Tag: easy

September 22, 2011

Ginger Pumpkin Doughnuts

I am back with more doughnuts. And more pumpkin. Two things that I kind of love right now.

After a weekend filled with football in South Bend with Blondie’s family I declare that fall has actually begun. There was a crispness in the air before the tailgate that was decidedly fall. The Illini are ranked and Champaign is filled with a buzz about football that I haven’t seen before. It is time to over-indulge on football watching. Fall is decidedly here.

And since I had some leftover pumpkin, I decided that I could make some doughnuts. And make them taste like fall.

There might also be a video for this recipe. Maybe it will turn out. (Aren’t you glad that I am taking a video class and can make the food come alive on video now too?). And I will probably post it to share with you when it is finished, but I thought that it would be unfair to make you wait any extra time for this delicacy.

Gluten Free Ginger Pumpkin Doughnuts

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Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 48

These might really just be cakes disguised as doughnuts. But douse them in some butter and toss them with cinnamon sugar and any confusion of them being cakes disguised as donuts goes away. They are also a 1 bowl recipe (yay!) that doesn’t require a mixer (double yay!). If you don’t have a mini-doughnut pan, bake them in a mini-muffin tin and have doughnut holes!

Ingredients

240 grams (about 2 cups) all-purpose gluten-free flour* (100 grams (1/2 cup) sweet white rice flour, 50 grams (scant 1/2 cup)tapioca starch, 50 grams (1/3 cup) brown rice flour, 40 grams (scant 1/3 cup) sorghum flour
180 grams (3/4 cup) sugar
7 grams (1½) teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
100 grams(a generous ½ cup) pumpkin puree
50 grams (1/4 cup) heavy cream or yogurt (not greek!)
50 grams (2½ tablespoons) grade b maple syrup
20 grams (1½ tablespoons) vegetable oil
2 large eggs + 1 yolk
1/4 cup chopped crystalized ginger (optional)
300 grams (1½ cups) sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your doughnut pan well.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
In a large measuring cup combine (while you weigh) the pumpkin puree, cream, maple syrup, oil, eggs and yolk. Whisk to thoroughly combine.
Add the liquids to the flour and mix with a wooden spoon.
Fill your mini doughnut pan only half full, (About 2 teaspoons of batter per well in the doughnut pan) otherwise they will bake over the top! Bake for 10-12 minutes. They are cooked when a toothpick comes out clean.
Mix together sugar, cinnamon & ginger. Dip warm doughnuts into the sugar mixture and toss sugar over them to enrobe the donuts in spiced sugar. If the sugar doesn’t stick, brush them with melted butter and re-dip. There is plenty of extra (it just needs to be deep for the dipping/tossing)

Notes

You really want to use good maple syrup (grade B has the most maple-y flavor).
If you are going to use pre-blended flour, please use a good one. I like Jules’ Nearly Normal Flour and Cup4Cup from Williams-Sonoma. Bean based flours will not do well here.

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2.1.7

September 5, 2011

Lemon Thyme Shortbread & C4C flour review

There was a bit of hubub on twitter over this flour. Mostly it was about the price – not sure why. 3lbs of the King Arthur Gluten Free Flour is $16 and 3lbs of Jules Nearly Normal flour comes out to about $12 (she sells 5lb bags). It is a little more expensive, but not horribly so. It is a product sold at Williams Sonoma, they sell premium cookware and foods. Pasta sauce from there is expensive too ($12 a jar!). It is a premium store that sells premium products. Call me snooty, but I love shopping there. And I am ok with paying a price for luxury/ premium goods.

And yes, the flour is fairly pricey. But, is it good? Yes. Very.

Blondie and I got up early last Sunday and went to a gluten-free baking technique class. Ours was taught by a delightful pastry chef who gave some good tips for baking – and taught Blondie quite a bit about gluten-free ingredients and baking. I even learned a trick about baking cookies.

The whole point of this class was to sample their new brownie & cookie mixes (which don’t taste like they came from a box at all – but I still think they are cheating). And to demo their new flour. (Williams-Sonoma, please have more Gluten-Free technique classes!)

Cup4Cup is a gluten-free flour blend developed by Chef Thomas Keller of French Laundry and Bouchon Bakery fame. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the flour. I baked some shortbread cookies to test it out. I have had some disappointments in the past when it comes to gluten-free flour blends. And there are very few that I recommend without hesitation. This one is now on that list.

The batter seemed a little gummier than I am used to, but the cookies are a little chewy (but not gummy) and did not turn to dust when I touched them (this has happened). There were no strange flavors (which some brands AP blends have) and the texture of the baked good was spot on. Sometimes when you bake gluten free cookies, you need to substitute shortening for some of the butter so that they do not spread into one giant cookie. This flour held its shape in baking, a major plus.

I also used this while testing my fried doughnut recipe that will be live on Wednesday for the Gluten Free Ratio Rally. It actually seems to be working (the dough is raising now, but the texture seemed spot on. The dough had stretch and absorbed the right amount of moisture). I will have to try a loaf of bread with this next…

I also love that I can pick up a bag of this stuff when I am wandering around Williams-Sonoma ogling the kitchen goods that I am going to register for when I get married. I also am really impressed that a fancy-schmancy player has entered the game.

This blend will not work for those of you who also have problems with dairy or gums, as this blend has both. My only aversion to dairy is that I don’t like the way that milk tastes.

I am going to make sure that Blondie has a bag of this in his pantry for when I come to town. (Especially now that he finally has measuring cups and spoons – I can deal with not having a scale for our weekends together)

I would definitely put this as one of my preferred store-bought blends. I think it might have worked its way up to second favorite blend.

There are some limitations to using a prepared flour blend. You can’t change the ratio of grains to starches depending on what you are baking. (So no whole grain breads). You also can’t change the amount of the binding agent (xantham gum, guar gum, flax, expandex, etc.) But, you can make your grandma’s famous chocolate cake without doing math.

This blend beats out my other favorite blend in one aspect, I can just go into a store and pick it up. (Maybe not in Champaign, but in Chicago). No expensive shipping because flour weighs alot!

If you are baking a recipe from a gluten free site (such as this), just total all the flours and use this in it’s place. It works as a weight substitution and as a volume substitution.

So, thank you Williams-Sonoma and Chef Thomas Keller for this flour.

Gluten Lemon-Thyme Shortbread

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Recipe Type: Cookie

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 30

These are a light, summery cookie. They are not too sweet, but they are tangy with an herb kick. They would go great with some vanilla ice cream for a summer dessert.

Ingredients

230 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
100 grams (½ cup) sugar
340 grams (2 ½ cups) gluten-free all purpose flour blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lemon juice (the juice from 1 large lemon)
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

Cream together the butter and sugar until it is just blended.
Add the flour in 2 batches, scraping down the sides of your mixer after each addition.
Add the lemon juice and mix to combine.
Stir in the lemon zest and thyme.
Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.About halfway through this time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough out and cut into the desired shape (I did 3 inch circles).
Arrange about a half inch apart on a greased cookie sheets and bake for 13-17 minutes.

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1.2.4

September 4, 2011

Raspberry Truffles

I really want to tell you an amazing story about something going on in my life. But really, this week was fairly uneventful. I only saw Blondie for a couple of hours on Thursday night (he brought me some Pei Wei!). Except for the part where I was in Chicago to be hooked up for a neurostimulator trial. Basically. I now have some electrical leads in my spine and get to keep them for a week to see if the big surgery where they implant the whole contaption will work.

But, that is not a fun and exciting story. It only explains why I am only comfortable lying down or standing up. For some reason, I can’t get comfortable while sitting. (It might have something to do with the multiple stitches in my back holding things in place). So, I am baking. I made lemon-thyme shortbread, these truffles and the yeast starter for raspberries & cream doughnuts.

Tomorrow, I will be baking a brown sugar spice cake to do my time arts class homework.

That’s a lot of desserts. Too bad Blondie went to South Bend for a Notre Dame football game and skipped out on coming to Champaign to take care of his invalid girlfriend. No baked goods for him until next weekend.

Maybe Emily will have a cookout tomorrow, and there will be people around to eat all these goodies. Or else I am going to have to hunt down my art class instructor and bribe him with baked goods to give me an A.

Raspberry Truffles

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Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 90 mins

Total time: 1 hour 40 mins

Serves: 40

Truffles are deceptively easy, decadent and elegant. This recipe makes about 25 truffles and can be scaled up or down. There really is only about 10 minutes of prep, but there is an hour or two of waiting time.

Ingredients

225 grams (8 ounces) dark chocolate, the better the chocolate the better these will taste
1 cup heavy cream (or So Delicious cream will work for vegan truffles)
2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
1/2 cup cocoa

Instructions

Finely chop the chocolate and put into a mixing bowl.
Heat the heavy cream in a small sauce pot on medium until it is about to boil.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
Stir the chocolate and cream until you have one smooth mixture.
Add the liquer.
Put in the fridge to set up for a couple of hours.
Scoop ganache with a cookie scoop (or a spoon if you don’t have a scoop) and roll into balls.
Roll in cocoa and allow to set up before serving.

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1.2.4

August 7, 2011

Quinoa with slow roasted tomatoes

I apologize for not having super awesome photos, but I forgot my camera in Chicago 🙁

I spent Saturday in the Chicago suburbs for a baby shower. I baked brownies and my mom made lemon squares and a fabulous neopolitan cake with ruffles.

Talk about sweet overload.

So, today, although I was recipe testing for a cookbook (sweets of course), I managed to make something, savory, spicy & healthy (egad! I never utter those words on this blog!).

Vegetables, protein and spice. In perfect opposition to all this sweet.

And yes, smoked paprika and aleppo pepper are necessary. Substituting them will make the dish have less pop. But, if you don’t have them, just make the dish without them. It will still be delicious.

Quinoa with Slow Roasted Tomatoes

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Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 3 hours

Total time: 3 hours 10 mins

Serves: 4

Before you tell me that this is too much work, or time, it is totally worth it. This is a perfectly easy thing to throw together on a Sunday for lunches for the week.

Ingredients

3 large tomatoes, heirloom are best
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups stock
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon aleppo pepper (or cayenne if you can’t find aleppo)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Slice tomatoes thinly and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake for 3ish hours. The tomatoes should look a little shriveled, but shouldn’t be completely dry.
In a large saucepan or duch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic & onion and cook until translucent. Add paprika & aleppo and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in dry quinoa and cook for 2 more minutes.
Add the stock, stir and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes, until water is absorbed.
While that is cooking, cut the tomato slices into quarters.
When quinoa is cooked, stir in tomatoes and enjoy.

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1.2.4

July 20, 2011

Powdered Sugar Doughnuts

I might have made a third type of doughnuts. How could I not? The mini doughnut pan that I got for my birthday is just so adorable. Blondie picked it out hoping he was going to get some doughnuts…too bad these will probably all be gone by noon.

I am going to have the basic recipe memorized by the time I finish that Next Food Network Star application (shouldn’t be too hard to make it…these doughnuts could take on Bobby Flay in a throwdown any day.)

These are not as inventive as the honey lavender doughnuts or the ginger brown butter ones, but they are darn tasty. And they melt in your mouth. Just like a doughnut should.

You know those little doughnuts that come all stacked up in a plastic bag at a gas station? These are better than that. But just as addictive. And they are gluten and dairy free.

Powdered Sugar Doughnuts

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Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Serves: 12

Using coconut oil and coconut milk yogurt, you get a lightly sweet doughnut that melts in your mouth. There are instructions in the note to make these vegan with a flax egg.

Ingredients

50 grams (6 tablespoons) sorghum flour
35 grams (3 tablespoons)sweet white rice flour
20 grams (1/6 cup) tapioca starch
15 grams (3 tablespoons) flax
100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 egg, lightly beaten or egg replacer for 1 egg (info in notes)
1/4 cup dairy free plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
Coconut oil for brushing the doughnuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the doughnut pan or mini muffin tin.
For the batter: Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine wet ingredients and beat together lightly (mixer on medium for about 30 seconds). Add in dry ingredients and mix to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
If using a mini doughnut pan, scoop the batter into a pastry bag or a gallon size ziplock bag and snip off the tip/corner. This will save you from a giant mess.
Fill the wells slightly less than half full, or your doughnuts won’t have holes. Bake for 8-12 minutes for minis or 12-15 for full size doughnuts. They are done when a toothpick comes out almost clean. Let sit in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the doughnuts.
Once you remove the doughnuts, wipe out the wells with a paper towel, and re-grease them. This recipe makes 36 mini doughnuts or 10 full size.
Brush the doughnuts with the extra coconut oil while they are still warm and then drop into a bowl of powdered sugar and toss to coat.
For a thicker coating of sugar, brush a second time with oil and drop into the sugar one more time.

Notes

If you want to make these vegan, skip the egg and use a flax egg: 1 tablespoon ground flax and 3 tablespoons warm water stirred together until it is thick and gelatinous.

I used So Delicious Plain Yogurt, but you could use regular plain yogurt (not greek), if that is what you have.

You can swap the flours for 1 cup all puropse blend and 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum (or 1 cup Jules’ Nearly Normal Flour)

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1.2.4

July 19, 2011

Honey Lavender Doughnuts

I want to live on doughnuts. I feel like they might be the secret key to getting through the next month.

When Blondie and I were blueberry picking, the farm had herbs that you could pick too, and we grabbed some lavender because that is not in my garden. I love the scent of lavender, but had never baked with it before these doughnuts. Eat the lavender! It doesn’t taste like soap smells (in case you were worried about that). It tastes spicy and peppery, a great pairing for the flavor of honey.

My boss’s boss told me today that these were amazing, and that I could make any doughnut’s I wanted as long as they were not mushroom flavored. Next time, it will be savory doughnuts…

Looking at these, I keep feeling like they are strawberry flavored – I just colored them so I could tell them from the ginger brown butter doughnuts I made earlier on Sunday.

Honey lavender Doughnuts

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Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 12

Lavender has a bright, almost peppery flavor that complements the honey. If you don’t have a dougnut pan, don’t fret. These can easily be made in mini muffin tins as doughnut holes.

Ingredients

50 grams (6 tablespoons) sorghum flour
35 grams (3 tablespoons)sweet white rice flour
20 grams (1/6 cup) tapioca starch
15 grams (3 tablespoons) flax
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
125 grams (3/8 cup) honey
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/8 cup plain yogurt (not greek)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lavender

For the glaze:

1/8 cup water
115 grams (1 cup) powdered sugar
85 grams (¼ cup) honey

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the doughnut pan or mini muffin tin.
For the batter: Whisk together dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine wet ingredients and beat together lightly (mixer on medium for about 30 seconds). Add in dry ingredients and mix to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
If using a mini doughnut pan, scoop the batter into a pastry bag or a gallon size ziplock bag and snip off the tip/corner. This will save you from a giant mess.
Fill the wells slightly less than half full, or your doughnuts won’t have holes. Bake for 8-12 minutes for minis or 12-15 for full size doughnuts. They are done when a toothpick comes out almost clean. Let sit in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the doughnuts.
Once you remove the doughnuts, wipe out the wells with a paper towel, and re-grease them. This recipe makes 36 mini doughnuts or 10 full size.
To make the glaze: combine water and powdered sugar in the bowl of your mixer and beat until smooth. Add the honey. You can also color the glaze if you want. Transfer to a smaller, heat proof bowl.
Dip the doughnuts into the glaze one at a time. If the glaze starts to set, pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, any longer and it might burn.

Notes

You can use dried lavender. Crush it first and only use 1 tablespoon.

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1.2.4

July 13, 2011

GF French Lemon Cake

We had a cooking unit in my high school french class and everyone was given a more or less traditional French food to cook. I had to make this lemon cake.

A year later, in college, I had my dad find the recipe, type it up and email it to me so that I could impress the other girls in the dorm. In European fashion, it was by weight and I definitely made it by eyeballing it.

Two years ago, I went back to the yahoo email address I used back then to find it, but I didn’t make it – this whole gluten-free baking thing was a bit too scary for me.

I dug it out yesterday because today is Bastille day and a French treat was in order.

It is a bright, lemony cake with a delicate crumb. There is absolutely no need for any gums or even flax in this cake – you want it to disintegrate into lemony goodness in your mouth.

GF French Lemon Cake with Lemon Rum Glaze

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Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 8

The original recipe was given to me as a handout in my high school French class by Mme. Czarnecki. I have made it gluten-free and changed a few things to make it even better than the original.

Ingredients

150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar, divided (75 grams for the cake, 75 for the syrup)
2 eggs
4 tablespoons (60 grams/ 1/2 stick) VERY soft butter
5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking powder
30 grams (1/4 cup) sweet white sorghum flour
30 grams (1/3 cup) brown rice flour
30 grams (1/3 cup) sweet white rice flour
30 grams (1/4 cup) tapioca starch
5 grams (1 Tablespoon) ground flax
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 lemons (3 zests for cake, 2 zests and juice from 3 lemons in syrup)
3/8 cup (6 Tablespoons) dark rum

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place eggs & half the sugar (75 grams or 3/8 cup) sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat for about 30 seconds.
Add the butter, flours, baking powder, salt and zest from 3 of the lemons.
Mix well. The batter should be thick and look creamy.
Pour into a greased 8 or 9 inch round pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
While cake is baking, combine remaining sugar (75 grams or 3/8 cup), the juice of 3 lemons and the rum in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and stir regularly while the cake is baking.
Remove cake from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Invert over a cake plate and pour syrup over cake while still warm.
If you can wait, the lemon flavor will intensify over night, but the cake can be enjoyed immediately.

Notes

You can replace all flours with 1 cup GF all-purpose flour, such as Jules’ Nearly Normal Flour.

You cannot make this cake without the rum. In high school we used rum extract because of laws and such, but with real rum it is 1,000 times better.

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1.2.4

July 3, 2011

White Chili with Turkey

I made this for dinner on Thursday night. I had picked up the peppers because they were on sale. I was going to make a chimichuri sauce for our steak dinner this weekend. But I got greedy & needed a change of pace from the pasta. No chimichuri for Blondie. But, there was leftover chili. Not that I wanted to share.

This is not your mom’s spicy tomato-y chili. There are not so many beans in here that you will be suffering, just enough to give it some body. The heat is not a slow cooked one, but a bright, fresh, tangy heat.

There is coriander in this recipe which lends a bright, lemony flavor to the chili. Don’t leave it out, it really makes the peppers sing. Fresh cilantro is also key – if you don’t have any, just leave it out. The dried stuff doesn’t work here. You can swap the turkey for shredded chicken, but don’t use ground chicken. It just isn’t moist enough.

White Turkey Chilli

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Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 4

This easy chili comes together in about 30 minutes with minimal effort. It is spicy & light enough for a summer dinner.

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey, browned
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 serrano peppers, seeded & chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped
1 anaheim pepper, seeded & chopped
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 can navy beans (or other white beans), drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Saute the peppers and onion in the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Cook until the onions become translucent.
Add the garlic, coriander, cumin and cayenne and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
Add chicken stock and beans. Cook for about 30 minutes.
Add cooked turkey & half the cilantro. Cook for about 5 minutes more (the meat should be heated through.
Add half the cilantro and lime juice. Cook for about 1 more minute.
If you like a smoother chili, blend with an immersion belnder for about 30 seconds, or place half the chili into a blender.
Garnish with remaining cilantro and sour cream (or greek yogurt).

Notes

This is so easy, it almost makes itself. It also freezes well and keeps for a few days in the fridge. It is pretty low calorie, and fairly light. If you want a vegetarian version, use 2 cans of beans, omit the chili and use vegetable stock.

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1.2.4

July 2, 2011

Margherita Lasagna

I have been making pasta almost obsessively over the past 2 weeks. But really, I was getting bored with noodles and sauce. Also, it is summer and most lasagna recipes are too hearty and heavy for the warm months.

But I had fresh pasta dough. And I had 6 servings ready to freeze individually for those nights when cooking feels like a mountain I don’t want to climb. What was I going to do with the rest? Lasagna noodles! I hadn’t made lasagna since I made this butternut squash lasagna (just a picture – I wasn’t writing my recipes out last fall). Lasagna is easy & filling.

This one is great with Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce. It is tomato, onion and butter. If the sauce has too much seasoning, you won’t taste the flavors of the tomato, basil & mozzarella, so a simple sauce is best. You need to make sure that you are either using fresh pasta or boiled boxed noodles, even if they say they are no-boil, for this recipe they need to be cooked.

I made lasagna in a loaf pan, I know, not a traditional route. But it helps control the proportions and bakes up quite nicely. I will also share my fresh pasta recipe with you on Wednesday. And yes, it is worth the wait.

Margherita Lasagna

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Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 4

With minimal sauce and juicy, fresh tomatoes, this lasagna is a perfect way to use tomatoes & basil plucked fresh from your garden.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
6-8 lasagna noodles (either fresh or halfway cooked)
1 T olive oil
3 small tomatoes, sliced in 1/4″ rounds
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 package fresh mozzarella

Instructions

Grease a loaf pan with the olive oil.
Put a spoonful of sauce on the bottom of the pan and spread it.
Place a noodle, another spoonful or two of sauce, then add a thin layer of cheese, a sprinkling fresh basil and then a row of tomato slices.
Repeat until the pan is full.

Notes

The goal is to avoid an overly saucy lasagna. The tomatoes will have plenty of moisture, the sauce is just to enhance the tomato flavor. I make large batches of Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce and keep it around.

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1.2.4

I am also on this kick to not buy anything that comes with a label, rather, nothing that comes prepared and ready to eat. I know there will be nights where

June 29, 2011

Raspberry Crisp

Fruit crisps are one of the easiest desserts to whip up.

You know, when you find raspberries at the farmer’s market (or you find a bag of frozen raspberries in your freezer that you didn’t know you had). Or someone drops by for sangria on the porch and you want to serve something yummy.

This is a dessert that I learned from my mother, and is more of a guideline than a recipe. It can be thrown together in a couple of minutes, popped into the oven and left alone. It uses ingredients that we always have on hand, and can be adapted and changed to use what ever is in your kitchen. Just don’t melt the butter, or you will end up with a mushy crust.

Boys, if you need to do something sweet for a girl, this dessert, topped with a wee bit of vanilla ice cream is a winner. (You hear that Blondie? Even you could make this).

Raspberry Crisp

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Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4

Really, this could be breakfast.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries*
1/8 cup sugar (if a sweeter dessert is desired)
1 cup gluten free oats*
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Grease a small baking dish (8in square-ish).
Pour in berries and sprinkle with sugar. (I didn’t use it, but if your berries are extra tart, you can add it in).
In a mixing bowl add softened butter, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
Mix with your hands until combined.
If the mixture is too crumbly, add a little butter. Too loose? Add some oats. Not sweet enough? Add a little more brown sugar.

Notes

If you can’t eat oats, quinoa flakes will work here. Also, make sure they are gluten free.
You can swap out the berries for any fresh or frozen fruit.

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1.2.4

Oats, sugar, butter, vanilla, fruit and complimentary spices. Mix the crust with your hands. Not enough? Mix some more.