Apple Blueberry Crisp

This recipe just happened -- I brought home a peck of apples from the orchard down the road, looked in the fridge at the blueberries leftover from our last visit to a local grower, and decided dessert was in order. Pie? not enough time to make a crust (and too lazy). Crisp? Yes -- easy to throw together, quick to bake. So throw and bake I did.

For a change I thought to write down measurements in case it turned out well. And I'm glad I did! This dessert turned out great -- the blueberries and apples played off each other well, neither drowning out the other; the cardamom is a delicate touch that brings out the flavors of the fruit; it's just the right amount of sweetness, enough to tone down the tartness of the fruit without having sweetness dominate; the touch of maple lends a bit of complexity; and the topping is the perfect amount of crunch, with neither too much sugar nor butter, and not so much topping that it seems cloying. So, not to break my arm patting myself on the back or anything, but this is a true keeper!



APPLE BLUEBERRY CRISP

Ingredients:

fruit:

• 3 c. peeled, sliced tart apples (I used MacIntosh but any tart apple would work)
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 T. maple syrup
• 2 T. flour
• 4 cardamom pods worth of seeds, seeds removed and lightly crushed
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of salt

topping:

• 1 c. oats
• 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. softened butter
• 1/4 t. cinnamon

Method:

For the fruit mixture, combine apples, sugar, maple syrup, cardamom seeds, flour, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of salt; mix well. Add blueberries and mix gently. Pour into greased 9" square baking dish.

For the topping, mix the oats, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fingers. Crumble topping over fruit.


Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and the topping is brown.

Enjoy!


And part of that enjoyment is to cook, eat, dance, love!

Balsamic Berries

This is a simple but delicious dessert -- a nice blend of sweet fresh fruit with a slight tang from the vinegar. Good on its own or as a topping for ice cream or other desserts.

BALSAMIC BERRIES

Ingredients:

• blueberries, about 1 c.
• sliced fresh peaches, 1/2-1 c.
• balsamic vinegar, 3 T.
• sugar or honey, 2-3 T.*
• pinch of salt and pepper (yes, pepper!)
  

Preparation:

Put berries, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a heavy pot; bring to simmer and cook just a few short minutes. Remove from heat, mix with peaches in bowl. Serve chilled or at room temperature, alone, over ice cream, with yogurt, or as a topping for other desserts.

Note:

This can be made with a variety of berries and fresh fruit. You may want to add spices: cinnamon or cardamom, for example. Experiment, and have fun!

*Sugar will simply add sweetness; honey will add a slightly milder sweetness with an overlay of honey flavor.

Cook, eat, dance, love!

figs!

Growing up in the Midwest I'd never had a fresh fig so I didn't miss them. Then I lived in the Pacific Northwest for two years, where figs were common and plentiful and easy to grow -- and now that I'm back in the Midwest, I'm missing those plump, soft, tender little fruits. The good news is they're starting to appear at stores. I took the plunge and spent a little money to bring home a pint container with about 12 Black Mission figs. Worth every penny! I've had them in a broiled raspberry-fig dessert and as appetizers. Tonight is the last night -- I have 4 left -- and I'll be savoring every morsel.

Here's what I had last night:

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE APPETIZER

Ingredients:

• good crusty bread
• spreadable goat cheese
• figs
• fresh mint leaves

Preparation:

Slice bread into appetizer-size pieces. Mine were about 1" x 2". Spread with goat cheese; top with fig wedge (my figs were small so I quartered them). Tuck mint leaf in. Enjoy!

I think these would make a nice light dessert dish with a few toasted chopped almonds sprinkled on the goat cheese and just a touch of honey drizzled over the fig and cheese.

As always... cook, eat, dance, love!

Banana Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

All week I've been bemoaning the fact that I haven't had the time to do much cooking/baking and take photos. I wanted to get my blog up and running! I wanted to cook! I wanted to shoot photos! I wanted to eat something yummy!

So Friday afternoon I'm in the kitchen, cooking up things for dinner. Faced with a pile of ripe bananas, I remembered this great banana bread pudding recipe I originally got from Assaggio, an Italian restaurant in the Sellwood district of Portland, Oregon, and then later found on Epicurious.com. And no, it's not what you might be thinking: it's not bread pudding made with banana bread. It's bread pudding made with bananas. In my perhaps not all that humble opinion, a way better use for ripe bananas than banana bread, any day. I grabbed the recipe and was into the initial prep when I remembered my blog. Egads! My chance! So I grabbed my camera and started cooking and shooting.

I was in a hurry so I didn't do the usual kind of setting up and presentation that I might normally do. Not that I get all elaborate but given more time and more thought I would have done things a little differently. But at least I'm getting started.

Here's where you'll find the recipe.

And now, without further ado, here's Banana Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce!



So here it is: bananas are cooked and the first stage of layers is complete.




Second photo, layers are all assembled, custard is poured over. The only change I made from the recipe was to add a light sprinkle of cinnamon on top.



Third photo: Ah, the rum sauce -- pure decadence! Ingredients in the pan: butter, heavy cream, dark brown sugar...









Fourth photo: rum sauce, cooked, about to be removed from the heat for the addition of dark rum. Can you smell the rich caramel? Too yummy, and I'm not even a big caramel fan!








Photo five: the bread pudding after soaking about 20 minutes and just before going in the oven...










Photo six, just out of the oven. The smell is heavenly and so is the sight. Can you say, "Yum!"?


And photo seven, the final delight just before digging in. The rum sauce makes the whole dessert sing. Not a great presentation of the finished dessert, but trust me, it was delicious!

Cook, eat, dance, love!