breakfast

Clean Out the Freezer Cobbler

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Whoa!  Who knew that a resolution to stop using aluminum-based antiperspirants would elicit such passionate comments!  I LOVE it!

I feel like a kid in a candy shop; I want to try all of your suggestions at once!  I especially love recipe for rubbing alcohol and essential oils posted by Sarah, I’ll be giving that one a try.  I have one more question about switching to natural deodorants-I’ve heard many times that there is a potentially stinky transitional period where your body adjusts to the lack of chemicals and my question is whether it is okay to use different deodorants during this time or if your body needs to adjust to each one?  For example, an I doing myself a disservice to use the essential oil spray in the morning and the crystal in the afternoon?

In the meantime, I’ll be sure to shower daily and wash my cloths more often (!) but if you happen to smell me  don’t be afraid to say “you stink!”.  Now to convince my husband to give up his beloved Degree…

Is it wrong to include a recipe in a post that also includes body odor discussion?  I hope not because here it goes.

I can be a bit of a food hoarder.  When the garden is bountiful and every produce stand has “scratch ‘n dent” fruit overflowing from boxes I tend to squirrel away as much as I can for those dark days of winter.  The problem is that sometimes I wait for just the right time to eat it and come Spring thaw it is still sitting, frozen or canned, waiting.

Last night, with the temperatures dipping into the teens and the only fruit in sight was apples picked in September or oranges from 800 miles away, I decided it was finally the dark days of winter.  Into the freezer I went.  By the time I reemerged with a bag of peaches, picked and frozen at their prime back in July, I wanted cobbler and I wanted it soon.

Half an hour later my wish was fulfilled.

Clean Out the Freezer Cobbler

Serves 2ish, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free

Pre-heat oven to 365*

  • one banana
  • ~1 cup frozen berries, peaches, apples, or mangos and the natural juice defrosted
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1/2 cup oats (gluten free if desired)
  • 2 tablespoons raw buckwheat groats or chopped nuts (either will give a nutty crunch, I used buckwheat groats)
  • generous sprinkles of ground cinnamon and ginger
  • honey or maple syrup [optional]*

Mash or blend banana into a cream/paste.  Mix into oats, buckwheat/nuts, and spices.  In a separate bowl, mix fruit and any juice the fruit let off with cornstarch until starch is dissolved.   Spoon fruit mixture into ramekins and top with oat mixture, using the back of the spoon to spread and smooth the top out.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Eat hot or cold, plain or topped with yogurt!

*I don’t like my fruit desserts to be very sweet but if you do then you may want to add a little honey or maple syrup to the fruit, the topping, or both.  The oats turn out thick and a bit doughy, like baked oatmeal.

Now to attack the canned goods!

 

 

Cran-nana Nut Muffins

28 Comments

It’s muffin season again.

Each winter I seem to get on a muffin kick for a few weeks and then don’t bother to make them any other time of the year.

This was my second batch this week.

My muffin making is rarely planned ahead of time so the ingredients end up being whatever we have on hand or inspired by overripe bananas, extra apples, etc.

Cran-nana Nut Muffins

Makes 4 big, dense, doughy muffins

  • 2 bananas
  • 2 tablespoons of yogurt/applesauce/pumpkin puree
  • 1 egg
Whirl the above three ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
In a medium bowl whisk together:
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour*
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • generous pinches of ground cinnamon and ginger
  • little pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined.  Add
  • 1 chopped banana
  • 1/8-1/4 cup chopped nuts
  • 1/2 cup cranberries.  (You can use dried, fresh, or frozen cranberries, dried will make a sweeter overall muffin but I kind of love the tartness and freshness of the not-dried kind.  I used chopped brazil nuts in these because it’s what I had but walnuts would be a great addition.)
Scoop batter into 4 buttered muffin tins and bake at 375* until the tops start to brown, at least 30 minutes.
*You can omit the coconut flour but if you do either omit the yogurt or add a little extra flour.  Coconut flour soaks up a lot of moisture.  It also adds fiber, protein, and doughiness to these muffins.
Disclaimer: My baked goods don’t exactly follow the same rules as most, i.e. my muffins are dense and doughy.  The texture of my baked goods is due to a combination of factors; I rarely measure precisely, I usually bake without refined sugar, and my “recipes” have less added fat than tradition baked goods. I like this style, which is why I bake this way, but if you are a lover of tradition (buttery cookies, fluffy cakes, etc.) than my “recipes” probably aren’t for you.  Oh yeah, and by the way, I don’t follow recipes so I don’t expect you too either.  I’d love to hear what kinds of spin-offs of these muffins you create in your own kitchen!
Happy Muffin Season!