August

Oh, August. You know what that means, don't you? I'll tell you. It means many of our fruit trees are bursting and bountiful! We had cherries and purple plums last month. Now we have red plums, peaches, and pears. Soon, the figs (eeeee!), persimmons and apricots will bring forth their beauty. It really is the beginning of the best time of year. August also means that I can officially get away with making fall-spiced baked goods. Yes, yes I can. Wanna fight about it?

I thought not.

Anywho, I cracked open a can of pumpkin puree to accomplish my latest oven-lovin, a cinnamon pear bread. I used fresh pears from our tree, which really made the whole thing that much more special. If you make this, get the freshest pears you can, and maybe dice them a little smaller than I did if you don't like big chunks.

They kind of look like yams, don't they? Let me assure you, they don't taste like yams. They taste like sweet August.

Cinnamon Pear & Pumpkin Bread

1 cup pumpkin

1/3 cup light olive oil (or any oil you prefer)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp bourbon

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

1 1/2 to 2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1 cup diced fresh pears, peeled and cored

Preheat the oven to 350. If you keep your flour in the freezer, like I do, remember to take it out well in advance! With a wooden spoon, mix oil into pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then cinnamon, and thoroughly combine. Sprinkle baking soda, salt, and flax over batter and mix in. Then add flour and stir to combine. Finally, add pears and gently incorporate.

Pour mixture into an oiled and parchment-lined loaf pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from pan. Slice and devour!

Apple Cranberry Pecan Bread with Bananas and Flax

No, you're not dreaming. Don't be afraid, it's okay to stare. This is exactly what all you health freaks could have ever hoped for. I would know, I'm just like you. This bread packs so much incredible goodness all in one place. It is truly divine.


I have a little bit of constant Autumn-fever, it seems. Whenever I daydream about new baked goods (which is pretty much all the time), I imagine them with pumpkin, figs, sweet potatoes, cranberries, persimmons, apples, nuts, spices, and the like. These are exclusively Fall flavors, but I just NEED to have them at regular intervals! So on this Sunday morning, while browsing Joy The Baker's decadent archive of food porn, I came across a recipe for banana cranberry bread that looked waaay too good to pass up. I only had one banana, so I added a grated apple and some other goodies to make it my own. Please, try it for yourself and get your Fall flavor fix. You know you want to.

Apple Cranberry Pecan Bread
-Adapted and modified from Joy The Baker-

1 ripe banana, mashed
1 apple, grated
1/3 cup light olive oil (or any oil you prefer)
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. bourbon
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 Tbsp. ground flax
1 cup cranberries (I used frozen)
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350.
With a wooden spoon, mix oil into the banana and grated apple in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices, and thoroughly combine. Sprinkle baking soda, salt, and flax over batter and mix in. Then add the flour and stir to combine. Finally, add the cranberries and 1/2 cup of the pecans, mixing just until incorporated.
Pour mixture into an oiled and parchment-lined loaf pan. Sprinkle remaining pecans and a little sugar over the top. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool on a wire rack before removing from the pan. Slice and devour.

Pizza night!

It's back to healthy basics this week after losing my inhibitions over pineapple upside-down cake on Saturday (see previous post). Elliott and I wanted to make pizza last night, which was great because I had a bunch of half-eaten vegetables in the fridge and no cohesive way to put them together. Pizza was the perfect solution, and now I have leftovers for lunch today!


I wanted more protein on my pizza, and I was without tofu or fish of any sort. My solution was to make a tomato sauce from scratch using white beans. I haphazardly threw a bunch of ingredients into a food processor, tasting and seasoning along the way. It turned out fantastic! I had a TON left over, which will be awesome for pasta or quinoa or lentils later in the week.

I also tried out a whole-grain brown rice pizza crust last night. I was very curious and a bit skeptical, but it actually turned out to be pretty delicious for what it was. It was very light and crispy, exactly what I was in the mood for. If you're a fan of soft, doughy pizza, don't try it. I should have cooked it a bit longer before topping it though- it was a bit gummy in the center.

White Bean Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup white navy beans
1/2 of a red onion
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce (plain, unseasoned)
1 Tbsp. pesto
basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper & salt to taste

In a food processor, pulse navy beans and onion until thoroughly blended. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Taste and check for seasonings.

My toppings of choice last night:
homemade tomato sauce
mozzarella cheese
asparagus
portobello mushroom
kalamata olives
sundried tomatoes
feta cheese

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Please, before reading the rest of this post, know that this cake breaks all the rules. Every single one. Its composition is simply butter, sugar, eggs, flour, a little rum... you get the idea. But you know what? I DON'T CARE. Besides, I ran 4.3 miles at a 8:22 pace this morning. So I will eat some damn cake, thank you.


But will you just LOOK at it for a minute? It is absolute show-stopping perfection! It's my newborn child! I wish I could have seen my own face after flipping it over and unveiling the surprise. There's a certain anticipation about baking an upside-down cake. You hope you let it cool long enough. You hope it doesn't break in half when you turn it out. You hope it looks nice and pretty and tastes good. When all of this happens just the way you wanted it to, it's a magical moment. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

So, why did I subject myself to a quest for perfectionism and loads of saturated fat? Several reasons. (1) I like to bake. (2) Sometimes I like to be bad. (3) I have a luau-themed party to attend, hence the pineapple.

Long story short, please bake this cake. Mischief loves company.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
-adapted from Gourmet-

Ingredients for topping:
1 can pineapple rings
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar

Ingredients for batter:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. ground cardamom
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp dark rum
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

Directions:

To make topping: Preheat oven to 350. Cut the pineapple rings each in half. Melt butter in a cast-iron skillet and add brown sugar. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat and arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in a circle design, overlapping slightly.

To make batter: Sift together the flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated. Beat in pineapple juice, then remaining flour mixture, just until incorporated. (The batter may appear slightly curdled.)

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, 45 minutes or so. Remove from oven and let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto the plate, keeping them firmly pressed together. Replace any pineapple stuck to the bottom. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp more rum and cool. Can be served warm, room temp, or refrigerated overnight.

Lemon Poppyseed Blueberry Scones

I intended to make scones this morning. Instead, I made a complete mess of the kitchen, the floor, and myself. When my awkward blob of dough finally made it into the oven where I knew it would stay put for at least 20 minutes (and not fly around the kitchen), I was almost too defeated to scoop up the batter I'd dropped on the rug and scour the dirty dishes. Soon, though, the warm and subtle scent of lemon and blueberries started wafting out of the oven and improving my momentary pessimism. It wasn't long before I removed my golden brown lump of creation and took a taste. And? I was flabbergasted. Shocked. Dumbfounded. I expected to chew on something gummy and bland, but instead I found myself savoring a perfectly soft and lemony cloud dotted with plump and juicy blueberries. Impossible. The fruit of my labor.

I tried to make these as healthy as possible, but you simply cannot make scones without butter. It's against the rules. To compromise, I used 'spreadable butter' which has a little canola oil added. Aside from this, they are low in gluten, high in protein and fiber, and just sweet enough. Seriously perfect for any time of day.

For the length of time that I baked this batch, they turned out very moist and crumbly. The outside edge had a really nice light crunch that I loved, and the inside had a consistency that was between muffin and traditional scone. I normally don't enjoy the dryness of scones, but I might actually bake them for a few minutes longer next time just to see what happens. Also, they might be easier to eat if dropped onto the cookie sheet in 3 or 4-inch rounds instead of one big 8-inch blob. This will alter the cook time slightly, but feel free to experiment.

Please enjoy this recipe, and remember not to get discouraged if your bake-ventures don't go as planned. You might end up with something spectacular.
:)

Lemon Poppyseed and Blueberry Scones
2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp poppyseeds
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter or margarine, cubed
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425. Line a rimless baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and poppyseeds. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs about the size of peas. Gently stir in lemon zest and blueberries.
In a separate bowl, whisk lemon juice, maple syrup, egg, and milk. Add to dry ingredients and stir with a spatula just until evenly moistened.
Shape dough (it will be sticky) onto parchment-lined baking sheet in one thick round, or divide out into smaller rounds. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the center is cooked through and the top is golden. Let cool slightly, then slice and serve warm.