Blackberry Muffins

I'm not sure if it's me just cutting back a bit on sugar here in this household, but the oldest boy, who's 6, said these were "the best muffins you ever made, mom." ((swoons))

OK, so this is my super easy and trusty (and not too sweet) muffin recipe that will accept any form of fruit, nut or chocolate. Or all of those things. In one batch. I usually just use what fruit is on sale that week - berries, bananas, plums, apples & nectarines are a few of my faves. I've also used half whole wheat flour and half white flour and it comes out just fine! You can substitute apple sauce for the oil too. And if you want to be even more stealthy, sneak in some ground flax or wheat germ. Shhhh, I won't tell.

Anything Muffins

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
dash of salt
3/4 fruit or whatever
1 egg
4 Tbsp. oil
1 c. milk
topping: 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon mixed together

Preheat oven to 400. Mix dry ingredients together and then add fruit to it, so the pieces are coated in the flour mixture. In a small bowl mix the egg ,oil and milk together. Add the wet stuff to the dry and mix only until the mixture becomes all one consistency. Let set about 5 minutes and then fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Top each with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon sugar topping. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

I hope you will give it a try and let me know how they came out!

Best Banana Bread

I don't have any stories about this recipe except that it comes from my mom and that I've been eating it for 30+ years. Sometimes perfection does not need to be messed with! (Oh, okay, I DID add the cinnamon to her recipe because I LOVE cinnamon!!) Thanks, mom. Someday we will get that cookbook put together!

Best Banana Bread (my mom's recipe)

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs well beaten
2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sour milk (add 1 tsp vinegar to milk)
1 cup banana pulp (about 2 large bananas)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with sour milk and banana pulp. Don't overmix.
5. Stir in nuts.
6. Bake in greased loaf pan for 50-60 minutes.

For 4 mini loaves, bake for 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I wanted to re-post this recipe from last year in case anybody is looking for an awesome Thanksgiving dessert....enjoy!


I know, I know - more cheesecake, you say. I made this today for my in-laws Thanksgiving dinner coming up on Sunday and wanted to share it just in case anyone wanted a holiday dessert idea. Obviously I can't taste it to tell you how it is, but it got rave reviews over at http://www.allrecipes.com/. I will update the post on Monday to let you know the results.

INGREDIENTS
Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture. Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect. (I piped the white mixture with a ziplock bag into a swirl effect instead)

Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Allow to cool before removing pan rim. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Mile High Lemon Meringue Pie

Hello out there....me again, finally. Yes, I know - one of the golden rules for maintaining an audience for your blog is to POST OFTEN. But guess what? I actually have an excuse that is more than just "I got busy." I got pregnant! We are a little suprised, but blessed and getting more excited by the day to meet our new little bean in March.

The only thing I could have blogged about in the past 3 months would have been Jamba Juice, grilled cheese or pre-natal vitamins. For some reason, the nausea bug hit hard this time, much worse than my previous two. I could not get enough watermelon, strawberries and lemonade, but handling raw meat gave me the heebies, especially chicken. If I could manage to cook something for the family, the last thing I wanted to do was photograph it and write about it. Ew.

But now I'm feeling better and ready to start cooking again. I got this recipe from the show America's Test Kitchen, which I DVR'd and watched twice. I'm not going to lie, this pie was time consuming and tedious. It seems like it took me a good part of a day. With all the timing and cooling, it is very precise...but that's what the test kitchen is for - they do all the legwork for a perfect recipe every time. And perfect it is! The filling is tart and rich, the meringue fluffy, creamy and stacked to the sky. Instead of baking the pie to cook the meringue, it uses an Italian Meringue which is cooked by hot sugar syrup that you stream in while whipping. This prevents the common "weeping" of water from the egg whites, which makes your meringue slide off and get goopy over time.

So read this a few times before you start. I made my own pie crust, but next time will just buy a pre-made one and save the extra step.

Lemon Filling
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons finely grated zest (see note)

½ cup water

3 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

8 large egg yolks (4 whites reserved for the meringue)

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened

Note: Zest the lemons before juicing them.

Whisk sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch and salt together in a large nonreactive saucepan until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally until mixture becomes translucent and begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Whisk in egg yolks until combined. Stir in zest and butter. Bring to simmer and stir constantly until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Pour into cooked and cooled pie crust. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate until set and well chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Meringue
½ cup water

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites (reserved from filling)

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil over medium to high heat. Once syrup comes to a rolling boil, cook for exactly 4 minutes (mixture will become slightly thickened and syrupy). Remove from heat and set aside while beating egg whites. The 4 minute time frame was stressed in the show to get the sugar syrup to the right temperature.

Beat egg whites in stand mixer at medium-low speed until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add salt and cream of tartar, and beat gradually increasing speed to medium-high, until egg whites hold soft peaks, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, slowly pour hot syrup into whites. Add vanilla and beat until the meringue has cooled and becomes very thick and shiny, 7-9 minutes)

Using a rubber spatula, mound meringue over filling, making sure meringue touches the edges of the crust. Use the spatula to create peaks all over the meringue. Bake until peaks turn golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Serve.

This picture was taken after the pie had been under a piece of plastic wrap and sitting in the fridge overnight. You can see how well the meringue stood up! Yes, I have to admit - this was breakfast today. At least I can blame it on the baby now. (evil grins)

Coconut Macaroons

I have not really been a fan of coconut until the last couple years, when I learned how to make Thai curry with the milk. And then a few Halloweens ago, I tried an Almond Joy from my son's candy stash - and I was sold! So, now I like coconut, but for health reasons it's only an occasional treat.

I wanted to make an unusual cookie for my afternoon tea, and this easy recipe hit the spot!

Coconut Macaroons

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, coconut and salt. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla using your hands until well blended. Use an ice cream scoop to drop dough onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until coconut is toasted.

Little Einsteins Rocket Cake

Happy 3rd Birthday, Wesley! Yesterday we had a nice little art party where the kids got to create some masterpieces and get messy. We had a fun time, even though I was hoping for a non-rainy day so we could be outside.

The Little Einsteins Rocket was a cake I had envisioned making for a few months because it is his favorite show....and the art theme of the party seemed to go along with it. One who has not worked with cakes or fondant might have tried a less ambitious first project, like a simple round cake. But noooooo....not me. I don't work up to these things, I just dive in and go for it.

You can find the fondant recipe on my previous post. After using almost a whole bottle of red food coloring, I still had a big pink mass of fondant. I ran out to Michaels to find the Wiltons Icing Color, which I added a bit at a time to get the right red. I did not want to knead it out on my table in order to avoid staining it, so here was my solution. Lots of powdered sugar in a baking dish.

For the cake, I used 2 boxed cake mixes. The first one I made was a rectangle for the base. The second batch was split between a round cake pan for the base of the rocket, and a small oven safe mixing bowl, which was used for the top. I realized that it would need a little shaping, so I just used a serrated knife and started carving away. It wasn't pretty, but I think the shape was pretty close. A layer of frosting held each level together.

For the boosters, I used two Twinkies, with one end cut off, separately covered in fondant. The rudders sticking up were pieces of graham crackers covered in fondant and then stuck into the Twinkies. The antenna was a covered cut down straw and a fondant ball stuck into it. The windows were stuck on with royal icing and the lights were cut from banana Laffy Taffy.

I ended up cutting the base cake into a free form because it was falling apart at the edges. I added marshmallows as clouds, but mostly to hide the crumbs and frosting left on the cookie sheet. Sneaky, right?

I had fun making this cake when the kids weren't up in my business and trying to steal pieces of pure sugar fondant to fuel their already crazy behavior or thinking it was fun to "skate" in the powdered sugar that landed on the floor. They also wanted me change the channel or get them a snack while my hands were covered in Crisco or food coloring. It was an adventure and maybe by July's birthday I will have forgotten the challenge of it all....and only remember how excited he was about that rocket cake. Totally worth it!

Marshmallow Fondant

I am always impressed by those elegant fondant cakes...you know, the ones that look all modern and sleek. And after watching Duff and his cakerators use fondant on everything, I really wanted to give it a try. I heard that the pre-made fondant tastes pretty bad, so I found this easy recipe all over the internet...it's simple and cheap! It cost about $3 for the whole batch, which should be enough to cover a whole cake and decorate it too. It was a little messy, but not that complicated. The fondant is held in place by frosting underneath.

This is my very first try with fondant. The Easter cupcakes were for the Annual Mom's Club Easter Egg Hunt Party we attended today. Good times!

1 lb. bag mini marshmallow
2 T. water
2 lb. bag of powdered sugar
Crisco to prevent sticking

Dump all marshmallows and water in microwave safe bowl. Put in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 minutes total. Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix.

Now grease your hands generously (palms, backs, and in between fingers), then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle. Start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant starts sticking. Add water or sugar as needed to get the right consistency. It may take up to 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake.

Cover the ball with a thin layer of Crisco and wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the fridge until you are ready to use. It should last at least a week in the fridge. When you are ready to use, microwave for 10-15 seconds and then add your food coloring, if desired. Knead and roll out on a greased surface (again).

I used a canned frosting to stick mine on, since the tops of my cupcakes were flat. To wrap an entire cake, I would use buttercream underneath the wrap and then if you are decorating the sides, use a Royal Icing that will dry hard, so your pretty little flowers will not slide off (thanks for the tip, Jill!). Most of all, have fun! If you like to play with play-doh with your kids, this will be right up your alley.

Mini Cheesecakes

A friend of mine turns 40 this week (Happy Birthday, Leslie!) and I got a request for mini cheesecakes to bring to pool league tonight. I thought they turned out kind of cute! Of course, I had to try one for quality control, ahem. Yeah, they pass.

This recipe is super easy, especially if you forget the graham cracker crumbs and use a Nilla Wafer in the bottom of each cup instead. I opted for the higher degree of difficulty (only because going to the store with the munchkins would have been a wash in level of difficulty)

Mini Cheesecakes

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

dash of cinnamon

Mix all together and push down 1 T. crumb mixture into each muffin cup with the back of a spoon.

Filling:

2 blocks cream cheese (ROOM TEMP - important!)

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon zest

Set oven to 350. Mix the cream cheese in a Kitchen Aid or with a hand beater until creamy and fluffy. Add rest of ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour a heaping spoonful into each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve chilled.

For the chocolate decoration, I melted chocolate chips and used a ziplock with the tip cut off to squeeze out and make the design.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Oh man, it's been way too long since I've been on my blog. Sorry about that! For your patience I'm giving you a yummy little recipe to get you into the Halloween spirit. And if you are a local friend, come knock on my door and I'll give you some! Seriously.

I had this recipe from www.recipegirl.com bookmarked for so long and finally got around to it. And wow, they did not disappoint! These were so moist - just sweet enough and spicy enough to please every palate. I changed the original recipe by cutting the oil in half and adding some applesauce.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

BATTER:
1 ¾ cups pure pumpkin puree (1 small can)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
4 large eggs
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole- wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¾ cup mini- chocolate chips

FROSTING:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 Tbs butter, softened
2 tsp milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ cup mini- chocolate chips (for topping)

Prepare batter: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray or line with paper cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, applesauce, eggs and sugars until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Toss in mini chocolate chips and stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir until moistened.

Pour batter into muffin pan coated with nonstick spray or paper cups. Bake until the center springs back when lightly pressed in the center- about 20 minutes. Remove and place on wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix until smooth. Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with additional mini chocolate chips.

Fruit Pizza

Okay, I've been out of order for awhile, as a couple of you have pointed out. Thank you so much for caring, I feel so special...sniff sniff. I was actually on a family vacation for a couple weeks and unable to check my e-mail for over 9 days. In a row! After the first couple days of going through the shakes and feeling disconnected from my virtual life, I really got the hang of it and enjoyed just playing with my family. I even read two whole books....like real books, the kind with no pictures! Besides doing all things San Diego, we got to visit some relatives that we had not seen for many years, including my aunts and uncles from Oklahoma who were visiting California.

That's it for the update. Hopefully I will be back to blogging, but I'm working on another project which has been keeping me occupied. So this morning at about 9:30 my kids were asking for pizza because they were soooooooo hungry. I decided to let them make their own fruit pizza, and they were thrilled with that prospect.

Owen keeps telling me that he wants to be a chef (and I get a pang of pride each time I hear that), but then again, he also wants to be a Super Spy, an astronaut, a doctor, and a pilot. So I'm not holding my breath.

Notice below, Wesley licking his hand. Awesome! Clearly no rules around here for fun-time cooking. I try to bite my tongue and just let them make a grand old mess. They were so proud of themselves, and that was my goal here. It didn't matter that the sugar melted and ran off the pizza stone into the bottom of my oven. It didn't matter that the crust was hard as a rock. Nor did it matter that I had to sweep up a pound of flour from the floor. They ate it and beamed. Mission accomplished.

Not sure if you knew this, but getting a loaded pizza onto a pre-heated pizza stone is not easy. Especially when your topping is sugar and round berries. Next time I will use a plain ol' rimmed cookie sheet.

And I might "help" with the cinnamon-sugar portion control so it doesn't melt off the pizza and do this:
When they are all grown and married with their own kids, I can only hope that they remember mornings like this and smile. And their wives can sit back with a cup of coffee and the newspaper while dad whips up some gourmet breakfast!

Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon-Spiked Ricotta & Honey

Just taking advantage of what's hanging around the house here - a little extra ricotta and some fresh peaches. Again, if you don't like ricotta cheese, this will not impress you. I just think it gave the peaches a little extra pizazz (is that a real word? It looks wrong). Anyways, if this is a jumping point for embellishing your own fruit then, whoopie! But I toally get it if you prefer your fruit nude. And sometimes ricotta just won't satisfy your ice cream craving. I understand. Really, I do.

Cooking spray
1/2 cup ricotta
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Splenda
Honey

Spray your grill or grill pan with cooking spray. Once hot, lay those peaches down. Meanwhile, mix ricotta, cinnamon and Splenda (or sugar) together. Once the peaches are heated through and have the grill marks, take them off the heat. Put 1 T. mixture into each peach and then drizzle with honey. Yum!

A Few of my Favorite Things

Chocolate filled raspberries. I just melted chocolate chips and put in a ziplock bag. Snip the corner and pipe the chocolate into fresh raspberries. Best served at room temperature so the chocolate melts in your mouth along with the berry. So delicate and beautiful, these would make a perfect adornment to a cupcake, tart or just pop them in your mouth for no apparent reason (my favorite way).

Dreyer's Yogurt Blends - Caramel Praline Crunch. If you are an ice cream fan and just have to have a serving every night, here is an interesting solution. I LOVE this particular flavor, but there are several to choose from. Only 120 calories per serving and 3.5 grams of fat, plus all those live culture things that yogurt has, which is apparently good for digestion and what not. I think it just tastes so incredibly good.

Do you remember the ice cream trucks coming around your neighborhood when you were a kid? This one I remember well because of the gumball eyeballs. There was also Tweety Bird and the foot-shaped one with a gumball for the big toe. I'm scared of the ice cream truck that comes around my hood. That beat-up 70's van must cruise through here at a brisk pace because when I hear that creepy wailing tune, by the time I run out the front door, he is long gone. I often wonder if maybe they sell more than just ice cream, if you know what I mean.


Sopapillas - Fried flour tortillas topped with powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar. Now you picky foodie people, I realize that mine are not traditional sopapillas, which are some sort puffy bread made from scratch and then fried....it's just my gringo version. My parents used to make these every once in awhile. I think it was a frugal dessert which made us totally happy.

Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad

I can only take credit for recreating this dish because I hoisted it directly from Tami at Running with Tweezers. It just looked so refreshing and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. (I wish I could find those green zebra tomatoes she had) This is a visually stunning salad and the sweet tomatoes and watermelon meld together quite nicely. It reminded me that salt tastes great with watermelon.

Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad

Tomatoes

Watermelon

Goat Cheese

Basil Leaves

Salt/pepper

Olive Oil

Put everything together on a plate. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

I am categorizing this in both salad and dessert because it could really be the handsome beginning or end of any summer meal.

Budino di Ricotta

Ricotta desserts are an acquired taste. I got used to it from my days on the South Beach Diet. My boys weren't really into this, probably because of the texture. Although I blended the ricotta in a food processor for 5 minutes, there was still a slight grainy feel. I thought this dessert was divine, not cloyingly sweet and just perfect for a warm evening.

Ricotta is not technically a "cheese" because it is made from the sloppy seconds of another firm cheese such as mozzarella or provolone. The whey from that cheese is drained off and is used to make ricotta. In Italy, they still use ricotta made from sheep's milk which produces and nuttier and dryer product. In America, it is mostly made from cow's milk whey and is moister and more neutral in taste.


Caramel Ricotta Pudding (Budino di Ricotta)
Serves 6
Adapted from "A Fresh Taste of Italy," by Michele Scicolone (Broadway Books, 1997).

1 cup + 3 tablespoons sugar
15 or 16-ounce container whole-milk ricotta
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 325°.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. When the mixture begins to boil, stop stirring and cook until the syrup starts to brown around the edges. Then gently swirl the pan over the heat until the syrup is an even golden brown. Protecting your hand with an oven mitt, immediately pour the caramel into six 6- to 8-ounce custard cups, swirling the cups to coat the bottom evenly. Let cool briefly.


In a food processor or blender, or using an electric mixer, beat the ricotta until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, zest and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and blend again. Divide the mixture evenly among the caramel-lined cups. Place the cups in a roasting pan or baking dish and add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the cups.
Bake until the tops are set but the centers are still soft and jiggly when you tap the cups, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the cups to a rack to cool. Cover the cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

To serve, run a small knife around each pudding and invert onto a serving plate.

I used a raspberry sauce for a little extra oomph. Bring raspberries and a little sugar to a boil, then smash up with a fork. Put the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of the seeds.

Whoopie Pies

Aren't these cute? They are a specialty of my friend, whose son has celiac disease. Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley.

It is extremely challenging to eat gluten-free because not only must you avoid all bread products, it is hidden in so many processed foods including soy sauce, ketchup, chips, cold cuts and anything labeled with "caramel coloring," "natural flavors," MSG and "modified food starch." Take a look at a couple of labels and you'll realize how many products contain gluten.

My hats off to her for finding alternative ways to bake so her son can be included in holiday and birthday festivites!

Ingredients

1 C Gluten Free Flour
1/4 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 C Sugar
1/4 C Solid Vegetable Shortening
1 Egg White
1/2 C Low-Fat Milk
3/4 C GF Marshmallow Spread (Wal-Mart Great Value Brand States GF right on the can)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Mix on medium speed, beat the sugar, shortening , and egg white in a medium bowl until fluffy and well blended, about two minutes. Stir in the flour mixture, then the milk, until just blended.
2. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto large, ungreased baking sheet, making 36 cookies. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, 5-7 minutes. Cool on the sheets on a rack. Spoon 2 tsp of marshmallow spread on the bottoms of half the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies.

Plum Crisp

I wasn't totally sure what to name this dessert until I found the following definitions. I'm putting this in here in case you had any confusion like me about the whole "cobbler-crisp-crumble" thing.

Betty — a baked pudding made of layers of spiced and sugared fruit and buttered bread crumbs.

Clafoutis — a French cobbler, with fruit (usually cherries) on the bottom, custard, and a rough batter crust baked on top

Cobbler — a spoon pie (more like a fruit stew with dumplings), in which biscuit dough is dropped onto the fruit before baking. The consensus is that the dish got its name because the lumps of cooked dough resembled cobblestones.

Crisp — a deep-dish fruit dessert made with a crumb or streusel topping and baked.

Crumble — a British dessert in which raw fruit is topped with a crumbly pastry mixture and baked. One reference says a crumble is like a crisp, but not as rich.

Grunt — a spoon pie, with biscuit dough on top of stewed fruit, which is steamed, not baked

Pandowdy — a spoon pie, with fruit on the bottom and a rolled crust on top, which is broken up to allow the juices to come through

Slump — a spoon pie, including cooked or uncooked fruit topped with biscuit dough or piecrust, which can be baked or steamed, and can be made upside down

Thanks to Cathy R. for all the wonderful Santa Rosa plums. OOooooh, this was good. Tart, but good. I actually ran out of sugar (how does that happen?) and ended up only having about 2 T. for all these plums. After eating a couple bites, I improvised and squirted a little agave nectar over the top to balance it out. Our family nibbled on it all day until it was gone.

Plum Crisp

3 cups sliced plums
1/4 cup sugar (less, if you have sweet-skinned plums)
1 T. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup flour
2 T. butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix first four ingredients and put into pie plate. Mix the next 6 ingredients and pour over the fruit. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the topping is browned.

Rainier Cherry Tart

So, cherry picking. Yay! Early summer is good livin' out here in the East County. It's all about fresh and local. A mere 5 minute drive puts us in the heart of U-Pick heaven. Today I think we picked about 10 lbs of cherries, half Rainier (the yellowish guys) and half Bing.

I am still pondering things to do with these juicy puppies beside eat them right out of the box.....let's see, cherry salsa, cherry soup, cherry brandy? Well, anyways, my first inclination was for a sweet treat.

Rainier Cherry Tart

Dough:

1 1/4 cups flour

1 T. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter

2 T. cold water

Mix flour, sugar, salt and butter in food processor. Pulse on/off until mixture resembles small particles. Add 1 T. water and pulse, add another and pulse again. If the dough is damp enough to roll out, then do so. If not, add a couple more drops of water until you get it right. Roll it out and lay it into tart pan, pushing more dough up around the edges to make it thicker there. Poke holes with a fork and bake for 10 min. at 350. Cool slightly before adding filling.

Filling:

1 block cream cheese

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp lemon zest

1 egg

Mix everything but the egg together until creamy. Taste it several times until you are completely sure that it tastes good. Then one more taste for good measure. Add egg and mix until uniform. Spread over tart crust. Add fruit in a thoughtful symmetrical pattern (or not). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filo Flowers

What an odd sensation... when I'm going through the grocery store now, I think not only about feeding my family, but also about what new ingredient will I use this week for my blog. I think about what would look scrumptious on a plate, about presentation, colors and garnishes. I think about how the light is that day and if it will be sufficient for a photograph. You didn't know I cared so much about pleasing you, did you?

Growing up, for all the holidays there were 3 type of pies: pumpkin, cherry, pecan. Later on, sometimes we would throw in an apple or the ever popular but labor intensive lemon merengue. There was no banana cream pie, no berry pie, no key lime pie, no chess pie, no mincemeat, no chocolate cream pie and certainly no strawberry-rhubarb. Honestly, I would have not thought of the combo unless I was really looking through my produce aisle for something different.

This dish will qualify as two new ingredients: rhubarb and filo. I bought the filo without really knowing what I was going to do with it. I knew it was versatile (savory or sweet) and tricky to work with. For me, it wasn't so bad. The flower cups were quite easy actually, just fragile. You couldn't pick the flower up and eat the dessert, it was a spoon adventure for sure.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filo Flowers

For the topping:
2 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups chopped strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 T. orange zest
Saute the rhubarb with sugar for about 7 minutes, turn off heat and add strawberries and zest. It might be a good idea to thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch. I didn't do that, but it would have been better and less juicy/messy.

For the filling:
1 package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
zest of one lemon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar (or more to taste)

Wisk together until very smooth and keep in the fridge until ready to assemble.

For the filo flowers:

Take out 6 sheets of filo, and cut in half lengthwise and then in thirds from there. You should get 6 smaller squares from one sheet. Put them in a pile and cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Invert a muffin tin and spray with Pam. Lay a sqare over the inverted muffin cup and then stagger the next so that it forms points. In between every two sheets, give it a spray. If you want more flavor, use melted butter in between layers (too much work for me). Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. You may have to do this on every other muffin cup, so they don't overlap and stick together.

Assembly: You really should have figured this out, but I will insult your intelligence anyways. Put a couple tablespoons of cream cheese mixture in the filo cup and top with the fruit mixture.



This tart and sweet dessert was a hit with everyone. I heard the word "fancypants" being thrown around, so maybe it seemed more gourmet than it actually was. Who knows, maybe I will try a souffle soon....or not!

Worms in Dirt

Had to post these cuties! Having a birthday party for Wes tomorrow with a "Camp Out" theme...I can't wait to see all the 2 year olds playing in the tent and "fishing" in the pond.

Smores Cupcakes

I have a Mom's Club function tomorrow and made these Smores Cupcakes for the bake sale...nothing fancy, just wanted to make you hungry. I used a boxed cake mix, but made my own marshmallow buttercream frosting (2 sticks butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 16 oz marshmallow cream) and topped with graham cracker crumbs. Now if I can just avoid eating one.....nope.