healthy(ish) apple crumble for one

You all probably know by now that I love, love, love dessert. My husband, however, does not. He's weird.

Anyhow, this means that whenever the mood strikes to make sweet treats, I end up eating them all myself. So when I'm feeling sensible, I opt for individual desserts, like this healthy(ish) apple crumble. This is a pretty simple, just-wing-it kind of recipe, but here it is in case you're a recipe follower:

Ingredients:
1 apple
1 Tablespoon flour (any kind you like)
1 Tablespoon sugar (I used rapadura)
1 Tablespoon rolled oats
1 Tablespoon butter
pinch cinnamon
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Lightly grease a ramekin.

Peel and dice your apple, then place in the ramekin. Combine the rest of the ingredients, cutting in the butter last until you have a mixture that resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apple. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes.

Enjoy with a big scoop of ice cream!

nesting: for christmas

It's no surprise that this month is usually a hard one for me. I miss my family, and I long for the traditions that make me feel like Christmas is coming. Traditions that are so seasonally based that they just don't work here; it seems odd, but I really do miss the cold and all of the indoor activities that come with it (like baking, drinking egg nog, watching movies, and knitting). Other years I've just let myself wallow, but this time I decided to get in the spirit of things. Or at least try my best.

We opted not to get a Christmas tree (maybe next year) so I emptied a little red bookcase and used it as our Christmas corner. I hung a wreath over it, filled the shelves with gifts and decorated with red and green bits and pieces like this beautiful bird that my friend Katrina made. My mother in law also made the three of us beautiful stockings, using this tutorial from the purl bee.

This month I also managed to do some baking and sewing. My friend Katie and I made the Chocolate Banana Birthday Cake from My New Roots, which was delicious and well worth the effort. Right before Christmas I made up a double batch of my favourite olive oil granola, which, packed into jars and decorated with fabric scraps made a perfect homemade gift for family and friends. Lastly, I sewed up another doll (I know, enough with the dolls already!) which was sent to baby Tallow, in honour of her first Christmas.

Now that we're in these wonderfully lazy post-Christmas days, I can honestly say that I very much enjoyed this year. I had a wonderful BirthdayChristmas and I'm glad that I made the effort to celebrate properly.

nesting: the beginnings
nesting: summertime
nesting: from summer to autumn

healthy(ish) oatmeal raisin cookies

This weekend I was craving some cookies, as much for the baking as the eating. Usually when I bake it is because I enjoy the process - spending time in the kitchen, getting my hands covered in flour and listening to good tunes while I'm at it. Getting a sweet treat at the end is really just a bonus.

I had my heart set on oatmeal raisin cookies, but since I've been trying my best to eat a whole foods diet I searched out a healthy(ish) recipe. I found this one, and it worked so well! I used a combination of wholemeal spelt flour and regular flour, and rapadura instead of sugar as the recipe calls for. The recipe says to use coconut oil in its solid form, but I live in Australia where coconut oil is NEVER in solid form and it worked out just fine. All in all, a total win. I hope you get to try them out!

cook-off

Autumn arrived right on cue on Friday with stormy weather and cooler temperatures, which was perfect timing for the cooking party my friend and I had planned. We wanted to try out some recipes from My New Roots and from the whole foods course we're doing; we settled on the life changing loaf of bread, crispy cornmeal sweet potato fries, and some roast chickpeas.

We'd never made any of these before, and to be totally honest, each of the above had some 'issues.' I think though, that when you're learning a new way of cooking, buying food, and eating it just takes some patience and trial and error. For example, the fries were yummy but would've been better if we'd followed the recipe more closely. And next time I attempt the loaf of bread (gluten free! flour free! yeast free!) I'll make sure I have the exact quantities of everything needed, let it sit for longer and enjoy it as toast, as Sarah suggests.

That said, it was a really enjoyable morning of pottering around, making, and taking photos of Katie's cute kitchen. We already have plans to do it again in a few weeks with different recipes. I'll let you know how we go!

What's been happening in your kitchen lately?

bits and pieces

 Alongside this random assortment of photos from the last few days, some random thoughts, in point form (because that's how random thoughts come out best, I find):

• I finally went to check out The Grounds of Alexandria. Apart from the fact that it is aesthetically very pleasing, my final verdict: meh.
• I've been reading Great With Child: Letters to a Young Mother. It's an inspiring and perfect read for me right now, so glad I found it. 
• I'm loving the blog My New Roots, which I found via the whole food e-course I'm doing. I can't wait to make this once the weather cools down.
• We celebrated the husband's birthday on the weekend. I made the one cake he kind of likes, the honey cake from Tessa Kiros' Apples for Jam. Déja vu.
• His cousin made this beautiful onion tart with tomatoes, basil and olive. It was vegetarian, for me, and oh so delicious. 
• One of my husband's cousins just had a baby, and we spent most of the night oohing and aahing over her tiny cuteness. 
• In the last month I've watched Jeff Who Lives at Home, Safety Not Guaranteed and Your Sister's Sister. I've loved all three, and it's safe to say that I have a crush on the Duplass brothers.
• Speaking of movies, I can't wait to see this one.
• The humidity is killing me. Today as I checked in students for my afternoon yoga class, we all asked each other, "when will this end?"
• I've been meaning to mention this for a couple of weeks now, but see that beautiful new banner up there? It's from Central Coast artist, Lauren Merrick. She's a freelance illustrator and graphic designer and boy is she talented!

merry

Yesterday I put on some Christmas tunes, tied on my apron and got to work making something that's been on my list to try for a long time: the pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls. Since I don't have an industrial kitchen, or the wherewithal to make the bazillion buns the normal recipe does, I used the quantities I found here. It was the perfect amount.

In between the making, while I waited for dough to rise, I got myself organized to finally send out some christmas cards. Beautiful stationary always helps, so I picked up some Rifle cards and excitedly got to use my custom address stamp from Oh My Deer for the first time. Seeing as how I'm just gettting around to this, it's safe to say that no one will actually receive said cards before christmas, but it's the thought that counts, right?

By the end of the morning I was mailing off a few cards and going to visit a friend's brand new baby with a plate of cinnamon rolls in my hands. And people, holy crap, they are good! Almost as good as my beloved Grounds for Coffee (Vancouverites you know what I mean, right?).

apple crumble yum

This weekend was a wellies and peacoat kind of weekend. A weekend of sniffles, a sore throat and a cold I've been trying to shake. So I stayed close to home and drank lots of green smoothies, coconut water and warm, comfort foods.

Last night I felt like baking so I whipped up a simple crumble with the apples I got at the market earlier that day. I used this recipe that I've posted before, just swapping the pears for apple slices. Though I have to say, if you like topping, you may want to double just that part of the recipe. Either way, comfort food at its finest!

Cranberry Coffee Cake, just cause

Last night when I got home from yoga I wanted to make a cake. I also wanted for that cake to involve sour cream. Don't ask me why; but the stomach wants what the stomach wants so I obliged. If you too feel like making a cake (with sour cream) for no particular reason, give this recipe a shot:

Cranberry Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp almond extract

1 cup cranberries (I used dried)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (you could probably use any kind of nut)

GLAZE:

3/4 cup icing sugar

1 tsp almond extract

1 Tbsp warm water

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Sift dry ingredients together, then add to creamed mixture. Add sour cream and almond extract.

Place half the batter in a tin (I used a bundt tin cause I felt like it) then spoon the cranberries over this. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle nuts on top. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 45-55 minutes (mine was done at 45 minutes).

For the glaze, combine the 3 ingredients then drizzle over warm cake.

Yum, yum.

plum and chocolate clafoutis

So as I was uploading these photos to post on my blog, I was hanging out with my friend Maz (of buddha belly bites) and chatting about her new raw vegan cafe. Yeah, um, this dessert is neither vegan or raw or in any way healthy, not gonna lie. But it is scrumptious.

It's a plum and chocolate clafoutis and I found the recipe here.

I've only made clafoutis once before, and, failing to understand the texture, ended up with a tin full of slop. This time around was a vast improvement. I highly recommend whipping one up and serving it with tea. Flowers don't hurt either.

easy apple tart recipe

Last time my mom came to visit me in Australia, she made this really yummy apple tart for dessert. I couldn't quite remember and/or find the recipe but I decided to just go for it yesterday and it worked out quite nicely. The best part is, you only need 3 ingredients!

Wanna make your own? Here's the recipe:

Easy Apple Tart Recipe

2 apples (I used golden delicious apples but any kind that are good for baking will do)

1 pack of ready rolled puff pastry

little bit of white sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Lightly grease a baking tray.

Cut the apples into quarters, remove the cores and then slice them finely. You want the pieces to be quite thin so that they will lay nicely.

Take your puff pastry and make 4 circles. I did this by choosing a small plate, laying it down on the pastry and then cutting around it with a sharp knife. Easy peasy.

Arrange your apple slices on your puff pastry circles, overlapping the middle corners. Don't worry if they're sticking up, they'll flatten out nicely in the oven.

Sprinkle about a teaspoon (don't worry about being exact!)of sugar over each tart.

Pop in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve warm with a dollop of cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

p.s. I reckon this is a perfect dessert for a dinner party because you only need a few things, it takes about 5 minutes to assemble and you end up with a beautiful dish that's yummy to boot ♥

i made bread!

You guys, I made bread! And judging by the inordinate amount of pride I feel, you'd think I had just found the cure for cancer. For reals.

The thing is, we didn't use to buy bread. I made all of the bread for our house (and just for the record, husband eats A LOT!). Then I got busy, read lazy, and stopped making and started buying. I don't think I've made bread in over a year. But I have high hopes for 2012, maybe I'll get back into my bread making ways...

dough goes in the oven

bread comes out!

Would any of you be interested if I put up a bread making tutorial? In the meantime, this is a great recipe for everyday bread on the Ecomilf blog.

Chocolate cake for breakfast

Chocolate cake for breakfast?

Don't mind if I do...

p.s. This is the Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. And it is, it really is.

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies

Hi my name is Gaby and I'm a peanut butter-oholic.

Tis true. Ever since I was a little one I've adored peanut butter. I blame it on my peanut butter loving dad who used to feed our turtles peanut butter on toast when we lived in Cartagena. This may or may not have had something to do with their early demise...

Moving along, I just have to share this recipe with you because these are probably the yummiest peanut butter cookies I've ever made. I decided to simplify and not make the sandwich version but I'm sure those are delicious too. A cozy kitchen has such yummy looking recipes, I want to try her rocky road cookies next...

p.s. sorry for the silence on the blog this week. I've been a busy bee and it's been kind of nice to unplug for a while and just be. Regular posts shall resume soon :)

Raspberry loaf

why oh why do the tops of my loaves always burn?

There's something about cool weather that makes me want to bake. Yesterday was one of those days, cool and slightly overcast. So I mosied down to the shops to pick up the ingredients for this raspberry, lemon and yoghurt loaf. I found the recipe here (thanks to a link on meet me at mike's). It worked perfectly and made a perfect afternoon snack with a cup of tea. I sure am enjoying these last days of winter ♥

Pear & mixed berry crumble

On Sunday we had some family coming over for afternoon tea, so I whipped up this crumble in the morning and then baked it right before they arrived. It was so delicious that I thought I'd share the recipe here...

PEAR & MIXED BERRY CRUMBLE

4 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 cup mixed berries (I used frozen)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

7 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

pinch salt

1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 fahrenheit). Grease a shallow baking dish.

Mix together the pears, berries, sugar, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon flour in the baking dish.

In a bowl, combine 6 tablespoons flour, brown sugar, oats, salt and walnuts. Stir in the melted butter and mix well. Sprinkle this topping over the fruit.

Bake for 40 minutes until lightly browned.

Enjoy!

(recipe adapted from a Katie Lee Joel recipe)