Pear and Plum Grunt for Two

Yeah, I just used the word "grunt" in a title of a recipe. Yeah, it's an actual food word, not just a sound that comes out of us when we're grumpy. A grunt, better know as a slump, is one of those fruit and biscuit combinations. So many names .. betty, crumble, crisp, cobbler, pandowdy (that one's almost as bad as grunt!). What distinguishes a grunt from a cobbler, is the cooking of the biscuit topping. Instead of baking it in the oven so that top gets golden and crunchy, the biscuit batter is spooned on top of fruit that's been simmering in a pot, the lid goes on, and magically, the biscuits turn into these soft, pillowy, dumpling-like things that have the essence of the fruit steamed right into them. Yum.

It was really really easy to make, and it was the perfect thing to share with my Grandma. I made it last weekend for just the two of us to share, but I'm sure the recipe doubles quite easily. For the fruit, I used a pear and a plum instead of the apricots that the original recipe called for, but I think this dessert would work with any kind of fruit that strikes your fancy.

I checked the weather forecast for this coming week and it looks like rain, rain and more rain. I don't mind really.. just an excuse to curl up with a warm, spicy dessert, and another season of X-Files.




Pear and Plum Grunt for Two
adapted from Eating Well

1 large bosc pear, peeled and diced
1 black or red plum, peeled and diced
juice and zest of half a lemon
pinch of cardamom
2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup

1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of plain yogurt
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1/2 teaspoon of sugar with a pinch of cinnamon mixed in

1. Place the fruit, lemon zest and juice, honey and cardamom in a small pot cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until the the liquid gets a bit thick and the fruit starts to soften.

2. In the meantime, prepare the biscuit topping by sifting the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sat and sugar together. Add the yogurt and canola oi and mix with a fork until just blended.

3. Drop spoonfuls of batter over the cooking fruit and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Put the lid on the pot and cook (peaking as little as possible) for about 12-15 minutes, or until the biscuit is puffed and cooked.

4. Serve warm and enjoy with someone you love.

Summer Don't Go!

It has just occurred to me that autumn is just around the corner. I know, I know! But still. Apples, turnips, pumpkins, pencils, books... school ... that's just a stone's throw away and while I do look forward to crisp sweater-weather, warm comforting stews and a brand new school year, I'm not ready to let go of summer just yet. So what should we do? Simple! Fill up our days with all the summer-y fun things and enjoy every last moment. Like what, you ask? Having brunch with friends in the warmth of a weekday summer morning, watching matinee movies, staying up late on Sundays, walking everywhere, enjoying summer berries and fresh local veggies, going camping, taking day trips and ... making and enjoying iced tea.

I've always loved iced tea. As a non-alcoholic-drinker, iced tea has always been my old friend and standby. I first tried making it earlier this year for a little tea party I was having with my students. Since then, I've tweaked it a little to suit more grown up tastes -- not that a recipe for iced tea can be tweaked too much. It's very very simple and gives you refreshing, satisfying results. And what about those cherries in the picture above? Ah .. those are sour cherries. When kickpleat wrote about them on ReadyMade, and I saw them sitting innocently in a basket at the fruit market, I just had to try them. I pitted a little basket and froze them right away as we were going on vacation. When I came back, they welcomed me by giving me a little sweet-sour super cold treat to munch on. BUT .. they are even BETTER when you use them as little fruity ice cubes in this iced tea. I used a combination of an inexpensive fruit tea that came in bags and rooibos tea that I bought loose at a health food store. Feel free to just use teabags or loose tea (I would say that 1 teaspoon of loose tea would equal the amount in a teabag).


Please go make some iced tea. If you do it and I do it then maybe, just maybe, summer will hang around a little bit longer ...

Fruity Rooibos Iced Tea

6 cups of water
3-4 bags of fruity herbal tea
1 tablespoons of rooibos tea
3 tablespoons of sugar (or more or less to your taste)
the juice of half a lemon
frozen fruit to serve (optional)

1. Bring the six cups of water to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and dump in the tea. Cover and let it steep for about 10 minutes.

2. Strain the tea into a different pot using a strainer lined with cheesecloth or empty teabags. You can skip this step if you're not using a loose tea like rooibos that's got a lot of little bits in it. I'm sure green tea and black tea leaves will strain fine with just the strainer.

3. Let the tea cool for about 5 minutes. Add sugar and lemon juice and give it a big stir. Adjust the sugar/lemon amounts to your taste.

4. Allow the tea to cool completely before to pouring into a jug or in my case, and empty juice container, and storing the fridge. To complete the experience, pour yourself a glass, drop in a few pieces of frozen fruit and toast to summer not being over just yet.

Memories of March Break + Really Special Bird Food

It's only Wednesday and I'm already aching for the weekend (ok yeah, so now it's Thursday but it was Wednesday when I started this post and it's not my fault that I was nodding off in front of the computer and was sent to bed before finishing). So much has happened this week that I feel like it's already Friday. Boo. I hate these weeks, but the truth of the matter is, there's nothing I can do but go with the flow and wait for the 3:34 bell on Friday afternoon.

To make my go by quicker, I've taken to consuming my free-time thoughts (which aren't too numerous during the school day!) with pleasant memories. Today as I was walking to work, I passed by a small park and noticed an elderly man scattering bread crumbs on the ground. He was literally surrounded by pigeons, starlings and little sparrows. As I watched the birds having breakfast with a kind and gentle friend of theirs, I remembered my recent close encounter with birds during the rainy first weekend of March break.

We were in Kingston, and had just hiked from the city limit bus stop, (crossing a private farm..yeah .. don't ask) to a conservation area. Although it was a little drizzly and grey, the experience was wonderful. We followed a trail to a maple sugar shack (which was closed .. but we managed to sneak in and get a private and up-close introduction to the boiling sap.. the smell was incredible..) and along the way, took a detour along a trail called "Chickadee Lane." Turns out, that during the busy season, you can take hikes along this path and your tour guides hand you nuts that you can feed the chickadees with. Well, we didn't need tour guides or nuts for that matter, to have a wonderful experience feeding chickadees (which landed right on our hands!). What did we feed them with? What attracted those normally shy little creatures to land right on our hands and have a nibble?


Granola. But not just any granola. It was granola that was actually supposed to be granola bars, but ended up being crumbled up into chunks because I didn't want to add as much sweeteners as the original recipe called for. I noticed the original recipe at Seven Spoons, and thought it would be a nice snack to fuel us during our adventures in Kingston. I cut back on the sugar, as I usually do, but this time, got drastic results. They smelled wonderful, looked beautiful in the pan, but because there was only half the brown sugar and honey in it, the mixture crumbled when I tried to cut it into bars. I was disappointed until I tasted it. Crunchy, wholesome, tangy from the dried cranberries and apples, and just the perfect sweetness level. I guess I'm not cut out to make granola bars, but this little "mistake" worked out quite well for us, as well as our chickadee friends. They ate up our granola bits and came up close for a taste. It was a snack that we shared with the birds, so it couldn't be a mistake, right?

As I'm writing this post, I'm longing to be on a bus back to Kingston and the conservation area with those adorable chickadees. But alas, responsibilities always overrule desires, so I think I'll just go make another batch of granola.. and you should too! It'll definitely make your long week go by quicker!


** On a really random note, here's a picture of the maple syrup I used for the granola. It had to be about 20 years old from the first time my family travelled to Quebec. And check out the top of the can! It's got a recipe for biscuits simmered in maple syrup! So neat! Brings back so many
memories!


Apple Cranberry Granola Chunks
(adapted from Seven Spoons)

2 cups of oats
1 tablespoon of ground flax
1/4 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup of slivered almonds
1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut

3 tablespoons of honey (I used wildflower honey)
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of canola oil
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/4 cup of dried apples, diced up
1/3 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

1. Toss the oats, flax, pumpkin seeds, almonds and coconut together and spread out over a sheet pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven, tossing occasionally until golden brown and fragrant (about 15 minutes)

2. Meanwhile, gently heat up the sugar, honey, maple syrup, oil, salt and vanilla extract.

3. When the oat mixture is nice and toasty brown, pour it out into a large bowl and add the dried apples, cranberries and walnuts. Add in the warm sugar mixture and give it a good stir so that everything is incorporated. Oh! And lower your oven to 300.

4. Spread the mixture out on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until things start to smell yummy and toasty and maple-y.

5. Eat straight up as an energy booster, or on top of yogurt for a morning treat.

I'll always have the Weekend ...

March break maybe a week gone, but I've still got the weekend. What do weekends mean for me? Lots of different things! A weekend could mean brunch or coffee with my best friend, catching up on my marking that I haven't done all week, cleaning the bathroom, seeing my sister and parents ... Weekends are walking around outside and enjoying the sun, nice long workouts at the gym with my Mom, lazy moments curled up on the couch, long streetcar rides to the middle of nowhere... I love weekends and I have a favourite weekend breakfast that I love to have. Nope, it's not scrambled eggs and bacon, waffles or pancakes or French toast. It's oatmeal, that's right, oatmeal.

I love cereal of all kinds, but I think oatmeal has become my favourite type of hot cereal. I'm no stranger to oatmeal on weekdays. In fact, I have oatmeal for lunch everyday. It's quick, it's easy, it's nutritious and it's easy to keep all the ingredients on hand at work so I don't have to worry about packing a lunch. Weekday oatmeal usually consists of 5-minute oats, wheatbran and a bit of brown sugar, boiling water from a kettle poured over top and a splash of soy milk at the end. Paired with an apple and some giggly students watching teeny bop music videos on YouTube in my classroom, and I have the perfect weekday lunch.

But on the weekend, my regular oats put on a jacket and tie for breakfast. I have the luxury of cooking the oats in milk instead of water, and I can add a million different toppings. Recently, I've been alternating between three different types of oatmeals. Here they are. (I know some of you are probably gagging at the thought of oatmeal as a treat on the weekends, but give it a try. I know you'll become a convert!)





Basic Weekend Oatmeal

1/4 cup of quick-cooking oats (the 3-5 minute kind)
1/2 cup of skim milk
1/2 cup of almond or soy milk
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
a splash of vanilla

1. Put the milks, sugar and vanilla in a pot and heat on medium until tiny bubbles form at the sides of the pot.

2. Add the oats, turn the heat to low and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring.

3. Turn off the heat and let it stand for a minute or so.

4. Top with anything you like! I topped mine with a big spoon of skim milk yogurt and this wonderful citrus fruit salad.




This version is what I have when I need an extra special treat. I replace the brown sugar with 1 heaping teaspoon of peanut butter and add half a chopped banana with the oats. It's served with skim milk yogurt and strawberry jam. An almost guilt free PBJ (cuz oats lower your cholesterol... right :)



This version is, I think, my cuddly partner's favourite. It's a spiced berry version. I replace the soy/almond milk with 1/2 cup of pomogranate juice blend, and add frozen mixed berries and a pinch of cardamom right before I add the oats. It's topped with the same yummy yogurt and jam, but it's also got some slivered almonds.


I found it so fun to play around with the combinations of liquids, toppings and fruits that go into the oatmeal. So go ahead -- make some oatmeal, curl up with your favourite book and enjoy your weekend morning.


Oh by the way! I drizzled my oats today with a sesame seed butter with flax added to it. Soooooo good!

Back on Schedule

Any teacher will tell you that gearing up for the first day back to school after a break is difficult. You never sleep well on Sunday night because you've had way too much sleep in the last few days and you're always thinking about how fast your holiday went by. But, that same teacher will tell you that after the first hour of being back in the classroom and surrounded by children, that it will feel like you never left. And today was no exception. All day Sunday, I dreaded the sound that my alarm clock would make the next morning, and I spent a good few hours moping around, wishing that March break had just started and not just finished. But, once I got to school, I started feeling better. Once I saw the children lined up outside, ready to come into the classroom, I felt a little better still. And once my first class said "Bonjour" to me in unison, I felt like I had never left.

For me, there is something wonderful about routine; knowing where I need to be at what time, and carrying out tasks that challenge me, but at the same time comfort me by making me feel like I have a place in my life. However, there are two very specific things that I MUST have before my weekday can begin: an intense cardio workout, and a smoothie. I'll spare you the details of my workout (let's just say it always end with sweat!), but I will tell you more about the smoothie.

I guess you don't really need a recipe for a smoothie -- it's pretty straightforward and easy to change to suit your tastes and needs, but I thought I'd post one anyway, just in case there are any smoothie-making virgins out there that need some reassurance. I've read some smoothie recipes that include protein powder (which I can't stand), and others where you have to juice things first; my smoothie isn't nearly as complicated: it's simple, refreshing and a wonderful way to nourish my body before kicking up a storm on the elliptical trainer. Back in the day when I used to read a lot about nutrition, I found out that liquids meals are good to have before a workout because your body doesn't have to waste time digesting -- the nutrition goes straight to your blood stream and prevents you from passing out on the cardio machine. Since I also can't stand meal replacement shakes, smoothies were my natural choice. I hope they will be yours too!

Mixed Fruit Smoothie for Two

1 banana, chopped
1 orange, peeled, segmented and chopped
1 handful of frozen mixed berries
1/4 cup plain, skim milk yogurt (or use your favourite flavour)
skim milk
orange juice

1. Put all the chopped fruit and yogurt in a blender.
2. Cover with juice and milk -- the ratio is up to you. If you like it sweeter, use more juice than milk.
3. Blend until frothy and smooth (although my favourite part might be getting the chunks of orange that escaped the blender blades).
4. Share with your loved one.