baked blueberry clafoutis

Since our decision to kick cable t.v., to the curb, there’s a lot less television-watching in our house.  We’re down to NetFlix and about 25 channels, twelve of which are in Spanish and of no use to anybody.  The other twelve or so are home shopping (still not useful), local affiliates (mainstream programming not my taste), and PBS.  So, I’m watching a lot of PBS.  And, hey, I’m a member, so no guilt trips, please.

One of the shows we see…well, I see pretty regularly as my partner-in-crime is snoozing away on the other half of the couch, is a great gardening show called Growing a Greener World.  One of the best things about it is the cooking segment at the end of each show.  Chef Nathan Lyon (Tweet him @chefnathanlyon – he even tweets back), always seems to be cooking up something fresh and easy-to-prepare with nutritious ingredients you don’t have to hunt down at a specialty store.  It’s nothing over-the-top.  Just healthy, simple fare you can throw together for a weeknight meal for your family, and always a little unique to impress your guests.  I don’t own his cookbook, but I’m definitely going to get it given the rave reviews I’ve gotten with his recipes, so far.

This one was from an episode we watched last night.  Again, I watched, hubby dozed.  I’d made a traditional cherry clafoutis at my mom’s one summer a number of years ago.  It was delicious.  How could it not be delicious?  It’s full of eggs and a tiny bit of sugar and fresh fruit.  And, it’s fun to say!  What I discovered after baking this one; blueberry, is the French are particular about their clafoutis.  It’s apparently only a clafoutis if it’s cherry.  If you bastardize it, as the French would undoubtedly claim, by baking it with blueberries, or any other fruit, it’s considered a flaugnarde – not nearly as fun to say, but equally yummy.  They’re not too sweet, since there’s really not much sugar compared to other desserts, and have a wonderful texture – more like a custardy-tart, since you use a minimal amount of flour to bind all the egg and creamy loveliness together.  The texture is creamy, a very thick custard, and melts in your mouth.  The berries hold their shape nicely, so there’s good texture in the fruit, as well.  Call it what you will: clafoutis or flaugnarde, it’s good eats!

Serve it warm, dusted with powdered sugar or a little heavy cream.  Personally, I found it just as delicious served cold.  Personal preference.  Enjoy!

Baked Blueberry Clafoutis

Recipe Courtesy: Nathan Lyon, Growing A Greener World, Episode 116

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 Tbsp granulated sugar, separated
• 5 whole eggs, large
• 1 cup half and half, or whole milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tsp)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pint blueberries (12 oz)
• Powdered sugar, for dusting, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. In a medium, oven safe, non-stick sauté pan, combine the butter with 2 Tbsp granulated sugar and place over medium heat. (Be careful not to let butter brown).
3. Meanwhile whisk the eggs plus the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar on high speed until tripled in volume and pale yellow in color (about 5 minutes). Then, by hand, gradually whisk in the half and half or milk, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, and flour until just incorporated. It should look light and foamy at this point.
4. Pour this mixture into the hot pan, top with the blueberries, then transfer into the oven. Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top, and the Clafoutis has puffed up.
5. Remove from the oven, and turn out onto a cutting board. Slice, and serve with the optional powdered sugar.

***Baker’s Notes:  Don’t try to skimp too much on the calories with low-fat or skim milk.  Your end product will be watery and unsatisfying.  At the very least, I’d say 2% milk, but whole milk or half and half are truly best.  I used the full pint of berries and, even though I love blueberries, I thought it was a lot of berries.  I might experiment with 8 ounces next time.  Mine baked for 24 minutes and I actually spun it under the broiler for a few minutes to give the top a more golden appearance.

fruit salad with honey-lemon dressing

I have  a tendency to resort to “old favorites,” for holiday meals or picnics.   So I generally whip together this easy, delicious little number for summer festivities.  I have…for years.  I know, I know, how culinarily unchallenged can I be?  Mostly, I suppose, I’m a creature of habit, I know what people my kid  will eat and enjoy, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Yup!   But I was surfing around on Pinterest just before the 4th of July and found this sweet variation on fruit salad; the one side dish every barbecue should offer for those of us who find mayo-based pasta salads and potato salads a bit too heavy for a summer picnic.  Let there be fruit!

Like all fruit salads, there isn’t really a recipe.  If you don’t follow the ingredient list strictly, you’ll still end up with a perfectly delicious fruit salad regardless of which fruits you select.  The key here, in my opinion, is the dressing.  Honey and lemon define simplicity.  They’re  diverse flavors; the sweet and tangy being a perfect complement to any fruit.  Serving it inside the hollowed out watermelon rind is just a fun way to make a visual statement at your holiday picnic, but serve it any way you like.  That’s the beauty of fruit.  Have it your way.  Enjoy!

Fruit Salad w/Honey-Lemon Dressing (recipe courtesy Honey and Figs Kitchen)

Fruit Ingredients:

• 1/2 seedless watermelon, scooped with melon baller
• 1/2 honeydew melon, scooped with melon baller
• 3 kiwis, peeled and chopped
• 1 c sweet cherries, pitted and halved

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 to 3 Tbsp honey (taste test as you go for sweetness)
• 2 Tbsp limoncello, optional

Directions:

Whisk together honey and lemon until honey is dissolved.  Refrigerate until you’re ready to use.  Next, half the melons and remove fruit with melon baller.  Place watermelon and honeydew melon into medium-sized bowl.  Add sliced kiwi fruit and cherries.  Mix gently to combine the fruit.

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Clean out the excess melon from the watermelon rind to create your serving bowl.  Return prepared fruit to the empty watermelon rind.  Drizzle with honey-lemon dressing just before serving.

sparkling raspberry muffins

No question, the best way to eat berries is right out of hand – freshly washed, unadulterated, straight-up berry deliciousness!  There’s just nothing else so pure or which speaks so clearly of summer.  I’m a blueberry addict, myself, but raspberries are a close second, so when I saw this recipe over at Real Simple, I thought it sounded like a tasty alternative to raw berries.  These make a nice breakfast muffin, or midday snack, and the sparkling sugar sprinkled on top before baking gives them a little bit of fancy!

We all like fancy, don’t we?  (Well, at least we moms of 7 year old girls).  Freeze what you either don’t eat or give away.  Enjoy!

Sparkling Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 3/4  cups  all-purpose flour, plus 1/8 cup for dredging berries
• 3/4  cup  granulated sugar
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  cup  (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4  cup  whole milk
• 1  large egg
• 1/4  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2  cups  fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried
• sanding sugar for sprinkling

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat it with cooking spray, vegetable oil, or butter.
2. In a medium bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and combine. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined; the batter will be lumpy. Toss the berries with the remaining flour in a bowl. Gently fold the berry mixture into the batter.
3. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining sugar. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

oatmeal raspberry bars

My local organic market is brooming the summer fruits, what’s left of them. They had an awesome deal on raspberries the other day so I picked up 5 or 6 boxes.  Although we go through them pretty fast just eating them out of hand, they turn quickly.  And the last thing I want is a box of moldy fruit – even if I got it for a song.  This recipe was a perfect way to use up some of that fruit, as well as put something sweet and homemade into Kat’s lunchbox this week.  They’re easy to make and really delicious.  So delicious you’ll wish you hadn’t promised to put them in the lunchbox all week, which is what I’ve been reminded any number of times.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

Ingredients:

• 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup rolled oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam (I used Crofter’s Fruit Spread)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

 

Procedure:

• Heat oven to 375° F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until the dough comes together. Transfer to a bowl and gently knead in the oats.
• Press all but 1/2 cup of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread the jam evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges. Scatter the raspberries over the jam and sprinkle with the remaining dough.
• Bake until the edges are golden, 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing.