Kiwi and Mango Nigiri : It’s Easy Being Green : Marx Food Contest!

ZestyBeanDog has entered another Marx Foods Contest!  They are just too much fun to not partake in! Marx Foods send you a box of sample sized goodies and the rules are simple:  You have to use at least two ingredients and then blog the recipe. This time around there will be 2 winners, one from internal vote and one from public vote (that me means YOU, my dear friends). Voting will begin on Tuesday at which point I will add the new link to my blog. Then you can check out all the recipes and vote for your favorite one!  The winners get $100 in Marx Food Store Credit and you know I need that BAD!!! I’m all out of  YUZU juice! 😉

I chose to use the Bamboo Rice, Cardamom, and the Mint Herb Crystals to create a Kiwi and Mango Nigiri. This was a tasty and whimsical play on dessert and sushi that I will be making it again for sure, probably for a dinner party. The cardamom infused bamboo rice was subtle yet alluring and the slight crunch of the crystalized mint paired surprisingly well with the mango and bamboo rice.  I couldn’t resist doing kiwi not only because it’s green but also because I love it and the little seeds gave a great texture to the nigiri. The nigiri was then served with a orange honey marmalade and rice wine sauce. Overall it was a fun dish, to eat and to make!

Prep Time: 60 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: Makes 8 Nigiri

Ingredients:

• .5 Cup Bamboo Rice
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 tsp Rice wine vinegar
• 5 Cardamom pods broken crushed with seeds
• 1 Kiwi
• 1 Mango
• 1 tsp Crystalized Mint
• 4 Mint leaves, small
• Marmalade

Instructions:

1. Boil 1 Cup of water add crushed cardamom pods and seeds, let sit for 10 min on simmer. Strain and reserve water for rice. 
2. Add rinsed bamboo rice to water bring to a boil, add 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, cover and simmer for 20 min or until done.
3. Cut up kiwi and mango thinly to arrange on top of rice.
4. Let rice cool for about 20-30 min.
5. Make 8 nigiri mounds with your hands and place fruit on top and garnish with crystalized mint and real mint.
6. Serve with honey orange marmalade with a splash of rice wine.

Enjoy with a glass of wine!

Cucumber Yuzu and Lavender Granita

This is the perfect little frozen treat to make at home. It’s so refreshing and so simple to make.

Serves: 6

Prep Time: 20 min

Set Time: about 2-3 hours or so, or until mostly frozen.

Ingredients:

• 3 large organic cucumbers peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1 C. White sugar ( I would like to try this with agave nectar next time).
• 3/4 C. Water
• 1/4 C. Yuzu Juice
• Fresh basil
• Sea Salt (if desired).
• 2 sprigs of fresh lavender

Instructions:

1. Juice cucumbers if you have a juicer, if not blend in a blender and strain through a mesh strainer or cheese cloth, reserve juice.
2. Heat water and yuzu juice to a boil, adding lavender sprigs. Stir in sugar and create a simple syrupy substance, once sugar is melted take off heat and let cool. Remove lavender sprigs and discard.
3. Combine juice and syrup in a shallow plastic plan.
4. Freeze until mostly frozen, scrape icy mixture with a fork to “fluff” up.
5. Serve with a basil and salt garnish.

Enjoy and cheers!

Birthday Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

I figured I’d celebrate my Birthday today by posting an awesome recipe I have adapted from Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide. I usually never go off a recipe unless I’m baking a dessert or making something someone asked me to make from a recipe they found, I can never stick to them verbatim though I always “throw” something else in 😉 I’m not a huge “cake” fan in fact at our wedding we had cobbler because we don’t favor cake 🙂  I made these last week for one of Evan’s co-workers, Lori, for her birthday (he did help a bit in case anyone was wondering ; ) ) and they were so good. I ate WAY to many, I even found myself eating them for breakfast…! I’m 28 years old today and feel great!!! I’m still wondering where all this time goes though… Life is good!

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars (adapted from Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide and Elephant Eats)

Prep: 20 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Makes: 40 -45 bars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, and more for end
• 1 1/2 cups corn syrup
• 4 ounces dark chocolate
• 4 eggs
• 1 ounce bourbon
• 1 ounce cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups chopped Texas pecans

Instructions:

1. Grease bottom and sides of 15″x10″x1″ baking dish or two smaller pans.
2. In a stand mixer on medium, beat flour, 1/2 C. sugar, butter and salt until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 20 min.
3. Meanwhile, in a three-quart pan, stir corn syrup and chocolate on low until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in maple syrup, bourbon, remainder of sugar, eggs and pecans. Pour filling over hot crust and bake at 350 until firm around edges but slightly soft in center, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.
5. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

 Enjoy and Cheers! 

ZBD is Back : A Whirlwind Post of Denver

3 Girls from Texas went to Denver on a mission and that mission was accomplished!

We went, we saw, we drank, we ate, we conquered. It was one of the most fun trips I’d ever taken, all that was missing was Evan (he would have been in heaven)!  We made loose plans on where were wanted to go and what we wanted to see and did pretty damn good at getting a lot of it done. We didn’t see everything (we would have need a week for that at least)! It was a whirlwind of fun, beer, food, and I even got to reunite with my God Father Kent and his wife Lisa!

DAY 1:

When we first arrived to Denver before we could even leave the airport we had to stop in the lounge for a local beer. A Singletrack Ale by Boulder Beer.

Our friend Hannah (the redhead) and her friend picked Lori and I up from the airport (in a convertible I might add) Yes we dropped the top! Who cares about hair and the fact that it was 57 F. outside, we were on vacation! We got dropped off at our humble abode, which was pretty sweet: an older 3 bedroom home decorated in retro modern furniture and art posters. It also has a great backyard patio! It was perfect! After settling in a getting ready for our first adventure we made our way to the bike rental place The Bike Doctor they were nice over there and hooked us up with some bikes for our downtown excursion. We all managed to stay on our bikes and not have any malfunctions so that was a plus!

Beer time: We biked all over downtown hitting up these places…

Flying Dog was the first stop (they were closed) 😦 We never made it back… I was sad…

Breckenridge Brewery: We tried a sampler of 6 beers. I’m a bit biased because on of my favorite beers is the 471 Small Batch IPA, they had this beer on cask aged in Stranahan’s Whiskey Barrels…. MY NEW FAV!  It was wonderful so complex, delicious, and I shouldn’t forget HOPPY, I love hops!!!  I have to say that Breckenridge was my favorite spot for a beer in downtown, Stuart (the GM) was serving our beer and he was so friendly and personable. He let us walk in the back and check out the beer set up. We liked him a lot! We felt at home here! I definitely recommend going here the beers are well rounded and there’s something for everyone here, including some BBQ.

Stranahan’s Whiskey  : I know this isn’t beer… but I love whiskey too… A LOT. The whiskey was good, it was no Jameson’s but it was good. They use Rock Mountain Water to make their whiskey so I thought that was really cool! I also was very curious to try the whiskey that the barrels were used for in the 471 Small Batch Cask! While we were there I had a Deviant Dales IPA which was pretty damn good (note if it’s an IPA chances are good I’ll stay it was damn good, I’m a biased IPA snob remember).  We decided to have a bite to eat while we were there and after a suggestion from one of the locals named we ordered the Chefs Plate, which consisted of American style cheeses • cured meats • appropriate condiments • all for $ 17 it was delish! The table next to us had burgers that were ginormous and looked phenomenal.

Great Divide Brewing We got here just as a Baseball game let out… it was packed and this apparently was the place to go after games. I finagled  my way to the front of the bar and ordered 3 beers 2 double IPA’s and one regular… I don’t remember which I had but I did remember the Titan IPA was the non double. We were approached by several dudes with half of their beers split down their white Denver Rockies Baseball Jersey’s, none of which had mustard stains which was quit surprising. 🙂  We left after the first beer to grab a bite.

We moseyed our way down to have some dinner at Biker Jim’s Dogs for a little Denver wiener and beer. We all had Dale’s Pale Ale and I had the Pheasant Dog it was really incredible! Had I not been so full of beer I could have eaten 2 or 3!

After cruising around town for a bit more we called it a night and biked home!

DAY 2: 

We rented a car for this day to make our ways to Fort Collins- but before a day of beer we needed brunch!

The Kitchen:  To be honest I don’t even know what I ate…  It was a scramble egg kind of dish on toast…I forgot to get a photo of this one… I do however remember my beer because I wrote it down!  I had the Strange Pale Ale and it was pretty good. We also had a side of garlic fries that were amazing!

First Stop New Belgium Brewery: This place was INCREDIBLE and it completely blew our minds! This was the only “official tour” we did and with good reason… their set up is amazing! To be honest I was not a huge fan of NBB until I came here. I absolutely LOVE how everything was so well thought out, everything had meaning, purpose, and a great story behind it. It just felt good being here. We learned so much in the 1.5 hr tour from the origins of the brewery to how they decide on beers to release. Many of you may have tried the Ranger IPA (you know I have) and may be thinking… “well that’s not a “Belgium Style Ale”… it’s not but the beer rangers told NB that they needed an IPA so they made one and I’m glad they did!

*Beer Rangers are their beloved folks out in the field. Spanning all 29 of our states from the Pacific to the Atlantic, the Beer Rangers do their best to protect, to pour and to partake. And explore many a beer from many a brewery, they do.

We tried so many different beers on the tour and each one was so awesomely explained! We of course started off with a Fat Tire, then onto Biere de Mars, then a Ranger IPA, then a Shift, and lastly and my FAVORITE of them all the La Folie a sour brown ale that I thought I’d hate but in all actuality loved and found my self craving once I got back to Texas (yes I had one last night).

This place was just incredible all around, a great company, great people, and really great beers! Everyone was so friendly here. One interesting tid bit… upon signing our tabs there was no tip option…they don’t accept tips because it’s an employee owned company!  I think that’s so awesome!  Please go check this place out asap!

Odell’s Brewery  This place it a hop away from New Belgium Brewery. It’s a sweet little spot and very lively. We supposedly met Willie Nelsons Cousin at the New Belgium Brewery and he followed us over to Odell’s… Not sure if we buy that dudirino, although he did look reminiscent of him… Needless to say he bought us our first and only beers here, thanks… *(It apparently is very common to get followed to beer places in Denver, I’m not sure if it was our good looks 😉 , the fact that we love beer, just random, or all three)hahaha!  I had a an IPA of course. From here we made the executive decision to have our Fancy dinner on this evening. I perused our map and Open Table and we decided on a 8:45 reservation at Mizuna…

Mizuna: Before I start let me just say I’m so glad we decided on a “fancy” dinner! It would have been incomplete without it! This place was hands down probably one of the top places to eat in Denver, Anthony Bourdain ate here, it’s gotta be good! We started off with some cocktails and appetizers I had the Basil Cucumber Fizz (I know it’s not beer… GASP) and we shared the Burgundian Escargot: Gruyère Crouton, Hon Shimeji Mushrooms, Parsley Aigo Bouido and the Rabbit Confit Ravioletta: Chanterelle Mushrooms, Tomme Rabelais Fondue, Grain Mustard Beurre Blanc. Oh my GOD it was so wonderful! The escargot was so wonderful and nutty the mushrooms were such a great compliment to the snails and the rabbit confit, mind blowing!

Main Courses: 

I had the Seared Veal Tenderloin Oyster Mushroom Leek Bread Pudding, Chestnut Soubise, Wilted Spinach, Hannah had the Sautéed Red Snapper Braised Endive, Sunchoke Mousseline, Truffle Vinaigrette, Garlic Nage and Lori had the Dry Aged NY Strip Au Poivre Black Truffle Porcini Gratin, Grilled Ramps. They were impeccable and well worth the money! We drank a bottle of LUCIEN ALBRECHT , CREMANT, BRUT ROSÉ – ALSACE with dinner, some of the best bubbly I’ve ever had!

Great meal with great ladies!

After a long day we had to head home to rest and prepare for day 3.

Sorry for the poor pictures it was very dark in Mizuna!

Day 3:

Time to brunch it up again and drop of the rental car. Today is the day we will meet my God Father Kent and his wife Lisa so I’m very excited!

Brunch: The Lobby I had a bloody mary WITH House bacon infused vodka, killer! I had the blue lump crap spinach and cream over poached eggs on an English muffin and we all split green chili pork tater tots… prob not the best choice since we couldn’t eat our meals after that!

Now it’s time for hiking and fun with my God Father Kent and Lisa! I hadn’t seen them since I was 2 so naturally I don’t remember that… at all! We got picked up by Kent and made our way out to Evergreen, a lovely little town about 25 min from Denver proper. We saw tons of snow capped mountains and wildlife like Elk, black squirrels, and black tailed deer. We went out and walked around Echo Lake and made our way to hike about a 4 mile trail. It was pretty cold at the time about mid 30’s-40’s but when the wind wasn’t blowing we were fine. We collected rocks and specimens along the way (that reminds I need to check my pockets for those things) 🙂 It was a blast, us Texan girls even made us some snowballs! Haha! It snowed a bit while we were out and about which was neat!

After hiking we made our way back to Kent and Lisa’s home in Evergreen for some great BBQ: burgers, brats, bean salad, and a spinach salad! It was so nice catching up and seeing them it was the highlight of my trip! After dinner we looked through some old photographs and talked about the old days. Kent told me my Dad’s old nickname “Bird” minus the definition… I had to get it from my Dad when I got home… hahah good times for sure! Shortly after dinner Kent drove us back to Denver taking us on the scenic route! We wen’t through Red Rocks amphitheater and some small towns. Red Rocks is amazing! Once we arrived home he patiently waited for the girls to get ready for our last night out on the town (thanks Kent).  It’s amazing that 26 years of not seeing someone and reuniting with them felt so natural, like we’d been friends and in contact forever! Lisa is probably one of the sweetest ladies I know, she was so nice! I now know why my parent’s picked Kent to be my God Father… they picked a great down to earth man!

Next Stop: Falling Rock Tap House  This place was a popular hangout, it was packed and nearly impossible to get a seat, we finally did and we had…. a beer! I had the Sierra Nevada Hoptimum. It was a cool spot, def the younger crowd hangout. We had one beer and made our way on to get a snack.

Marcos Coal Fired Pizza We spilt a pizza here the Del Re: Truffle and Porcini Mushroom Pecorino Sardo Spread, Fresh Mozzarella, Topped with Mushrooms, Proscuitto di Parma, Fresh Basil it was good but I wasn’t completely blown away… I gues I’m kind of a pizza snob… go figure! The crust was off in my opinion… Oh well. Next stop Star Bar right next door.

Star Bar:  I loved this place! It totally reminded me of being in Texas 🙂 They had a nice live band that did mainly covers and people were letting loose in this place, I’m talking dancing like there would be no tomorrow! The served GIANT beers here after the first I felt so full but after the second and third we were good to go! We danced, laughed, and closed this bar down, we had to it was our last night! 😉 After this we ventured back cab style (prob the worst cabby ever), but we made it back to that humble abode.

Day 4:

The last day in Denver, luckily our flight wasn’t until 3:45 (it was actually much later because we were delayed due to slide malfunctioning). We took our time getting up, cleaned the place a bit, and packed…then got ready for one final brunch.

Strings: We walked about 2 miles to get here, it was SO windy but we made it.  We of course ordered the $12 bottomless mimosa’s I think we had like 6 each (we got our monies worth)! And we ALL ordered the crab cake eggs benny’s! It was so delish! At the end of brunch we felt we had to order dessert since we hadn’t done it all trip… crème brûlée it was and it was phenomenal! I was a bit worried upon going on this trip that I’d gain like 10lbs… surprisingly with all the walking, biking, and hiking I lost .5 a lb! That NEVER happens EVER!  Glad we got that dessert!

From here we take off to the airport and say goodbye to Denver. It was a wonderful trip with 2 of my best friends I couldn’t imagine anyone I’d rather take a beer trip with (other than Evan of course). We definitely did this trip up right!  Until next time Denver! Cheers!

Snowballs for Santa… Friends and Family in Texas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my foodie friends! I hope you all have tons of great food and drinks with your families! We are packing up the house as I speak, but still finding time for good food and family time. Tonight I’m making quail,  risotto, and brussel sprouts. My Dad’s making shrimp cocktail to start off the meal 🙂 Of course we will be having these little snowball cookies for dessert, if Santa is lucky there may be a few left for him…

These are great and easy little cookies that are great for Christmas time!

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 20-25 min

Servings: 45-50 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Butter
• 2/3 C. Sugar, granulated
• 4 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 4 tsp. Water
• 4 C. Flour
• 2/3 C. Powdered sugar
• 1.5 C. Pecan pieces

Instructions:

1. Pre-Heat oven to 325 F.
2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy with hand mixer.
3. Add vanilla and water and cream again.
4. Add Four and pecans and mix well with a spoon or hands.
5. Roll into little balls with hands and keeps as balls.
6. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 min or until done.
7. Let cool for 15 -20 min and roll in powdered sugar.

Enjoy! Cheers!

Bacon and Vanilla Fregola Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting….

This is a recipe I came up with for the Marx Foods Dessert Challenge! I had never had Fregola before until now and we were instructed to make a dessert with it. We were also sent bourbon vanilla beans, star anise, and saffron. I wanted to do something out of the ordinary while being something sweet and savory so here it is! Enjoy! Please vote for my recipe HERE. 

These turned out to be amazing! I really enjoyed the Fregola texture incorporated into the cupcake. The maple syrup that the fregola was cooked in really worked well I thought. The vanilla and bacon hints tied it all together in this sweet and savory dessert!

Prep Time: 30 min

Bake Time: 20-25 min

Serves: 24 (regular cup cake size)

Ingredients:

Fregola

• 1 C. Dry Fregola
• 1 Vanilla beans
• 2 C. Water
• 1/4 C. Maple syrup
• 20 Saffron threads

Cup Cakes

• 1 C. Unsalted sweet cream butter
• 2 C. Sugar
• 1 Vanilla bean pod, scraped of seeds (use the seeds).
• 4 Eggs
• 3 C. All purpose flour
• 1 TBS Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 C. Skim milk
• 24  Cupcake paper liners
• 3/4 lb Bacon, cooked and crispy ( you know how I like it, nitrate free like Applegate Farms).

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
• 1 Stick of salted butter
• 1 Vanilla bean pod, scraped of beans.
• 2 C. Confectioner’s sugar, sifted.

Instructions:

Fregola:

1. Wash fregola under cold water.
2. Add fregola to a pot of: 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 20 saffron threads, and vanilla beans, and pod.
3. Boil for 20 min.
4. Remove vanilla pod and drain (do not rinse again).

Cup Cakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to cream. Gradually add the vanilla and eggs and mix in well. Sift together the dry ingredients; then mix into the butter mixture alternating with the milk.
3. Add prepared Fregola.
4. Pour batter into cupcake paper-lined muffin tins filling them 3/4 full. Bake until puffed and firm in the center and light golden brown on top, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.
5. Once cool frost the cupcakes with your cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla beans, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE 🙂

Disclaimer: Marx Foods sent me samples of their products in order to participate in this contest. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Thanksgiving Wrap Up with a Recipe for Herbed Cornbread!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, I know I did. I spent days preparing and cooked until my shoulders felt like they were going to fall off! We had a great time with my parents in from Houston, my in-laws (we were at their lake house), and 2 of their friends they met in Seoul that currently live in Houston!

I prepared a wonderfully juicy free range and organic bird that I basted often with herb butter.

Herbed CornBread

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 18-25 min

Serves: 6 Large muffins, or 12 small muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C. Whole wheat white four
• 3/4 C. Corn meal
• 1/4 C. Sugar
• 2 tsp. Baking powder
• 1 tsp. Sea salt
• 1 TBS Fresh rosemary, chopped finely
• 1 TBS Fresh thyme, chopped finely
• 1 C. Skim milk
• 1/4 C. Canola oil
• 1 Egg, beaten

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients and sift well.
3. Add milk, oil, and egg into dry mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moist.
4. Grease muffin tin(s) and divid mixture evenly among tins, not filling too high (about half way or 3/4 of the way).
5. Bake until golden and test with a wooden tooth pick, when it come out clean, they are done.

I used this recipe for my stuffing, I made about 12 muffins 1-2 days before Thanksgiving. I crumbled them roughly and left them out in a pan to get a little hardened. I did the same with a loaf of french baguette and mixed them together to prep for my stuffing.

Stuffing Prep

Homemade Giblet Gravy

Completely unprocessed green bean casserole (even the french fried onions are homemade)

Outside of the bird stuffing

My mother in-law made a great pumpkin curry dish!

Ginger loves the lake, she especially loves chasing the deer…

Best Pecan Pie in the WORLD by my mother-in-law

Mom’s helping out in the kitchen

Evan Carving the Bird

Turkey Talk 🙂

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday!

Peanut Butter Cups… and they just happen to be gluten free!

For all you Glutards out there 🙂 That’s what my husbands crew at work calls themselves (there’s a few gluten intolerant folks there) so no offense 🙂 Every now and then I like to make goodies for him to take in and it gives me an excuse to bake or in this case melt… sweet things because I seldom do…I’m a savory gal for the most part. I’m not going to lie… I tried them and also fed the dog a big ole peanut butter ball, which was entertaining!

Prep: 30 min

Set Time: 1 hr (no baking just melting)

Yields: 12 large cups or 24 small (cupcake tin sized)

Ingredients:

• 3 C. Quality chocolate baking chips, use fair trade please 🙂 I used semi-sweet you can use milk chocolate if you prefer
• 1 C. Peanut butter, I prefer the all natural kind that’s just peanuts and salt, you can even grind your own at HEB, Central Market, and Whole Foods! That’s what I did 🙂
• 1/2 C. Powdered sugar
• 1/4 C. Gluten free ginger snaps or graham crackers, crushed you pick your fav brand or use regular graham crackers (but they wont be gluten free).
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
• Cookie tin and liners 12ct or 24 ct tin

Instructions:

Line a muffin pan with 12 or 24 paper liners. Set aside. Melt 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate in a double boiler. A microwave will work just do it in small burst of heat and stir each time. Using a pastry brush, paint a layer of melted chocolate onto the bottoms and sides of the paper liners (I found it helpful to hold them while doing so. Don’t skimp on chocolate here; coat the liners generously. Set the bowl aside with any remaining melted chocolate left in it. Put the muffin pan in the refrigerator for 20 minutes while you make the peanut-butter filling. In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, crushed cookies, powdered sugar and salt. Stir with a spoon mixed well. Return the bowl used to melt the chocolate to the top of the double boiler. Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of chocolate and melt. Meanwhile, divide peanut-butter mixture into 12 or 24 even amounts. (I used a plate to set them on). Remove the muffin pan from the refrigerator. Put one mound into each paper liner. Tap down each mound with your fingertips to “nest” it into the chocolate bottom. By now, the chocolate added to the double boiler should all be melted. Using a spoon, dollop the top of each peanut butter mixture mound with a generous portion of chocolate. Use the back of a teaspoon to smooth out the tops (alternately, use the spoon to make a swirl atop each cup). Place the muffin pan in the refrigerator. Within one hour, your cups should be set, depending how cold your fridge runs. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and carefully remove from tin, I placed these in a little pumpkin pale for Halloween. Enjoy!

Delectable Organic Strawberry and Blueberry Cobbler, Served with Frozen Custard!

Prep Time: 8 min

Cook Time: 30-45min

Serves approx. 8

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 pint of fresh washed strawberries sliced, organic
2. 1 pint of fresh washed blueberries, organic
3. 2 cups (quality) sugar (divided), organic
4. 1/2 c. water
5. 8 tbs of butter
6. 1 1/2 cups of self-rising flour
7. 1 1/2 c. milk (2%)
8. Ground cinnamon to sprinkle on top before baking

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine the berries, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
• Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
• To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or if you can find it some homemade frozen custard (like Likitty’s) . Thanks Lucas and Amanda for that GREAT introduction!

I really enjoy this recipe more than peach or blackberry cobbler, not only for the flavor but also for the simplicity of it.  It’s easy to prep (unlike coring and peeling peaches) and it doesn’t leave those little seeds in your mouth and teeth from the blackberries.