Incredible Blackberry-Raspberry Crumble Pie

 ****This post is cut and pasted from my earlier post "New Baby Celebration Meal" but it deserves its own post...so here goes...


Blackberry-Raspberry Crumble 
When cooked right, the pie is thick enough to stay put on your spoon.  This is a very easy dessert that is sure to disappear quickly.  You can use any fruit, but the cooking times and ingredients will differ a bit.   This is my favorite dessert right now!

Makes 1 pie
Topping:
1 cup oatmeal, whole grain
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of butter melted
Mix the oatmeal and brown sugar then mix in the butter.  Set aside. The topping gets spread evenly over the pie.  I have a hard time keeping my kids hands out of the topping-- it is delicious and simple.

Insides:
2 cups of previously frozen blackberries (de-thaw before using)
2 cups previously frozen raspberries, or enough to fill a pie dish (de-thaw before using)
5 TBS flour
3 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix all the above ingredients (minus the fruit and lemon juice).  When thoroughly combined, add to the fruit and pour on the lemon juice.  Be careful not to rough up the berries too much as you mix it.  They are delicate.   Spoon the mixture into the pie pan.   Next, cover the fruit mixture with the oatmeal crumble.  Bake at 350 F for as long as it takes, making sure not to burn the crumble layer. The pie should be bubbling for a while.  Keep an eye on the topping and take out of oven before it gets overcooked.  I think it took about 45 minutes, but... don't take my word for it...I time things very intuitively.  I use my nose too and can usually tell when it is done cooking by the smells.  Good luck!  Bon Appetite!

Late Summer Apple-Plum Crumble Pie

What better way to use summer's bounty than to make a pie?  And what is easier than my version of a crumble?  Inspired by my friend Ashley's mixed fruit crumble, in which she let me in on her secret to a good crumble top.  And it requires no crust.  That's good, because for me, crusts take a lot of time to make!  Here it goes... thanks Ashley!

Crumble: (for 1 pie)
1 cup oatmeal, whole grain
1/2 cup brown sugar
approx 1/4 cup of butter at room temperature or melted
Mix the oatmeal and brown sugar then mix in the butter.  Set aside.

Pie Filling (fruit):

~enough fruit to fill up your pie dish(es), filling a bit over to top of the dish
I used apples, plums, and a pear.  You can use just about any fruit, keeping in mind that some fruits, like plums, are best mixed with other less flavorful fruits (like apples).  Cut fruit into small 1/4 inch pieces.  For a smooth taste peel apples.  I did not peel mine as the apples were quite small and it was still great!
~5 TBS flour
~3 TBS lemon juice
~1/2 cup sugar
~1/4 tsp nutmeg
~1/4 tsp cinnamon
Mix all the above ingredients (minus the fruit).  When thoroughly mixed add to the fruit and spoon into the pie pan.   Next, cover the fruit mixure with the oatmeal crumble.  Bake at 350 F for as long as it takes, making sure not to burn the crumble layer.

above: Marina makes her own creation, and in the foreground, the crumble

Enjoy with whip cream or icecream, hot or cold, and with friends and family!

 

above: I also made a cobbler, with the same fruit filling ingredients and it was wonderful.  I thought I had a picture of the crumble, but alas, no.  

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie, Whole Foods Recipe

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie

If I want to find a good recipe I often go to the Whole foods Website as it features tons of great, natural, and organic recipes. Their recipes tend to be healthier and easier for me to make than many other websites' recipes. I also have a lot of the ingredients that they call for in my house. So when I wanted to make a Rhubarb Pie, I checked out their website to see if they had a a tasty looking recipe. I bought a ton of rhubarb at the Bayview Farmer's market yesterday and I swore to myself I would not watch it go up in mold like I did last time I bought it at the farmer's market. So here is the link to a great rhubarb pie, courtesy Whole Foods:

***Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie Recipe: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=890

• My changes to the recipe: I added about 2 pints of strawberries to the recipe and added a little less rhubarb to compensate (instead of 8 stalks I added 5-6). I highly recommend the strawberries!

Here is Whole Foods' Website:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/index.php

Garden Fresh Quiche with Tuna: Using Spinach and Chard from the Garden (with a wheat & gluten free crust)

We are getting a lot of eggs from our chickens this time of the year. They lay the most eggs during the lightest time of the year. Our garden is also beginning to offer us some beautiful bounty. I planted later than usual this year, as it has been rainy and cold and I have been busy enjoying my little Stella, who is now 4 months old. So here is a recipe that you can enjoy using in season ingredients. It's lots of fun to get the ingredients from your own garden and your own chickens or you can get them at the farmers market. This recipe is for one quiche pie and serves from 2 to 4 people, depending on the portion size. I like to make two pies and have leftovers.

Quiche filling:
2 cups chard, chop small
2 cups spinach, chop small
1/2 cup or 3 carrots chopped small
1 can of tuna
2 TBS mayo
1/2 pound sheep feta, or other high quality feta

Egg Mixture:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk and it was great!)

Pie Crust:
1/3 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cup flour, I use quinoa flakes, a quick cooking cereal, it is wheat and gluten free
pinch of salt
Up to 3 TBS water

Mix butter and quinoa flakes in a blender and then add salt and water as needed. Press crust into a buttered 9-inch pan. I slowly work the crust from the center of the pi dish to the sides and then up the sides.

Stir Fry the carrots, chard, spinach. Herat a pan on medium. Begin with some oliveoil and then add carrots, chopped small. Cook for 5 minutes then add chard and spinach. Cover and turn temperature to low. Cook for 2-4 minutes, just enought o soften the chard and spinach.
Set aside.

Put the Two Together: Preheat oven to 375F
Now you have the crust ready and the ingredients set aside and cut to the right size. Crumble the feta on the crust. Cheese is the first ingredient to go on the pie. It helps make a moisture barrier. Spread the feta evenly over the crust. Put the crust with feta in the preheated 375F oven for 5 minutes to melt cheese and harden the crust a little.










Remove from the oven and place the stir fried carrots, chard and spinach over the feta / cheese. Reserve a small handful of greens to put on the pie right before you place it in the oven.









Mix one can of tuna with 2 TBS mayo. Spread the tuna over the stir fry ingredients on the quiche.










Mix 4 eggs with 1 1/2 cups milk. Pour the egg & milk mixture in the quiche (on top of the greens and tuna. Sprinkle the top of the quiche with the leftover greens to make it look pretty.










Now put it in the preheated oven on 375F. Cook for 35-45 minutes or until the middle and sides of the quiche are firm, not watery. Here's the final product: