(Oh My Darling) Clementine Smoothies

 
I've talked before about my grandparents' incredible green thumbs.  From cucumbers, squash, and potatoes to lemons bigger than grapefruits (literally!), they  grow anything and everything.  Each time I visit, my grandpa is sure to send me home with a sack full of something delicious.  As we left our Christmas gathering, he gave us a mess of the sweetest, juiciest Clementines I've ever eaten.  We enjoyed most of them straight from the fridge, and the rest in the form of these creamsicle-inspired smoothies.  Yum!

Don't have Clementines?  Substitute 2 small, seedless oranges instead.

An Ommy Noms Original

INGREDIENTS
3 Clementines, peeled
1 banana
1/2 cup yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup milk
6-7 ice cubes

DIRECTIONS
1.  Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth and well-incorporated.  Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal- Healthy and Delicious!

Awhile back, I told you guys that I was really not a breakfast food person.  I'd like to go ahead and take that back now.

A couple of years ago, my parents built a vacation cabin out in the country.  Its kitchen has over four times as many cabinets and drawers as mine.  Nope, I'm not bitter at all!  Aside from being a wonderful place to slow down and relax for a few days, the cabin is synonymous with a good old fashioned spoiling.  While we're there, I wake up most mornings to the smell of a delicious breakfast on the stove or in the oven.  On our last trip, my mom cooked up this tasty baked oatmeal and I recreated it at home this morning.  I love everything about this dish from the bursting-with-flavor blueberries to the crunchy pecans.  I'm looking forward to having leftovers for breakfast tomorrow. 

Adapted from Super Natural Every Day, via Annie's Eats



* For gluten-free diners, use 100% pure maple syrup and vanilla extract along with gluten-free oats, such as those from Bob's Red Mill.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted, divided
½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-2 ripe bananas, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh blueberries, divided

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.  

2.  In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Stir with a fork to combine.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.  

3.  Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish.  Top with half of the berries.  Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer.  Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.  Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top.  

4.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set.  Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Fig Leather

 

Mom likes to say that my generation has it easy when it comes to research projects.  Gone are the days of sitting in a shadowy microfiche room, searching, squinty-eyed, for a hidden gem.  Now, we can access all manner of articles with the click of a mouse.

Sorry to tell you, Mom, but research just got even easier.  Thanks to the wonderful world of  Google Books, I am (almost) done with my first grad school term paper.  I've used this nifty site to access dozens of professional books, many of which are out of print. 

So what does my research paper have to do with food?  Well, I can only look at online textbooks for so long before my brain begins to wander.  I've had figs on my mind lately, and decided I'd poke around Google Books to see if there were any books about them.  Jackpot!  I found a USDA bulletin from 1921 called Fig Growing in the South Atlantic and Gulf States.  Inside, I found several suggestions for preserving figs, but one method in particular- fig leather, caught my eye.  I went straight to the kitchen and got to work.  The product was amazing- a mildly sweet Fruit Roll-up for adults, full of figgy flavor. 

Adapted from Fig Growing in the South Atlantic and Gulf States

INGREDIENTS
2 cups fresh figs, washed and stems removed
1 tbsp powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
1.  Line a baking sheet with heat-safe plastic wrap or parchment paper and set oven to "warm".
2.  Puree figs in a food processor.  Spread fig puree onto plastic wrap (or parchment paper) in a very thin layer.
3.  Place baking sheet in the warm oven.  Remove when fruit leather is fully dehydrated and peels off in a single sheet, about 10-12 hours.  (Leather may be slightly tacky to the touch.)
4.  Separate fig leather from cooking surface.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and roll up like a jelly cake.  Slice into serving-size pieces and store in an air-tight, moisture proof container.

Brandy-Baked Peaches

You know how you go to the grocery store to get one thing and leave with your arms full?  I had one of those grocery trips today.  I just couldn't resist the scent of locally grown peaches, so two of them ended up in my basket.

(Along with about a million other things.)

I searched for a peach dessert that I could throw together with minimal effort, and settled on baked peaches with a brown sugar & brandy glaze.  Oh my, they were delicious.  I only wish I had bought more peaches!

Adapted from The Daily Iberian

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup brown sugar 

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp brandy

2 peaches 

Whipped cream, optional

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel peaches and cut into quarters.  Remove pit and discard.  Place peaches in an oven-safe glass baking dish.  (I used a small Corningware dish.)

2.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Add the brown sugar and brandy, and stir to combine.  Drizzle over peaches.

3.  Bake the peaches in the preheated oven until soft, about 30 minutes.  Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Watermelon Frozen Yogurt

What foods remind you of summertime?  For me, it's watermelon- specifically, sitting on the back porch with my very own wedge, juice dripping off my fingers.  When I saw this watermelon fro yo on Tastespotting, I had to try it.  It's a dessert tailor-made for a Texas summer day- the Greek yogurt provides a tangy complement to the fresh taste of watermelon.  It's low in fat and calories, so don't feel bad if you shovel down half the batch in one sitting.  Not that anyone would do that, right?

(Hey, stop looking at me!)

From Menu for Love 

INGREDIENTS
2 cups seedless watermelon chunks
1 cup Fage 0% yogurt
About 1/3 cup sugar (to taste)
Juice of half a lime
1 1/2 Tbsp vodka (keeps your fro yo from turning into a giant ice cube)

DIRECTIONS
1.  Chop the watermelon into chunks and remove the large white seeds, if any. Add to blender and puree.  Strain out the grainy pulp and discard.

2.  Return watermelon juice to the blender.  Add the yogurt, lime juice, and vodka, and blend until well-combined.  Add sugar a little at a time.  Taste and adjust sugar as necessary. 

3.  Add the mixture to the ice cream maker and mix until frozen, about 20 minutes.

Watermelon

Blackberry-Banana Smoothies

Some of my favorite childhood memories involve going blackberry pickin' with my grandma.  The satisfaction of eating the plumpest, juiciest berries right off the vine made all the battle wounds worth it to me.

"One for the bucket, one for me, one for the bucket, two for me..."

I spent Easter weekend with my Dad and my husband in rural East Texas- a place where cows roam, wildflowers grow unrestrained, and the nights are black and free.

I was delighted to discover the wild blackberry bushes dotting the pastures of my family's acreage.  One morning, we woke up and decided to have ourselves a berry pickin' expedition.  Even twenty years later, most of my berries never make it to the bucket.  Even still, we managed to fill two huge bags with the fruit.

Until yesterday, I'd had but two kinds of blackberries in my life- blackberries off a vine and blackberries in a cobbler.  One can only make so many blackberry cobblers without having to spring for a Weight Watchers membership, so I concocted these delicious smoothies as an alternative.  The only thing better than a strawberry-banana smoothie is a blackberry-banana one.  Try it, and I think you'll agree.

An Ommy Noms Original
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries (or 1 1/2 cups fresh berries plus 3 ice cubes)
1 ripe banana, cut into chunks
1 single-serving container Greek yogurt
1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1.  Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth and well-incorporated.  Strain to remove seeds and pour into glasses.

Blackberry (or Peach!) Cobbler

I have baked this cobbler twice- once with peaches and once with blackberries. Both cobblers were exceptional! I had never seen a cobbler recipe where you pour the fruit on top of the batter, but the batter just rises right up!

The top of the cobbler is lightly crisp, and the rest has that wonderfully soft, chewy texture that I love so much.  Make sure you use peaches with no sugar added if you are using frozen peaches.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a large cast-iron skillet or ovenproof baking dish, in the oven, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place blackberries in a large bowl. Using a potato masher, mash blackberries to release their juices. If blackberries are tart, sprinkle with sugar.
4. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add 1 cup sugar, milk, and vanilla extract; mix until well combined. Remove skillet from oven and add melted butter to flour mixture; stir to combine. Pour mixture into skillet and pour blackberries over the batter, avoiding the edges.
5. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the batter comes out clean, about 1 hour. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream.

Banana Crumb Muffins

These muffins are great for using up ripe bananas.  They always turn out moist, and the crunchy topping is delicious!  I usually add a handful or two of chocolate chips to the batter.  

From Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Baked Bananas with Honey-Brown Sugar Glaze

These baked bananas are amazing!  They taste so rich and indulgent, and you aren't left with a week's worth of calorie-dense dessert laying around.  (I know how dangerous that can be!)

An Ommy Noms Original

INGREDIENTS

2 bananas, each cut into 4 sections
2 tbs butter, melted
2 tsp honey
Splash of lemon juice
Brown sugar to top

DIRECTIONS.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine butter, honey, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add banana sections and stir to coat. Place banana pieces in a glass baking dish.  Drizzle with remaining glaze.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake for 12 minutes. Serve with whipped cream.