Berry Crisp with Maple-Pecan Topping

Berry Crisp with Maple-Pecan Topping

Last weekend we were invited to a neighborhood gathering at our neighbor's gorgeous horse stables behind the ravine.  The theme was "Welcome to Fall".  We had hot apple cider and everyone brought a fall treat.  We played games, fed the horses carrots, and caught up with our neighbors. 
A fun afternoon!

Brennan and I decided to make this yummy sounding cobbler from this month's Vegetarian Times. 
The original recipe is a Blackberry Cobbler, but Brennan is not a huge blackberry fan because the seeds get stuck in his teeth.  I hear ya.

So we decided to do a mixed berry cobbler.  We used (thawed) frozen berries we had on-hand, but you could also use fresh berries.

What I love about this cobbler recipe is that it isn't overly sweet - it's really tart, with a hint of sweetness.  It was perfect!

We started by whisking together maple syrup and Balsamic vinegar, then tossing the mixture with our berries.

Then we tossed the berries again with a little sugar, flour and salt and poured it in our sprayed baking dish.

Next we made a topping with flour, maple syrup, rolled oats, chopped pecans, brown sugar and a little oil.  We crumbled it with our fingers and then arranged it over the berries.

We baked the cobbler for 35 minutes at 350* until the berries were bubbling and the cobbler topping was light brown.

We took it piping hot to the barn and shared it with our neighbors!

Delicious!

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Enjoy!

Blueberry and Mixed Berry Kanten

Blueberry & Mixed Berry Kanten

When I lived in Hawaii there were two desserts that I always sought out at any party where food was being served - Sweet Mochi and Kanten.

I made a version of sweet mochi awhile back, but it wasn't nearly as good as the mochi I've had in Hawaii, which usually looked like this:

source

I'll have to continue working on my mochi skills.

But, on to Kanten!  I had several recipes for fruit Kanten, a traditional Japanese dessert.

It was amazing to me that all of the recipes started with 4 c of fruit juice, but the measurements for the remaining ingredients all varied widely.

I sort of split the difference and tried my first Kanten, which we really liked.

Kanten has 3 main ingredients:  juice, cut fruit or berries, and Agar Agar flakes.

At Kroger I asked Brennan to pick out the juice and berries for our first Kanten.

He chose a mixed berry juice and blueberries.

The Agar Agar flakes area two types of sea vegetable.  It's important to get a good quality version.  I got this one from Sandy who is my ingredient expert.

Because the juice Brennan chose was a smoothie-kind, I used 3 c of the juice and 1 c of water.

With normal juice you'd use 4 c of juice.

You start by pouring your juice in a sauce pan and sprinkling on the agar agar flakes.

This can sit for a few minutes.

See below for additional ingredients that you could add in.  If you are using any other ingredients, you can add them in as well at this point.

Then you boil the juice and reduce the heat to simmer.  It boils up pretty quickly.

I saw on Pinterest that if you lay a wooden spoon over a pot it won't boil over.

Not sure if it always works, but it did this time!

Let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, then remove it from the heat so it can cool down a bit more.

I chose to put my berries in an 8x8 glass dish, but you could also make your Kanten in individual ramekins.  The amount of fruit to use in this dish varied from a couple of tablespoons to 2 cups.

I placed about a cup or more of blueberries in the bottom of my dish.

Then poured the juice on top and transferred the dish to the refrigerator.  It needs to chill for about 2 hours, uncovered.

Then it has the consistency of a fruit filled Jello.

Scoop some out for each person and enjoy!

I think next time I'd like to try a clear version so you can see all the fruit.

I'm thinking about apple juice and strawberries.

Some of the recipes had additional ingredients.

Some of the additions recommended were: 1 tsp ginger juice, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 Tbs orange juice, up to 1/4 c natural sweeteners like brown rice syrup, and lemon/lime/orange zest.

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どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare)

(Japanese for Bon Apetit!)

Quinoa with Blueberries

Biggest Loser

Quinoa with Blueberries

Another Biggest Loser cookbook recipe. 

I like trying out new healthy recipes for the family, but this one I made just for myself because I didn't think they would want this for breakfast. 

I was right.

I liked the idea of trying out quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") for breakfast. 

It's usually served as a side dish grain, but thought it sounded like it might work for breakfast as an alternative to oatmeal.

I cooked the quinoa the night before and just heated a portion in the microwave for breakfast.

Start by thawing (if necessary) a cup of blueberries and smashing them up a little to release the juices.

Then adding them to the quinoa with a little honey and walnuts (the cookbook recommends almonds but I chose walnuts this time).

Then stir together and enjoy.

I wasn't a fan at first, but then I heated it up again in the microwave and it was good. 

It'll be a nice protein-rich change of pace from oatmeal some mornings!

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Enjoy!