Peach Berry Cobbler

Last week Mom and I headed out to pick some blueberries. Originally we were just going to pick a few, not enough for jam but enough to snack on and maybe some to freeze. Oh man, we ended up with about 4 litres. There were also so many raspberries! We just couldn't stop picking. So now we have a freezer full of berries and I'm making everything and anything I can with them. Since peach season is also coming to a close I decided to throw them into this cobbler as well. 

Ingredients

2 cups raspberries

2 cups blueberries

3 large peaches, pitted and cubed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

4 teaspoon baking powder

5 tablespoon sugar

5 tablespoon butter, cold and cubed

1 cup 2% milk

2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a glass baking dish or cast iron pan. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the fruit with the lemon juice and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Combine the fruit and flour mixture until the fruit is lightly coated. Pour into your pan and set aside.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into this flour mixture until it forms into a crumbly, sand like mixture. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Mix together just until moist and mostly holding together. Break the dough into small, lightly flattened balls and place onto the fruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving. 

Life Update

Well I went a whole month without posting. At first I felt sort of guilty for not putting up my usual weekly baking or book update, but then I remembered hey, this is a hobby! Hobbies are fun. Hobbies don't bring feelings of guilt, so I'm over that. Instead of apologizing I will update you on life things that have kept me from the blogosphere. 

I had my last day of work this weekend! But Joanna you say, don't you still need a job? Yes, yes I do, and though I will not be earning an income this summer, I think it's safe to say that the next few months are going to be pretty awesome. I'm moving to Los Angeles for the summer! I'll be interning with LiNK and couldn't be happier. 

Also, school. This month has been mayhem and I am so glad it's over. Having class for approximately 24 hours a week, with mountains of homework, and work on top of that was a less than ideal situation. But now it is over! Now I have a week off and it's fantastic. Insanity was totally worth it.

I went on vacation! I spent the last week of April in San Francisco, mostly stuffing my face with delicious food (bread and Mexican food mostly). I also realized that I am probably going to sweat to death this summer seeing as Northern California was too hot for me, so we'll see how I do in the Southern part. 

I've been reading books yes, but nothing so fantastic that I felt okay giving it the Good Books badge of honour. I read Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It's a book meant for 9-12 year olds but I heard so many good things about it that I gave it a read. If you have no shame reading kids' books, or have a kid in the family, this book. This book is it. I also read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn after hearing so much hype about it. This book is messed up. It is all sorts of crazy. If you're into that then cool, but it was a bit too far for me.

That has been my month. Bring on the summer.

Oh, I also turned 26. 

Key Lime Pie with Coconut Crust

Last week I had an interview for an exciting internship opportunity over the summer in California! I'll talk more about this later but to ease my nerves that morning I woke up and baked a pie. It seems rather ambitious to bake a pie before an interview rather than other sorts of preparations, but baking calms my nerves! So a pie it was. Mom and I have been going crazy over a local food truck here called the Itty Bitty Pie Company that make the best miniature key lime pies in the universe, and ever since we found them I've been itching to replicate. After searching through several recipes, I finally found one that was simple enough to whip up in a couple hours. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
(Adapted from Hummingbird High)

Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (appx. 14 crackers)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil

Filling
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 tablespoon lime zest

Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a food processor, combine graham crackers and shredded coconut until crumbly. In a bowl mix together the crumb mixture, coconut oil and sugar until moist. Using your fingers press the mixture into a 9 inch pie dish, until evenly spread. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.

Lower the oven to 325 F. In a bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice and zest until just mixed. Pour into your cooled crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until solid but still slightly jiggles. Allow to cool before serving. Top with whipped cream and lime zest.

Note: I know this is technically supposed to be key lime but we had lots of regular limes so I used those and it was still fantastic. Lime Pie just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Three-Layer Pineapple Cake

Over the past couple months I've been really into cakes. I've never really been a cake lover either, I'm more of a pie girl. But lately! Lately I've just had an itch at making these sweet, layered, beauties. It is a well known fact on this blog that anything coconut-y (or with the potential to become coconut-y) is an immediate favourite in my books. Add that hint of coconut flavour to a moist, pineapple cake, smothered in whipped cream and you've got yourself a winner. I found this recipe on one of my regular browses through Pinterest and as soon as I got home that night I headed straight to the kitchen and began baking away! Though there are quite a few steps involved, this cake comes out stunning and delicious. I'll be surprised if it's not the best cake you've ever had. Here's my take on the three-layer pineapple cake:

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon coconut extract

3/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare 3- 8 inch cake pans, greased and lined with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugars on medium speed, until creamy. Add in the vegetable oil and coconut extract. Gradually add in the yogurt and dry mixture, alternating between the two until just combined. Gently fold in the drained, crushed pineapple. Evenly distribute the batter between the cake pans, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

For the filling:

20 oz can crushed pineapple

1.5 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon water

In a small saucepan, heat the pineapple, sugar and water, until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick.

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 dark rum

In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. When the sugar has evaporated, remove from heat. Allow to cool and stir in the rum.

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup icing sugar

Whip the cream and icing sugar together until stiff peaks form. Allow to chill.

3/4 cup toasted coconut

Once the cakes have completely cooled, you can begin assembling the cake. Starting with one cake as the base, soak the top of the cake with the rum syrup. Next gently spread a few tablespoons of the crushed pineapple mixture on top. Spread about 3/4 cup of whipped cream on top and lightly dust with toasted coconut. Continue these layers until your cake is completely assembled. Allow the cake to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. For serving, gently saw with a serrated knife, making sure not to crush the cake. 

I know this cake will be the perfect summer dessert and am already dreaming up some cupcake versions of it to bring to parties and BBQs!  

Quick and Easy Tea Biscuits

So remember when I went strawberry picking while visiting my Poppy a couple months ago? What a great day. One thing you can always count on at Poppy's house is an abundance of baked goods made by his wonderful wife, Diane. Diane never fails to have food ready for unexpected guests - whether its salads, cakes, pies, cookies, or my favourite - her scones. Diane has been baking long enough that she could probably make most of the family favourite recipes with her eyes closed, and the scones were no exception. When I asked about them she listed off the ingredients without question, and I quickly made note of them on my phone. These scones are made without butter giving them a much lighter texture, and are great either plain or with any mix-in your heart desires. I finally got around to making them the other day and thankfully it's not a family secret so I can share the recipe with you!

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup 1% buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup (approximately) of your mix-in

(I chose dried cranberries)

Preheat the oven 350 F and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Stir in the mix-in of your choice. Add in the buttermilk and vegetable oil and gently fold until just combined, don't over work it. Spoon drops of the batter onto the baking sheet (about six biscuits) and bake for 10-15 minutes until crusty and brown on the bottom.

Even though these tasted great, I don't think they'll ever compare to Diane's, there's something about a visit to Poppy's house that makes everything taste better, even his toast is better than mine! Either way these are so easy to make, the perfect compliment to a cup of tea. They are best served warm out of the oven with a little butter or with some homemade strawberry jam.

Week 7: What's in our Basket?

If you don't know what's going on with this basket stuff catch up here:
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6

I love fun sized things. Whether it be chocolate bars, toys, shoes (how cute are baby shoes), anything, the term fun size is literally fun - those little itty bitty things are just oozing with fun. Do I sound crazy yet? Bear with me. The farm must have felt my happy vibes from last week's mini watermelon because this week we got two! Two precious, baby watermelons that I can't wait to cut open and eat with a spoon. They are so easy to eat, and so refreshing - perfect for a summer snack. In addition to the fun sized melons we received a few other things in our basket this week that I am so excited about. Corn on the cob anyone? Here is what's in our basket:

Vegetable Half-Share

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, 1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of romaine, 6 husks of corn, 1 mini watermelon, 1 bunch of green beans, 2 green peppers, so many potatoes and so many apples.

Fruit Share

1 mini watermelon, 2 large bunches of grapes, so many apples.

Their Potential

Swap fish and chips old friend, coleslaw, with this tasty kale slaw.

A great alternative to the classic potato, these apple chips are simple and delicious.

Focaccia bread takes grapes to a whole new level with the addition of walnuts.

Salty and sweet make this refreshing watermelon salad a winner.

This crostini takes you away from the usual pasta pairing.

I've said it before but grilling makes everything better, and I'm sure this watermelon lemonade is no exception.

Spice up your corn by grilling it and following this simple recipe.

Donuts are the new cupcakes, and these apple cinnamon donuts are where it's at.

Week 6: What's in our Basket?

If you don't know what's going on with this basket stuff catch up here:
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5

With my family on vacation this week, I took advantage of the free kitchen and loaded up on my favourite foods by heading out to my local farmers market one morning to pick up a large supply of peaches and blueberries (two of my all time favourites). It's really easy for me to go a bit nuts at market stalls. I could easily walk out with way too much produce, just because "those tomatoes looked so pretty in the basket!" I tried to resist this time around knowing my share day was coming up and I'm glad I did, we got some real gems this week. The mini watermelon made me squeal with excitement, the basil made my nose happy and the plums got me brainstorming new dessert options! Here is what's in our basket:

Vegetable Half Share

1 bunch of basil, 3 yellow squash, 2 field cucumbers, 1 bunch of kale, 3 bulbs of garlic, 1 bag of salad mix, 1 large bunch of potatoes, 1 head of romaine, 1 pint of grape tomatoes, 1 bunch of green beans

  Fruit Share

8 plums, 1 cantaloupe, 1 pint of blueberries, 4 bartlett pears, 1 mini watermelon

Their Potential

If you've never grilled pineapple, do it, and make it into this great side dish.

Change up your taco tuesday and fajita fridays with this plum salsa.

This pasta pairs basil pesto and green beans for a fresher taste. 

I am firm believer that grilled food always tastes better, I'm sure this caesar salad is no exception.

Maybe this should have been a grill theme, this red potato salad is light and right up my alley.

This cake brings together a tried and true duo - blueberries and lemon.

Watermelon is one of my favourite summer foods, this soda float will definitely hit the spot. 

Plum halves make a delicious cake gorgeous.

Week 5: What's in our Basket?

If you don't know what's going on with this basket stuff catch up here:
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4

The humidity is gone (knocks on all the wood)! I hate being hot. The only thing that comes with being hot that I enjoy is the jumping into a lake to cool off - all the other things can leave me alone. That being said, most of my favourite foods (peaches! mangos! corn on the cob!) are more readily available in the warmer months so for now I'll dream of fall and just keep on chomping. Thanks to some commenters for week three's post, my recipe collection is expanding and I'm ready for some new possibilities! Most of the items in our last basket ended up either in a smoothie or on the grill, but I especially loved sauteing the sugar snap peas with the garlic - they have such a satisfying crunch. This week we're excited to see the beets and pears but are a little nervous of the avocados (I know everyone is "all hail the avocado" but we're not always feeling it). This week's was a big one, here is what's in our basket:

Vegetable Half Share

1 bunch of beets, 1 head of romaine, 4 yellow zucchini, 2 field cucumbers, 2 large tomatoes, 1 bunch of kale, 1 head of cabbage, 1 bunch of red potatoes, 5 garlic bulbs, 1 bunch of broccoli 

Fruit Share

2 avocados, 1 bunch of bananas, 4 navel oranges, 4 bartlett pears, 1 large bunch of white grapes

Their Potential

Jazz up a classic chip dip with this guacamole recipe.

These zucchini chips just look good, that's it. 

Take a rest from tortillas and make these buffalo chicken lettuce wraps.

Salad is no longer leafy thanks to this quinoa one featuring oranges and beets.

Staying hydrated is easy with this melon-cucumber-lime infused water.

Grilled pears for dessert? Yes. Grilled everything.

Cabbage for coleslaw may be typical, but this one is anything but. 

I've made similar ones before, but recently these banana blueberry oat muffins are where it's at. 

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake is my all time favourite dessert, no question. On most birthdays I've requested it over birthday cake, I've deemed it the perfect Canada Day dessert (red and white!) and if I'm ever asked for my opinion on what should be had, it's strawberry shortcake, always. So remember how I went strawberry picking a couple weeks ago? Well not only did we make some homemade jam, but we also had tonnes left over to freeze and use for future desserts - strawberry shortcake being one of them.

There are a few variations of this dessert, from layered cakes to mini angel food cakes but I decided on the classic layered biscuits - I'm also a big fan of individual portions. I first tried this recipe from Martha Stewart but it was a huge fail and I ended up with what seemed like gigantic pancakes. After scrounging through the internet some more I settled on adapting this recipe from one of my new favourite food blogs, Pastry Affair. They are dense and wholesome and were the perfect base for strawberries and cream.

Ingredients 

2 cups slice strawberries

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup cold salted butter

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup 2% milk (or half and half cream)

1 cup whipping cream

To start, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400 F. Sprinkle the sliced strawberries with 1 tbsp of sugar, and set in the fridge until needed. Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and cut into the flour mixture until it is crumbly. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla and milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and combine until just mixed and a dough begins to form. Knead the dough together a couple times to bind it and then roll it out onto a floured surface. Cut 3-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or glass and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. While the cakes are baking, whip the cream using an electric mixer on high speed until firm peaks form. Wait for the cakes to cool slightly, cut the in half and layer with strawberries and whipped cream. There isn't much else left to say other than enjoy! I could eat these biscuits plain with butter or jam even, but of course everything is better with strawberries (and much better) with whipped cream. You could also try adding in some chopped rhubarb or diced strawberries to the biscuits for even more flavour. Excuse me while I go feast...

Week 4: What's in our Basket?

If you don't know what's going on with this basket stuff catch up here:
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3

Another week, another basket! Bi-weekly shares were definitely the best plan for us - the weeks zoom by in between baskets and sometimes we haven't even used up all of the items! The hardest part of last weeks basket were the mushrooms, cucumber and garlic scape. In all honesty we had know idea what the scape even was until I received the Plan B Organics newsletter in my inbox. We just assumed it to be some crazy onion, which it pretty much is. We used it the same way you would garlic or green onions by chopping it up and throwing it in sauces or soups. Unfortunately the mushrooms were a forgotten item. I'm not really a fan of mushrooms and Mom is used to sautéing them with onions for steak, so it will take some recipe research (and branching out on my part) for us to find some other uses. The cucumber is another vegetable we're not crazy about but not opposed to either. Anybody out there have some cucumber recipes that aren't salad? Thankfully, the next couple weeks will give us another chance to try them out, here is what's in our basket:

Vegetable Half Share

1 garlic bulb, 1 English Cucumber, 1 bag of spring salad mix, 1 bunch of red Russian kale,  1 head of romaine lettuce, 4 tomatoes, 1 large bag of sugar snap peas, 1 bag of shitake mushrooms, 3 zucchinis, 7 potatoes.

Fruit Share

1 punnet of strawberries, 1 bunch of white grapes, 5 royal gala apples.

Their Potential

Instead of stuffed peppers why not try these zucchini boats using the garlic and tomatoes.

Keep things simple with these sautéed sugar snap peas.  

Step away from the green smoothie and bring on the pasta with this kale pesto.

Put that strawberry jam on these strawberry scones and oh man, heaven. 

This shitake mushroom brown rice will certainly jazz things up a bit.

After this week's heatwave, nothing sounds better than a white grape sorbet.

I'm a sucker for bread, and these garlic zucchini focaccia buns make me weak in the knees.

It may be another salad, but it's got a good crunch with sugar snap peas and cucumber.

Note: Excuse the different lighting in each picture - the sun kept hiding behind the clouds!

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Homemade jams are one of my biggest weaknesses. I don't need crackers, toast or ice cream to enjoy them - just hand me a spoon and the jar and I'm going to town! After picking strawberries this past weekend, we couldn't let them sit for too long before they would start going bad. Since Monday was a holiday we took the time to make some strawberry jam. Though many jam recipes online don't use added pectin, I find that without it the jam has a runnier consistency than I prefer. Pectin is a thickening agent that comes naturally from fruits, and you can buy it in packets dried. We used Certo Light because we were comfortable with the brand, but also wanted to use less sugar. To make 4-6 small jars of jam from your freshly picked strawberries here's what you do:

1. In a large bowl, crush the strawberries with a masher, in layers, until you have 4 cups.

2. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar and an entire packet of pectin and let rest for 30 minutes.  After resting, add 3 additional cups of sugar and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes.

3. Fill the empty jars with boiling water.

4. One by one, empty a jar of the water and fill with jam until there is 1/4 inch of space from the top.

5.  Seal the jars with the lids.
6. Rest for at least 24 hours before keeping in the freezer. The jam will keep for up to one year. 

Enjoy it whatever way you like to use jam, but I'll be grabbing my spoon and trying to make this last longer than a few months! You can also try adding a little bit of vanilla extract or ground cinnamon, to give it some extra flavour.

Note: if you use regular pectin and not a light version you'll need to double the sugar

Simple Iced Tea

We all know by now that I have a strong obsession love for tea. When I'm not drinking water I am having tea, it's a given. Though as the temperature rises I am no longer looking for the cozy, warm feeling tea gives me and need something a bit more refreshing. Enter iced tea - my summer time staple for cooling off and taking care of my much needed tea fix.

Here's what you'll need:

• Your favourite tea - maybe something fruity (I like David's Tea Pink Flamingo)
• a large tea infuser ball
• honey
• one lemon
• a pitcher
• a wooden spoon for mixing
• a measuring spoon
  
  Oh, and of course water, but I figured that was a given.

1. Measure 4-5 teaspoons of your favourite tea into the tea infuser ball and seal it. 

2. Pour approximately 1L of boiling water into the pitcher (with the infuser hooked on) and let steep for 5-7 minutes.

3. Stir in 2-4 teaspoons of honey, depending on your preferred sweetness.

4. Slice up a lemon for extra flavour and freshness when serving. 

5. Chill for at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve.

This tea is best enjoyed outdoors when the sun is shining. Put your feet up, get comfy and just relax knowing that you'll be refreshed in a matter of sips. Though, that being said, as I was settling in and enjoying mine it started to pour down rain - so it can just as easily be enjoyed indoors with your ceiling fan!

Tip: if you don't have a tea infuser you can use 2-3 regular sized tea bags instead! Green Tea is another one of my favourites - especially with the honey and lemon.

P.S. I am loving the new beautiful mess app!