Photo courtesy of Taylor Summach
I would like to begin this post with an ode to my friend, Lindsay. Lindsay works at the college with me. She, along with her husband, used to live in the apartment where I currently reside. She moved out this spring as this little apartment was a bit too cozy with the arrival of their daughter. After she had moved out, she asked me, “Emily, would you like the use our chest freezer in the apartment? We won’t need it at our new house.” I, enthusiastically, said, “Yes!” Chest freezer. A dream come true!
I’ve been trying to work through all the food we have in the freezer to make room our CSA offerings. I fished out a bag of frozen rhubarb this weekend and these beautiful little crisps were born. I found a recipe on the internet and modified it to suit my tastes. Have I ever mentioned how much I love ramekins? They really dress up a simple dessert. This sweet and tart crisp is the perfect treat for a warm June evening. I suggest digging into your freezer, pulling the ramekins down from the top shelf and giving these a go as soon as possible.
Rhubarb Crisp
Based on “Rhubarb Crisp”, from About.com
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter four small ramekins.
In a large bowl combine:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
Cut in 1/4 cup of butter until the crumble is the size of small peas.
In a saucepan combine:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened. Pour over 2 cups of chopped rhubarb and stir to coat. Press half of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the ramekins, top with a layer of rhubarb and finished with rest of the crumble. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Yum. I’ve always loved a good slice of carrot cake. I recall asking for carrot cake for my 6th birthday. The slightly spicy flavor, the moist texture, and the creamy icing all come together to make one perfect baked good, in my eyes.
A couple of weeks ago, I made the carrot cake that is featured in my Flour cookbook. One thing that I have learned about this cookbook is that its philosopy seems to be something along the lines of: “Okay, let’s take classic recipe X and enhance it until it the best version of X that ever existed.” At least, that’s the case with this cake. Its got everything I loved about carrot cake blown way out of delicious proportion. Oh baby.
Be warned, this recipe makes a large, rich layer cake. Make it for a dinner party. Do not make it for week it will be just you, your husband and this cake all alone in your basement apartment. Gluttony will ensure. See the title of this blog post for further details.
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I have an obsession. Food Blogs. I could read food blogs for days. And so, like anyone with an obsession, I did what was only natural. No, I didn’t kidnap my favorite food blogger and then force them to cook for me so no one else could eat their food - I started my own blog! And if you have stumbled upon this page, congratulations. You have found my blog.
Winter has hit hard and fast in southern Manitoba. We got 6 inches of snow last night and the flakes are still coming down. Luckily, I had these little gems to keep me happy with a hot beverage.
White chocolate cranberry biscotti. Mmm. Soooo good. Sometimes when the “baking bug” hits me, I know exactly what I want to make. I had a hankering for something sweet with cranberries. Type a few key words into google, and bingo, I’m on my way to the store.
Such simple ingredients. Sugar. Butter. Eggs. Those are the building blocks of happiness.
I had never made biscotti before, so I was a little apprehensive. How do I get to be that classic biscotti shape? I’m pleased to report that it was shockingly easier. The dough was a perfect consistency to shape and didn’t stick to my hands either. The biscotti formed easy rectangles on the pan and puffed up nicely in the oven. The recipe calls for about 30 minutes of baking, which I followed. In hindsight, I think I probably would have baked it a bit longer. Although the they looked very brown, they weren’t as crunchy as I like my biscotti to be.
I recommend a good, hot drink with one of these babies. Celestial Seasoning Gingerbread Spice tea just showed up at the grocery store this week. Just saying.
Want to make these little beauties? Recipe can be found here.
All photos courtesy of Taylor Summach Photography.
