Whole Grain Cherry Crumble

So today my neighbor called and said she had a "bucket" of cherries and would I like them?  Would I like them?  Yes, please!  We met in the back yard and she handed over a gallon pail of pitted cherries from their cherry tree.  I thanked her and immediately came in the house and started searching for cherry recipes on line.

When this one came up from "Food & Wine" it immediately got my attention--even better--I had all the ingredients on hand.  So here it is.... Whole Grain Cherry Crumble!  Next time I'm having this with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy of Food & Wine:

1. 1 cup whole-wheat flour
2. 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3. 1/2 cup rolled oats
4. 1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped
5. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6. 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
7. 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
8. 2 pounds fresh or frozen cherries, pitted (4 cups)
9. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
10. 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
11. 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
12. 1 firm Bartlett pear—halved, cored and coarsely shredded on a box grater
13. Vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the brown sugar, oats, almonds, salt and nutmeg. Using your fingers, work in the butter until large crumbs begin to form. Press the streusel into small clumps and refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet, combine the cherries, granulated sugar, vinegar and the vanilla bean and seeds. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the juices are bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the grated pear and let cool completely; discard the vanilla bean.
3. Scatter the streusel evenly over the cherries. Bake for about 1 hour, until the topping is golden and the cherries are bubbling. Let cool slightly. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy Friends!!

Salad of Baby Greens with Citrus Dressing

This recipe for citrus dressing has been in my recipe book for too long.  Time to make this tasty dressing to have with dinner tonight.

Gather the ingredients for the dressing:  lemon, orange, olive oil, fresh thyme, Dijon mustard, honey, salt.

Here are the exact amounts:

2 Tbl. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbl. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbl. Dijon mustard
1 Tbl. honey
1/4 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil

Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined.  (I used my small blender)

For the salad I used organic spinach and baby greens, and a packet of salad pizzaz--orange, cranberry, and almonds.

Here's the salad after drizzling the dressing over-- don't drown the greens, just "dress" them.

Enjoy, friends!!

Homemade Granola with Pumpkin Pie Spice

You can eat it right out of your hand, pour milk over it and eat it like cereal, or make a healthy parfait by layering yogurt and granola.  Anyway you serve it, homemade granola is the bomb.

Here's the ingredients I used, modified somewhat from the recipe on

My Baking Addiction

4 cups old-fashioned oats

chopped pecans

sliced almonds

craisins

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 Tbls pure maple syrup

2 Tbls mild olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, and pecans.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, oil, and pumpkin pie spice.

Mix and bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour over the oat mixture.

Stir to coat.  Spread in a 1/2 sheet pan lined with a silicone mat.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, stir occasionally. 

Let cool, add the craisins.

Store in an airtight container--I used the empty oatmeal container.
(reuse stuff!)

You can improvise and use any combination of nuts and dried fruit.

Here's the link to make your own pumpkin pie spice:

pumpkin pie spice

Enjoy friends!

Chicken Breast Amandine

Chicken, chicken, let me count the ways!  I had the ingredients on hand and decided this recipe sounded good.  Thank you Epicurious.  (By the way, the Epicurious app is way cool!)

Here's what you will need for two hungry people:
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 Tbl olive oil
1/4 C sliced almonds
1/4 C dry white wine
1/4 C water
1 garlic clove minced and mashed into a paste with a pinch of salt
1 Tbl unsalted butter
2 Tbl parsley
fresh lemon juice to taste
A bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed off.
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Prepare the asparagus ahead of time by trimming off the tough ends, place in a foil lined baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet until hot but not smokin!  Brown the chicken which has been patted dry and seasoned with sea salt and ground pepper.  Saute for 2 minutes on each side.  Reduce the heat to low and cook until cooked through.  Transfer to heated plates.

Meantime in a 400 degree oven roast the prepared asparagus until it's tender crisp.  

Add the water, wine, garlic paste to the skillet.  Boil and reduce to half.

Take the skillet off the heat, add the butter, parsley, almonds, and a squeeze of lemon.  Stir to make a nice sauce.

Spoon the almond sauce over the chicken!  Oh My!

Tonight I added a crisp romaine salad with tomato wedges and ranch dressing.  The Simply line of dressings are just that, Simple.  No added stuff!

Oh, and the "Pots of Creme" that I made last night---Not pronounced

Pots of Cream, instead, Po Deau Creahm, Po Deau Creahm.  So French! 

So delicious! Thanks Pioneer Woman Blog!

Dessert!  Oh, Stop Right Now!!!

Ok, don't stop!

The Little Black Dress Merlot complimented the Pots of Creme --- deliciously!

Just one more shot of that dessert.  Sorry! I can't stop!

Enjoy friends!!