Raw Blackberry-Ricotta Tart

Its so raw, that its frozen.

Not exactly what you'd expect in the winter, but I am tooling with date-based recipes at present.

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST 

2 c pitted Medjool dates (about 12)

¼ c water

 ...

1c rolled oats

¼ c unsweetened shredded coconut

½ c slivered almonds

pinches of sea salt and ground cloves

¼ t ground cinnamon

¼ c water

DAIRY FILLING

2c part skim ricotta cheese

½ c plain Greek yogurt

1T local honey

1t orange zest

¼ t vanilla

TOPPING

2c+ blackberries, rinsed and dried

DIRECTIONS:

Use a food processor (or, less preferably, a blender) to combine dates with water until mostly smooth.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the mix.  Use as much of the 1/4 c water as necessary.  Blend until well combined and moist.  Smooth this crust mixture into a pie or tart pan, smoothing it up onto the sides a bit.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a couple hours.  I refrigerated overnight.

Later, mix together the dairy layer until smoothly combined.  Smooth over the crust and add whatever fruit topping you want.  Allow to freeze for a good 2 hours-- long enough so the Dairy layer is solid enough to be cut, but not so long that the berries become little ice rocks.

If you don't consume it all after the 2 hours in the freezer, cut the rest into slices (it will be impossible to cut once its frozen solid), place back in freezer, and be aware it will need to thaw out a bit before eating later.  Makes a lovely breakfast the next morning!

Healthful Pumpkin Brownies (clear the cupboards style)

Pumpkin Time!

I moved this week, so last week I wanted to have one more crack at baking in order to get rid of a random 1.5 cups worth of garbanzo flour, tiny bit of oil, half can of cocoa powder, a packet of gelatin, and a lonely can of pureed organic pumpkin I had kickin' it in the kitchen.

So I jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon and tried out this recipe of my own invention to use up these baking odds and ends.  So be flexible with this recipe.  No need to go out and buy No Sugar Added Nesquik syrup—I just didn’t want to end up throwing away an entirely full bottle of it before I moved.  (My mom bought it…I really don’t know why…but at least a squirt of it finally got used!)

Maple syrup could nicely replace the honey.  Cornstarch or tapioca could also probably substitute for the gelatin powder.

This recipe is good because it uses a WHOLE can of pumpkin.  I had a can in my cupboard, and every recipe I saw online only uses like half a cup of pumpkin puree…and I wasn’t going to be able to use any remainder before I moved, so I slopped in the entire can.

Made in one 9x9 square baking dish.

Brownie Base

1 c pumpkin

1/3 c honey

2 t vanilla

¼ c melted coconut oil or other oil

1.5 c garbanzo or other flour

½ c cocoa

½ t sea salt

1 t baking soda

1/3 packet gelatin

½ c mini chocolate chips (optional)

Generous squirt of chocolate syrup (optional)

*Taste the batter!  There’s no eggs or anything, so you’re safe.  I prefer my sweets not that sweet.  But if you think yours needs a little more sweetness, by all means, add some more honey, maple syrup, agave, etc.  Personally, I find that people don’t miss when you knock a half cup of sugar or MORE from a standard dessert recipe!

*You could use this brownie base for really any swirled brownie.  Instead of a little pumpkin layer on top, you could top the brownie batter with sweetened cream cheese, caramel, and so forth.  The pumpkin in the brownie mix is not so overpowering as to demand a matching pumpkin topping.

Pumpkin Top Layer

1c pumpkin

2/3 packet gelatin

1 t vanilla

¼ c honey

1/3 c plain or vanilla kefir

2 t cinnamon, 1t ground ginger, dash or cloves and nutmeg

Directions:

·      Grease 9x9 dish, preheat oven to 350

·      Start with Brownie layer: blend wet ingredients together

·      Sift in dry brownie ingredients and combine

·      Pour into pan and smooth the surface

·      Combine all ingredients for the Pumpkin layer until smooth

·      Spoon Pumpkin layer over top of brownie layer

·      Swirl it around a bit, if you want

·      Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean of Brownie—the Pumpkin part will still be moist, even when it is done

·      Allow to cool

·      Cut into squares and refrigerate for at least an hour

All Natural Cherry Clafoutis

If anyone actually knows how to say the word clafoutis, they get a gold star.

I used a smaller sized (8 inch) cake pan for this recipe, since I had a smaller amount (about 1/2 to 2/3 pound) of cherries left.  If you have a full pound of cherries (a regular grocery store bag amount) then alter the ingredients to be about 1.5 times what I used.  (See quantities in parentheses in the INGREDIENTS section!)

The 8 inch pan version serves 4 quite generously, or 6 less generously.  Despite the fact that it is gluten free -- and I even used coarser almond meal-- the cake-y part still got nice and custardy, very smooth.  Lovely.

INGREDIENTS:
2t tablespoon grapeseed oil--or any kind of oil--  (1T) + some for greasing pan
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk  (1 c)
2 large eggs (3)
2 T dark honey * (3T)
Dashes of ground cinnamon, ginger and clove
Dash of salt (1/4t)
1/3 cup packed almond meal/flour (1/2 c)
1.5tablespoon corn starch OR arrowroot starch (2T)
2/3 pound fresh cherries, pitted (1 lb)
 

DIRECTIONS
-Preheat oven to 375

-Grease your pie pan with oil or butter 

-Combine the oil, almond milk, eggs, sugar, spices, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. 

-Add the almond meal and corn starch and blend until smooth.

-Pour the batter into the prepared pan and scatter the cherries on top (they will sink into the batter). 

-Bake for about 30 to 45 minutes until set in the center and it is all golden on top. 

-Serve warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream! 

Be sure to save some for tomorrow's breakfast.  Mine was divine with low fat cottage cheese, drizzled with Smartweed Honey.  Excellent!

*I am moving soon, so I haven't bothered to restock my supply of Vanilla.  Instead, I have been using boldly flavored natural sweeteners.  My favorite it dark, full-bodied honey like Buckwheat or Smartweed honey.  100% maple syrup or molasses are also good options.

Purple Potato-Crusted Kale and Egg Breakfast Pie

I got such a good laugh recently out of an article in a magazine that had a baked egg & cheese pie with a potato crust, because the article was entitled "Slice of Heaven."  Are you kidding me?  So cheesy.  All I could think of was this so-bad-it's-good Youtube video.  Its this dude's Christmas List in a rap and one of the items is described as follows:

"Item number 7, its like a bite of heaven, I could prob'ly eat like ten or eleven.  Checked up in my stocking, and guess what I found?  A brand new box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies!"

Yep, that's Froggy Fresh for you :)


Anyway, when I recovered from laughing and tried to take the recipe seriously, I decided to make my own version for me and Jack's weekend bruncheon.  Here's what happened--

INGREDIENTS

  1/2 a bunch of red or dinosaur Kale- washed, patted-dry, stems removed, chopped
  1/4 c chopped Herbs- parsley or rosemary would probably be the most logical, but we used cilantro which was tasty too!
  2/3 a little mesh bag of Purple Potatoes (about half a pound or 1 cup)- scrubbed and sliced thin on a mandolin...otherwise they won't cook through!
  4 Eggs
  1/2c Egg Whites
  1/4 c Dairy-- we used plain kefir, you could also use milk or heavy cream
  1/4 c (more or less) of Feta Cheese or Goat Cheese
  Desired seasoning, including a splash or Sriracha chili sauce and Minced Garlic


DIRECTIONS

• Preheat over to 375, use coconut oil or another oil to grease a medium-sized gratin dish.
• If you use larger potatoes, overlap them around the edges and bottom of the dishes.  Or, if your potatoes are small and/or you have a life, just spread them around and make sure you can't see the bottom of the pan.
• Season potatoes with a little salt & pepper.

• Press the washed/trimmed/chopped kale into the dish, it should be pretty darn full of kale.

• In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, and milk.
• Season this mixture with herbs and spices, as you desire-- I used 1/4 c chopped cilantro, 3T minced garlic, a generous splash of Sriracha chili sauce, 1/2t cumin, 1/2t curry powder, and dashes of salt/pepper/cayenne powder.
• Pour over the kale and potatoes already in the dish.  You make not use ALL of the egg mixture, but use as much as you can.
• Dollop the cheese evenly over the top.

• Bake about 40 minutes, until the center does not wobble when you move the dish.
• Allow to rest a few minutes, slice and serve.

I used a medium-sized gratin dish, which produced about 4 good servings.  If you double the recipe, use a dutch oven.  The original recipe called for goat cheese, which would probably have been better, but I only had feta on hand, plus it kinda went with my Middle Eastern seasonings.

Deviled Avocado Eggs

I cannot claim to have made this one up, although it has me written all over it!  This recipe and image has been WIDELY shared on Facebook, and I am saving it here for reference because my sweetie wants me to make them for him :)  He's only just coming around to eating egg yolks... so I'm happy to encourage him!

Hard boil and cool 6 eggs.

Mash 1 large, ripe avocado with 3 egg yolks from 6 hard boiled eggs (use the other three yolks for something else...). 

Add 1 tsp. cilantro, 3 tsp lime juice, 1 tbsp red onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Top with a sprinkle of chili or paprika.

Serve on a lovely platter.

Strawberry Lemon Curd

Oh, this is a good one.  I can't stop putting it on EVERYTHING!  Toast, Coco Pop Cakes (pictured), plain Greek yogurt, kefir, crackers, on a very large spoon...

INGREDIENTS

• 6T unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 lemons, zested & juiced
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 5 large egg yolks

DIRECTIONS 

In a bowl combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined and fluffy.

 

Combine the lemon juice and strawberries in a blender until smooth. Add the lemon juice to the sugar mixture and beat until just combined. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.

Transfer it all to a small/medium, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over LOW-MED heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens, about 10 or 15 minutes.

Ladle the curd into little glass jars that you've swished hot water in (so they won't shatter with the hot curd), screw the lids on and allow to cool in the fridge, where the jars should get a nice seal due to the temperature change.

Fills 2 little jars, so makes approximately 2.5 cups worth.  

Promptly eat on everything.

Simple Vanilla Pudding

My mom was in town visiting me and, in anticipation, I had a carton of almond milk and a whole glass bottle of milk...both of which remained untouched throughout the duration of her visit.  I also noticed some ancient, lonely packets of gelatin kickin' it in the cupboard.  So as my mom was preparing to leave, I began prying her (and the internet) for tips on making pudding and mousse.  There are a lot of complicated, old school methods out there.  There are also a lot of recipes that cal for loads of heavy cream and the most disturbing of all additions... Cool Whip.  Have you ever looked at the ingredient label on that stuff?  (shudder)

So I followed my mom's advice and experimented.  What I came up with was a dense vanilla pudding topped with a little layer of vanilla custard-like mousse.  Almost like its own little mini layer of whipped cream on top.

I'm a chocolate girl, but my sweetie likes vanilla, so that's what we got!

INGREDIENTS:

2t gelatin (one packet)

1 1/2  c skim milk, very cold

1/3c egg whites

1T sugar (or Splenda baking mix)

4oz Neufchatel cheese or fat free cream cheese (1/2 a standard sized block)

1 1/2 T high quality vanilla extract, or a vanilla bean innards if you can manage it

Freshly ground nutmeg for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

In a standup mixer, use a whisk to beat egg whites and sugar to soft peaks.

Add cream cheese & vanilla and beat with the mixer instead of the whisk until it is all well incorporated.  Just let this sit in the mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, add packet of gelatin to chilled milk in a medium/small saucepan, allow to bloom 1 minute.

Cook milk over MED heat about 1 minute stirring with a fork, until gelatin is dissolved.

Beat everything together in the mixer. 


Pour into cups and freshly grate a pinch of nutmeg on top of each cup.  Mine went into 2 larger serving cups (pictured) plus 2 smaller cups.  So I would say the recipe serves 5.

Refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight. 

SERVING NOTE:  It has a very mild, vanilla flavor that pairs well with boldness.  To that end, I topped it with rich Buckwheat honey (if you've only had Orange Blossom and Clover honey, you are seriously missing out!) and strawberries marinated overnight in Orange Balsamic Vinegar.  A perfect pairing!