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Celebrating a Pandemic Power-Outage Birthday Party

The other day I invited a friend, her husband, and her daughter over to help celebrate the daughter’s birthday. Ordinarily, we would’ve done it at my friend’s house, but then Tropical Storm Isaias hit. Her side of the street lost power, my side didn’t, until the following night when the weather was perfectly calm, and my side lost power, too, who knows why. But that particular night I had power, so my house it was, and outside on the patio, due to the pandemic. Since most stores were closed and many streets blocked off due to downed power lines, this pandemic power-outage birthday party sent me to my pantry where, thank goodness, I had a whole lot of beautiful fresh fruit including nectaries, peaches, and blueberries from a recent trip to Rose Orchards Farm, 33 Branford Road, North Branford.

I also had the rest of the fixings for a fruit crisp and had wanted to try this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook by Nisha Vora. Now, if you’re not a vegan and if you don’t have an Instant Pot, don’t worry. You can still make this recipe and I promise you, it is one of the best crisps you will ever make. If you do have an Instant Pot, it’s a great way to make it since it won’t heat up your kitchen, but it can easily be made on the stovetop as well.

The original recipe calls for peaches and raspberries, but I used nectarines, peaches, and blueberries. If you don’t have almond flour, you can sub in regular flour. Spices can also be substituted for any you like best. I did not have ground ginger, and so I omitted that. No almond extract? Use vanilla extract, but double it up. No pecans? Use walnuts. Celebrating a birthday? Stick a few candles in the top and, done.

Vora also points out in a video she made of this recipe that if your fruit is not perfectly ripe, that’s fine. Cooking it down with the other ingredients makes it perfect in this recipe. In that same video, she shows you how to make two other great summer recipes.

Find out more about this recipe, and how to make it in your Instant Pot, along with the video, by visiting www.rainbowplantlife.com/blog/vegan-instant-pot-nectarine-berry-crisp.

Fruit Crisp

Adapted from a recipe by Nisha Vora,

The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook

Ingredients

For the filling

8 firm-ripe medium nectarines or peaches,

or a combination

Cooking spray or neutral-flavored oil, for the pot

1 pint blueberries or raspberries

2 tablespoons organic cane sugar

1 tablespoon organic brown sugar or organic cane sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ — ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

Pinch of kosher salt or fine sea salt

½ teaspoon pure almond extract (or pure vanilla extract)

Juice and zest from one lemon

1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder

For the Crisp Topping

⅓ cup refined coconut oil

1 cup rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)

½ cup almond flour

½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

½ cup packed organic brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup almond meal or almond flour

For serving (optional)

Vegan vanilla ice cream

Directions

• Leave the nectarines and peaches unpeeled. Slice them into ¾-inch-thick wedges. You should have about 6 cups of sliced fruit.

• Coat a large deep skillet pan with cooking spray or lightly grease with oil.

• Add the sliced fruit and blueberries or raspberries to the pan. Top with the cane sugar, brown sugar, a pinch of salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom (if using), almond extract (or vanilla extract), and lemon juice and zest. Stir gently to coat the fruit.

• Put a lid on the pan and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat, until fruit is just cooked through.

• In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch or arrowroot powder and 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the fruit filling and gently boil until it has thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

• When fruit is cooked through, transfer it to the serving dish. You can use one big dish or about 8 individual serving bowls.

• Clean out the skillet, and then, over medium heat, add the coconut oil. Once the oil is melted and hot, add the oats, almond flour, pecans or walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cook, tossing frequently to prevent burning, until toasty and lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.

• Sprinkle the topping onto the fruit filling.

• Serve warm with ice cream, if desired.