveaway! I’ll choose a winner tomorrow night at 9:00 CST (not 7:00 as previously mentioned… I’ll be in class then!). So get on it!