Frecon Farms and Baked Apples 10/16/2011
 Red Delicious Tree at Frecon Farms  Matt helping me to pick apples at Frecon Farms. We stopped at Frecon Farms this afternoon and picked our own Roma and Granny Smith apples. Frecon Farms is located in Boyertown, Pa. The weather was lovely, the breeze was cool and the sun warm. The bugs were out, apples were ripe, and the view along the orchard field was beautiful. It was the first time I went apple picking. We had the opportunity to pick Rome, Stayman, Red Delicious, Granny Smith apples and pumpkins at Frecon's. We picked Rome and Granny Smith apples. We left with nearly 3/4 of a bushel combined and one pumpkin. We also purchased four bottles of their hard cider and one quart of their sweet apple cider. We came home and I made baked apples with a side of roasted pumpkin for dinner.   Baked Apples with a Chestnut Bulgur Stuffing Serves 2-3 (as a side) Small oven safe casserole dish to nest 3-4 apples comfortably 20 dried chestnuts 2 cups water 1 tsp dried ground ginger 1/2 cup bulgur wheat 1/2 small onion chopped salt and pepper to taste 4 small apples (Rome), tops cut off, cored, and middle removed (save editable apple scraps for stuffing) Rehydrate the dried chestnuts in the 2 cups of water on the stove top. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the chestnuts have softened. The water will slightly reduce. Reduce water to no less than 1 cup. Remove from heat, remove the chestnuts, chop. Place the dried bulgur and chestnuts back into warm water, bring the water back up to boiling point, add the dried ginger, stir briefly and cover. 1/2 cup of bulgur to one cup of boiling water is the working ratio. If you have more chestnut water, add slightly more bulgur according to the ratio. Reduce heat. Check after 11 minutes to see if all of the water has absorbed. Set aside. Place your chopped onion, salt, pepper, apple scraps, into the cooked bulgur. Over stuff each apple with the bulgur stuffing. Place each stuff apple into the baking dish. Place extra stuffing around it and top each apple with the top of the apple. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove foil during the last 5 minutes of baking. Alternatives: drizzle with maple syrup instead of olive oil before baking. I found that Matt liked melted sharp cheddar cheese on top of his baked apple. It's a delectable addition to the recipe. Add Comment  I swung by the local farmers stand on my way home from work tonight and realized the bountiful summer season of produce has ended. I have one more week to visit the farmer's stand until they close for the season. Their end of the season bell peppers were 3 for a dollar, their eggplants, 4 for a dollar. I whipped up a simple quick vegetarian meal using the eggplant and peppers for dinner. Here's a gluten free, vegan recipe that you can whip up in less than a half hour with some basic pantry ingredients. Sautéed Eggplant, Bell Pepper, and Rice Noodles Serves 2-3 Ingredients: 1-2T organic olive oil Two bell peppers cut into 1/2" strips One small to medium eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1/2" cubes 1 T halved and roasted peanuts (from the jar) 1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds 1 1/2 tsp peanut butter (I like Arrowhead Mills or Wegman's Organic) 1 1/2 tsp Mirin 4 dried red thai peppers (use less or none at all if you're sensitive to spice) sea salt and fresh ground pepper (to taste) 1/2 package of thin rice noodles Ginger People Sweet & Spicy Sweet Ginger Chili Sauce (optional) Begin by pre soaking the rice noodles in cold water (20mins) or hot water for 9 mins. Alternatively follow the directions according to the packaging as to not to over cook the noodles. Drain and set to the side. While noodles are soaking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. A flat bottom pan with flat straight sides is best. Add the bell peppers. Stir occasionally with a wooden spatula or spoon while you are preparing the eggplant. Add the eggplant to the pan. Stir. Add the peanuts and whole coriander seeds. The peanuts and seeds will turn lightly golden brown during the sauteeing process. Add the pinch of salt and continue to sauté. Swirl the Mirin over top and stir. Add the peanut butter on the side of the pan. Let it slide to the bottom and watch it soften. As it softens, gently stir to coat all of the vegetables. Add the thai peppers. As the bottom begins to develop flavor (brown), use a wooden spoon to break up the flavoring and to ensure that the vegetables cook evenly. The entire cooking process of the vegetables takes about 15-20minutes. Add salt/pepper to taste. Re-heat the rice noodles if necessary. Toss with a small amount of olive oil using tongs. Serve by placing the rice noodles on the bottom of the plate and top with the sauteed vegetables. For an additional pleasant sweet and tangy flavor, lightly drizzle The Ginger People's Sweet Ginger Chili sweet and spicy cooking sauce on top. For additional heat, add a few drops of Siracha chili sauce. 
This is a great recipe to use your fresh ripe pears. I was fortunate this fall season to receive a box from a friend of mine who has pear trees in the backyard. I made a few recipes using the pears, and this one, a chocolate pear cake is delightful. The flavor improves by the next day as the pear juices continue to permeate through the chocolate cake and is a nice dessert finish to an autumn meal. This is a translation and an adaptation from Lecker.de's Birne Helene-Kuchen recipe. I removed a few ingredients and used a container of quark in place of Schlagsahne. (My directions below are not a direct translation of Lecker's recipe, rather describes my procedure.) Suitable for a 9x13 rectangular baking pan. Ingredients are by weight. Working with European recipes requires a kitchen scale. Schokoladen Birnen Helene-Kuchen Chocolate Pear Helene-Cake 1 8oz container of Vermont Farm & Cheese Company's Quark (as a substitute you can use an equivalent amount of strained ricotta, creme fraiche, or sour cream) Approximately 4 ripe pears: peeled, cored, and halved 2 8oz bars of dark chocolate, chopped (reserve 1/3 of the chocolate) 175g unsalted organic butter 5 organic eggs 1 package of Dr Oetker's Vanilla Sugar 1 pinch of salt 200g organic sugar 250g all purpose flour 1TB baking powder powdered sugar to top (after cooling) Butter and flour the baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a separate bowl mix the flour and baking powder. In a mixing bowl blend together eggs, quark, vanilla sugar, salt, and sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Pour the butter over the chopped chocolate let 1/3 of the chopped chocolate remain to the side. Let the chocolate sit in the warm butter until it melts. Let it cool slightly. Slowly pour the chocolate and butter mixture into the egg mixture while blending low to medium speed. Slowly add the flour and baking powder. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Top with the remaining chopped chocolate. Add the pears in rows across the pan, with the cored area face down. Gently place the pear into the batter. As the cake bakes the batter will rise and cover part of the pears. Do not push the pear into the batter. Bake for 35-45 minutes. (Check 10 minutes to the end of baking time). The pears are moist and will release their juices into the cake. When the edges of the cake have gently pulled away from the sides of the pan and the toothpick comes out clean it's finished. If testing with a toothpick, avoid testing the areas on or around the pears. Enjoy! Lecker suggests serving it with an apricot jelly and sprigs of mint. I'm sure that would be delicious! 
Helpful baking tips: German recipes 07/03/2011
1). Use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, as yes, it really does make a difference. European recipes are written according to weight, not volume. 2). Check out King Arthur's website for adequate substitutions for flours. European flours are identified by type: type 405, 1050, and so on. They are rated according to the percentage of ash, and although you won't find exact equivalents here in the states you can become close. A high quality unbleached pastry flour is a must for your pantry. 3). Fresh yeast cakes are most typically used in European baked goods- Würfel frische Hefe- but you can substitute dry active yeast. As we all know at the end of the day dry active yeast isn't quite the same, but I've never seen it in any common grocery store, bulk dry goods store, or market here in Pennsylvania. A professional baker would probably know where to find it. Take Rick Rodgers' recommendations (he's the author of Kaffeehaus) for common equivalents: one third of a 2oz cube of fresh yeast= 1/4 oz envelope of active dry yeast. (1T of active dry yeast) 4). Purchase a Gugelhupf, a Springform pan, and a Jelly Roll pan (at least 1"). 5). A marble slab (if you don't have a nice countertop surface) is a must for rolling and kneading dough. Roasted Almond Honey Soy Ice Cream 07/03/2011
 I have been craving ice cold ice cream all week at work and after browsing through David Lebovitz online recipes for ice cream I decided to make my own. I don't have an ice cream machine. But I do have a whisk, time to stir every 30 minutes, and a freezer. Yes, that's almost everything you need to make homemade ice cream. Lebovitz has some great suggestions and techniques to make it with a machine at home, you may find what works for you best here. It took me less than 20 minutes to make the liquid, then checked on it in the freezer every 30-45 until I was content with the consistency. I love almonds, wildflower honey, and anise- the flavors of greek honey come to mind. Oh, and did I mention there's no added sugar? Just sweetened with honey! It's relatively low in fat. Roasted Almond Honey Soy Ice Cream Serves 4-6, depending on the size of the scoop Ready to eat after 3 hours equipment: Blender, whisk, 9x13 aluminum sheet cake pan 1 T Bacardi Rum (alcohol keeps it from solidifying, you can use vodka too) 1 T Arrowroot powder 1/4 cup wildflower honey 1/2 tsp whole anise seed 2 cups unsweetened plain soymilk generous 2/3 cup freshly roasted almonds Roast the raw unblanched almonds in the oven, remove and set to the side to cool. Roughly chop. Blend the rum, arrowroot powder, honey, and anise seed together in the blender. Slowly add the soymilk and combine thoroughly. Pour the liquid into the baking pan, and stir in the roasted almonds. Place the pan into the freezer. Whisk the liquid every 30-45 minutes over the course of a 3 hour period. Serve immediately or reserve for the next day. If you serve for the next day, remember that you'll have to let it thaw briefly and stir to maintain a nice semi-creamy consistency.  This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe in Harald Saul's Unvergessliche Küche Schlesien Traditionelle Familienrezept and ihre Geschichten. In 2009 I purchased the cookbook from a small giftshop in Görlitz, Germany. It's a small cookbook, 128 pages, that contains family photos, postcards, folklore, and traditional family recipes from Silesia, a cultural region that begins in eastern Germany and extends into Poland and the Czech Republic. There are quite a few recipes I enjoy in this book, particularly this one for sesame bread. I've adapted this Schlesische Sesambrötchen for a KitchenAid mixer. If you have access to the book, you can find the recipe on 65. I'm not providing a direct translation. My alterations mainly occur in the preparation and the type of flour. The recipe calls for 500g of a white flour or a whole meal flour, I've used a combination of wheat, barley and all purpose. Schlesische Sesambrötchen Silesian Sesame Bread, adapted from Pg. 65 250g all purpose unbleached flour (King Arthur) 100g barley flour 100g whole wheat pastry flour 50g wheat flour 1T active dry yeast 300ml lukewarm, tepid, water 1T honey 1tsp sea salt, fine 2 whole eggs (I used organic brown eggs) 2T olive oil 100g sesame seeds, untoasted, divided 1T room temperature milk (I used oat milk, but regular milk could certainly be used) Equipment: kitchen scale, stand mixer with paddle and dough hook attachment, pastry brush 15-20 rest 30 min rise 45 min second rising Combine flours and dry yeast in the large mixing bowl. (Make sure your yeast is fresh before combining, I don't proof it in this recipe). Use the paddle attachment and mix until combined well. In the liquid measuring cup with 300ml of warm water add honey and stir to dissolve completely. Make a well in the center of the mixing bowl and pour the liquid. Mix with the paddle attachment, then gradually add eggs, olive oil, salt and 50g of sesame seeds, continuing to mix with each addition. The dough will be quite sticky. Blend well, between low to medium for 2-3 mins. Switch to the dough hook attachment and continue to mix until dough wicks firmly against the sides and no longer sticks to the bowl. You may need to add, as I did, 1-2 T of all purpose flour to aid in this process. Let the dough rest for 15-20 mins in the mixing bowl; cover the bowl with a cloth. Uncover and knead at low-medium for 2-3 mins. Cover the bowl with a linen (not terry cloth) towel in a warm, draft free place for 30 mins. I placed my bowl on top of the radiator in the kitchen, but on the stove would work just as well. Remove the mass from the bowl when the dough has risen to just about twice its size. (If you want two loaves of bread, not one large loaf, separate it here). Gently knead with floured hands and shape into a large round boule without deflating the mass; place on a marble slab. Lightly cover again with the same towel, and rise for 45 mins. Toward the end of the second rising, preheat the oven to 400degrees. Place a stone on the rack. At the end of the second rising, brush the ball with the milk, and sprinkle the loaf with the remaining sesame seeds. Gently lift the loaf without deflating it and place it on the hot stone from the oven. Bake for 15-20 mins at 400degrees. The loaf will be a nice light brown color. The bread will also make a nice sandwich loaf, it is light and fluffy on the outside with a crisp exterior. Cool completely before slicing.  Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients       September's Chapter One book selection was Erica Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients, a delightful novel that inspired me to whip up the dish I imagined that Ian and Helen created during the Thanksgiving dinner. (pg. 98 and 102 if you're reading the paperback). The School of Essential Ingredients follows the lives of Lillian, the head chef of a gourmet restaurant, and her students who gather to her cooking class on Monday evenings. Each dish or technique causes her students to reflect on their own lives. Bauermeister's descriptions of the dishes and the reactions by the cooking school participants are deeply sensual and at times you can taste the flavors on your tongue. Her novel serves a reminder to the reader of all of the emotions and memories involved in the process of creating a delicious dish and the life cycle of the foods we eat. Our book club met on Wednesday night at my place. A small group of us gathered and those of us who could bring a dish inspired by the novel did. My friend Jana brought a dish that complemented mine, polenta with asiago, and Mary Jo brought fresh pumpernickel bread. Our group of enjoyed our dishes and drank lots of wine as we talked about what we enjoyed the most about Bauermeister's novel. As promised, here is my recipe for Pumpkin Ravioli. I hope as Antonia did in the novel, that you will enjoy and savor every bite as you relax at the dinner table. Pumpkin Stuffed Ravioli Serves 8 or more special equipment: food processor Pasta dough: You may make dough one day in advance of rolling and stuffing ravioli. 1 3/4 cups cake flour 3/4 cup organic all purpose unbleached flour (I like King Arthur) Additional all purpose flour for kneading and rolling pasta dough 4 large organic egg yolks extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup water Filling: Filling can be prepared one day in advance, kept in the refrigerator 1 small-medium sugar pumpkin, cut into 1" chunks 2 large organic egg yolks 2 T extra virgin olive oil 1/4 large yellow onion, chopped finely 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine 1 small long red saute pepper (not hot), chopped fine 4 Stella D'oro Anisette Sponge Cookies, crushed to equal roughly 1 cup of crumbs 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 cup grated three cheese blend (Asiago, Parmesan, Romano) 2 T wildflower honey 1/2 cup cooked chestnuts 1 cup white wine 1 tsp salt Sauce: 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided 2 cloves of garlic 1/2 stick of organic unsalted butter 1/2 cup toasted whole hazelnuts 1/4 cup cooked chestnuts 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 cup white wine (or more) 10 leaves of fresh sage, roughly chopped Preparation: Cut sugar pumpkin into 1" chunks. Toss pumpkin lightly in olive or almond oil. Roast pumpkin at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until tender. Make pasta dough while the pumpkin roasts. Combine all ingredients for pasta dough in the food processor. Kneading is not necessary if dough is combined properly and whips around the bowl with a 'thwack'. It should not stick to the side of the bowl. Don't add too much flour. It will be a slightly soft, moist dough. Process for 6-8 minutes, remove from bowl, form into a large ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Place into refrigerator. Keep overnight. Remove pumpkin from the oven and mash in a medium mixing bowl with a potato masher or fork. Set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and red pepper and saute until soft and onions are translucent. Add cinnamon, 2 T of the three cheese blend, honey, crushed cookies, 1/2 cup cooked chestnuts, wildflower honey, wine, and salt. Cook until cheese is melted, stirring occasionally to ensure cohesiveness. Remove from heat. Place mashed pumpkin in the food processor. Add 2 large egg yolks. Process until just combined. Add filling to processor bowl and puree with pumpkin and egg yolks until smooth. Place mixture back to saucepan and keep on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Place mixture in mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for the following day. If making it the same day set it to the side and let it cool completely. Day 2 (or later on day 1) Remove dough from refrigerator. Remove pumpkin filling from refrigerator. Divide the ball of dough into 8 sections. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a well floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll into a rectangle as thin as possible. Alternatively use a pasta maker. (I don't have one) Lift sheet of dough and place to the side of the rolling mat. Roll out another section. Using a large dinner spoon, place a mound of pumpkin filling into rows every 2" apart on one sheet of dough. Place the other sheet on top, pressing firmly around each mound, making sure there are no air bubbles. Use a decorative cookie cutter to cut between each mound in a circle or square. As you place each filled ravioli on your baking sheet, make sure edges are sealed. Repeat with all of the sections of remaining dough. The amount of filling you have left depends on how thin you make your pasta. Cover the ravioli with a kitchen towel until ready to boil. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop ravioli into the water about 6 at a time. Boil for just a few minutes, about 2 to 3 minutes. Ravioli will float when it has finished. Use a slotted spoon to remove ravioli and placed cooked ravioli in a large bowl. Keep covered to maintain a warm temperature. Continue cooking ravioli. Prepare sauce. Heat 2 T of olive oil in a large flat frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until soft. Add 1/2 stick of butter, pepper, salt (if needed), 1/2 cup of hazelnuts, 1/4 cup of chestnuts, 1/4 cup of white wine (or more) and sage and gently simmer. Break up the cooked chestnuts with a spoon. Stir to combine and to prevent the hazelnuts from over cooking. Place cooked warm ravioli on a large serving dish and spoon sauce over top. Toss to ensure even coating of each ravioli.  Pumpkin stuffed ravioli! Beet Love: Beet and Apple Salad (or Slaw) 07/18/2010
 The last few weeks I've been picking up fresh raw beets at my favorite local farmer's stand, Nolt's Produce on Franklin Street in Fleetwood. Nolt's Produce is perhaps a hidden jem in the area. It's a family run stand that's open daily from dawn until dusk (except Sundays). Their corn, cabbage, cantaloupe, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and much of their seasonal produce comes directly from their small farm behind the stand. Their peaches, plums and other seasonal stone fruits come from a fruit farm nearby. I'll have to write a post strictly on their stand. I've saved so much money this summer by buying from them- not to mention continuing to eat well! It's so close to where we live and a treat every time I go. The fresh veggies I buy from Nolt's determine what we'll be eating the next few days. (Which means this week I'll be making recipes with zucchini, peppers, beets, and cantaloupe.) My recipe for Beet and Apple Salad is quick and easy. Only a grater is required. For raw enthusiasts, use raw pecans and a cold pressed nut oil and you'll have a nice recipe to add to your repertoire. I love the unique taste of wildflower honey and I wouldn't trade in its unique taste for clover honey in this recipe. Beet Apple Salad (or call it a slaw if you must) Serves 4 as a side, or 2 as a main dish 1 apple, cored (unpeeled) 2 large carrots, peeled 2 large raw beets, greens removed, peeled 1 tablespoon walnut oil 1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon wildflower honey 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted and roughly chopped pepper to taste Toast pecan halves in the oven while you're combining your salad ingredients. With a box grater, coarsely grate the apple, carrots, and beets into a large bowl. The apples and carrots will absorb the deep red color of the beets. In a small mixing bowl or your glass measuring cup, whisk together balsamic vinegar, wildflower honey, pepper, and oil. Pour the dressing onto the grated apples, carrots, and beets, and combine. I'll leave it up to you as to whether or not you want to add the pecans immediately or wait until serving. The nice nutty crunch is a nice contrast to the apples, carrots, and beets. The pecans will soften as the salad flavors meld together. Serve at room temperature or slightly cool. When serving, place on top of colorful greens to intensify the colors. Cashew Cheesecake Tart: Vegan & Raw 06/28/2010
 Cashew Cheesecake Tart with an Almond Crust This Sunday I met up with my dad for father's day. This weekend I wanted to make my dad something just as delicious as the blackberry shortbread bars I made last weekend for my boyfriend's family. Vegetarian Times recently posted a wonderful recipe for a cashew cheesecake. I've modified it quite a bit, but see their website for the original recipe. I'm certainly not the only food blogger that has made adaptations. Find a recipe that works for your tastes and what ingredients you have available. Next time I make this recipe, I might use a springform pan and double or triple the amount of the cashew cream to make it as thick as a New York Style Cheesecake. The bottom of the tart is made with an almond crust topped with thick cashew cream and then with fresh pitted sweet cherries from my favorite local produce stand. It's a no-bake recipe and if you have a food processor, it's a recipe that's quite easy to whip up. My father was so pleased with the recipe that he decided not to share it with his family guests over the weekend.  Almond Date Coconut Crust  Cashew 'cream cheese'  Cashew 'cream cheese' filling on top of crust Cashew Cheesecake Tart Adapted from Vegetarian Times (The changes are significant enough that I'm really tempted to call it my own.) Almond Date Crust: 1 cup raw, unblanched whole almonds 3/4 cup pitted organic dates 1/4 cup unsweetened unsulphured organic coconut 1/2 cup of rinsed and drained raw cashews (see below) small handful of pecan halves Cashew Cheesecake Filling: 1 container of Giant's Nature's Promise organic raw cashews, soaked in water overnight, rinsed, drained 1 packet of vanilla sugar (or alternatively use vanilla extract and subtract equal amount of soymilk) 6 T raw turbinado sugar 4 T soymilk Juice of 1 lemon 1 T walnut oil* squirt of flax oil Suggested toppings: berries, cherries, or left as is! Day before: soak cashews overnight in water. Combine the almonds, dates, coconut, 1/2 cup cashews, and pecans in a food processor until small crumbs form and when pressed the dough holds its shape. It will be slightly sticky. Press firmly into a prepared tart pan. Refrigerate. Clean the food processor and prepare cheesecake filling. Mix remaining cashews, vanilla sugar, sugar, soy milk, lemon juice, and oils in the food processor until thick, creamy, and dense. Remove crust from refrigerator. Scoop out cashew cream with a spoon and spread on top of almond crust. Refrigerate. Top with toppings of your choice or leave plain. Cheesecake will become more firm as it's refrigerated. *Except with the addition of the oils, this recipe could be considered raw. Blackberry Shortbread Bars 06/21/2010
 My friend Cherise gave me a quart of blackberries on Saturday. Sunday was father's day and I decided to whip up a batch of the cocoa halvah, and make something with the blackberries to give to my boyfriend's parents. This recipe is truly an experiment, it's a shortbread base, with a custard layer with remaining shortbread crumbs on top. The shortbread is almond, the custard layer is packed with almond, lemon, and blackberry flavors. It's sweet and buttery. Flavors aren't unusual, you can find lemon and blackberry recipes, almond and blackberry recipes online. You can find tarts, bars, and recipes for pie-bars but this may be a little unique. The middle layer is not quite a custard layer, it's not a sponge- it's somewhere in between. I may tweak this recipe in the future- perhaps by making the shortbread layer thinner so it's more like a Kuchen. In any case, the recipe is here for you to play with and for those of you that tried it, here it is. My family liked it very much and seemed surprised I experimented as much as I did for as well as it came out. My boyfriend took the remaining third to work to share with his co-workers, but hinted that it was too good to share. If you try it, let me know how it works out, and if you have suggestions for other names or ingredients, that's what the spaces for comments are for! Enjoy!  Pour the egg mixture on top of the shortbread layer  Drop blackberries into the egg layer, then top with remaining shortbread crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 mins then cool and cut into pieces. Blackberry Almond Shortbread Bars 12x19 pan Shortbread Base 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup ground roasted almonds (toast whole raw almonds in oven, process in food processor) 1 lb unsalted butter, chilled, cubed 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup turbinado raw sugar zest of 1 lemon Filling 1 cup organic light sour cream 4 organic eggs 2 cups granulated sugar 3/4 cup all purpose flour juice of 1 lemon 8 drops of pure almond oil 2 pinches of sea salt 3 1/2 cups blackberries (rinsed and drained right before use) 1/3 of the shortbread base for topping Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12x19 pan with parchment paper. Make shortbread base. Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor until crumbs form. If your food processor bowl is too small, as mine was, process shortbread dough in small batches and transfer the ingredients from a large mixing bowl back to the food processor and back. Alternatively in a very large mixing bowl use a pastry blender or your fingers until blended. (The quantity is large here, so it might be easier to use the food processor unless you half the recipe.) Set aside 1/3 of the crumbs in a small bowl to use later for the topping. Press shortbread crumbs firmly into the large baking pan and set in the refrigerator to cool. Clean food processor bowl and make the filling. First mix sour cream and eggs together in the food processor. Add sugar, flour, lemon juice, almond oil and sea salt, pulse until combined well. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and pour the filling on top. Drop in the blackberries. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 mins. Cool and cut into pieces. | ArchivesOctober 2011 CategoriesAll |
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