This month, I'm keeping cool

In this month's column, we talk about heat. And what to do about it. Turning on the oven and stove isn't so inviting when just standing around makes you sweat, but when hunger strikes, what's there to do?

It can be tempting to find shelter in the air-conditioned confines of your favorite restaurant, or pull a container of frozen yogurt from the freezer and call it a day. But when nutrition is top priority, as it is around my house, neither of these options fully satisfies. 

Which is why I wanted to create a menu that involves very little cooking, if at all, and can be served no matter what the temperature. Enjoy it inside, eat it by the pool, or even pack it for a picnic if a shady patch of grass is within reach. Minimal work, maximum nutrition.

See here for the article and other recipes. Below, quite possibly the best dessert I've made in a while.

Raspberry Oat Squares :: Makes 9

1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp. water
3 pints fresh raspberries, rinsed
2 Tbsp. raw or Turbinado sugar
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans
pinch of sea salt
4 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 Tbsp. olive oil or melted coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 375’. Stir water into ground flaxseeds and set aside.
2. Place raspberries on a cutting board and sprinkle with raw sugar. Gently mash with a fork , leaving some pieces of fruit bigger than others. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, add 2 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup pecans, and sea salt. Pulse until mixture is coarsely ground. Add 2 Tbsp. maple syrup, 1 Tbsp. oil, and the flaxseed-water mixture. Pulse again to combine, until mixture forms a lightly moist dough. Add more water if necessary.
4. Press dough evenly into an un-greased 8x8 pan. Pour raspberry mixture evenly over the top. 
5. In a medium bowl, toss 1 cup rolled oats with 1 Tbsp. maple syrup and 2 Tbsp. oil. Once evenly coated, sprinkle mixture over the raspberries in the baking dish. 
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until top is toasted and raspberries are bubbling. Allow to cool completely, or else raspberries will not set. Once at room temperature, slice into squares and serve.

Peaches, berries and summer fare

It’s our last morning of a week-long retreat in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. As I type, sitting in front of a wide, sun-lit window, I am gazing out over the calm, glassy lake and marveling in the stillness of nature. 

I have had plenty of time to cook and bake this week. Somehow, whenever I’m on “vacation,” I am not only hungrier but I crave sweet treats much more often. I am definitely not one to ever skip dessert, but since my family is so active I wanted to make something that wouldn’t weigh us down. 

This had me grabbing peaches and berries by the armful. Fruit makes such a wonderful dessert. Inherently sweet, and you don’t need much to dress it up. I used the fruit all week long in so many ways!

Juicy peaches and blackberries made a quick cobbler. A great topping is the one here, or you could simply toss some oats with maple syrup and butter (or coconut oil) and sprinkle over.

Baked oatmeal always tastes so indulgent for breakfast. Like cold pie on the day after Thanksgiving. This one, based on the recipe here, used peaches, blueberries and almonds.

Plump and delicate raspberries were the stars of these unbelievable bars. The crust is based on the one I use for Pecan Pie Squares, only with maple syrup instead of brown sugar. With only a handful of ingredients necessary to throw them together, along with their ability to be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, I’ll be making these all summer long. 

Stay tuned for recipes in the coming posts. With the holiday weekend upon us, these next few days are sure to find me feasting some more. I’m anxious to know: What summer fare will grace your tables?

Blueberry Bread

Of all the fruits in the world, blueberries are far and away my favorite. They top my granola, fill my pies, become bubbly and fragrant beneath cobbler crust, leave swirly purple trails in my yogurt, are juicy and plump in my pancakes, and, of course, are baked into moist breads. 

These days, I find them at the market in towering displays that suggest anything but scarcity. With a stroke of luck, I discovered them on sale at Whole Foods last week and scooped them up by the armful. I ate a whole pint in one sitting. 

 

Since I’ve had little time for the weekend morning baking that I love so much, today’s project needed to be something special. My grandmother makes an amazing blueberry cake that she sprinkles with powdered sugar upon completion, and the smell of it baking never fails to remind me of summer and special family gatherings. A breakfast version is what I had in mind as I delicately folded the violet berries into a lighter, whole grain batter this morning. With applesauce and yogurt replacing heavier fats; a mix of brown rice, almond a coconut flours instead of wheat; and medjool dates en lieu of sugar, this bread is virtuous and completely wholesome. 

With my craving for blueberry bread healthfully satisfied, all I need now is a good dose of family. What are your favorite food memories?

Blueberry Bread :: Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond flour
2 Tablespoons coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
2 eggs
3 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven (see step 5) and line a greased loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine flours and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a blender, whir milk, eggs, dates, and zest until frothy. Add yogurt and applesauce and blend to combine.
4. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir in blueberries.
5. Transfer batter evenly into the loaf pan. I baked mine at 325 degrees for well over an hour, but next time I plan to try it at 350 for less time.
6. Once a toothpick comes out with dry crumbs, remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and serve, or allow to come to room temperature and then wrap in parchment. Keep in the refrigerator for a few days. 

Apricot + Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Was it Mark Twain who said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco? I’m certainly not the first to assert this, nor will I be the last. City dwellers unite in their general disdain for the months of June and July, holding their breath for the glory of September and October, when the leaves turn golden to match the late-to-emerge sun. 

Boots and puffy vests are standard attire for mid-June. Umbrella? Probably. You may even get away with wearing a scarf at some point. 

 

All of this to say, I made some ice cream a few weeks back to remind me that it was, indeed, summer time. Finals were done, I had a bit of a break between activities, and a warm-weather treat seemed appropriate despite the fact that the weather wasn’t really warm. At all. But it did the trick, and at once I felt the carefree, easy-breezy “summerness” of my childhood returning. So while the rest of you are laying by the pool and basking in the best of the season’s sun, I’ll be up here in the city, eating my ice cream, dreaming of warmer days. 

A bit about this ice cream: I don’t have a fancy-shmancy ice cream maker, but of course I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying a homemade frozen treat. It only means that making ice cream is an all-day activity. The trick is to check on it every two hours, breaking up the ice and whisking the mixture so it stays creamy. Your arms will get a workout, but hey, it only means you can get away with eating more.

Apricot + Coconut Milk Ice Cream :: Makes 1 loaf pan

2 cans full-fat coconut milk
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
3 Tablespoons raw honey
6 apricots, pitted and chopped

- Place a large loaf pan in the freezer to chill while you prepare the mixture
- In a blender, puree all ingredients for about 1 minute
- Pour into prepared pan and place back into the freezer (optional: first line the pan with parchment paper, so that you can invert the frozen cream to remove it and slice like a semifreddo) 
- After 45 minutes, remove mixture from freezer and whisk vigorously to break up any ice that has formed; place back into the freezer
- Every 90 to 120 minutes thereafter, remove ice cream from the freezer and whisk to break up the ice and keep it creamy. You may only need to repeat the process twice.
- Once it's completely frozen, allow it to sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes before scooping and serving.

Delicious dirt

I spent my first day of summer vacation with my beautiful friend Jenny, volunteering at the Hidden Villa CSA. From 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., our time was spent weeding beets, getting to know the farmers, listening to the chatter of other volunteers from a local high school, and soaking in the deep, rich fragrance of earth and life. 

The intricacies of life fascinate me. I remember, during lazy summer days as a kid, how I would sprawl on my stomach in the back yard and watch the millions of bugs going about their day in between the blades of grass. I wanted to imagine what life was like for them; I wanted to know where they were going, what they were doing, and which microscopic hole in the ground they called their own. I could sit there for hours watching the bugs. 

And then we (my sister and brother and I) would catch butterflies and create little habitats in mason jars. Construct fairy houses (fairies live in the garden, didn't you know?) with twigs and leaves. I once even dug them a pool, complete with a snipped piece of a ziploc bag so the water wouldn't drain from the bottom. I thought of all this whimsy while weeding the beets, as my arms became a jungle gym for ladybugs and spiders. 

Possibly the best part of our day, though, was the potluck lunch that followed. With vegetables straight from the garden, everyone pitched in with a dish of their own. We had pasta with chard, quinoa and kale salad, black bean tortillas, apple crisp, romaine with a green onion vinaigrette, and fresh strawberries. Quite literally, the fruits of our labor. Straight from the earth, where the fairies and bugs and worms and butterflies each perform their daily tasks to nourish the soil and the plant life beneath it. Delicious dirt, indeed.

Our souls and stomachs fed, we left feeling lighthearted and deeply satisfied. My only hope for summer is that it continues with this theme of spirit-nourishing, carefree and whimsical goodness. If you're in the area and happen to find yourself bored on a Wednesday, or just need something to do, I highly suggest you wander over to this gem of a place and lend a helping hand.