Tart Cherry Crisps

Fall is here!  Which means, a perfect time for pies!  I've recently bought this book and I love it and maybe you will too.  I've made their Tart Cherry Crisps recipe using individual ramekins rather than a larger pan, just for easier serving and quicker cooking time. 

The Southern Pic Book

Tart Cherry Crisps

Ingredients:
5 Cups - Frozen Cherries, thawed
1 Cup - Granulated Sugar
1 Tbsp - Cornstarch
1/4 tsp - Salt
1 Tbsp - Butter

1 Cup - All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup - Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 tsp - Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp - Salt
8 Tbsp - Butter

Procedure:
1.  Place first four ingredients in a non-reactive pot, let sit for 15 minutes. 
2.  Bring pot to boil on medium-high heat.  Stir continuously and let it thicken.
3.  Removed from pan, stir in the 1 Tbsp butter and salt.
4.  Pour cherries into a baked pan.
5.  Combine All purpose flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, and mix in diced butter until pea size.
6.  Distribute the flour mixture onto the cherry fillings.
7.  Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until cherries are bubbling with topping golden brown.
8.  Serve with desired ice-cream.

Summer Fruit Tarts

Wild Berry Bunch Oatmeal Cookies w/ Chocolate Chips

I've recently subscribed to NATURE BOX.  This month, I received a package of dried fruits and it tasted so delicious, carry on with the sweetness and tartness of the fruits, it felt perfect to use it for an oatmeal cookie recipe!  It tastes so good, hope you'll enjoy this recipe with any dried fruit combinations you may use.  This cookie had many textures and flavors, MMmm!

Wild Berry Bunch Oatmeal Cookies w/ Chocolate Chips

Yield: 2 Dozen 3" Cookies

Fat & Sugar:

8 oz - Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

16 oz - Brown Sugar

1 tsp - Kosher Salt

Dry Ingredients 1:

12 oz - All Purpose Flour

1/2 oz - Baking Powder

1/4 oz - Baking Soda

3 Tbsp - Flaxseed

Liquid Ingredients:

1 oz - Milk

2 - Large Eggs

2 tsp - Vanilla Extract

Dry Ingredients 2:

10 oz - Quaker Oats (Quick Oats)

Particulates:

4 oz - Sliced Almonds

4 oz - Wild Berry Bunch (Cherries, Cranberries, Blueberries, dried - by NatureBox)

3 1/2 oz - Dark Chocolate Chips (60% Cacao)

Procedure:

1.  Cream 'Fat & Sugar' ingredients with a paddle attachment for 3-4 minutes at medium speed.

2.  Sift 'Dry Ingredients 1' set aside.  Combine 'Liquid Ingredients' altogether, set aside.

3.  Add 'Liquid Ingredients' & 'Dry Ingredients 1' to the 'Fat & Sugar' mix by alternating them and ending with the 'Dry Ingredients 1'.

4.  Add 'Dry Ingredients 2' to the batter and mix until combined, do not over-mix.

5.  Fold in the 'Particulates.'  (Feel free to add any particulates that adds up to 11-12 oz for the batter)

6.  Scoop each cookie with an ice-cream scoop.  Refrigerate for at least 15-20 minutes before baking.  (This will help the cookie hold its shape and not spread too much when baking)

7.  Pre-heat oven 375° F and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Enjoy.

Summer Berries & Almond Skillet Cake

Summer berries are here!  You can always use frozen or fresh berries.  I love the tartness of these berries with the contrast sweetness of the cake.  In this recipe, I've used nonfat Greek Yogurt rather than regular.  It was decadent!  Enjoy! 

Summer Berries w/ Almond Skillet Cake

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup - AP Flour

1 cup - Granulated Sugar

2 tsp - Baking Powder

1/4 tsp - Baking Soda

Pinch of Salt

1 cup - Non-fat Greek Yogurt

3 Eggs

1 tsp - Vanilla Extract

1 - Lemon Zest

1 1/2 cup - Mixed Berries (blueberries:/blackberries/raspberries)

1/4 cup - Sliced Almonds

Procedure

1.  Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and pinch of salt. Set aside. 

2.  In a bowl with a whisk attachment, whip Greek yogurt until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest into bowl an continue to whisk until combined. 

3.  Change whisk attachment to paddle attachment. Add dry ingredients altogether and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 

4.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour cake batter into skillet. 

5.  Arrange berries on top of cake batter, add almonds on top. 

6.  Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Serve warm or wait 1 hour of cool time before eating. 

Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes

The recipe below is a delicious alternative for a strawberry cake in case you are or know someone that is gluten intolerant.  It tastes so good, kind of reminds me of the taste of Kellogg's Strawberry Cereal.  The cake is moist and has a little of a grainy texture to it (almond meal texture).  As Andrew Zimmerman would say, "It's a texture thing."  Hope you'll enjoy!

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cupcakes
Yield:  1 Dozen Large Cupcakes, 2 Dozen Regular Cupcakes

Ingredients:
8 oz. - Unsalted Butter, softened
1 1/4 Cup - Sugar
2 3/4 Cup - Rice Flour
1/2 Cup - Oat Flour
1 Tbsp - Baking Powder
3 Eggs + 1 Egg White, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp - Vanilla Extract
1 Cup - Low Fat Milk
1 1/2 Cup - Strawberries, diced (reserve 1/4 cup to top off the cupcake before baking)

Procedure:
1.  Cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow.
2.  Slowly add eggs in three parts, mix until combined.  Do not overmix.
3.  Sift dry altogether, set aside. Combine vanilla extract and milk altogether, set aside.
4.  Add dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately, ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix until combined.
5.  Fold in 1 1/4 cup of strawberries.
6.  Put into cupcake mold, top off the remaining diced strawberries and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

Santa Monica's Farmers

I finally had the opportunity to go to Santa Monica Farmer's Market!  It's been awhile since I've been here.  I love to stroll along the vendors, you get to see seasonal fruits and vegetables.  I'll even stop by to try some pistachio from one of the vendors there.  

The daikon radish is in season and it's so HUGE.  For $2.50 each and I had to buy one for my mom.  So I paid for it beforehand, as I was about to reach over the basket to grab the one I was eyeing on, the tall man behind me reached over me and grabbed the one I was going to take.  Plus, he took the radish before paying for it (Rawr).  Then he had the nerve to tell the guy to chop off the top of the leaves and discard them.  Shame on him (wasting food), if you can use a vegetable from head to toe, by own means, do so.  He could easily used the leaves for pickling, stir frying, adding to a vegetable soup or what not.  Oh darnit, I should have asked for his top, but I didn't have the guts to.  Oh well, I guess I can do that next time, if it happens again.  Got the daikon radish for my mom, gave it to her, and told her she can pickle them again.  My mom gasp and said, "Give it to your dad, he said my pickling wasn't good last time.  He can make it this time."  What can I say, PARENTS.

 

Delicate vs. Bold Kumquat Marmalade

More Kumquats!

We have a medium size kumquat tree in front of our house.  Every year, the tree blooms more and more kumquats than I can managed.  I wonder if it's the way I remove them from the tree that causes them to do so?  I've seen others harvest them; they simply pluck them off the tree and most of them are  without the stems, but my mom taught me to cut them off with a small portion of the stem on the fruit.  This process allow the fruit to last a bit longer if you don't plan to use them all at once.  Also, by cutting it, you're somewhat enabling it to grow more branches, hence, more fruits the following year.  But that's just my own theory based on my years of harvesting these fruits.  I've only harvest 1/8th of that tree, yikes!

I've made two batches of Kumquat Marmalade, personally, I like the second recipe better because you can taste the kumquat more.  The first batch was bit subtle for my taste buds, but still delicious if you prefer a delicate palate.

How to slice them?

I usually washed them first,  remove all the stems, take each kumquat and thinly slice them two-three slices.  Put the sliced ones in a bowl, and put the unsliced ones in another bowl.  When you finish this entire process, go back to the kumquats that were half sliced, squeeze the kumquat over a strainer (place strainer over a bowl, keep the juices) and the seeds will fall out.  Try not to squeeze the flesh membrane out.  When you complete squeezing all of them out, then sliced them thinly altogether.  Put the juice back into the sliced kumquats.  I think this is much more efficient than slicing and removing the seeds through each kumquat.  This should take you 35-45 minutes.

Delicate Kumquat Marmalade

Yield:  20 (1.25oz) Jars

Ingredients:

60 Kumquats, thinly sliced

1 1/2 Cup - Water

3 Cups - Granulated Sugar

1 Lemon Juice

Bold Kumquat Marmalade

Yield:  20 (1.25oz) Jars

Ingredients:

75 Kumquats, thinly sliced

1 1/2 Cup - Water

3 3/4 Cups - Granulated Sugar

1 Lemon Juice

Procedure:

1.  Sterilize your jar based on the packet instructions, or scrub all jars, wash and rinse.  Place all jars and lids in a pot filled with water, bring water to a boil and let it boil for 15-20 minutes.  Removed jars from pot, let it dry.

2.  Place sliced kumquats and water into a non-reactive pot.  Bring to a simmer, add 3 cups of sugar, lemon juice, and occasionally stir under medium heat for 30 minutes.  Place lid over the pot.

3.  Bring heat back to high, stir continuously for 5 minutes and remove from heat. 

4.  Transfer the marmalade into the jar, close the lid tight and place the jars into a boiling water bath for additional 3-5 minutes.

5.  Remove jars from pot and let cool.  Enjoy!

I'm planning to make some Kumquat Preserves too!  Stay tuned!

Vanilla & Kumquat Crème Brûlée

Candied Kumquats

Candied Kumquats

Ingredients:

8 - Kumquats, thinly sliced and remove seeds

1/8 Cup - Sugar

2 Tbsp - Water

Procedure:

1.  Place kumquats into pot with sugar and water on medium heat.  Do not stir. 

2.  Keep an eye on the pot, when the water evaporates, sugar will begin to caramelized and you will see large bubbles.  When large bubbles appear, the kumquats are now sticky. 

3.  Remove from pot into a bowl of sugar, toss, and let dry onto  a lined parchment paper.  Ready to serve as a garnish or eat as is.

BS Linguine

 

I love BACON!  It makes everything tastes so yummy!  Enjoy the recipe below:

BS Linguine

(AKA:  Bacon & Shrimp Linguine)

Ingredient:

1 Package - Linguine

5 Strips - Apple wood Bacon, sliced into 1/4 - 3/8 inch

2 Tbsp - Olive Oil

4 Cloves - Garlic, minced

1/2 - Yellow Onion, thinly sliced

15-18 - Shrimps, shelled and deveined

1/4 tsp - Chili Pepper Flakes (optional)

1/4 Cup - Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

1/4 Cup - Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated (optional)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Procedure:

1.  Prepare linguine based on your package instruction, set aside.

2.  Stir fry the bacon until done to your desired consistency, you may like it crispier.  When done cooking, set bacon onto paper towel to soak all the lovely fat out. 

3.  In a clean pan, place 2 Tbsp of olive oil with garlic and onions.  When onions are cooked to translucscent, add shrimps, cook until the shrimp curls and turns pink. 

4.  Add the red pepper flakes.  Add in the linguine, parsley, parmesan cheese, bacons and toss for approximately 1-2 minutes.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

Blueberry Muffins w/ Almond Streusel Topping

I'm telling you, I am loving this new baking book!  Bouchon Bakery - Thomas Keller & Sebastien Rouxel.

 

ENJOY!

Blueberry Muffins w/ Almond Streusel Topping

(Makes 6 jumbo Muffins or 12 Regular Muffins)

Muffin Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (180 grams) - Frozen Wild Blueberries

1 tablespoon (10 grams) - All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (86 grams) - All Purpose Flour

3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (109 grams) - Cake Flour

1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon (2.8 grams) - Baking Powder

1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon (2.8 grams) - Baking Soda

3/4 teaspoon (2.4 grams) - Salt

3.4 ounces (96 grams) - Unsalted Butter (@ room temperature)

1/2 cup (96 grams) - Granulated Sugar

2 tablespoons (40 grams) - Unsulfured Blackstrap or Dark Molasses

2 1/2 tablespoons (54 grams) - Clover Honey

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons (72 grams) - Eggs (or about 1 large egg)

1/4 teaspoon (1.2 grams) - Vanilla Paste

1/4 cup (57 grams) - Buttermilk

Procedure:

1.  Toss blueberries with the 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour in a small bowl, and place in the freezer.

Place remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour in a medium bowl. Sift in the cake flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add salt and whisk together.

2.  Place butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, turn to medium-low speed, and cream the butter, until it’s the consistency of mayonnaise.

3.  Add sugar and mix on medium-low speed for about 1 minute until the mixture is fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add molasses and honey and mix on low speed for about 1 minute to incorporate.

4.  Add eggs and vanilla paste and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until just combined. Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed for 15 seconds, or until just combined. Add half the buttermilk and mix for 15 to 30 seconds to combine. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, followed by the remaining buttermilk.

5.  Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there. Transfer the batter to a covered container and refrigerate overnight, or up to 36 hours.

Baking the Muffin:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with muffin papers and spray the papers with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes to begin to soften.

2.  Stir the blueberries into the batter and spoon batter evenly into the muffin papers, stopping about 3/8 inch from the top (about 140 grams each). Sprinkle 30 grams or a generous 3 tablespoons of the streusel on top of each muffin.

3.  Place pan in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for 36 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

4.  The muffins are best the day they are baked, but they can be wrapped individually in a few layers of plastic wrap or stored in a single layer in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 week. Defrost the muffins still in the container so any condensation will form on the outside of the container and not on the muffins. Place on a sheet rack and refresh in a 325-degree oven for about 5 minutes, if desired.

Almond Streusel Topping

Ingredients:

(Makes 3 3/4 cups)

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (120) grams - All-Purpose Flour

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (120 grams) - Almond Flour/Meal

1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (120 grams) - Granulated Sugar

1/4 teaspoon (0.6 grams) - Kosher Salt

4.2 ounces (120 grams) - Cold, Unsalted Butter (cut into 1/4-inch pieces)

Procedure:

1.  Combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and whisk to break up any lumps.

2.  Add butter and toss to coat the pieces. Work the mixture with your fingertips, breaking the butter into pieces  no larger than 1/8 inch and combining it with the flour mixture. Do not overwork the mixture or allow the butter to become soft; if it does, place the bowl in the refrigerator to harden the butter before continuing.

3.  Transfer the streusel to a covered container or re-sealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days, or freeze up to 1 month. Use the streusel while it is cold.

4.  This recipe makes about twice as much streusel as you will need to make 6 jumbo blueberry muffins. Just freeze the remaining streusel to use when you bake another batch of muffins.