Fall. My favorite season hands down! I love the leaves, the chilly mornings and the plethora of fruits and veggies available at the farmers market. The only noticeable dislike of the season is the reality of being back to work. I love my job, through and through, but the "hit the ground running" feeling that I get every year, no matter how many years I have taught still hits me on hard.
This weekend was my first weekend to take a deep breath...and bake! I had bought some beautiful, organic plums from Lou and they were begging me to turn them into something amazing. I had a stocked pantry now I just had to decide what direction to go with it. Who knew we could grow cherries? I thought this was solely for the sunny province of BC; none the less I have cherries in my kitchen and could not let these beauties go to waste (thanks to my awesome neighbors for the gift). The BIG question of the day (...oh how I love summer holidays) was what am I going to make with these tart little things?
I love a good, tart fruit crumble. When I was growing up, it was solid favorite of my dad's and would often hit our family table once a week, but not without a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Yum! This recipe straddles the line between nutritious summer dessert and a dangerously rich pie. I must admit, this morning, after my workout, I was eating the odd spoonful out of the fridge (it was way too good to walk by). This recipe has gone through a bit of tailoring over the years and can be easily modified to what ever is at the farmers market or in your freezer or pantry. Here are some of the details. For the topping I used pecans, large flaked old fashioned oats (because I love the texture in baking), ground flax seeds, organic brown sugar, spelt flour (you could always use all purpose), coconut butter (regular butter is just perfect too) and cinnamon (love the flavour). For the filling I used instant tapioca to thicken the fruit and then spiced it up with nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon. I also used fresh fruit, so if you are going to use frozen you may have to add a bit fruit and more tapioca since frozen fruit usually has a lot more water in it (I would thaw and drain it a bit too). In any case, I made this dessert for my little brother's birthday yesterday. I wanted something sweet, but let's be honest, I didn't have the time to put together a beauty of a birthday cake so this was the next best option. Quick, delicious & pretty! The whole recipe will take you all of 15 minutes to put together if you know your way around the kitchen and then you can walk away for 45 and voila! Everyone's tummies are happy.
Recipe: Oatmeal Crumble with Rhubarb & Raspberries Love from the ov, Sara This recipe was a staple of my mom's when we were growing up. We would devour the cake in a matter of hours as teenagers; sneaking back into the kitchen for 2nd and 3rd helpings when she wasn't looking. Today in our house I find my husband doing the sneaking as it is one of his favorites too! The original recipe had more sugar and used all purpose flour and sour cream instead of yogurt, but regardless of the calorie count it was amazing! Sticking with true Sara cooking fashion, I have made a few small, mindful changes but still keeping the taste that "mom" had in her recipe. Recipe: Banana Crater Cake Love from the ov, Sara There is nothing better than a fruit filled muffin. It is the perfect "to go" food that makes you feel like you are having dessert but without all the guilt ;) So the purpose for this recipe was to make a muffin that didn't have a wack of extra sugar so I added a banana to the mix and made a little crumble on top and it makes them taste sweet without being full of added sugar. The feedback was good, Kasey took some of them on a work road trip and the boys liked them so let me know what you think. The photo shown has nectarines subbed in for plums ;) Recipe: Oatmeal Muffins with Blueberry and Plums Love from the ov, Sara |