Berry Crumble

Berry Crumble

This is for you, Aaron.

Take 2 bowls. In bowl #1 you add the berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc)  and sprinkle some cornstarch, cinnamon and 1-2 T of sweetener (sugar, or brown sugar, or honey) and toss to coat the berries.

In bowl #2 take 1 to 1-1.2 cups of oats, some cinnamon, sugar (or brown sugar, preferably) maybe add 1 T of flour and 2 T of coconut oil (can substitute butter, but it's healthier and tastes lighter with the coconut oil) I may also be prone to adding some ground flax or wheatgerm to the crumble. stir together, then with your hands press the oil into the mix until it becomes crumbly.

Lightly grease your cooking dish (ramekin) with coconut oil and fill with the berry mix. Top with a Tablespoon or so of the crumble. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I'll add a photo the next time I make this.

Disclaimer: I tend not to measure and have never written this recipe down before, so I hope it turns out well for you. You may want to double check the oven timing. You'll want the crumble to be golden, not burned. I tend to judge by when it is fragrant. I'm guessing it's about 20 minutes.

Toast in the Microwave?

Ok, not really toast, but french toast. (I know, I really should have come up with a better title, so sue me) Ooh la la.

I stumbled upon this recipe, 2-minute-french-toast-in-a-cup yesterday and had to try it. I was not disappointed. That said, I have to admit I added my own little twist.

I used my sons big "Homer" mug. I cut up 2 pieces of bread and added it to the mug. In a separate container I blended 1 egg, 2T milk (I used almond), a dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg and a splash of vanilla. I've always added both cinnamon and nutmeg when making french toast. It's just my thing.

Like the recipe said I melted a little butter in the bottom of the mug before adding my bread. And I slowly added the egg mixture on top of the bread so that the top pieces get some loveliness and not just the bottom. Then I stirred it a bit to further ensure that the egg is well distributed. Into the microwave it went for 1 minute.

And for the pièce de résistance I added a sliced strawberry on top, microwaved for an additional 20 seconds and topped with maple syrup. Manoman ... it was so tasty I forgot to take a picture because I dove right in and ate it all up. Maybe next time. A big thank you to Jaime of Prudent Baby for posting this easy morning (or anytime) treat.

Creme de la Creme

We are not big coffee drinkers, well, my daughter would be if I let her, but basically we're occasional connoisseurs. Still one day several months ago I bought 3 coffee creamer flavors to use in our occasional cup o Joe's. Finally finished one and thought there must be a way to recycle this thing without sending it to the recycle center...upcycle, if you will.

So onto the search to see what the internet has to offer. First I stumbled upon a re-use, but I had the powdered creamer, not the liquid, so the bottle isn't clear. I found a lot of ideas for what could go inside the creamer bottle, from crackers, to game pieces, to letters or word groups as a learning tool in the classroom.

Found a few recipes for making your own creamer. This one looked pretty good, actually:

Cappuccino Creamer

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
Mix and keep in airtight container.

But this would require a 2 week commitment of coffee drinking, that I'm not sure I'm ready to make, so I found this one made from dry ingredients.

Cappuccino Creamer

1 cup Hot Chocolate Mix
1 cup non-dairy coffee creamer
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
In a jar with a screw-top lid, combine all ingredients and shake well to blend.

Then I stumbled upon this page with a wealth of ideas from picnic containers to piggy bank to ... a great list. http://www.ehow.com/info_8370389_recycling-ideas-coffee-mate-containers.html One thing I would add, though about their list, is that if you use your container to store laundry soap, never use it for snacks. Best to be safe than sorry. Use one for food, one for non food, ne'er the twain shall meet.

And then there are the craft ideas:  Like the Coffee Mate Snowman, Santa and the Easter Bunny But they seem a little out of season.


When I came to this page, I thought perhaps that is what I would do with the first of my empties. We also don't use a whole lot of sugar at our house, so having a container that holds a small quantity would do just the trick. Lots of other great ideas in the comment section of that page, too.


But in the end I decided to use a suggestion I read for repurposing a Clorox wipes container...go figure.

Frittata Frenzy

About a month ago I saw a cute little fry pan, the perfect size for frying an egg. Since then I have been on a huge frittata frenzy. I will simply fry up leftover anything, pour an egg mixed with milk over it and sprinkle some cheese in or on to guild the lily.

Today's frittata consisted of:

Frying the veggies in my little egg pan

1/2 a portabella mushroom thinly sliced
2 strips of zucchini cut into 1/2-1" pieces (to cut strips I used a potato peeler to make a long thin strip of zucchini)
2 slices of pre-cooked potato (I cooked it in the microwave, stopping a minute before completion) diced
1 Tbls of diced cornbeef

Once the potatoes start to brown a little I add about 1T of shredded Italian cheese. And top with 1 egg and 1 T milk (I used almond milk) a dash of  salt and pepper, scramble together and pour over the vegetables.

I gently lift the sides and tilt the uncooked eggs to cover, until most of the egg is cooked through. Then I get out my trusty salad plate to cover the pan and flip.  I slide the frittata back into the pan to cook the uncooked side and sprinkle a little more cheese on top and wallah!

The best thing about my little frittata's are that I don't think I've made the same one twice. I use whatever happens to be in the fridge, or needs to be used.

Best Foods pt 2

The second food item listed in Best Foods we're not eating is: 

Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.

 Well this one is an easy one for me, as I have cabbage in the frig throughout most of the year. I use cabbage to make egg rolls, or Chinese salad, or boiled, or baked and microwaved. I'm not a big coleslaw fan, but cooked, I love cabbage. However, that said, I do like Chinese salad which is raw cabbage, so I guess I'm not the figurehead of consistency.

Chinese Salad
shredded cabbage
thinly sliced onion
shredded carrot
cooked chicken, cubed (or turkey, or tofu)
1 pkg of raman noodle soup
soy sauce
sesame oil (or olive oil)
rice wine vinegar
chopped garlic (opt)
toasted sesame seeds
green onion chopped

In a small bowl combine oil, vinegar, garlic and spice packet from raman soup. I like to soak the meat in soy sauce or you can also add part of oil/vinegar to marinade the meat. Mix all the veggies, and pour the oil/vinegar/spice over the salad and toss liberally. (If you have the time, allow these to marinade together for a couple hours in the frig) Add the meat, and crunched up dry raman noodles and toss again and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds and green onion.

I didn't add measurements because, frankly, I don't know them. I tend to cook without measuring. I made this last night to see what measurements I used and blast if I didn't forget to measure again. So I'm afraid in that regard you're on your own. Sorry about that.

I also like cabbage steamed (or cooked in the microwave) with onions and carrots with some butter melted on top. I tend to use onions and carrots with most things I make with cabbage. This same combination is what I use for egg rolls. I stir fry the cabbage, onions and carrots (sometimes I add other veggies or leftover meat) and when tender I put in a bowl with 1 beaten egg. Then I put a tablespoon or so in a wonton wrapper, roll up and fry for egg rolls. I use the leftover egg roll fixings to rice in a fry pan to make stir fried rice (add soy sauce and turmeric). For the stir fried rice I like the steam in bag rice with peas and carrots in it....makes for a quick meal.

Best Foods pt 1

Todays entry was inspired from the article 11 best foods you aren't eating

According to this article Beets are one of the best foods we aren't eating.

Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.

So I figured today I'd post some things to do with beets to expand on the "how to eat" section.

My favorite way to use beets is to puree the beets and add to chocolate cake as a replacement for some of the oil, egg and water. You can cut 1 egg from the box ingredients and half the oil using pureed beet in it's place.

And this one from Living Foods sounds so good to me, but I've not yet tried it. I'll share it anyway.

Souper Beet Soup

by Paul Benhaim
1 beetroot
1 carrot
1 tomato
2 cups of water
3 strawberries (optional)
1 small spring onion (optional)
Blend all in your mixer. If required, add water to desired consistency.
Swirl in a generous helping of Macadamia crème.

Macadmia Crème

15 raw macadamia nuts
1 tsp hemp oil
1 orange, juiced
3 fresh pitted dates
Blend and serve.

More:
A few entries from Chowhound
Beet recipes for a hater
And
Beet recipes other than roasted or in a salad