REAL food recipes
Add cherries last minute for chunks, or blend them with the ice cream for a lump-free cherry flavor.
Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor unless you want cherry chunks. If you want chunks, don’t add them to this blend.
Pour into your ice cream maker and when it’s almost firm enough, toss in the cherries.
This is a variation from a recipe that I found in a recent Food and Wine magazine. It just so happens that I recieved a pint of fresh golden figs in my CSA box! I make this batter first thing in the morning for a warm delicious treat after the evening meal. Serve with honey sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.
In a mixing bowl combine cream, milk, eggs, rapadura, vanilla, eggs, orange zest, and salt.
Mix (using a whisk) ingredients unitl combined.
Add flour in three batches, whisking for 30 seconds between each addition.
Let mixture sit for 6 hours in the refrigerator.
One hour before assembly let mixture to come to room temperature.
Just be fore assembly and baking slice figs in half.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, place 9 in cast-iron pan in warmed oven for 10 min.
Remove pan and melt 2 T butter in pan.
Dust pan with 2 T rapadura.
Place sliced figs in pan face up.
Pour batter over figs, and place back into oven
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 min.
Reduce heat to 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, unitl the top is golden and the custard set.
Serve warm with cream or vanilla ice cream.
I love chocolate, so this is an awesome twist to a classic fall dessert! The bottom layer is sweet and moist, with a crispy-crunchy chocolaty topping! Serve with homemade vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream. This makes one generous serving, so feel free to multiply by the amount of people you are serving!
Peel and finely chop apple, and place into a greased bowl or ramekin, along with banana, spices, vanilla and honey.
In a separate bowl, mix all topping ingredients together and sprinkle on top of apples.
Bake, covered, at 350 for about 20 minutes, then uncovered for 20-30 more minutes, until crispy and golden brown.
Being the main cook in a family of eight children, most of my recipes are designed to feed a crowd! But there are occasions when it is nice to whip up a single serving for a snack, dessert, or special breakfast. This crumble is soaked, naturally sweetened, and is very easy to throw together! The figs make a nice change from standard crisps, and make this oh, so good, and good for you!
12-24 hours ahead of time, soak oats and flour in the warm water and whey.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375. Melt 1 tsp. of butter in a small oven-proof bowl or ramekin, then add sliced figs and bananas, fig honey, cinnamon and salt. Stir well. Mix 2 tsp. butter into soaked mixture, then add honey, spices and baking powder. Crumble over fig mixture, and bake about 45 minutes, until done all the way through. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk!
* Fig honey is a delightful sweetener I discovered while in the Middle East. It is just 100% figs! Date syrup, honey or maple syrup would be great substitutions.
This subtly sweet cherry clafoutis is a perfect breakfast dish with hints of maple syrup and buttermilk laced throughout the batter and beautiful sweet black cherries adding a burst of sweetness and beautiful coloring along the top of the clafoutis. This dish will please even the littlest members of your family.
Mix the flour and buttermilk in a small bowl. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place over night.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Mix the eggs, maple syrup, milk, applesauce, vanilla and sea salt in a small bowl.
Slowly incorporate the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Do not over mix.
Pour the batter into a greased pie pan or medium cast iron skillet.
Arrange and place the cherries in the batter. Press down gently to make sure the cherries are fully incorporated into the clafoutis.
Bake the clafoutis for 20-22 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and separating from the edge of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the clafoutis.
Our local peaches are coming into the farmer’s markets now. Oh my! Fresh peaches are SO heavenly… the trouble is, they ripen quickly and then the season is past… Of course, they can be frozen, but then what happens when the power goes out? I like to can my extra peaches and I do it with no added sugar or anything else. They are delicious!
Each bushel of peaches will yield approximately 21 quarts, or 42 pints of canned peaches. It is easiest to use wide-mouth jars, but you can use regular-mouth jars if you need to.
Set up your system thus… You will need a water bath canner, a large saucepan for scalding the peaches, a “jar lifter,” a small saucepan for scalding the caps, jars, new caps, a damp wash rag for wiping the rims of the jars, a large slotted spoon and something to remove the hot caps from the hot water when placing them on the jars. You can purchase a little magnetized wand for this or simply fish them out with a fork.
Fill the large saucepan 2/3 full of water and bring to a boil on the stove. Meanwhile, fill a sink or large dishpan 1/2 full of cold water. Place the new caps in the small saucepan cover them with water, and put them on medium/low heat on the stove. Fill your canner with sufficient water to cover the jars when you add them and begin heating it on low heat, covered, on the stove. Do NOT get in a hurry and turn the heat up high. When you add the filled jars of peaches, the boiling water might crack the jars!
A few at a time, lower the ripe peaches into the boiling water. Leave them there for about 20 seconds and using the slotted spoon, carefully remove them and transfer them to cold water in the sink. You can do as few or as many as you wish at a time. I try to figure out how many peaches will fill the jars that fit in the water bath canner and scald that many at a time.
Using a small sharp paring knife, cut the peaches to the pit, around the middle where the “rib” is. Remove the skin and twist the peach open. Remove the pit.
Next, cut side down, place the peaches into the jars. Using careful pressure from your hand, push the peaches down until they make enough juice to fill all the empty space in the jar. Only fill the jars to within 1 inch of the rim. Continue until all your jars are filled that will fit into the canner.
Carefully wipe the rims of the glass jars clean with a damp rag. Fish a hot cap out of the small saucepan, put it on the jar and put on the canning ring. Tighten firmly, but don’t get carried away!
Using a “jar lifter,” place each jar carefully into the canner- it needs to have a rack in the bottom. Do not put the jars directly on the bottom of the pot. If you do not have a rack, use a folded dish towel.
When all the jars are filled, and in the canner, be sure they are covered well with water, put on the lid and turn the burner to “high.” Bring the water to a full boil, and then you can begin timing the processing. Keep the water boiling well 25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts.
Turn off the stove. Using the jar lifter, remove the jars and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool. Be careful not to do this in a draft. It can break the jars. Allow them to cool 24 hours and then if you wish, you may remove the rings.
Simple. Sugar-Free. Only 2 ingredients! Gotta love that. Refreshing real food for any summer day. keep these stocked in the freezer for a nourishing and satisfying snack. I have no guilt letting my little ones have seconds of these! These frozen watermelon pops are shaped like stars for a special Independence Day treat, but you could use any shape you’d like. I plan on experimenting with flavors soon, like adding lime zest or minced mint to the coating. Yum!
Slice your watermelon into rounds about 1/2″-3/4″ thick. Remove any obvious and visible seeds, but don’t go digging for them and ruin the integrity of the watermelon.
Use your favorite cookie cutter (3″ is a good size) to cut shapes out of the sliced watermelon. Lay the cut watermelon on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Insert Popsicle sticks into the watermelon shapes.
Place in the freezer and freeze until solid, about 4 hours.
Warm your coconut butter (or have a freshly made batch of homemade coconut butter that is still in the liquid state from processing) by placing it in a small jar and floating that jar in a bowl or very hot water. Stir every once in a while. You want the coconut butter to melt back into a thick liquid state. If it is not thinning well, add a little coconut oil to it and stir. Add more hot water as necessary until it melts enough to spread.
Working with one pop at a time, pour a tablespoon or so of the coconut butter on the watermelon shape and use a butter knife to spread it around and on the sides, much like you are “icing” a cake. The coconut butter will harden rather quickly. Place the finished pop back on the parchment to finish hardening. Repeat with remaining pops.
Eat immediately, or store in the freezer in an air-tight container with parchment sheets between layers.
I am excited to make our own yogurt pops this year with these silicone popsicle molds. My kids loved the organic Stonyfield ones, but at $3/box all summer that adds up.
Throw your frozen fruit choice, homemade yogurt, chia seeds, water kefir and Concentrace all into your Vitamix or blender or food processor and give it a whirl. They are done when filly blended and no frozen fruit chunks are left.
Fill these silicone Popsicle molds and freeze as directed.
Fresh fruit makes the very best and healthiest dessert, but at times something a little more special is called for. These maple cinnamon apples do admirably! Served warm with a dollop of homemade vanilla ice cream? Heaven!
Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F.
Wash and dry the apple.
From the top, carefully cut out the core, but don’t cut all the way to the bottom of the apple. Do be sure to remove all of the seeds and tough bits.
Place the apple in a ramekin and add the butter, maple syrup and cinnamon to the hole.
Place the ramekin in a larger oven-proof dish and bake the apple until when you pierce it with a sharp knife, it is tender.
Remove from oven. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
This is a quick and fun snack for kids and adults to enjoy during the summer. It has only two ingredients and no added sweetener. A treat you can feel good giving to your little ones, or a teething baby. Using Greek yogurt makes these pretty mess free as when they melt as the yogurt holds them together.
Place both the mango and yogurt in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a freezer mold of your choice and freeze.
Check out these Stainless Steel Popsicle molds for plastic-free frozen treats!
Rich and buttery with a crunchy topping, this is a lovely dessert to make when you have too many apples. I cut the sugar down by half from the original recipe, so that it’s not overly sweet. It’s also gluten free. Serve warm with homemade vanilla ice cream for a special treat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9×13 inch pan.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
Add the apples into the melted butter and cook over medium heat, stirring often, just until the apples start to soften, about 15 minutes.
Add in the sucanat,vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often.
Mix the cornstarch or arrowroot with a little cold water until smooth. Pour into the apples and stir well.
Pour apples into the prepared 9×13 pan.
To make the topping: Mix the softened butter, sucanat, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together until well blended. Add in the pecans and mix thoroughly.
Drop the topping in little bits evenly over the apples.
Bake for 30 minutes until the apples are bubbly and the top is nicely browned.
Simple, quick, delicious and nourishing, this desert is sure to be a favorite with your family!
Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Put on the lid.
Blend on high until smooth.
Pour into small bowls and freeze until firm.
Best if eaten as soon as it is frozen, as later it will be harder to scoop out with a spoon, but it’s still very good!