im back. with blueberries and more inspiration

I'm back. I've had a few people asking where my blogging went. After a 6 month or so sabatical / uninspired to blog..or even cook, I am back.

I have been working at a local bakery around here, and when I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is bake more. This meaning, I'd put the almonds, and the kitchen aid to sleep, but as of this week I am back with so much creativity flowing I can hardly keep up.

Last week I made the most luscious Blueberry Crisp.

Perfectly "buttery" (or lack of butter) crust, amazingly juicy blueberries and just the right amount of cream.

I love this recipe because it is a great American inspired dessert that is easily made gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, and the best part, it taste amazing!

Blueberry Crisp:

Crust:

2 cups of almond flour or ground almonds

1/2 cup of melted coconut oil

1-2 tbl. of raw agave (depending how sweet you like it)

1/2 tsp. of sea salt

mix all of the ingredients in a mixer until it turns into a dough, depending how coarse your almond flour is, you may need a little bit more of the coconut oil to make it come together well.

Press the dough into a pie pan, just as you would any pastry dough.

Cook in a pie pan for 15 minutes at 350.

Cashew "Cream:"

1 1/2 cups of unsalted, raw cashews (soaked in water for a few hours is best)

1/4-1/2 cup of warm water

1 tbl. of raw agave

1/4 tsp. of sea salt

take the cashews and strain, then put in any heavy duty blender, or food processor and blend with 1/4 c. of the warm water, add more as needed until the cashews are smooth (make take up to 5 minutes) then add the agave and salt until you like the taste of it.

Once the crust is baked, spread the cashew cream on the crust, I like a really thick layer because it's so yummy, but you may want to save some to put on top when the crisp is done.

(If you aren't dairy free, you could easily just use whip cream instead of the cashew cream and not bake it!)

Blueberries:

2 cups of blueberries

1/4 c. of lemon juice

1 tbl. of raw agave or stevia

1 cup of water

I take 2 cups of blueberries and cook them on the stovetop with the water, lemon juice and agave on LOW until the blueberries get soft. Then I strain the blueberries and put on top of the Cashew Cream.

Cook at 350 for another 15 minutes or until the crust begins to brown and the blueberries are really tender.

This dessert goes great with some vanilla coconut ice cream!

Enjoy!

blueberries.

yesterday I attempted to make my first ever "Blueberry Crisp!" It turned out great!
I experimented it on a group of people who I know pretty well and they all gave me the thumbs up!
The host of the dinner we presented the dessert at even homemade maple vanilla whipped cream! What a treat!










[people obviously loved it if there is non left right?]

This recipe had no refined sugar, no gluten and no dairy! my mouth and stomach were happy!
It's not fully perfected, but I'll share with you what I created!

filling:
3 pints of fresh, rinsed blueberries
2-3 tbl. of agave
juice from 1 lemon [optional]
3 tbl. of almond meal
4 tbl. unsweetened applesauce

the crisp:
3/4 c. of almond meal
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 c. of gluten free rolled oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbl. earth balance butter [or regular butter if you like!] cut into small pieces

oven: 400
grease a 9 X 13 baking pan.
combine all the filling ingredients and stir well.
in a mixer add the "crisp" ingredients and mix on low for about 30 seconds or until the butter is broken up.
mix until the crisp becomes crumbly. with some chuncks!
pour the filling into the pan and make sure it's even, then crumble the crisp on top

bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until done [it will be gooey and runny]
let cool. enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!


On another note, this weekend is the Dead Ped's Moped Rally in Nashville. Robert and I are so excited! 3 full days of riding our sweet little mopeds all over Nashville with some amazing people!




[robert and I riding in Denver!]



[robert trying to comfort a sweet crying baby. love this picture!]