Blueberry Peach Crisp

I've just started to read this book called Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist. I am only through the first chapter and I already love it! It's about how food is one of the main "gatherers" that brings us all around the table in community- to relax, to share, to love, to listen, to laugh.

It's been that way for centuries, from the beginning people have been gathering together around meals. It's amazing to me to connect to the past, to realize that you are doing the exact same thing that they did; Jesus broke bread with his disciples and many others, David gathered people for feasts, they sat and talked and told stories. When we do something that they did, it makes that time period feel more real and not so long ago.

Bread & Wine is about bread, and cooking, wine, and drinking; but it's also about THE bread and wine, the body and the blood.

I am learning so much about how gathering in community is so sweet, and important to our spiritual lives. It feeds us! It can be so encouraging to just share in the lives of others close to you. To pray with them, to laugh with them, to cry with them, to do life with them! Jesus really speaks through community- and He says: where two or more gather in His name, He is there!!

A little tangent.

At the end of the first chapter is the Blueberry Crisp (or any fruit) recipe, and it is scrumptious! So make this and gather friends around to chat and nibble! But also read the book. :)

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 4 cups blueberries (or any other fruit)

Crisp Topping:
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup raw, unsalted pecans, halved or chopped
- 1/2 cup almond meal (available at Trader Joe's or health food stores, or made easily by putting almonds in food processor until fine, but before they turn into almond butter)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teasoon salt

Instructions:
- Mix together the crisp ingredients.
- Pout the berries into an 8x8 pan, and then layer the crisp topping over it.
- Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 mins., or up to 10 mins. longer if topping and fruit are frozen, until fruit is bubbling and topping is crisp and golden.

Serves: 4-6

For the fruit I used frozen blueberries and canned peaches from Trader Joe's. I doubled the recipe, and used a tiny bit less olive oil than it calls for because I am a sweets person, and I wanted to taste the maple syrup a little more than the olive oil.

I had it as a breakfast bowl: some blueberry crisp, with some Trader Joe's honey greek yogurt. What a treat! And healthy, too.

I have no doubt that a hot blueberry crisp with a cold scoop or two.. or three.. of vanilla ice cream would be delicious as well.

A Simple Breakfast

Good Morning!

This was a simple what-do-I-have-at-home breakfast. I put sun-dried tomatoes, swiss chard, and pine nuts in some olive oil to heat up in a skillet. Then I applied all of my favorite spices from Trader Joe's: cayenne pepper powder, cracked pepper, pepper flakes, (I may like pepper?) and oregano.

After I let all that stew for a couple minutes, I cracked a fresh hen egg over the whole thing! Let the egg cook all the way through and you have your own scramble! Or omelet if you prefer :)

It's more fun when your food is colorful.
:)

Southwest Breakfast

On this slow morning, I woke up thinking- I can't wait to make breakfast. That's not terribly unusual for me; I love mornings, and wake up hungry- for all you other early birds out there. :)

I'm starting to realize that my hunger is for spiritual food and physical food. Every one is so different in their walk with Jesus, but the first thing I want to do in the morning is spend some time with Him, and hear what He has to say about today! I think that's the hungriest part of me, and all of our hearts, in the new day. My friend sent us her devotional one morning recently, and it has been a sweet one: "Christ of the cross and of the empty tomb, strengthen us to bear the burdens of the day, to seek you amid the hurts and questions, and to trust You enough for this day." How beautiful!

And then there's the physical :) This morning was a bit of a clean-out-the-fridge breakfast morning. So as I'm looking through my fridge, I see that I still have my Corn and Chick Pea Salad (another post on DoughReMisha!), I have some black bean and corn salsa, and I have some farm fresh hen eggs from my grandparent's chickens. 

I decided to try and make a southwest breakfast bowl for my roommate and I! (She's a brave one!)

First, I took about 4 good spoon-fulls of the Corn and Chick Pea Salad and put it in a skillet with some olive oil. Then I put in some black bean and corn salsa (Simple Truth from Kroger)- a smaller amount than the Corn and Chick Pea Salad, but a nice compliment. I mixed them together in the skillet on medium high heat and let them heat up. 

I LOVE flavor, I am coming to realize. So I pulled out some cayenne pepper powder, pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper. I put a few shakes of each of those into the salsa/salad mixture.

Once that was at a quick simmer, I made space in the middle and cracked an egg. I let it cook until the egg white was cooked almost all the way, but the top was still a little jiggly. Then I took a spatula and flipped it. It doesn't take long for it to cook on the other side, and Presto! You're ready!

I put ours in a bowl, and added a little bit of Ahi Amarillo chili sauce to mine from Tennessee Jim's Rushy Springs Farm. If you are a fan of the Farmer's Market, stop by his table! This man was SO nice to us, and I love his hot sauces! I first had them at the Plaid Apron when I worked there- which is another fabulous place to visit. :)

Happy Monday! 

"When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' Your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." Psalm 94:18.

Stuffed & Baked Apples

Ladies and gentlemen, this was a winner. I made this for my family one night after dinner, and they all liked it! Unfortunately I can't find the recipe that I used, but I think I can get pretty close! Here's how (I think) it happened:

Preheat your oven to 350.

I took 6 apples, cut the hats off of them (the tops), and cored them.

Then in a bowl I mixed Earthfare's natural almond butter (YUM!), honey, chopped dates, slivered almonds, and golden raisins. This mixture is supposed to be rather thick. This is the part that I cant remember the exact measurements, but it also depends on your preference! What ever you would like most to taste in the stuffing of your baked apples! :)

Then you put the mixture in the core of the apples!

Put the 6 apples in a baking dish very snuggly so they don't tip over. Then you put 1/4 cup of apple cider in the bottom of the pan, and put them in to cook!

It should take them 45 mins- 1 hour. Every 15 minutes, poor another 1/4 cup of the apple cider over the apples so they soak in the juiceiness.

Voila!

These can also be serves with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream. :)

Corn and Chick Pea Summer Salad

Summer is upon us! It seemed only appropriate to do a light corn salad with it being so beautiful and, well... summer-y outside!

Every Wednesday- for small group- I seem to get inspired to try my hand at cooking something fun. I think it's because it's a gathering of wonderful friends, and you can't help but get excited about that.

This recipe was delicious and quite simple. I got it from http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/corn-chickpea-salad-recipe. 

I modified the recipe a little bit, based on what was available at Trader Joe's :) Here it is!

- 3 cans of corn
- Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 cup of diced cucumbers (or a little more)
- 1 can of Garbanzo Beans
- 1 1/2 cups of toasted walnuts (or close to it)
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Oregano
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 cup crumbled feta (I believe my package was 9 oz.)

First I put the 3 cans of corn into a skillet with some olive oil, salt, and pepper to brown it. Then I took about a cup and a half of walnuts and spread them over a cookie sheet. I put them in the oven at 350 to toast them while the corn cooked. 

The corn took 15-20 mins to brown, so in the mean time I mixed all the other ingredients in a large bowl. 

Once the corn was slightly browned, I took it off the eye and let it cool for a while. I took the walnuts out of the oven and mixed them into the large bowl. Once the corn was cool enough (if you're in a pinch- it's actually not bad warm either!), I mixed everything together. 

Ta-da! Corn salad.

I loved this recipe; it's delicious and healthy, and serves a group of people easily!

**Also, Trader Joe's has frozen garlic cloves in a pop-out plastic container. You just pop out the square of frozen, minced garlic and put it in your skillet! Works like a charm. Happy summer break!