Asian Pear and Ricotta Coffee Cake

Are you a fan of Asian pears? Personally, I can't get enough of them - super juicy, with a crispness and flavour unlike anything else in the fruit family, in my book they have long outrun the apples they're most commonly compared to. Not only do they make for delicious out-of-hand snacks, but I've come to realize that they make awesome fruits for baking. I've been able to use them in recipes calling for pears (obviously), but also apples and any other firm fruit. Apple pies or crisps, for instance, become a little more interesting with the addition of an Asian pear to the bowl of standard apples, and while sauce and butter take longer to make (they hold their shape exceedingly well), the flavour is fabulous.

So when I had an excess of both my favourite fruit and homemade ricotta, I couldn't wait to try a recipe I had bookmarked for ages - Uni Homemaker's Pear Ricotta Coffee Cake. Obviously, I swapped the fruit, but I also used spelt flour and flaxseed for a little nutrition. Because I wanted the tangy ricotta and tender pears to shine through, I also nixed the streusel - a move that the coffee cake lover in me declared as sacrilege, but in the end resulted in exactly what I was looking for! Although it's not a calorie- or fat-friendly dessert (I was using whole milk, butter and full fat ricotta!), it has a light enough feel to make it perfect for a weeknight dessert or an addition to a Sunday brunch.

The cake doesn't rise very high, and as you can see isn't winning any beauty pageants - but when something packs the flavour and texture this does, eating with the eyes really does come second in importance!

Cinnamon Bun “French Toast” Muffins

Sometimes I wonder where my head is at these days. I mean, it's been a year since I first made these muffins and only now am I getting around to posting about it! 

When my sister is home from school over the summer, she always has one of two things for breakfast: pancakes or French toast. While she likes her pancakes plain (and ready for copius amounts of chocolate chips), the caveat for actually having some protein in her morning routine is that the bread is cinnamon-raisin. Up until recently, that bread was the only "spicy" thing her supertaster palate liked, but now she's beginning to develop a taste for cinnamon buns too! When I first found this recipe in Cooking for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet: Over 100 Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Recipes that are Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free, and Grain-Free, I had to admit I was curious - can you actually make clones of the to-die-for mall cinnamon buns in muffin form, without refined sugar, grains or dairy?

Well, call me convinced - these muffins smelled and tasted almost like "real" Cinnabons, but better - think cinnamon roll French toast. Because there are a lot of eggs in the batter, that “French Toast” / "custard" flavour and texture comes through. The topping bakes into the batter - if it gets that far, since it is to-die-for on its own and has become a staple recipe for other "crumb fillings" around here. The rich honey adds plenty of sweetness but also a slightly bitter edge, and combining coconut flour and almond milk you get a hint of nuttiness too. To further gild the lily, I made a glaze for my first batch, which was admittedly not for the SCD followers, but I have another recipe to go to if the need arises (and I've included it below). 

Whether you are craving a piece of French toast, a cinnamon roll or both, these will fit the bill - and many dietary restrictions too.

Shared with Waste Not Want Not Wednesday

Gluten-Free Quinoa Blondies

It's a well known fact that I'm a chocoholic. Give me the dark stuff in any form and I'm a happy girl. But for some reason, I also have a soft spot for blondies. There's something about their unfailing rich flavour, the chewiness from the brown sugar and the ever-so-slightly browned butter nuances that come through in each bite.

These bars are unlike any other blondies I've had - ever. Yes, they have a wonderful rich flavour, a hint of nuttiness and even a bit of chew. But there's no butter - not even any added oil - and the majority of the ingredients list is actually healthy. It's an all-star cast of superfoods: there's quinoa, chia, flax, soy, chickpeas and dark chocolate! Really, the only thing on the semi-naughty list is the brown sugar, but even that has a few more nutrients than it's white counterpart. I think the secret to getting the right texture and chewiness that I love so much in regular bar cookies is the merest hint of chia seed combining with the ground flax, my twist on the original.

If you need an excuse to get any of those superfoods in (or more fibre in your diet), these are sure a tasty way to do it that even the kids will lap up! I'm the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of quinoa in it's savoury form, but like I said before, add chocolate and I'm in!The quinoa fades into a deliciously "toasty" background note that adds a little pep to an otherwise sweet recipe.

The best part is, though, that these are way easier to make than the traditional blondie. If you have cooked quinoa leftover from last night's dinner, it's ready and waiting in under an hour, and even if you have to cook the pseudograin you save on cleanup time by being able to mix the batter in the quinoa pot! 

School Bus Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I never thought I'd be as much of an oatmeal raisin cookie fan as I am. As a kid, if the cookie didn't contain chocolate (or peanut butter), I didn't even bat an eye - the notable exception being my mom's killer shortbreads. As my palate matured, I became more open to oatmeal cookies in general, provided that they were chewy, toasty and their additions were moist. I've been on the hunt for a killer OR cookie recipe for years, and while each one I've made has merits, none of them will match the Dad's Cookies we would buy fresh from their bakery outlet store years ago. Ironically, the company now only sells crunchy cookies, so buying them is off the table!

At least the dearth of good cookies in our vicinity has opened up the opportunity to experiment, and when I saw Donna Quan's (the Toronto District School Board Director) Oatmeal Cookies in the Toronto Star I knew they could be contenders. Heck, if the kids at school adore the recipe, I could definitely try them too! I took the original chewy, hearty cookies and made them even more school-friendly by using less sugar, cutting the cholesterol, boosting the whole grain content and adding a new layer of flavour with flavourful coconut oil. I also heeded the little bit of knowledge I've learned about making good oatmeal cookies and refrigerated the dough overnight, which let the oats and spelt flour fully hydrate and thus bake evenly. I was skeptical of the long bake time too, but it turned out to be a successful way of baking the drops through (and keeping them from falling apart) while maintaining their moisture.

All I know now is that these aren't 100% perfect, but they sure are close - and even with school ending (and Summer camp starting) soon, kids of all ages are going to need an afternoon snack!

Moroccan Pasta Sauce

If I could travel anywhere overseas, I'd go to Morocco. There is something about the exotic sights, sounds, aromas and flavours of that country that is unlike anything else in the world. Thanks to the heavy French and Arabic influences, the buildings are gorgeous and the food even more so. You can get a classic French croissant in the middle of the market, just down the street from a lavish tagine restaurant and a merchant selling mountains of spices, dates, figs and nuts. Although meat (especially chicken and lamb) is definitely a staple in the diet, there is a hefty use of legumes and vegetables too. Bread and couscous are essentially mandatory at every meal, which makes this carb-addict happy, and all this gustatory paradise is accompanied by the burble of the market, the music and the calls from the mosques.

As an homage to all the flavours I love in Moroccan cuisine, last year I used up all the Summer's-end tomatoes and peppers and created this thick, exotic pasta sauce. The marriage of my garden's bounty and pure pomegranate juice was already beyond your standard marinara, but I took the base and really travelled to my favourite country with a medley of garlic, spices and the merest hint of floral saffron. We've used it for all sorts of things - over rice, couscous and pasta, as a bread dipper, and combined with cooked chickpeas, spinach and rice as an impromptu stew. I bet it would make a fabulous dip or topping for grilled meat or fish skewers too.  

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays