One of the big topics in food blogging today is attribution—recognizing the creator of the original recipe in your post. We honor each other by linking back to the inspirational recipe that spoke to us and said, “Me. Make me. I’m delicious!”

I do have some attributions for this recipe but first let’s just acknowledge that a Google search for Peach Berry Crisp yields 80,000 returns. That’s specifically “peach berry crisp”. Needless to say, crisps are pretty popular.

So, who would I say inspired this recipe?

My number one attribution: Mother Nature. She tempted me with luscious juicy New Jersey peaches, plump blackberries, and firm blond raspberries. She provided the oats, sugar, and flour. She did everything but mix them all together and put them in the oven.

My number two attribution: Isabel Ely Lord. Very little is written about her but apparently she wrote the cookbook, Every Body’s Cookbook: A Comprehensive Manual of Home Cookery in 1921. That’s where, according to Wikipedia, apple crisp is first mentioned. Thank you, Isabel.

My number three attribution: Twitter and About.com and Foodgawker and Tastespotting and Google. That’s where I talk about food, see pictures of food, and read about food. All. The. Time. It make’s me hungry. It’s where my friends inspire me with their chatter and keep my foodie synapses popping.

Before we get to the recipe I’d like to share my thoughts on crisps. I really don’t think you need a recipe—just a general road map. Some fruit, sugar, flour, and “butter”. Maybe a little of this (lemon juice?), a little of that (spices?). Pop it in a moderate oven until the fruit is bubbly and the top is beautifully browned. That’s pretty much it. Easy.

I am always inspired by my gluten-free friends because of their creativity and joie de vivre. A few of them have crisp and crumble recipes you might enjoy:

Karina of Gluten-free Goddess: Gluten-free Peach Cobbler

Iris of The Daily Dietribe: Blueberry Cobbler (sugar free)

Shirley of Gluten-Free Easily: Strawberry Cobbler

Elana of Elana’s Pantry: Peach Crisp

Please post a link to your fruit crisp, cobbler, slump, or buckle in the comments below!

Peach Berry Crisp 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place into a medium bowl:

3 large peaches, peeled, sliced and each slice cut in half again

1 1/2 cups mixed blackberries, raspberries, and/or blueberries (more or less to your liking)

Sprinkle the fruit with and mix together:

1 tablespoon tapioca starch

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon lemon

Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom of a deep dish pie plate.

In a separate bowl stir together:

1 cup GF rolled oats

3/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

a pinch each of nutmeg and salt

Add to the oat mixture and combine with a fork until crumbly:

3 tablespoons Earth Balance

Place the crumble mixture on top of the fruit. Pop in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

The crisp is done when the fruit can be pierced with a fork and the topping is nicely browned.

Serve warm for dessert or breakfast!

Note: The topping is very crispy…almost granola like. It’s definitely got a bit of a chew to it because of the oats.

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Abby Dodge. If you met her you’d swear you know her from somewhere. She’s one of the neighbors you haven’t had a chance to get to talk to yet—the one that smiles a lot. The one that brings the fabulous desserts to all the neighborhood parties and picnics.

Yep. That’s Abby Dodge. She’s fun and creative and can whisk white chocolate laced whipped cream as nonchalantly as if she were stirring milk into her coffee—all the while talking to you about all things dessert.

Abby is all that and more. She’s a well known pastry chef who studied her art in Paris, a food writer and instructor, a cookbook author seven times over. Just as important—she’s witty and friendly and readily shares her knowledge with you. (Met her at the Big Summer Potluck. Lucky me!)

Abby’s latest book is soon to be released—Desserts 4 Today. I know two things about the book—all, ALL, the recipes have only 4 ingredients (cool!) and one of those recipes is Nutella Brownies. That’s the recipe making it’s way around the net wowing the foodies.

So, you know what this post is about. Nutella Brownies…well, almost.

Abby’s brownies contain only 4 ingredients: Nutella, an egg, flour and hazelnuts. The first three of those are not in my sensitive pantry. (Nutella has skim milk so it’s out for me—click here for the company’s statement on gluten if you think you may want to use it.)

So, I played with the recipe a little. This version has a few more than 4 ingredients and probably doesn’t taste exactly like Abby’s original Nutella Brownie creation. Still, they disappeared off the counter in no time flat. That’s a really good sign in my book.

Alice of Savory Sweet Life has posted the original Nutella Brownie recipe and a review of Abby’s book.

 

Almost Abby Dodge’s Nutella Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place mini cupcake liners into a mini cupcake pan.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

A faux egg (1 teaspoon EnerG Egg Replacer whisked into 3 teaspoons warm rice milk) or a real egg*

1/2 cup chocolate nut butter  or Nutella*

1/2 teaspoon agave syrup

4 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend

1/4 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

12 pecan halves

In a small bowl mix together the chocolate nut butter, faux egg and agave until smooth and satiny.

Add the flour and stir to combine. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Scoop a teaspoon of the dough into each cupcake liner. Top each brownie with a pecan half.

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

*Notes: The italicized ingredient alternatives may not be GF CF EF and/or vegan but you can use them if you do not have diet restrictions that prohibit their use.

Also, there are a lot of recipes for homemade nutella—I ran across one posted on In Jennie’s Kitchen that looks easy and very good. For a nut-free version of that recipe try subbing out Sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds) for the hazelnuts. I haven’t tried this but suspect it will work well.

The chocolate nut butter I used is gluten-free and vegan: Dark Chocolate Dreams.

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Cabbage seems like a fall vegetable to me. It should be paired with corned beef or boiled with potatoes. It should be blanched, stuffed with rice and ground beef, covered with tomato sauce and steamed in the pressure cooker. That’s fall cooking in my book.

So why—in the middle of the hottest summer in 70 years—am I getting a cabbage at every CSA pick-up? What am I going to do with all that cabbage?

I can tell you what I’m not going to do. I’m not going to boil it or blanch it or steam it. My kitchen—and my hair—won’t tolerate all that heat and moisture. Nope.

You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to grill it.

The first cabbage grilling attempt: cut into quarters, brushed with oil,  sprinkled with salt and pepper and seared on a hot grill. Then roasted with the grill turned down to medium/medium low, lid closed, until tender. It worked well but was bland.

It needed to be jazzed up a bit. Enter the onions and new potatoes and grated pecorino romano cheese. Oh yeah. That’s what it needed.

So, go ahead, CSA. Give me more cabbage. We had this twice in one weekend and we’re ready for more.

Grilled Cabbage & Potato Packets

What you’ll need to make one packet, which is enough for 2 or 3 people as a side dish:

1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced

1 small red or yellow onion, thinly sliced

5 or 6 small red potatoes, sliced about 1/8 inch thick

olive oil, about 1 or 2 tablespoons total

salt and pepper

grated cheese, 1 or 2 tablespoons per layer (about 1/4 cup total)

Heat your grill.

Cut off a piece of aluminum foil—about 14-16 inches. If your foil is very thin double it. Line the foil with a piece of parchment of the same size.

You’re going to create a mound in the middle of the parchment by layering the ingredients. This should be maybe 5-6 inches wide by about 8-9 inches long.

Layer in this order (see the pictures above): cabbage, onions, potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and grated cheese. Repeat one or two more times. End with a layer of cabbage.

Wrap the parchment tightly. Wrap the aluminum foil around the parchment packet closing the top and ends tightly.

Reduce the heat of the grill to medium (use your best judgment since some grills are hotter than others). Place the packet on the grill and cook about 30 minutes turning once. You can test the potatoes by carefully (really carefully! ‘cos it’s going to be hot and steamy in there) by removing the packet from the grill and gently opening it to take a peek and test with a fork. Return to the grill if the potatoes are not soft.

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Food is art.

At least at its best it is.

Figs may be the quintessential food as art.  Because of their sensual beauty they can be seen dotting the landscape of still life oil paintings throughout history. They’re vibrant, unique, and the colors alone are cause for drooling—rich black ruby (Black Mission) to amber (Calimyrna) to the brilliant green lovelies shown above (Kadota). Cut them open and their flesh—rusty pink to ominous blood red—oozes with sweetness.

An ancient fruit, figs are mentioned as far back in history as 2000 BC Babylonia. It’s only fitting they be paired with other ancient foods—honey, rosemary, goat cheese—and cooked with fire (aka the grill), the most ancient of cooking methods.

Do you want to hear my recommendation for enjoying these sweet, smooth, fig appetizers—caramelized on the grill, lightly scented with rosemary and garlic, dripping with honey? Place them lovingly on a favorite plate, with wine in hand and best friend, sibling or spouse in tow, find a lovely outdoor spot. Sip the wine. Savor the figs. Enjoy the company.

Honeyed Figs with Roasted Rosemary Goat Cheese

Roast the rosemary and garlic (recipe follows).

Meanwhile mix together and set aside:
½ cup goat chevre
1 sprig roasted rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 or 3 chunks roasted garlic, smashed & chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon honey (more or less to taste)

In a separate small bowl whisk together:
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon olive oil

Cut 8 figs in half lengthwise. Drizzle with the honey lemon mixture. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Gently place on a preheated grill—cut side down. After 2 minutes turn over. Grill another 2 minutes and remove to a decorative plate—cut side up. (Grilling is optional but nice because it warms up and slightly caramelizes the figs.)

Top each fig half with a dollop of the rosemary and garlic laced chevre. Drizzle with honey if you’d like them pretty and sweet. Garnish the plate with roasted or fresh rosemary. Serve immediately.

Roasted Rosemary and Garlic

Pick 2 or 3 fresh sprigs of rosemary.

Smash and coarse dice a large clove of garlic.

Cut a piece of heavy aluminum foil about 4 inches longer than the longest sprig of rosemary.

Line the foil with a piece of parchment the same size.

Place the rosemary on the parchment and dot with the garlic pieces.

Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Wrap the rosemary in the parchment  folding under the open ends. Wrap the foil around the parchment package using the same method.

Place on the upper shelf of a preheated grill that’s set a medium heat. Close the lid and roast about 8-10 minutes turning the package over once halfway through. Grill temperatures vary so this timing may need to be adjusted up or down depending on your grill running cooler or hotter. 

Remove from the grill, let cool a minute, and carefully open the {hot} package to see if the rosemary is lightly browned and crispy.  If it isn’t close up the package and return to the grill for a few more minutes testing until it’s done.

Rosemary and garlic can be

• mixed in with goat chevre and served on crackers
• served over grilled steak
• sprinkled over roasted vegetables or a fresh garden salad
• used as a garnish and eaten as is

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Remember last weekend I attended The Big Summer Potluck—a foodblogger gathering in PA? Today I’m featuring a recipe that stole the show that day. 

I didn’t really tell you much about the abundance of good food that was served so let’s talk about it a little before we get to the muffins.

Although Jeanne (Four Chickens) and I were the only gluten-free foodies at The Big Summer Potluck we didn’t starve. We looked longingly at the lovely selection of goodies that were gluten-filled but we had more than enough of our own treats and foods to be pleasantly full throughout the day.

We ate Cinnamon Cream Scones for our breakfast and Chocolate Crumb Cake for an afternoon snack. Our wonderful friend, Amber (Bluebonnets and Brownies), made a marvelous Gluten-Free Goddess dish—Chicken Tropicale. It was fabulous! Thanks to Amber, Jeanne and I had a filling and delicious lunch!

There were many naturally gluten-free snacks, some of which I didn’t have a chance to taste—chips and salsa (another Amber creation) and some pretty amazing goat cheeses and spreads. It was a food lover’s paradise.

Wonderful baked treats, from the kitchens of some of your favorite bloggers, were scattered across the table looking like they were staged for a professional photo shoot. There were beautifully ornamented sugar cookies made by Jen (My Kitchen Addiction). My son’s girlfriend assures me they tasted as good as they looked. There were perfect—and I mean bakery perfect—Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Tara (Smells Like Home). There were cookies, cookies, more cookies, and some beautiful crab cakes (Souffle Bombay). Then there were these. They’re Doughnut Muffins courtesy of Jen from How to: Simplify. These made the crowd go wild. Wild. The room was abuzz (yes, I said abuzz) about these muffins. And, all I was able to do is look at them adoringly from afar.

Before I get to the big reveal you need to go ahead and take a minute to click those links so you can see the goodies. Go ahead. I know there’s quite a few. I can wait. (Insert Jeopardy thinking music here.)

Done? Weren’t they awesome?? I know. I know…they weren’t gluten-free. Well, I like to admire them anyway. I need to do more than admire those Doughnut Muffins, though. I need to have them. And, have them I did.

Not two days after I returned from the Big Summer Potluck I was whipping up a batch of those babies—gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free. Let me tell you what, I made a simple sub for each ingredient I couldn’t have and they were good. Authentic Foods Multi-Grain Flour Blend for the flour. EnerG Egg Replacer for the egg. Earth Balance for the butter. Very simple. I didn’t even wait until they had cooled before popping one of those bad boys in my mouth.

It’s such a great feeling to realize we can have some of what we think we’re missing by being gluten-free. It isn’t always going to be that a new recipe needs to be created just for us—although that’s fun, too. Sometimes we can simply sub in gluten-free flour for regular flour and have the end result be something that’s delicious. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?

It worked with these babies so I’m giving them “Two Yums Up”!

Check out Gluten Free Gigi’s variation on these muffins—Jelly Doughnut Muffins!! Beautiful.

Doughnut Muffins

Adapted from How to: Simplify, Doughnut Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the muffin tin because you’re not going to use liners for these babies.

Mix together in a small bowl until frothy and set aside to use later:

1 1/2 teaspoon EnerG Egg Replacer
1 tablespoon warm water

Combine in a medium bowl:

1 3/4 cup gluten-free flour blend (I used Authentic Foods MultiBlend Flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a separate large bowl stir together:

1/3 cup oil (grapeseed, canola or light olive oil will work well)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg replacer you made earlier
3/4 cup hemp (or other) milk

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir by hand only to combine. My batter was a little lumpy but it worked just fine.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

While muffins are baking, melt and place in a small bowl:

1/4 - 1/2 cup Earth Balance

In another small bowl, combine:

1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Shake muffins out of the muffin tin while they’re still hot.

Dip the hot muffins in the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.

Note: I thought the Earth Balance was a little too thick for my preferences. Next time I will brush the Earth Balance over the top half of the muffin and dredge that in the cinnamon sugar mix. Either way these will be delicious!

Also, if you can use eggs and butter go ahead and do it. Use the same measurements—1 egg and 1/4-1/2 cup butter. Live large!

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Big Summer Potluck - Photo by Erika @ The Ivory Hut

Clearly, there are a million thoughts buzzing my brain. It’s been that kind of week—busy and fun and social. I’ve spent it re-connecting with dear old friends and meeting new friends—some of whom I’ve talked to but never seen. I’ve relaxed, listened, talked, prepared and eaten food. I’m kind of exhausted. Pleasantly exhausted.

So, let me start at the beginning. I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version.

After spending a wonderful weekend with my sister—flea marketing and eating home-cooked seafood dinners on the beach—I headed back home to work, clean, bake, and pack. Two days later, with the little dogs bouncing in the back of the car, we hit the road again. Back to the beach where I handed over the dogs to a group of 20 & 30-somethingish adults and then headed south to Cape May to spend two days with friends at their beach house. Wow. It was a wonderful visit. I de-stressed the minute I got there. (Note that for a few minutes I was stress free.)

Back in the car for the two hour drive to our beach house. Say hello to little dogs bouncing off the walls, hubs and son just in from a week long business trip, 30-somethingish adults hanging out. Say goodbye to that “I feel like I just left the spa” feeling.

For the next day and a half I busied myself getting ready to attend the Big Summer Potluck hosted by the fabulous Anderson clan at their home in PA. Groceries were bought, scones made (and trashed), and hyperventilation calmed. (Hubs took me and the kid out to dinner.) I came home and made those scones again. Never say die! The second time they were marvelous.

Then I crashed. I lay in bed for a few hours thinking, “I have to get up at the crack of dawn.” And, just before the crack of dawn I finally fell asleep. One annoying alarm, two big cups of coffee and a scone later I was back in the car for the two hour drive to the Big Summer Potluck!

I was anxious to meet the organizers of this foodblogging event, Maggy (ThreeManyCooks) and Erika (Ivory Hut), and all my fellow bloggers. The place was buzzing like a hive when I got there. Let the day begin.

Maggy and Erika—energized, organized, and in-the-know—had put together something special. The house was beautifully appointed and perfect for this kind of get-together. It had the right flow and when you walked in it felt like they’d done this about a thousand times before. They pulled together a wonderful forum of foodblog content for a handful of brand new to sage foodbloggers and food industry mavens. They fed us the food of foodies—incorporating their own recipes, sponsors’ fare (coffee, cheese, wine, yogurt), and all manner of treats beautifully crafted by the ladies and gentleman who attended. It was a foodbloganza on an intimate scale.

We mingled, we ate, we listened, we learned. Our heads were filled with everything from how to create and write a recipe (Pam Anderson) to a cooking demo (Abby Dodge), food styling (Melissa DeMayo) and food photography (Erika Pinead) to how to foodblog from the heart (Alice Currah). We even had a peek into the world of public relations courtesy of Auritt Communications. The sisters Anderson—Maggy & Sharon—kept us moving along with the perfect amount of time allowed for chatting among ourselves.

The energy level was high all day and about four PM we fired up that coffemaker to get our second wind. It was time for the big giveaway—let me tell you the sponsors were very, very generous. Kitchen Aid in particular stole the show with stand mixers, food processors, blenders and hand mixers for a few lucky folks. There was also a very special knife, spices, a coffee maker, and some amazing goat cheese as giveaways.

Next cue the wine and cheese. Mingle, mingle, mingle. Goodbyes were said. Hugs and promises to keep in touch and see each other next year (or sooner) were exchanged. I headed out the door with goodies in hand—the most cherished of which is Pam’s latest cookbook, the soon-to-be-released Perfect One-Dish Dinners.

I left the lovely Anderson house in the woods and headed back to my beach retreat. The two quiet hours in the car was what I needed to let the day sink in and to regain energy for the next day.

Nope, the fun wasn’t over yet. Jeanne (Four Chickens), Amber (Bluebonnets and Brownies) and Amber’s hubs joined us for a day at the Jersey Shore! More food, more talking, more getting to know each other. We got to communicate in more than 140 characters at a time. We got to relate. We laughed, calmed the bouncing dogs, and chatted about life and….food. We barely got to the beach but did take a quick stroll to the boardwalk and gazed across the sand and people to the surf beyond. After all, it would be embarrassing to be a block from the ocean and not even see the water.

And, that my friends, is the end. Well, almost. Because this week is my vacation (yay!) and I plan to decompress totally before getting back to the real world. A girl can dream.

FYI - Doughnut Muffins by Jen of How to Simplify were the hit of the day. So, I thought I’d de-glutenize them and join the rest of the group in oohing and ahhing over them. But that’s a post for another day.

To be continued…

Big Summer Potluck

Attendees

Abby Dodge

Add A Pinch

Bluebonnets & Brownies

Bon Apetit Hon

Bread and Putter

Bucks County Courier Times (Food Blog)

Dine & Dish

Fine Cooking

Four Chickens

How To Simplify

Modern Wench

My Kitchen Addiction

She Wears Many Hats

Sugarcrafter

Smells Like Home

Smith Bites

Souffle Bombay

Three Many Cooks

The Coquettish Cook

The Dinky Kitchen

Tickled Red

The Ivory Hut

The Peche

Wenderly

What’s Kookin’ In Kara’s Kitchen

Click the links to see:

Sponsors

Photos by Erika of Ivory Hut

Photos by Jen of Forgotten Foodies and My Kitchen Addiction

I like to bake in the morning.

It’s just a great way to start the day IMHO. Besides, I get so busy with other things that by the time afternoon rolls around I have second thoughts about getting out the baking gear. After all, afternoon is the time to start thinking about cooking dinner and the idea of baking then just seems like something extra to try to squeeze in. For me baking is fun—I never want it to be a chore or something that must be done.

This summer there really is no choice but to bake in the morning. The past few weeks have been so hot that turning on the oven during the mid-day heat is not something I want to do. So I’ve been making most dinners on the grill and treats that are chilled or frozen.

While our stash of ice creams and sorbets is growing the frozen baked goods that usually reside in the freezer have dwindled to almost nothing. And, I miss baking. I like to bake. It’s that feel good thing. So, today, baking it is.

These little jumbles are quick and easy. Although the oven is set to 400 degrees they’re only in there for about 6-8 minutes. In and out. Simple. Delicious.

I’ve been enjoying them with my morning coffee for a quick breakfast. And, in the afternoon with tea. And….uh oh…they’re addictive! Freeze ‘em and you’ll have them whenever you want. Great for the kids, too since they’re packed with good stuff.

Breakfast, Tea, Anytime Jumbles

You can easily omit the brown sugar and/or reduce the agave/honey to 2 or 3 tablespoons if you want a less sweet jumble. You can also leave out the dried fruit. They will still be wonderful—not awesome, but still wonderful. (These are not overwhelmingly sweet but I know some of you watch your sugar intake.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make (and set aside) one faux egg by whisking together:

1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer

2 tablespoons warm water

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 1/8 cups almond flour

1/2 cup GF flour blend*

1/2 cup GF rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Mix together in a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup:

The faux egg you mixed up earlier

4 tablespoons agave or honey

3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

3 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir together with a spatula or spoon until well blended.

Add and mix in:

1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1/4 cup golden raisins, dried cherries, other dried fruits or a mix (I used raisins and cherries)

1/3 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or your favorite nuts

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. The dough is nice and thick and these guys don’t spread. I fit them all on one large baking sheet about 1 inch apart.

Bake in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes until toasty brown. The little peaks have a tendency to get quite dark.

*I like to use Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour but there are many options. Visit The Sensitive Pantry’s Tips and Subs for more information on Gluten-free flour blends.

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I lead a double life.

Worker bee, wife, friend and mother by day.

Foodblogger, tweeter and recipe dreamer-upper by night.

That’s how it feels sometimes when I get together with old friends. The ones I’ve known forever. The pre-food sensitivity, pre-foodblogger, just plain old Nancy friends. The ones I get to see face-to-face.

I have another life—one that revolves around this food blog. One that includes you and my friends on Twitter and the other folks who write the blogs I love to visit. The friends I don’t get to see face-to-face.

I talk about many of the same things to my friends in both worlds: food and food sensitivities and gluten-free recipes and everything in between and around those subjects. I share what my husband likes to eat, what my son is doing, the latest antics of the little dogs.

There’s a dividing line between those worlds—sort of like the Mississippi River. One riverbank never touches the other riverbank. My double life.

Those two worlds are about to collide. In a few short weeks I’ll be at the Big Summer Potluck (organized by Maggy of Three Many Cooks and Erika of The Ivory Hut). There a gathering of mostly NE foodbloggers will spend the day together talking food and blogs. I’m excited about the content (guest speaker Alice from Savory Sweet Life), the venue, and connecting with cool foodbloggers, some of whom I’ve been talking to online for ages (that’s you Jeanne and Amber!!)

This is going to be a blast!

While I muse about colliding worlds I’m doing what any self-respecting food blogger would do—I’m savoring some Lemon Basil Ice Cream. It’s a creamy bright lemon-ice flavored confection suitable for a hot summer night and an evening of pondering riverbanks and meeting up with friends from faraway places.

Lemon Basil Ice Cream

Combine in a medium saucepan and heat until all the sugar is dissolved (do not boil):

1 can coconut milk (not lite)

1/2 cup purified water

3/4 cups sugar

pinch of salt

Remove from the heat and add:

1/4 cup washed basil leaves

Let the basil and coconut milk steep, off of the stove, for about 45-60 minutes.

Remove the leaves (I poured the liquid through a fine sieve) and whisk in:

1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)

4 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 of the lemons)

Chill in your refrigerator in a glass or ceramic bowl overnight or long enough (maybe 4-6 hours) for it to become very cold. Process it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

I originally finely chopped some additional basil leaves and added them to the chilled mixture because I love the green speckles. Although it looked pretty I didn’t enjoy the feeling of the basil pieces on my tongue.

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Answer: 1920s. In New Jersey. By a paisano named Natale Olivieri.

Question: When, where and by whom was Yoo-Hoo originally made and sold.

That’s all I’ve got folks.

No cute story about why I decided to mimic dairy-free Yoo-Hoo.

Sometimes something just pops into my head and I’m off and running.

Other than that I’ve got nothing.

Clearly there’s only one real Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink but, if you can’t have dairy or corn or are avoiding HFCS give this little recipe a try. It’s a smooth, light, healthy knock-off of a childhood favorite—a sweet treat to remind us how cool it is to be a kid.

So, go ahead, be a kid again for a day. Have a tall glass of Woohoo! Yoohoo! Chocolate Coconut Water and a few Four Chicken’s Animal Crackers. 

Woohoo! Yoohoo! Chocolate Coconut Water

Mix together in a glass, heatproof measuring cup:

1 1/2 tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder

2 tablespoons Vance’s Darifree

A pinch of salt

Pour in & stir until smooth:

1/4 cup very warm (not boiling) water

Place the cocoa mixture into a blender with:

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 3/4 cups coconut water (alternatively you can use purified water)

Whir for a minute or two. Chill and serve. Makes two 1 cup servings.

You can probably double or triple this recipe and keep it in the fridge for a few days.

Both 100% pure unflavored coconut water (like ONE) and Vance’s Darifree are gluten-free and dairy-free. The local grocer and health food or specialty stores, like Trader Joe’s, carry coconut water. I found Vance’s Darifree at Wegmans.

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I’m a big fan of muffins. Any kind.

I like the texture, the variety of flavor combinations, the taste. They’re like individual little cakes—delicious and not too sweet. I don’t feel guilty eating them for breakfast. I probably should. But, I don’t.

The cajeta my sister and I made recently—made with unpasteurized goat milk courtesy of her beau, natural cane sugar, mexican cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean—seemed like a great sweetener for muffins. The cajeta is rich and caramelly and crazy sweet. It begged to be merged with gluten-free flours and oats,  popped into the oven and transformed into a lovely subtle cajeta flavored muffin.

So, I obliged. That cajeta knew what it was talking about.

Cajeta might be found in Mexican/Spanish markets. You can make your own—this is the recipe I follow. (Some health food or grocery stores carry goat milk.) Or, you can buy or make your own dulce de leche and use it instead of cajeta.

Cajeta (Dulce de Leche) Muffins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Mix up one faux egg, whisking together until foamy:

1 ½ teaspoons EnerG Egg Replacer

2 tablespoons warm water

Place the following ingredients in a large bowl, whisk together and set aside:

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour mix*

¾ cups gluten-free rolled oats

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

In a separate bowl (or a 2 quart measuring cup if you have one) mix together until fully blended:

1 6-ounce container coconut or soy yogurt

½ cup hemp milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup cajeta or dulce de leche

¼ cup canola or grapeseed oil

1 faux egg (prepared above)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix together with a spoon or spatula.

Spoon (or scoop with an ice cream scooper) the batter into the muffin liners. You can top with a few chopped nuts and a sprinkle of sugar (optional).

Place in the center of the oven and bake for 20 minutes—a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

*Any pre-blended gluten-free flour should work. I use either Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour or Better Batter.

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