Category Archives: dessert

catching up over chocolate-ginger granola with buckwheat

Hello again. Given my record of inconsistent posting, it no longer even makes sense to apologize for/explain being away so long; I’m going to assume the privilege of an old friend and pick up where we left off.

We are in Tampa! We have been living here for two and a half months now, and the change has been really good. In fact, aside from discovering new depths of incompetence in a certain government contracting company that shall remain nameless, and missing a few very dear friends, it has been a great experience. We are roosting in a sun-filled apartment within walking distance of the bay. A quick glimpse from our windows would easily fool you into thinking we live in a tropical jungle.Every chance we get we stroll down to the water to watch sting rays, manta rays, sea turtles, dolphins, sharks, and dozens of fish whose names we don’t know. Yep, in case you have been wondering, runners of Tampa, we are that annoying couple walking really slowly, hanging over the balustrade, soaking it all in, while you are pounding the pavement. Give us time. We may eventually become jaded to 70 plus degree November days, and seeing the sun glint diamonds off of the waters of the bay. . .but I hope not!We spent a disappointing month shopping the local grocery stores to find them filled with really expensive produce that is often already going bad on the shelves, or, alternately, completely under-ripe and flavorless. I’m not just talking one store, I’m talking every store (yes, I’m talking about you Whole Foods, Publix, Winn-Dixie, and Fresh Market). We were throwing away a shameful amount of food because it was spoiling before we could use it. In the last two weeks I finally made it a priority to seek out some alternatives; the results were surprising! There is a farm hidden away on a cul-de-sac in south Tampa where you can get fresh eggs, raw milk, fresh from the hive honey, and so much more, on the honor system. I want to do a full post on this place soon, but if you are in the Tampa area and want to see for yourself, it is South Tampa Farm at 6101 s. 2nd st. Tampa, Florida 33611. there is a produce wholesale shop that welcomes retail customers (Sanwa Farmer’s Market) and a pretty cute veggie stand just down the road on Swann.

My mom came for a visit and took us to the 5th annual veg-fest, after which we went to a nearby power plant to see the manatees that collect in the heated waters at its base.I had a whirlwind day at Disney with one of my very best friends and her kids, and I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it more than any of the littles! I have no shame in being an adult disney lover. . .the magic is real. Thank you J.S. for sharing the nugs with me; it was wonderful being Aunt Brandy again for a day!

And, finally, I made a recipe I would love to share with you today. Based on the fantastic Sarah Britton’s Chunky Chocolate Buckwheat Granola, this version is lighter on oil, and has a kick of heat courtesy of my spicy friend, ginger .

Chocolate-ginger granola with buckwheat

Ingredients

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup buckwheat (I found this in the bulk bins at whole foods)
1 1/2 cups coconut flakes
1 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
5 dates, pitted and soaked in 1/4 cup milk of choice or water
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
In a blender combine dates and their soaking milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, ginger, and cocoa powder. Combine until mostly smooth; thin with extra milk of choice if needed (warm before adding).
Combine dry ingredients in large bowl, mixing to evenly distribute.
Pour chocolate mixture over dry ingredients and fold until evenly coated.
Press evenly onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in oven
Cook for 30 minutes, check and turn/stir as needed if outer edges begin to burn. As sarah b. says, tasting the hazelnuts is the best way to tell when this granola is ready.
Cool completely before storing in air tight container.

Scenes from My Week or These Pies are not Gluten Free

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Holy moly, I bit off very nearly more than I can chew. On Saturday, Jason and I made our yearly pilgrimage to Hollabaugh Bros. for apple “picking” (can you be said to have picked them if you selected them from a bin?) Despite some cold, wet, gloomy weather and some changes we found at the farm, it was a great day. We came away with 101 apples and three handfuls of pears! Good grief. The plan was to make apple butter for canning, apple pies for freezing, baked apples for breakfast, and maybe cider if I got terribly ambitious. Unfortunately, getting the apples coincided with the start of a very labor intensive project (more on that soon). So for the last three days I have been up to my eyes in pies and the smell of slow simmering apple butter has filled our house. . .and I have been completely overwhelmed. I’ve been brooding in black like some apple angst-ing, pie baking Hamlet: Alas, poor York! I knew him. . . (Wah, wah. York,Yorick, get it? Sorry, a little apple humor!)

However, this morning I rolled out my last pie top, and processed a dozen jars-o-jam. . .butter. Cider is not going to happen. I have learned my limits people. For the last several months I feel like I have been taking on what seemed to be perfectly reasonable projects that turn out, for one reason or another (usually my own dreadful inefficiency), to be absolute monsters!

Speaking of monsters, let’s talk about these pies. Pie making is actually therapeutic for me. Despite the fact that I will not savor even a single bit of the finished product, I love every part of the process. I make the dough, an all butter dough, by hand, because I like to control the final texture exactly. I peel, core, slice and season the apples, and until this batch, I even layered in each slice in spirals to get the most densely packed, fall proof pies possible. Control freak, right here! Well, that hand layering didn’t happen this year. . .did I mention I was feeling overwhelmed–curse you, apple butter! As we speak there are 18 cup pies and half a dozen mini pies residing in my freezer, right on top of my massive stockpile of tomato soup :). I would love to be able to tell you that the pie recipe is original to me, but credit must be given where it is due. The dough and the filling are Martha Stewart’s. I have used these recipes for eight years now and for a stellar, let-your-apples-shine pie, I know none better.

My tips:

1. freeze/chill your butter, your bowls, your water. . .everything that will touch the dough that can possibly be frozen or chilled.

2. Don’t try to do pie dough in a hot room; you will regret it.

3. Kitchen scissors are your friend for cutting clean edges.

4. It is almost impossible to flour your rolling pin too much.

5. Save those dough scraps. They roll out just as well the second (or third) time.

So now that the apples are down to a manageable quantity, I am going to focus on my one little (big) project, getting ready for the Marine Corps birthday and its accompanying cake, and on getting my home ready for holiday guests (yes, it is taking us a long time to transition from being a one bdrm household to a two bdrm, but we are getting there)! I hope you all have had a marvelous weekend/week. Any of you take on any crazy projects lately? I’d love to hear about them!

Stone Fruit Crumble

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The other night we finally had our first dinner guests. Some very good friends of ours graciously accepted our invitation despite it meaning that they had to drag their children out at night into our quite blatantly not child-proofed home. We had a blast! We still don’t have proper dining chairs or a baby gate for the stairs, or rug pads to make more easily (and safely) runnable areas, all of our furniture seems to have sharp corners and none of our floors are level–great combo–, but they overlooked all our deficiencies. Their children are fantastic and we always have a good time with them; it was a wonderful way to christen this home!

So, the grub: I made bbq using my dad’s secret recipe (which includes no measurements), sauce from Jason’s dad’s recipe, cabbage-kale coleslaw from. . .well, my brain, and corn with lime wedges and sea salt. Not so funny story- cooked properly a pork butt takes hours to cook, I mean, hours and hours. Well, roughly three quarters of the way through we must have had a brief power failure without my noticing it; by the time I found out the oven had cooled! So, add an extra 6 hours cooking time to the hours already gone by!! Lesson to take away- check on your oven even if it is not time to open your oven :). Amazingly, the Q still came out just fine.

For dessert we had what I think of as a “say goodbye to summer” crumble. Stone fruit season, for me, is the time when I begin transitioning from summer with all its sweet, hot languor to autumn, brisk, radiant, and a wee bit magical.

I used this dish as an opportunity to try a new-to-me ingredient: coconut sugar. I’ve been hearing good things about it for some time now, and thought I’d have a go. I really liked the results. It gave a rich, caramel-like flavor without the excess liquid you would get from maple syrup. This crumble is not only gluten-free, but dairy-free and vegan as well.

What is your favorite end of summer dish? Or are any of you in complete denial that the seasons are changing, holding on to every last minute of sunshine? If so, what is your favorite summertime dessert? Tell me about it in the comments; I’d love some good ideas!

P.S. Left over crumble makes a fantastic breakfast!

Ingredients

9×13 baking dish
blender or food processor
zester or grater
approx. 10 stone fruits (I used a mixture of plums, pluots, and nectarines)
2 Tbs. corn starch
1 Tbs. water
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 1/4 cup blond coconut sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar (or make it all coconut. . .or honey or maple or just plain cane)
2 cups g.f. whole rolled oats
2 cups mixed nuts and seeds ( I used almonds, walnuts, pecans, hemp and flax because that is what I have on hand)
3/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry fruits. Cut into 1 inch chunks and place directly in baking dish. Combine corn starch and water in small bowl until smooth; pour this mixture over the fruit. Add lemon juice and zest, and 3/4 c. coconut sugar. Mix to thoroughly coat fruit.

(Note: if you like your topping very chunky you can skip processing the oats. I find that this helps to make the topping slightly more cohesive (and a nicer texture to me).)

In food processor combine oats, all remaining sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pulse until a very rough meal forms. You don’t want to break the oats down completely, just rough them up a bit. Remove mix to large bowl. If using almonds in your nut mix, pulse those all by themselves until broken up into chunks (almonds are harder than many other nuts and if you try to process, say, almonds and pecans together, the pecans will turn to dust before the almonds are properly chunky). Add almond chunks to large bowl. Pulse remaining nuts and add to bowl. Stir to combine, pour coconut oil over the lot, and then mix until all ingredients are thoroughly coated.

Spread topping out evenly over fruit. Bake in oven for approx. 50 minutes. The crumble should be beautifully brown with gorgeous juices bubbling round the edges. Cool for at least 45 minutes to and hour before eating so that it may “set”.

Checking in and a Quick Recipe

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Howdy folks, long time no see. I warned you last time that posting would be sporadic as we prepared to move, but even I didn’t foresee this much down time. The last several weeks have been. . .odd. First of all, for the sake of transparency in a matter I’ve already talked so much about, I made a big mistake. If you have been reading for awhile, you know that I’m taking shots for a B12 deficiency. Well, February’s self-administered injection didn’t go so well. I hit a big, honkin’ nerve in my leg and within a few day I was down like a lame horse! So, that was fantastic; it is beginning to get better but is still amazingly uncomfortable to touch, walk on, look at :). The doctor said it was just an unfortunate accident, could happen to anyone, blah, blah. It felt like she was just being nice, that I am incapable, and should leave it to the professionals in the future. At least if they hit a nerve, I don’t feel quite so moronic! On the plus side, I just got my 3 month blood check results in, and my B12 is up from 164 to 275; hooray! That is nowhere near enough to get off supplements, but it is improvement.

In other news, rental hunting is hard these days. Properties are flying off the shelf in a matter of hours, not days, here in the D.C. area. However, after a few let downs, a few scary neighborhoods, and a few “let’s chuck it all and grow coffee in Hawaii” moments, it looks like we may have found a place. I won’t feel secure until we have signed the dotted line, but the situation is looking good and the apartment itself is wonderful. I’m thinking of calling it the Mustard Seed, first, because the building it is in is mustard yellow, and second, if it comes through, it will be a pretty tremendous step in this leap of faith we have been taking (in which there were definitely moments of despair and doubt). We should know definitely by this weekend, so stay tuned!

So, enough about that, I promised you a recipe. How about two for the price of one? Today for lunch I had this

inspired by this. Mine is just toast with goat cheese, beets and lots of arugula but the recipe in the link looks like a fantastic way to do it up a bit more.

For lunch dessert (that is a totally normal and acceptable thing, right?) I had this,

a mango parfait with goat’s milk yogurt, quick, homemade granola, and a sweet dollop of maple syrup. To make this granola you will need:

3 cups mixed g.f. oats, chopped nuts (I did almond, pecan, and walnut), and seeds (flax and chia seen here)

1/4 heaping cup coconut oil

2 1/2 Tbs. maple syrup

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1 Tbs. coconut, shredded or flaked

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix oats, nuts, and seed together in a large bowl. In a small bowl stir together oil, maple, and vanilla. Pour oil mixture over oats and stir with spatula to coat. Spread mix over lined baking sheet and bake in oven for 15 minutes. Add coconut and stir to combine. Return to oven and bake for additional 15 min, checking ever 5 minutes to stir. Remove when golden brown. Cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Gluten-free Roasted Banana and Chocolate Chunk Banana Nut Bread

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There is a whimsical, joking fear among the female community of growing up to be “the crazy cat lady”. I have a different, if equally whimsical and joking concern: I think I’m becoming the “crazy banana bread lady”! I mean, I love this stuff. Jeeze Louise Pete, there are already two recipes for banana bread on O.i.H., here and here. Where many people see a boring loaf laden with identity crisis (is bread, is it cake?), I see continual inspiration and an unexplainable comfort. Strangely enough, I don’t remember ever having banana nut bread or even acknowledging its existence until after my marriage. Jason’s grandmother graciously and rather optimistically gave me her church cookbook as a wedding gift; I did not cook at the time. On leafing through the contents of that unassuming little book, I came upon a recipe for a basic pecans and crisco kind of banana nut bread. One baking day later and I was hooked, not so much on that specific recipe, though I used it for years, but on the basic goodness of the idea. So when I opened my Google reader one morning recently, and the words “Roasted Banana” appeared before my eyes, this recipe was immediately a foregone conclusion. I don’t even know what the article in my reader was about; I walked away with my head in an aromatic cloud of sweet scheming, and the entry was buried in the ever-coming tide of new news.

If you were to say to me, “Okay, but I’m not a crazy banana bread lady, and I don’t need a dozen loaves of the stuff; which should I make?”, I would definitely say this one. It is dark, moody, spicy, sweet; imagine bluesy jazz, molasses, winter-blackened woody hollows, log fires in libraries. . .okay, I’ll stop. I’m telling you, I’m in serious danger of inventing the banana bread sommelier! Without further ado I give you. . .

Gluten-free Roasted Banana and Chocolate Chunk Banana Nut Bread

makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)

1 cup sorghum flour

1 cup tapioca or potato starch

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

5-6 ripe bananas, roasted

4 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt

1/2 cup coconut or olive oil

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

4 tsp vanilla

3.5-4 oz (1 bar) 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1 cup toasted walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and line 2 bread pans. Cut bananas in halves or rounds and arrange on pan. Roast for 20-30 minutes until bananas have caramelized or you can no longer wait. Remove parchment with bananas and place walnuts on pan; return to oven and toast nuts for roughly 10 min.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together flours, starch, b. powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon until very well combined. In a food processor, large blender, or mixer combine roasted bananas (and any juices), eggs, oil, syrup, sugar, and vanilla and blend thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and process for 30-45 seconds, or until completely combined. (As this recipe contains no gluten, you really can’t overmix!)

Returning batter to large bowl, fold in chocolate, and walnuts, and divide batter evenly between two bread pans. Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before lifting loaves from pans to cooling rack.