Category Archives: Cooked Fruit

September 28, 2018 · 7:42 pm

Gluten Free & Paleo Berry Crumble

So….it has only taken me 3 months to post this recipe (Eek!  Sorry.).  This recipe came to mind this morning as I started daydreaming about apples and how great this berry crumble would be with an apple filling.  Time to get this on the blog.

I looooooove this time of year when the mornings and evenings are cool and crisp, yet the days are still sunny and beautiful.  If you have never experienced an Idaho Fall, you really need to.  The leaves are starting to turn all sorts of gorgeous colors which makes hiking extra fulfilling.

My little one and I have already begun fantasizing about apple picking; I’m pretty sure it’s in the cards for us one of these next few weekends.  All that to say that this Paleo Crumble will become an apple crumble here real soon.

FILLING INGREDIENTS

  • 6 cups packed sliced fruit (I used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)
  • 1 Tbs. arrowroot powder
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 Tbs. coconut sugar

TOPPING INGREDIENTS

  • 1 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour
  • 3 Tbs. coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 6 Tbs. cold organic cultured butter
  • ¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection bake.

Mix the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and pour them into an oven safe baking dish (I used a 2 ½ quart Corning Ware glass baking dish).

In a separate bowl add all of the dry ingredients and whisk together.  Once whisked add in the vanilla and cut in the cold butter until it resembles a coarse meal.  At this point the crumble topping will stick together a bit when pressed.

Place the crumble on top of the prepared berries and distribute evenly.

Bake at 350 convection bake for approximately 35-40 minutes (turn the crumble 180 degrees halfway through baking) until the fruit bubbles and the topping is nice and golden brown.  Watch closely so the topping does not burn.  If your topping is browning too quickly, tent with foil.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 10-15 minutes prior to serving.  Pairs well with vanilla ice cream.

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

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April 20, 2013 · 12:01 am

Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

pineapple upside down cakes (12)

It has been YEARS since I last had pineapple upside-down cake.  Out of the blue a craving hit and I decided to challenge myself to come-up with a healthier version.

Along the way I discovered that this recipe makes a wonderful pancake batter as well (you have to love the dual purpose nature of this batter!).

I have been invited to enter the Ethical Ocean recipe contest and this will be my entry…more information to come.

INGREDIENTS – Makes 12-16 muffins

Wet Ingredients
12 pineapple slices, drained (reserve 2 Tbs. juice from the can)
12 Morello cherries
1 1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple
1 cup applesauce
.
Dry Ingredients
2 Tbs SweetLeaf SugarLeaf
1-2 Tbsp pineapple juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup King Arthur’s Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup GFree pancake mix
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
honey or maple syrup
.

METHOD

pineapple upside down cake collage 1

  1. Preheat oven to 350° (I used convection bake).
  2. Trim the pineapple slices to the size of the bottom of your muffin tin (I used a biscuit cutter).
  3. In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup applesauce, crushed pineapple, pineapple juice, and vanilla. Mix.
  4. Add baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, pancake mix, and flours to a separate bowl and whisk to evenly distribute.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well to incorporate.
  6. Lightly grease the muffin tins (I used coconut oil).
  7. Line the bottom of each tin with one slice of pineapple and a cherry in the middle.
  8. Cover each pineapple and cherry slice with batter until the muffin tins are 3/4 full.
  9. Bake for approx. 15 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.
  10. Allow the pan to cool for 5 minutes.
  11. Turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack and top with maple syrup or honey while still warm.

pineapple upside down cake collage 2

Don’t forget that this batter also makes AMAZING pancakes!!!  Feel free to add a smidgen more pineapple juice to thin the batter if you plan on using it for pancakes.

pineapple upside down cakes (6)

For a printable version of this recipe CLICK HERE.

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November 20, 2012 · 6:00 pm

CITRUS INFUSED CRANBERRY PEAR SAUCE

Thanksgiving time is a favorite in our household…family begins to gather and it signals the beginning of the holiday season.

I always like to make sure that at Thanksgiving each family member has their favorite dish at our Thanksgiving celebration.  For my husband that means Stove Top stuffing.  For my son that means my mom’s ambrosia.  For my daughter that means apple crumble and for me that means cranberry sauce.  I have always enjoyed cranberry sauce, especially the sauce that my mom always made when I was a kid.  She found the original recipe in the local paper.  The recipe called for fresh cranberries, diced pear, orange juice, and white sugar,

For the past three years I have been working on making a healthier version of the cranberry sauce that did not include sugar.  I tried making it with xylitol (I am not a fan), stevia (it just wasn’t the same), and this year I made my favorite version yet using apple juice concentrate.  This will be my go-to cranberry sauce for years to come.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

INGREDIENTS

Trader Joe’s organic fresh cranberries (8 ounces)
1 container (12 oz.) frozen organic apple juice concentrate 
2 pears, diced
zest of 1 orange
 

Place all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on low (make sure it does not boil over) until it is reduced to 1/3 of its original volume.

Cool and refrigerate until ready to eat.

 

Images by Tony Tseng

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September 3, 2012 · 4:00 pm

SRC – PEACH ICE CREAM

I was assigned the blog, Feeding Andy, for my September Secret Recipe Club assignment.  The blog’s author, Peggy, is a culinary student and her blog follows her progress through school as well as her daily exploits working at Louisville mainstay, Jack Fry’s.

I bookmarked a lot of recipes when trying to decide which recipe I would go with.  Some of the finalists were Rice Pilaf, Spicy Pickled Carrots & Asparagus, and Indian Spiced Lentils.  I ultimately decided to make her Peach & Clove Ice Cream after my latest trip to the farmer’s market since the peaches there were so ripe it felt like I was slapped in the face with their wonderful perfume.

What a perfect Summer dessert!

INGREDIENTS

1-1/3 lbs ripe peaches; peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 peach; peeled, pitted and finely chopped
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs. Triple Sec (I dislike the taste of alcohol, so I eliminated it)
1 teaspoon ground cloves (I wanted the flavor of the peaches to take center stage, so I eliminated it)
3/4 cup sugar (I used 2Tbs. SweetLeaf Sugar Leaf stevia/sugar replacement)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used 1 single-serve container of So Delicious Vanilla Almond Milk Greek Yogurt)
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer)
1/2 cup milk (I used So Delicious non-dairy milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
juice from 1 lime (I used the juice from 2 tangerines)
.

Combine the coarsely chopped peaches and water in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until peaches are soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat.  Mix in SweetLeaf Sugar Leaf stevia, and set aside to cool to room temperature (or speed-up the cooling process with an ice bath).

Add the cooked peach mixture to your high speed blender with yogurt, cream, milk, vanilla, and tangerine juice. Process until smooth. add the finely chopped raw peach and blend VERY briefly so some chunks of peach remain.  Chill thoroughly in refrigerator, about 6-8 hours (or speed-up the process once again by pouring the mixture into a glass jar and cooling it in an ice bath). Once chilled, transfer to ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.



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May 18, 2012 · 1:30 pm

STRAWBERRY FRUIT ROLL-UPS

When I go grocery shopping and walk past the snack aisle I am always shocked by how many different fruit roll-ups there are, not to mention the fruit snacks.  Trust me, I understand how good they taste…like candy, but that us essentially what they are.  Have you ever looked at how much sugar they add?  My guess is that the manufacturers feel they have to add so much sugar because they are probably using fruit that isn’t truly ripe as the basis of their product.

I am so thankful that I have an Excalibur dehydrator.  They are pricey, but I eased some of the hurt by buying a Factory Refurbished model ($199 vs. $299) which still has a 10 year warranty!  I use my dehydrator a lot and have been using it a ton lately because there are such wonderful organic strawberries at my local farmer’s market.

Making fruit roll-ups couldn’t be easier.  Simply wash the berries, remove the stems, place them in your Vitamix high speed blender (I squeezed in an orange for extra flavor, however doing so is not necessary), blend until smooth, sweeten if necessary (you can use dates, maple syrup, stevia, honey),  and blend again to incorporate the sweetener.

Pour the mixture in batches on to your dehydrator trays lined with non-stick drying sheets, spread with an offset spatula (This tool is such a help…I first learned about this trick from Kristen Suzanne’s blog) as thin as you’d like making sure that it is evenly spread and there are no holes, and dehydrate at 125 until firm to the touch.  I spread my roll-ups to about 1/8″ and they dehydrate within 3-4 hours.  If you would like to keep the roll-ups “raw,” dehydrate at 115 degrees (it will take longer).  You can also make the roll-ups thicker, it will just take longer to dehydrate.

Once you remove the roll-ups from the dehydrator, allow them to come to room temperature and carefully peel them from the non-stick sheet.  Line the back of the roll-ups with parchment paper, cut them to size, and roll them up!  I store my roll-ups in glass jars.

Recently I have used this method to make a ton of different flavors; mango, pineapple, apple cinnamon, and white peach.  I was so pleasantly surprised by the pineapple fruit roll-ups…they were AMAZING!!!  I can’t wait to make my next batch and have been dreaming-up all sorts of flavor combinations.

*TIP – try to keep the roll-up “batter” as thick as possible and do not add extra liquid if possible.  You will find that certain fruits are less watery than others i.e. mangoes produce a thicker batter than apples do (the result is much more watery).  Dehydrating time will change depending upon which fruit / fruit combo you use.

If you do not have a dehydrator, you can make the roll-ups in the oven by following Catherine McCord’s method on her blog, Weelicious (Click HERE).

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Please note that I am a Vitamix affiliate…and I wholeheartedly endorse the use of their wonderful product.


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October 24, 2011 · 11:00 am

SRC – OAT ROASTED PEARS – GFree and Vegan

It is time again for Secret Recipe Club.  Once a month I participate in a fun and inspiring blog swap of sorts.  This month I was assigned Erin’s blog, A Tale of One Foodie’s Culinary Adventures.

Erin’s favorite part of cooking and baking is doing it for other people…a girl after my own heart!  She started the blog as a pseudo journal so she could keep track of all the cooking, baking and wine tasting she does.  While cruising through her blog I saw many mouthwatering dishes that I was interested in making …many of which were vegan and the others which me great recipe ideas that I could take back to the kitchen and veganize.  Ultimately I decided to make her Oat Roasted Pears which she adapted from a recipe by Anna Olson.  My family is slightly obsessed with pears right now since they are at the peak of amazing this time of year.

Since coming back from the Healthy Lifestyle Expo a few weekends ago I am primed to make as many healthy changes as I can in my cooking and baking, so I eliminated all of the butter and refined sugar from this dish and substituted date sugar and honey (I also used pecans vs. almonds since that is what I had on hand).  In addition, I halved the recipe since there are only four of us.

The end result was delicious and we all loved it!

For Erin’s original recipe, click here.

Honey Oat Roasted Pears
Recipe from Anna Olson’s cookbook Fresh, p 120
Ingredients:

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375F. Toss the oats, date sugar, honey, pecans and cinnamon to combine.

Cut the pears in half (don’t peel them) and scoop out their cores (I used a melon baller).

Lay the pear halves in a baking dish.

Press 1/4 of the oat filling into the center of each pear.

Bake, uncovered for 25 minutes, until pears are tender and the oat filling is lightly browned.  NOTE – Watch closely.  If the oat mixture begins to cook too rapidly, cover with foil.

Serve warm, drizzled with maple syrup or honey and vanilla yogurt.

For a printable version of this recipe click here. 

 

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July 28, 2011 · 1:30 pm

CITRUS BASIL SORBETTO

A few years back while in my old San Francisco stomping grounds, I got adventurous and tried some basil gelato.   I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but ended-up really liking it.  Why does basil seem like a strange dessert ingredient to us when we are so accustomed to adding mint to so many desserts?  Basil works in this sorbet…it really, really works.  Combined with citrus it is the perfect refreshing dessert to top off a summer meal.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups filtered water
1 cup Somersweet
3 limes, juiced
2 Meyer lemons, juiced
2 small oranges, juiced
Zest from 1 lime, 1 orange, and 1 lemon
16 large basil leaves, torn
½ tsp each zest of lime, Meyer lemon, and orange (1 ½ tsp total)
¾ tsp very finely chopped basil
2 tsp olive oil
¼ tsp xanthan gum (helps with the texture when freezing)
 

To make the simple syrup place the first 7 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat while whisking.  I used a microplane to zest the citrus.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer the syrup for 5 minutes.   Remove the syrup from the heat and allow it to sit undisturbed for 30 minutes to encourage the flavors to develop further.

After 30 minutes, strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a glass measuring cup or bowl.  Place the bowl in the fridge to cool (approx 1 hour).

While the syrup is almost done cooling, prepare the 1 ½ tsp zest and ¾ tsp very finely chopped basil.

Once the syrup has cooled, make a slurry with the olive oil and xanthan gum.  Pour the cooled syrup into your Vitamix or blender along with the slurry and blend for 60 seconds.  Once blended, add the zest and finely chopped basil.  Pulse a few times.  You do not want to emulsify the zest and basil, you simply want to incorporate it.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.  Once the cycle is complete, if you would like your sorbet to be more firm, simply place it in the freezer (be sure to take it out and stir it every 30 minutes or so).

This is best eaten the day it is prepared.  If you have some extra time on your hands I suggest you serve it in lemons or oranges (simply cut the tops off and remove the citrus meat).  If you leave the sorbet in the freezer overnight make sure you pull it out 15-20 minutes prior to serving so it has a chance to soften-up a bit.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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January 25, 2011 · 5:33 pm

CHUNKY CROCK POT APPLESAUCE

This recipe is sure to be a big hit with your family.  My kids claim that it tastes just like apple pie.  My favorite thing about this applesauce recipe is its simplicity…2 ingredients!

I use 6 pounds of apples whenever I make this recipe because I figure if I am going to make it I might as well make a bunch, but you can easily make a smaller batch.  When I make this recipe I put some of the applesauce in the refrigerator and I vacuum pack the rest of it with my Foodsaver (that I bought at Costco years ago) and put it in the freezer.

 

INGREDIENTS

6 pounds organic apples
organic cinnamon to taste
 

Peel the apples, quarter them, and remove the core.  Dice the quartered apples into 3-4 pieces each.  I make this whole process even easier by using apple peeler/corer like THIS one and then quartering the peeled and sliced apple.   Place the apple pieces into the crock pot.  Sprinkle desired amount of cinnamon onto the apples (I use about 2 Tbs.).

Cook on high for 4 hours or low for about 6.  Once the apples are tender, mash them until the applesauce reaches the texture you prefer (we like it a bit chunky).

This applesaucee is good on its own either warm or cold.  I personally love to have it for dessert with granola sprinkled on top (click HERE for one of my favorite granola recipes)!!!

For a printable version of this recipe click here

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