Archive for the 'fruit' Category

Apple Crisp

Published on September 23, 2011 in Desserts and fruit. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .


I’ve hardly made a dent in my apples. I’m thinking about making some applesauce (but I have to go buy a food mill for that), and I haven’t psyched myself up to tackle an apple pie yet, so I thought apple crisp would be a nice and easy way to get the ball rolling.

And it is. To the point where I should’ve doubled the recipe and made it in a 9″ x 12″ pan instead of an 8″ square one. Which is what I’m doing tomorrow. And what you should do too. And what this recipe makes.

A word about topping: some people like their topping to be super crumbly and sugary. Others go the cakey route. This one is somewhere in the middle because I’ve used a good amount of flour, but I’ve still kept a healthy amount of butter in there. I also added oatmeal and oat flour to the all-purpose flour, but I imagine you could really use whatever flour you like or do a gluten-free version (barley or quinoa flours would be good).

Because if you’re anything like me, you just can’t take that giant bowl of apples staring at you from the dining room table. Yes, apples can stare. And glare. And goad. It’s true. Quick, get going!

And have a loverly weekend all.

Apple Crisp

To fit in a 9″ x 12″ pan

10 cups apples (I used a combination of Macintosh and Baldwin, both kind of tart)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup oatmeal
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
10 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC.

Peel and cut apples into slices and put them in a 9″ x 12″ baking dish. Combine the next five ingredients in a small bowl and pour that over the apples, mixing well and distributing the coated apples in an even layer in the pan.

Mix the flours, oatmeal, brown sugar and salt in bowl. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry blender until it forms pea size lumps. Stir in nuts if using and sprinkle topping over apples.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and your kitchen smells so good you can’t stand it any longer.

Field Trip: Apple Picking

Published on September 21, 2011 in Field Trips and fruit. 0 Comments Tags: .


You know it’s officially fall when it’s time to go apple picking. We head up here this past Sunday on an absolutely pristine fall day and did the whole shebang: tractor-riding, apple-picking (more eating than picking for a few little ones), donut-eating, cider-drinking and hay-throwing.

A perfect day.

Now…what to do with a bushel of apples? Stay tuned…

Banana Bread and…my 100th Post!

Published on February 21, 2011 in Breads + Muffins, Desserts and fruit. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .


Yeah, I kinda can’t believe it myself. 100 posts. That’s a lot of talkin’ ’bout food. And other things too, of course. I’m rather proud of myself, I must say. And to celebrate, let’s make something sweet and yummy and happy. I need that. Because after an amazingly beautiful 60ºF day on Friday, we woke up this morning to snow. More snow. And it’s still falling, folks.


So if we’re going to make it through this winter, we’re going to need sustenance. And I mean the kind of sustenance one can only receive from butter. But before you start feeling guilty, take note that there’s no refined sugar in this banana bread. And there’s yogurt and bananas and nuts too, which means it’s also quite healthy. Really.

So if you’re in this east coast blizzard (or even if you’re not), hunker down and make some of this banana bread with your loved one(s)*. And while it’s baking and filling your kitchen with warm happy smells, raise a glass (or a mug of coffee, if it’s before noon) with me and toast to the big 100. Thanks, readers (all five of you), who support this little endeavor of mine. To the next 100 posts…!

Banana Bread

Adapted liberally from Martha Stewart’s Entertaining

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1/2 whole-wheat and 1/2 all-purpose flours)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (about 2) ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Toast the nuts in the oven for 7 minutes, then chop. Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together, then gradually add to the wet ingredients. Add the bananas, yogurt and vanilla. Stir in the flax seeds and nuts and pour into a greased 9″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pan [or muffin tin].

Bake for about one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean (start checking around 50 minutes). Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack for additional cooling (and cutting and eating).

* A special congratulations to Nadia and the birth of her latest loved one, beautiful boy Miles!

Oatmeal Goodness

Published on March 29, 2010 in Basics, Breakfast and fruit. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .


The hombrecito is at the stage where he really wants to “help Mommy cook” – and by “help” I mean sit on the counter and mess with stuff. The hubs isn’t thrilled with this idea, but it’s a pretty deep counter and there’s only a few deadly items within arm’s reach. (I kid, people.)

One thing we like to make together is our weekday breakie, oatmeal. He loves to pour all the ingredients into the pan and stir (and yes, I take over once we hit the scalding-hot, open-flame stove part). And what makes this oatmeal so delicious, you ask? Besides the loving mother-son bonding contained therein?


Well, first off, it’s the oatmeal. We use this yummy organic, gruesa oatmeal (or thick, as in how it’s ground vs. fine) from the most amazing health food store/natural café, La Esquina de las Flores, which just so happens to be three blocks from our place.

And secondly, it’s my secret ingredient: mashed banana. I know, thrilling, but it’s a great way to sweeten the oatmeal without adding sugar and it gives it a nice creaminess. I also use ground chia seeds, which you can read all about here. They’re a great source of omega-3s, which can be hard to come by with a vegetarian diet (or any diet, really).

And then we get to the toppings part, when the kid really goes to town. It’s pretty much open season for whatever we feel like tossing in. I’ve included some suggestions below — just watch out for runaway blueberries and flying coconut. Good times.


Serves 2 (the ratio of oatmeal to liquid is 1:1, so you can adjust accordingly)

Oatmeal

1 cup oatmeal, preferably organic
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
1-1/2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
1 cup, plus a splash more of milk and/or water (you can use all milk [cow, soy, almond], all water or whatever combination you like)

1 tablespoon dry, flaked coconut (optional)
Handful of almonds or other nut (optional)
Fresh fruit

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a pan and cook over very low heat for about 3 minutes or until the liquid is almost absorbed, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

In the meantime, mash one banana with a fork and add half to each bowl.

Add cooked oatmeal to bowls, sprinkle with coconut, mix and top with nuts and berries or whatever fruit is in season. A dollop of plain yogurt wouldn’t be terrible.

In winter, I like to toss chopped apple in with the oatmeal at the beginning of the cooking process to soften it up a bit, and then top with a dash of cinnamon.