Strawberry Season Snack! (Plus, PB'n'J . . . Salad!)

I love strawberry season!  There is no fruit that makes me quite so happy as a fresh springtime strawberry! This fruit is so versatile in recipes as well as fantastic all on it's own!

We were able to get 2 lbs of fresh strawberries over the weekend from Costco and I am greatly enjoying them!

My absolute favorite way to enjoy strawberries is to stuff them/make them into little 'sammies.'
We like to use softened cream cheese sweetened with a little local raw honey. Sooooo, good!

These snacks feel like an luxurious indulgence, yet they are so healthful and easy that there's really no reason why they couldn't become a regular thing! At least during strawberry season.

Another way that I enjoyed them this past weekend was on a salad. Now I have been eating strawberry spinach salad for over a decade, but this time I decided to try a little experiment based on my Peanut Butter and Honey Salad.

Since I had strawberries available, I figured it was about time I tried out my favorite sweet salad with a strawberry "jam" twist! I didn't actually make jam though . . . All I did was crush some of the berries in a bowl with my potato masher and stirred in a bit of honey (which proved to be unnecessary because the berries were already plenty sweet.) and then I drizzled this raw strawberry goodness over my salad along with my usual peanut butter dressing and some sliced strawberries.
It was lovely!

 If you love strawberries as much as I do, and/or if you miss having a good ol' PB'n'J sandwich because you cannot digest bread anymore; I recommend you try this salad! It's superbly refreshing!

Peanut Butter & Honey . . . Salad?

One of the most useful things I've learned about food since I cut out grains and cane sugar is that anything that makes a good sandwich can make a better salad!

Yes! It's true! Just think of your favorite sandwich combo, and then replace the bread with a bed of greens. Some of the possibilities here seem obvious . . . BLT, Philly Steak & Cheese, Meatball,  Tuna salad, BBQ chicken, Taco, etc . . . What wasn't so obvious to me was that this truth is not limited to savory sandwiches.

One of my favorites from my childhood was Peanut Butter and Honey. Especially if the peanut butter was crunchy. I liked smooth peanut butter with jam/jelly combos, but for some reason the combo of honey with nut chunks has always been extra yummy to me.

Since I've been married, yet before I discovered my digestive issues with bread, my family would often make peanut butter honey sandwiches for lunch. We discovered adding a layer of regular butter to the bread was key to making it extra good---Not too dry, and it kept the honey from soaking into the bread. (And Elvis: PB and Banana was also a family fave.)

After discovering that I couldn't eat bread anymore I gave up on the idea of enjoying this flavor combo for a few years. it was sad though, and hard. Then last Summer after watching my husband and kids still enjoying their PBHs I suddenly had the inspiration to try it out with my sandwich to salad theory. I had already been eating things like chili, stir-fry, stroganoff, bbq meat, and other such dinner menu items over salad. (It's also true that anything you can eat over pasta or rice is great on salad.)

Anyway, I tried it, and . . .  Surprise!!!!!
It was AMAZING!!! The nostalgic flavor I had missed was there in full force! It was even richer and more satisfying than a sandwich because I didn't have the flavor of bread competing with the PB and honey. Spinach is especially good at disappearing into the background and allowing other flavors to shine.  After enjoying this discovery for a few months I finally managed to take some photos to give some of you some inspiration of all the many possibilities this salad combo offers.

Start with a bed of salad greens . . . in this case organic baby spinach, and organic Spring Mix from Costco.

 Put about a tablespoon each of peanut butter* and butter* into a small dish and place in the oven on warm until the butter is melty.

 Stir until you have a smooth peanut butter dressing.

 Top your salad with the dressing . . .

 Drizzle on some local raw honey* . . .

 Here are some other optional toppings that you might enjoy to bulk things up:

• Nuts (almonds are shown because that is what I had at the time, but I think pecans are best because they are softer.)
• Flaked* or shredded unsweetened coconut*
• Organic dried fruit such as raisins* (or chopped dates*)
• Organic fresh fruit such as bananas* (remember the Elvis Presley?) 
• Or an organic apple*. (Organic is recommend for these fruits because they are on the dirty dozen list.)

If you are adding nuts, especially almonds, be sure to crush them so they are easier to eat over your salad.

 Slice your bananas . . .

 Add sliced apples if desired (I usually don't do the apples, I prefer the bananas by themselves; but you know, you can use what you have.)

 I always put salt and pepper on my salads, even my sweet ones because I like the way it enhances all the different flavors.

 Another possible seasoning that works well with PB and Honey is cinnamon.* (If you can get real, fresh cinnamon, that will of course be a plus.)

 Mix it all together and enjoy!

Mmm, the taste of nostalgia blended with high nutrition and success are so very sweet!



*Julie Surprise is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Julie Surprise: Oven-less Cherry Pie!

Okay, so normally you would want some kind of oven for this recipe. 

 Mine was ovenless out of necessity because our oven has been broken for the past two months or so.

 Luckily for me, the weather has been such that most people wouldn't want to turn on an oven anyway, so I was able to 'bake' my crust on the dashboard of my minivan for a few hours. It might have even taken less time if I had thought of it sooner since it got to be at least 102° fahrenheit that day. As it was, I put the crust on the dashboard and rolled up all the windows at about 5pm at which point the sun was about to go behind some trees near our parking lot and then a cloud cover came over. I pulled it out after 9pm (after I'd put the girls to bed) thinking that it would simply have to wait till another hot day since the next day I'd be gone to Lagoon all day, but to my delight and relief when I pulled it out it was firm and baked through. Yay!
 The recipe I used was extremely simple. I basically used this shortbread recipe that I found on Pinterest except I didn't have any almond flour so I gleaned inspiration from the photo for this crust recipe and used ground almonds instead. It worked great!
So, since I guess I once again, sort of made my own recipe, I'll be kind enough to type it out below for those who want to try the "Julie" method. :}

 As for the cherry filling, well, that was an interesting adventure in and of itself. A tangent which needs it's own post, actually.

Basically it started out as a bowl of fresh cherries marinated with lemon juice and honey because I didn't have any sugar at the time I received the cherries. It sat in my fridge for almost three weeks. Finally, the evening before the fourth of July I decided to try making the pie despite my lack of oven. So I whipped up the crust as stated above. It was only after bringing the crust in from the van that night that I figured I'd better finish making the pie and began to consider how best to deal with the filling.
I'd added some coconut sugar to the cherries earlier that evening while working on the crust, and it was back in my fridge in a glass casserole dish with a lid. It occurred to me as I came in with the crust that while I could use the stove top (which still works) to cook the filling, it seemed a shame to dirty another dish when it was already in a lovely microwavable dish, and I didn't see any reason why the microwave wouldn't work. So that's what I ended up doing. I cooked the cherry filling in the microwave on the fresh veggies setting until it made the kitchen smell wonderful. Then I stirred in a pack and a half of pectin. Then I scooped the cherries into the crust. There was quite a bit of sauce though so I sort of strained the fruit out of the sauce so the pie wouldn't be too runny. The leftover sauce went into a jar in the fridge were it turned into a sort of cherry jelly, not unlike grape jelly actually, though perhaps a tad more tart.
Once that was done I toasted some sliced almonds with a little butter and coconut sugar on the stove top and added those to the pie as a topping.

Tada! Julie Surprise Cherry Pie!


Now, here's the recipe all written out a bit more tidily.

Almond Lemon Crust:

Ingredients: 

• 6 Tablespoons organic butter
• 2 cups freshly ground almonds (Used my little food processor for this)
• 1/3 cup granulated sweetener (I used coconut sugar)
• 1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (Mine was actually frozen, but it worked fine)

Directions:

• Melt the butter in the microwave in the glass pie dish. Add the almond meal, sweetener, and lemon zest, stirring until fully combined.
• To make a tart or pie crust:
• No need to pre-chill, just press dough into the pie pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees (F) for 15 mins until firm and golden brown. Or, as in my case, put on the dashboard of a hot vehicle for 2-5 hours or until firm and cooked through. (I put a sheet of tinfoil underneath it, shiny side up, and another to one side to try and reflect the sun to the top of it. Don't know if it made any difference, but there you have it.)

Cherry Filling:

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups fresh, pitted cherries
• Enough honey to coat cherries well
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1/2 cup granulated sweetener (I used coconut sugar) Optional
  1 to 1 & 1/2 packs of pectin (depending on how runny filling is)

Directions:

• Stir honey and lemon with cherries and if you wish, refrigerate overnight (or up to three weeks!)
  Add extra sweetener (coconut sugar) if needed before cooking.
• Cook in the microwave on the fresh vegetable setting until filling become fragrant and looks done. Then stir in pectin and transfer to crust. Add topping and refrigerate pie overnight or until set.
  If you wish to cook the filling on the stove top add the pectin once it comes to a simmer and stir and cook until sauce begins to thicken.
  Then add to crust as stated above.

Topping:

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup granulated sweetener (I used coconut sugar) Optional
• 1/3 cup organic butter

Directions:

• Add almonds to a small frying pan or skillet and toast on low heat stirring occasionally until fragrant.
  Add sweetener (coconut sugar) and organic butter and stir until sugar melts and coats the almonds evenly.
  Now, you can let the almonds cool and break them up over your pie, or you can do what I did and let them drizzle out of the hot pan over the pie, using a rubber spatula to guide them until the pie is evenly coated. Either way works.

Enjoy!

~Julie :}

What I Ate: 09-04-12

Pear Pudding

We have been abundantly blessed with lots of fruits and veggies from friends and family lately. Especially pears. I simply adore pears! Lucky for me, my mother-in-law isn't a huge fan, but her mother-in-law who happens to live next door, has a pear tree so the two huge buckets of pears that ended up in my in-law's garage ultimately ended up in my tummy, for the most part. :}

Of the last installment that we acquired from them, a few of them were really, really ripe, so I knew I'd need to use these ones immediately rather then eat them at my leisure, so I started searching around on Pinterest on Tuesday for a nice, doable pear recipe.
My first thought was pear butter, but in the end, I didn't really have everything I needed for that so I kept looking and managed to find this simple Pear Pudding recipe on Foodnetwork.com.  They didn't have a picture so after pinning the recipe I determined that if it turned out at all that I would post a picture here to add to my pin.

First time I ever made a recipe that called for a water bath. Oo la la! Fancy!

I changed the recipe a tad by substituting the sugar for raw honey. Also,1 teaspoon of cinnamon seemed like a lot. I wanted it to taste more like pear than cinnamon so I only added a dash or two. I also didn't have a lemon, but I did have a fresh lime so I substituted lime zest for lemon. I did use organic butter on the pan, though mine was salted instead of unsalted. I honestly never buy unsalted, and I've never had a problem with stuff turning out too salty. The last change I made was that I didn't have any breadcrumbs (sounded kinda gross to me anyway) so I crushed up the last of the health food store graham crackers that I'd purchased for our camping trip last weekend (for healthy-ish s'mores.)

 Anyway, it seems like it turned out okay. It never really set up to be very thick. Perhaps I should have baked it longer than recommended. It was quite golden around the edges though. It would have been nice if the recipe had mentioned whether or not I should test it with a knife or something. It said 'serve cool or chilled' so I chilled it for almost an hour thinking maybe that would help it thicken. Of course, the whole reason it was still a bit runny could have been due to the fact that I used honey instead of sugar. 
At any rate. It was deee-licious!

Sweet and kinda rich but sort of light at the same time. The taste was just so perfectly balanced, it's hard to describe. I loved the pear flavor and I do not regret cutting back on the cinnamon at all. Not that I have anything against cinnamon, and maybe if I do this again I'll try the full amount, but I just wasn't in the mood for a cinnamon dessert. I wanted a fresher, fruitier flavored dessert. And that's exactly what I got. Yay!

Julie Surprise: Cornbread Scones or Scorns. :}

Man, I've noticed all these recipes lately are leading me to talk a lot about my Mom. I guess that's not too surprising when one considers that she's the one who taught me how to cook.
Ant any rate, this recipe is another variation on one of hers.

Scotch Scones (A.k.a Scotch Pancakes, Drop Scones) were another treat at our house when I was growing up. Much like a biscuit, but cooked on a griddle. We usually put raisins in ours which make them seem a bit more like a pancake, though not quite.

We would eat them with butter and jam as a side to any meal. Sometimes we'd toast them for breakfast the next morning, (if there were any left).

I've been trying to use up the last of my less healthful foods (those I didn't just toss outright) and have had some cornmeal in my cupboard for a long time. I've continuously told myself I ought to make some cornbread, but then I always recall that I have no flour. Cornbread would be pretty dense without it. In fact, I used to make it with baking mix because a sweet Southern Lady told me that was the secret behind perfect cornbread consistency. As true as that may be, I'm not planning to eat baking mix anymore if I can help it.

Anyway, it suddenly occurred to me the other day (August 30) that maybe I could make scotch scones with cornmeal and then it would be like a sped-up version corn bread baked in individual servings . These normally call for flour as well but I decided it would be worth the experiment.

Here is my Mom's Recipe:

Scotch Scones:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons soda
2 eggs beaten
1 cup butter (or Yogurt or Sourcream)
5 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup raisins.

Mix dry ingredients together, the add all the liquids and beat until smooth. Add raisins is desired and mix. Drop tablespoonfuls onto hot griddle or electric frying pan. Cook five minutes and turn and cook until golden brown. (If you put the lid on the electric frying pan during cooking it goes a bit faster.)

Here's my variation

Julie Surprise Scorns (Corn + Scones = Scorns :} )
2 1/2 cups corn meal
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon raw honey (at least. Add more if you like it sweeter)
2 Organic eggs beaten
1 cup prepared oatmeal*
5 Tablespoons melted organic butter
Some organic rice milk (too help with the dryness)

*I figured it might help hold things together as was sort of creamy like yogurt. If I'd had any greek yogurt on hand I would have used that though.

That last ingredient I added later and didn't measure. I just added splashes of it here and there until the batter was the consistency I wanted. The thinner it is the further it will go and the nicer the scone will look. Though thinner scone are hard to slice in half if you want to put butter and jam inside.

They turned out okay and my girls loved them. I thought they were a bit gritty. I guess that's why cornbread normally cooks for an hour is to allow the corn meal to soften. I also thought it could have been sweeter. I tend to like my cornbread on the sweet side. Scones aren't very sweet though, so I guess I should have guessed.

My instructions are as follows. This is not how I did it. This is how I will do it next time I make these.

Combine cornmeal and oatmeal in a microwave safe bowl. Add enough water to cover the meal with about an inch. Cook for 2-3 minutes on high in microwave. (or until thick and creamy) Let cool while you beat the eggs and melt the butter. (You'll want both the cooked meal (mush) and melted butter to cool enough that they will not start cooking your eggs when you add them in.)
Use the melted butter to coat your measuring spoon for the honey so it can slide out easily into the eggs. Blend honey and eggs then add butter and mush. Add the salt and raisins if desired. Consider consistency and add rice milk to adjust if too thick or dry.
Cook on a hot griddle for 3-5 minutes on each side. (Placing finished scorns into a bowl or basket lined and covered with a cloth napkin to keep them warm while you cook.

Enjoy as you would other cornbread.
I love mine with butter and either raw honey or organic molasses.