Cherry Raspberry Tart with Walnut Streusel

For the Streusel Topping:
-1/2 cup white flour
-6 Tbsp unsalted butter
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup oatmeal
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 cup minced walnuts

Combine first 5 ingredients, cutting butter in with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Cut in walnuts and set aside.


For the Cherry Filling:
-1 can cherry pie filling
-1/2 bag frozen raspberries
-1/4 tsp vanilla
-Zest of 1/2 a small orange
-1 Tbsp fresh orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix gently and set aside.

For the Tart crust:
I am not going to list the recipe I originally used for the crust because I didn't think it was any good, and was really more like a cookie recipe. Instead I am going to put a link to a very exciting sort of tart crust that I'm going to use when I make this again tomorrow (for an early Thanksgiving dinner with friends).
David Lebovitz's French Tart Dough. The French are so crazy!

Once you lightly bake off the dough in the tart pan, pour cherry mixture over dough and sprinkle with the oatmeal crumble, making sure the entire tart is covered. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until crumbles are melted and beginning to crisp up. Remove from the oven and let rest 20 minutes or so before serving.
This would be really delicious with vanilla bean ice cream and a little espresso on the side :)

Sweet Potato Muffins

For the muffins:
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground pumpkin pie spice
2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potato
1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup raw sugar
2/3 cup applesauce (no sugar added)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Streusel:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup walnuts, very finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make the streusel topping, combine the first seven ingredients, cutting in butter with either your fingers or a pastry cutter. Once you have a lot of small crumbs, add in the walnuts. Set aside.
In a medium bowl combine oatmeal, flours, salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate small bowl, mix together sweet potato, sugars, applesauce, yogurt, milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour liquid mixture into a well in the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened, being careful not to over-mix. Scoop into muffin tins, covering each muffin with small amount of streusel, and bake for 16-18 minutes.

(This recipe was derived from here)

Rice with Peas and Chicken

1 Cup long grain white rice
2 Cups water
1 Tsp olive oil
1/2 Cup frozen peas
1/2 Cup frozen green beans

1 Chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper and cut into thin strips
1 Strip of bacon, diced
1/2 Red onion, diced
2 Garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese

In a medium sauce pan over high heat, add the rice and olive oil. Once the rice has been coated with the oil, slowly add in the water. Heat until boiling, cover and turn heat to medium-low. Once rice has cooked halfway (about 10 minutes) add the frozen vegetables, and cover until rice is cooked and vegetables are tender.
In the meantime heat another teaspoon of olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red onion and saute for several minutes. Add the bacon and cook until it begins to crisp. Move onion mix to the sides of the pan and add the chicken breast. Once the chicken is cooked, add the rice and vegetables to the skillet. Mix all ingredients well and coat with a thin layer of cheese. Once cheese is completely melted, it's ready to serve!
We also ate this the next night over a bed of mixed greens with an extra chicken breast added and topped with plain yogurt and balsamic vinaigrette.

"Morning Glory" Muffins

I have the bad habit of going to work for five or six hours and not bringing anything substantial to eat. Possibly because we have neither a refrigerator nor a microwave at my place of employment, which limits my options since I'm weird about food being left out for long. As I was getting tired of eating peanut butter and jelly pretty much everyday I wanted to come up with an alternative that was easy to pack and very filling while still being nutritious. I found a recipe for Morning Glory Muffins and thought it was a great base to use and I could change the fruits and proteins that are in it to keep things interesting.

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour

1 cup oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup non fat yogurt
2 mashed bananas
1 egg

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
3/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flours in a large bowl. Using a whisk, add the next four ingredients to the flours and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, mash the banana and add the yogurt and egg. Stir until thoroughly combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the yogurt mixture. Gently stir all ingredients until just combined, being careful not to over-mix. Carefully fold in the dried fruits, walnuts and coconut. Drop about 1/4 cup (or slightly less) batter into 18 lined muffin cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Next time I would add a little bit of olive oil, raw sugar instead of brown sugar and some other protein, like ground almonds on top. Other things you could add/substitute/sprinkle on top would be:
-Oat Bran
-Wheat Germ
-Flax Seed (ground or whole
-Shredded apple or apple chunks
-Blueberries
-Dried Cherries
-Fresh ground peanut butter
-Fresh ground almond butter
-Chia Seeds
-Toasted almonds
-Pecans
-Shredded Carrot
-Shredded Zucchini
-Sunflower Seeds

Simple Lunch

On a skillet over medium-low heat, place a small amount of olive oil and a flour tortilla. On top of that put 2 slices turkey, several slices of sharp cheddar cheese, fresh tomato, spinach and a "dollop" of Greek yogurt. Sprinkle with S&P, leave on the heat long enough for the cheese to melt, roll it up and then bask in the delightful tastes and textures as you devour it.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

I first saw this recipe while watching The Food Network in a hotel room one morning last February. My husband and I were supposed to be checking out (it was our 6 month anniversary, I believe), but we just couldn't stop watching this delicious soup being made! It's been on my "to cook" list since then, and last night seemed like the perfect opportunity to make it. The original is here, but mine is easier :)

2 cans Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 strips of bacon
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced into thin strips
1 1/2 large carrots peeled and cut into small chunks
1 1/2 sticks of celery, cut into small chunks
1 quart chicken stock
salt and pepper

Place bacon and onion in a large stock pot and saute for several minutes. Add in beans, carrot, celery and chicken stock and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add salt and pepper and simmer for several more minutes.
Strain soup, making sure to reserve all the liquid, and blend the solids with 3-4 cups of the stock. You will probably have leftover stock that you won't use. Once the soup is blended, strain it through a fine mesh sieve back into the stock pot so that you have a velvety smooth soup. Discard what is left in the sieve (you could skip this step, but you would have a chunkier more rustic style soup. Either way it would be good.

Top soup with this:

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup loosely packed basil, cut into thin strips

Place all ingredients in small skillet over medium heat. Cook until garlic just begins to turn golden and all ingredients are sizzling. Serve hot over soup with plenty of Parmesan cheese.

The Magic of Oats

Oatmeal is the most perfect breakfast I know. It's warm and filling and you can put pretty much anything on top of it. Lately I've been "whipping" (stirring very aggressively) a banana into the oats while they cook so that the texture becomes extremely thick and creamy. I also like to mix a drop of vanilla into it and top it with some sort of nut (almonds, peanut butter, walnuts, pecans) and dried fruit. Here is a recipe for Butterscotch Walnut Oatmeal:
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup 2% milk
Dash of salt
1/2 banana cut into tiny chunks

Place all ingredients in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Stir to incorporate and then "whip" the oatmeal to emulsify the banana. Add a drop or two of vanilla and continue to stir until the oats are cooked through (5 minutes). Top with a sprinkle of walnuts, a sprinkle of butterscotch chips and a splash of milk.