Author: Jenny (Page 45 of 56)

Cherry Almond Crumble

January 8, 2016 / Jenny / 21 Comments

It’s cold and dark outside, and maybe you are craving something warm and bright. Or maybe you want to serve a dessert that is homemade, but one that doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare. Brighten up a dark winter evening with this cherry almond crumble. The warm, baked cherries are a burst of flavor and color, just when you need it. Quicker and easier than a pie, the crumble still allows you to enjoy the warm sweetness of baked fruit, but with a lightly sweet and crunchy topping, and only about fifteen minutes of prep time.

Tart cherries freeze beautifully, so frozen tart cherries are available and delicious all year round. This recipe (which I adapted from some of my other fruit crumble recipes, which I adapted over time, from countless sources) allows you to put the frozen cherries right in the baking dish, so you don’t even need to pre-cook them. I especially like the tart Montmorency cherries from northern Michigan, because they taste amazing. They are tart and sweet at the same time, and even after they are baked, they somehow still taste fresh to me.

My feelings for Michigan cherries run deep, and cherries are connected to many cherished memories for me, some of which I have already written about in previous posts. But even without the memories, these cherries are so full of health benefits! They have serious anti-inflammatory properties that are said to help soothe arthritis and sore muscles, among many other things. Also, the topping, with its oats and almonds, has some good nutrition in it too. The crumble is a more humble dessert than the pie, and it perhaps doesn’t look as glamorous (and it can be somewhat difficult to photograph too). But it tastes just a good, and sometimes comfort, ease, and economy of time win over glamour. I love it, and so does my family!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and stay warm! I am sharing this recipe with the great group of bloggers at Angie’s Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Mr. Fitz @ Cooking With Mr. Fitz.

Cherry Almond Crumble

Servings: 6-8
Time: about 15 minutes of preparation, about 30 minutes for baking
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Ingredients:

For the fruit filling:

1 pound of frozen tart cherries (preferrably tart Montmorency cherries)
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of flour
a pinch of salt

For the topping:

1/2 cup of flour
3/4 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of raw almonds, chopped or slivered
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and almonds for the topping.

In a 9 inch x 9 inch baking pan, spread out the frozen cherries. Gently toss them with the 2 tablespoons each of sugar and flour, plus the pinch of salt, until well combined.

In the bowl with the topping ingredients, cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry cutter. Continue to work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cherries.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the cherries are bubbling.

If you want the crumble to set, allow to cool for about 30 minutes. Serve alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Jewel-Toned Winter Salad

January 6, 2016 / Jenny / 16 Comments

Deep, rich greens are balanced by bright and lively oranges, dried cranberries, and sliced almonds, topped with a subtly sweet-and-sour homemade vinaigrette. This salad is simple, yet so very flavorful.

Perhaps you are like me right now, craving clean and healthy foods after over-indulging during the holidays. I don’t regret any of the holiday over-indulgences, because they were part of spending time with family and friends, but January is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. A refreshing salad is a great way to recharge and energize.

I keep reading about winter greens at this time of year. Hardy greens can survive the winter in milder regions, or in more extreme regions like mine, can grow during the winter in a greenhouse or another similar gardening apparatus. Apparently, cold weather brings out the flavor of these hardy greens, such as kale, collards, chards, spinach, and others, and locally-grown varieties are available at markets or even in some grocery stores all winter long. I’m really glad about this, because I have been craving greens for the last couple of weeks. Recently, my daughter and I have been enjoying a gently fried egg on top of a bed of sautéed greens, and I have been making lots of salads.

This salad is a lunch favorite for me. Not only does it use the deeply nutritious winter greens, but also vitamin-C-packed oranges. We often get oranges as Christmas presents, and they are also wonderful this time of year. The sweetness of the oranges balances the earthy, slight bitterness of the greens, making a really flavorful combination. The vinaigrette goes great with this salad too, and since we have a lot of oranges right now, I used fresh-squeezed orange juice in the dressing. Delicious! And I love the jewel tones in this salad–the emerald, topaz, ruby and pearl colors.

The days are now getting a little bit lighter and brighter, and I can sense a subtle shift in the light outside. Everything looks a little brighter, and I am inspired to exercise more and de-clutter the house. (A really big, never-ending job!) After a relatively mild December, we are now having some very cold days and nights–just in time to put the kids’ new flannel sheets on their beds. We went up north after Christmas, and were able to go sledding and skiing, and the kids made s’mores with their cousins around an outdoor fire. Ever since my sister-in-law introduced me to the word “hygge”, a Danish word and concept embodying a special type of coziness and togetherness in the cold and darkness, we have been trying to embrace winter and cultivate an appreciation for the aspects that make wintertime unique. Food is often at the center of this coziness, so I am looking forward to getting back to my blogging space and also checking out what fellow bloggers have been doing.

I hope you all have a very happy new year!

Jewel-Toned Winter Salad

Servings: 2
Time: 10-15 minutes
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Ingredients:

For the salad:

a mixed bunch of hardy greens, such as spinach, kale, or chard
2 small oranges, one for juicing and one for slicing
a handful of slivered almonds
a handful of dried cranberries (or dried cherries)
optional: Feta cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons of orange juice (fresh-squeezed is best, but prepared is fine too)
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon of honey
1/3 cup of good quality extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Select a handful of greens–enough for 2 people. Wash the greens and tear them into bite-sized pieces. Peel the oranges. Set one aside for the salad dressing. Separate the other orange into sections, and cut each section into bite-sized pieces. Place on top of the greens. Sprinkle on the desired amount of slivered almonds and dried cranberries.

For the dressing, juice the remaining orange. In a glass jar with a screw top, add the orange juice, white wine vinegar, mustard, honey, and olive oil. Shake well. Add salt and pepper to taste and shake again. Pour the desired amount over the salad, and refrigerate the rest. Sprinkle with Feta cheese, if desired. Serve as a side dish or with bread or crackers for a light, refreshing lunch. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Flatbread Pizza

December 17, 2015 / Jenny / 18 Comments

With savory thyme, mellow butternut squash, and warm melted cheese, this flatbread pizza is perfect for lunch, or for dinner alongside a salad or a hearty bowl of soup. It only takes about a half hour to make, so it is a great option when you are short on time, but want something warm and satisfying.

I tend to go overboard in the late fall when buying squash. The different colors and varieties all look so inviting, and I have so many plans and ideas for them. Then when winter comes, I still have a couple of squash sitting elegantly on the counter in a pretty still-life, waiting to be used. This flatbread pizza is a perfect way to use that squash before it’s too late, and it tastes so good, even the non-squash-lovers in your family will be surprised. The health benefits of squash are well-known, and we can all use some extra potassium, fiber, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and antioxidants.

The key is to cut the pieces of the squash small enough so they roast to tenderness while they are on the flatbread, thereby saving yourself that extra step of pre-roasting the squash before baking the pizza. The sliced onion and the thyme really add a beautiful flavor, and blend so well with the mildness of the squash. I like to use naan flatbread for these pizzas, which you can easily find at the grocery store. That makes them quick to make, because sometimes time is scarce.

Because our winter has been unusually mild so far, I was able to go out and find some thyme in our garden for this pizza. I am always pleasantly amazed at how good fresh herbs smell, and how each one has such a distinct flavor. I did a little research on thyme, since I like to add meaning to my food. According to many sources, thyme historically symbolizes courage. Greek soldiers used to bathe in water infused with thyme before battles, and medieval maidens embroidered thyme leaves on their knights’ cloaks for courage. Thyme was also placed under pillows at night to keep nightmares away.

Another prevalent theme regarding thyme is that according to northern European folklore, fairies were often found sleeping in beds of wild thyme. In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oberon, king of the fairies, tells where to find the queen of the fairies: “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,/ Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,/Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,/With sweet musk-roses and elegantine.” When my kids were younger, we used to go around the yard looking for fairy houses. Little did we know, there might have been one in our herb garden. 🙂

I hope you all have a great weekend, and happy holidays! And if you need a little extra courage one day, tuck a sprig of thyme in your pocket.I am taking this recipe over to Angie’ Fiesta Friday today, co-hosted this week by Caroline @ Caroline’s Cooking and Linda @ La Petite Paniere.

Butternut Squash Flatbread Pizza

Servings: 4-6
Time: about 35 minutes
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Ingredients:

4 flatbreads (I like to use naan)
2 cups of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 of an onion, sliced thinly (yellow sweet or red onion)
1-2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves
1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I use mozzarella and Parmesan, but sharp cheddar would work too)
olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel and chop the butternut squash and slice the onion. Lightly spread olive oil onto the pieces of flatbread. Arrange the pieces of squash and slices of onion on the flatbreads. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Then sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Place the pizzas on a baking sheet, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the squash is tender and the cheese is melted. Serve alone as a light meal, or as a side dish with soup or salad. Enjoy!