fresh strawberry apricot crumble

This crumble was a hit!  I had purchased some apricots the other day and they just weren't getting eaten so I found a fun recipe and threw some fresh strawberries in with the apricots.  It was easy to make and with a scoop of milk & honey ice cream over the top it was a pleaser for sure! (I made it vegan by substituting the butter and not serving it with ice cream for one of my kids.)

strawberry apricot crumble (adapted from boulderlocavore)
10-12 ripe apricots
handful of fresh strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar (if you serve it with ice cream you can cut it in half, I think!)
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon

crumble topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into slices

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Slice apricots in half and remove the pits.  Slice each half into quarters.  Hull the strawberries and slice into quarters.
Place fruit in a large bowl and toss with sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon.
Pour coated fruit into a small casserole dish.
To make the crumble layer, combine flour, brown sugar, salt and oats.  Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
Sprinkle topping over fruit mixture.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the topping is golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream, if desired.

homemade strawberry jam

We picked strawberries yesterday and put them to good use today!  My third daughter and I were like pioneers in the kitchen- we made 4 loaves of bread, 7 jam jars full of strawberry jam and strawberry apricot crumble. 

homemade strawberry jam (mrs. wages recipe on the back of the fruit pectin box)
5 cups pureed strawberries, stems removed and washed
1/4 cup water
1 package Mrs. Wages Fruit Pectin Home Jell Package
7 cups sugar

1.  Prepare home canning jars and lids according to manufacturer's instructions.  Keep jars hot until filled (I put mine in the oven on "warm").
2.  Measure sugar into a dry container and set aside.
3.  Place measured strawberries into a big pot.  Stir in fruit pectin.
4.  Put on the stove on medium high heat and start to cook.  
5.  When mixture comes to a full boil quickly add sugar and boil for 1 minute.  Do not overcook pectin.
6.  Remove from heat and skim off foam.  Quickly ladle into hot jars.  Leave 1/4 inch head space at the top of the jars.  Use a clean damp cloth to wipe any spilled jam from rims and threads of jars.  Cover with hot lids and tighten rings firmly.
7.  Process your jam with either a water bath or steam method (we used the steam method).
8.  Process using the steam method for 5 minutes.  
9.  Remove jars from steamer.  Set on a rack to cool.
10.  When cool, check seals.  (A popping sound is a good sound!).  Label, date and store in a cool, dark place.  Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks.

general tso tofu recipe

This is SO GOOD!  My daughter made this while I was out picking strawberries (and sent me this picture) and I was so sad not to get a taste of it hot and fresh.  However, I found the leftovers in the fridge and had a bite of two.  It's delicious!!

general tso tofu recipe (slightly adapted from instantveg.com)
one package (13 ounce) extra-firm tofu
3 large cloves garlic
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 head of steamed broccoli or bunch of asparagus
6 cups cooked rice

for the sauce:
2 tablespoons sugar (my daughter used less than half that amount)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Drain tofu 30 minutes by setting it in a colander.  Set a plate with a heavy can on top for extra weight to help it drain.
Mince the three cloves garlic finely and put them in a large bowl.  Add the chili flakes, water and ginger and stir to combine.
Cut drained tofu into bite-sized cubes and gently mix it into the garlic sauce until tofu is completely coated.  Cover and let rest in fridge for 1 hour.
In the meantime, make the sauce.  Mix all the sauce ingredients together EXCEPT the cornstarch.  Cover and let rest in the fridge until you're ready to cook the tofu.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cornstarch over the tofu and shake to coat evenly or gently stir.  Spread marinated tofu cubes onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add the tofu from the oven and stir to coat in the hot oil.
Remove sauce from fridge and whisk in 1 teaspoon cornstarch.  Pour into the frying pan and stir gently until sauce is boiling then turn off heat.
Garnish plated tofu with sesame seeds and serve with steamed vegetables and rice.

spanakopita (spinach pie)

My 6th grader has been craving this since Greek Fest at her school.  She was so busy at her own booth she didn't have a chance to try the spanakopita and was sure to be her favorite sample.  My college kid made this for her and it is DELICIOUS!  My husband said it's the best he's had.  I have to agree that it's probably the best I've had too.

spanakopita (spinach pie) (adapted from tina's chic corner)
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 eggs
3 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons dried dill (we purposefully omitted; not everyone in the family likes dill)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
12 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
16 sheets phyllo dough, thawed (I couldn't find it so used puff pastry and just worked it differently)
3/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9x13 pan and set it aside.
In a skillet over low/medium heat add the olive oil and finely chopped onion and cook it until it is slightly browned.
Thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze out the water. Add the spinach to the skillet and stir.
Remove the spinach mixture from the heat and set it aside.  Let this rest to get to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, mix together the egg, parsley, dill, salt, pepper and feta cheese.
Add in the spinach mixture and stir everything together and set this aside.  Make sure the spinach mixture is not hot because you don't want to cook the egg.
Make sure that the dough is completely thawed (the puff pastry I used was refrigerated).
My directions with puff pastry:
Cut the rectangle into two pieces.  Use a rolling pin to roll each piece into 9x13.
Brush one rectangle with butter and place in the 9x13.
Pour spinach filling over the rectangle of dough.
Brush the other rectangle with butter and place over the spinach filling.
Bake in a preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

easy picked onions

I love picked onions.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about them.  I needed some pickled onions for some tacos I was making and found this simple recipe which is better than the recipe I had been using.  So quick and easy!!

easy pickled onions (shared appetite)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar (I used 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup.  Whisk together until sugar and salt is fully dissolved.
Place onion in a jar or bowl (I used a mason jar).  Pour vinegar mixture over and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour if you're in a rush.  Preferably, cover and refrigerate for at least a day.  Pickled onions will last a few weeks stored in the refrigerator.

spinach artichoke wonton bites (vegan)

So delicious!  My youngest daughter was mentioning wanting to make spanakopita so my oldest thought she should try a spin-off vegan recipe.  We even made an extra stop so we could pick up some vegan cream cheese.  You could easily make this recipe with regular cream cheese.  I promise to never post a vegan recipe that tastes all-out vegan!  I've tasted a few questionable vegan recipes recently.

spinach artichoke wontons (slightly adapted from bianca zapatka)
(makes 24-40 wontons)
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
10 ounces spinach
won ton wrappers
1 (8 ounce) can artichoke hearts without oil
2 teaspoons oil
3/4 cup cream cheese, vegan
1/4 cup sour cream or mayo, vegan
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, vegan (we used vegan mozzarella)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup hot water

filling:
Heat a little water in a pan.  Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent.  Add the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes longer until wilted, stirring occasionally.  Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds until fragrant. 
Transfer the spinach, onion, and garlic to a mixing bowl and squeeze to remove excess liquid.  Add the artichoke hearts, cream cheese, mayo, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.

wrap wontons:
Place a wonton wrapper on a floured surface.  Scoop a tablespoon of the spinach artichoke mixture into the center.  Brush the outside edges with a little water.  Gather the four corners of the wrapper and bring them to the center, pressing them together using your fingers.  Make sure to seal the wonton bites completely.
Repeat with remaining ingredients until all of the mixture is used.

bake the wontons:
Place the wontons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly spray the wontons with a little oil from all sides.  Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until golden and crispy. 

or you can fry the wontons

morning glory muffins (vegan)

My husband made these and they are one of the best recipes that he makes.  They are so soft and full of goodness.  AND they happen to be vegan!  It's so nice when a recipe we already like is vegan.  I wish it happened more often.  You'll love these muffins.

morning glory muffins (my husband found the recipe at Baker by Nature)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 apple, shredded
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup flaked coconut (my husband threw in a handful of dates instead)
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl add the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt; whisk well to combine.  Add the applesauce, oil, apple and vanilla; whisk just until combined.  Fold in the carrot, raisins, coconut and walnuts; stir until ingredients are combined.  Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.  Serve at room temperature.