Who says you can't have your cake and eat it!!!!

I have a friend that I have the hugest amount of respect for because she has done something that I am not capable of doing. She has converted to a completely carb and sugar free life for her health. Not only has she lost weight but she looks so fabulous now. 

Well after her conversion I had a dilemma, I love to make birthday cakes or cupcakes or something for a friends birthday and well cake and cupcakes are no longer an option for her. So last year I got the idea to make a fruit cake, not your Granny's fruit cake that is dry and soaked in ten million gallons of alcohol. It's a cake made from fruit and nothing else. Now if sugar had been option then something with cream cheese and sugar could have been added but we're sticking with straight fruit.

Anyhow it isn't the best looking cake but it's definitely better than no cake.

I made the base of the cake from seedless watermelon. This was messy as the melon was juicy. A little freezer time would make it easier to carve.

I used wooden skewers and placed a round slice of kiwi on the watermelon then added green grapes with a strawberry on the top. To add a little decoration to the bottom I sliced green grapes and placed them around the bottom edge.

I really don't recommend that this cake travels too far and like I said I'm sure some sort of glaze or frosting would have help secure everything but if you want just fruit.

I will have to revisit this idea later and maybe be more adventurous. 

Happy Home Cooking! 

Strawberry oatmeal bars

It's very rare that I see a recipe on the food network that I just have to make that day but Saturday was one of those days. I love the Pioneer Woman, she lives my dream life, a ranchers wife. Now I have my cowboy but we just need our ranch, one of these days!

Anyhow Bree is a woman after my own heart. She's not afraid of real ingredients. Saturday morning she had a recipe for Strawberry oatmeal bars. I didn't even get to see the whole segment but I was sold.

So I gave them a go that afternoon. Man can you say G. O. O. D. Good!!! They are like a yummy oatmeal cookie with delicious strawberry jam! Hey oatmeal is good for you!

I have to say I was a little disappointed in the recipe instructions on the food network website. Bree's recipes are normally so well written. I was glad I pulled the video up in my phone because there were a lot of details missing on the recipe. If you want to see the original recipe here is the link. In the video she said she put 2 sticks of butter, I went with the 1 3/4 sticks. I really don't know if it needs more or not. it was very crumbly so maybe the extra 1/4 stick would help with that. I used regular oats, but she used quick cook. I love oats so using the regular was fine with me.

So I decided to fill in the gaps. Oh and if like me you can't wait for them to cool they are delicious right out of the oven! They keep well in an airtight container.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:

1 3/4 sticks butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups oats, quick cook or regular

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

12 oz jar strawberry preserves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch rectangular pan. I used a glass pyrex one.

2. Add the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt to a bowl and mix to combine.

3. Add butter to the bowl and rub into the flour mixture. You can use a pastry cutter too.

4. Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan.

5. Spread with the strawberry preserves.

6. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and gently pat down.

7. Bake until light brown, 30 - 40 minutes.

8. Once it has cooled, but into squares and store in an airtight container.

WARNING: If you eat it directly out of the oven, preserve might be hot, try not to burn yourself!!!! It's worth the risk.

Happy Home Cooking!

Mini Apple Pies

When we set the menu for dessert only I figured it would be a good idea to find out what the bride's favorite dessert was. Secretly I was hoping we already had it on our list but we didn't we only had her no. 2 choice chocolate covered strawberries. So I had to quickly figure out how to make mini apple pies.

Now if you ask my husband he will tell you that I don't have a good history with apple pies, so to say he was unsure how this would go was an understatement. I have to say I thought I had set myself a challenge that might not work out and should have settled for the chocolate covered strawberries. But this was about the bride.

So I went online and looked at about 20 different recipes for the filling and finally settled on the recipe below. I'm not a big cinnamon fan at all and actually I really liked it in these. It wasn't too much to give them that overpowering flavor. I love Granny Smith apples, my mother craved them when she was pregnant with me so I don't know if that has had some lasting effect. I love their tart taste and I find they make the best pies.

If you have been reading the blog for a while you will know that I'm very much a make it from scratch kinda girl. I don't really like store bought pie crust and since I was a little girl I was taught how to rub the butter into the flour. I find it kinda of stress relieving in a weird way and enjoy doing it. Actually there may be some sanity to this because you have pressure points in your fingertips and rubbing them can relieve stress. I know you can use a pastry cutter but to be honest I never have and really don't know what to say about them.

I'm looking forward to supersizing this recipe and making a regular pie. I'll post another recipe when I figure it out. Maybe finally I have tamed the apple pie challenge. That's the thing about cooking, if at first you don't succeed try try try again!!! It takes time and with practice and tweaking recipes to your preference it's as easy as apple pie! Which really is an insane saying but once you have mastered it it really is!

Mini Apple Pies

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

10 T unsalted butter, cold and cubed

5 T water

Filling

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cored

1 1/2 T flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Pie

1 egg

Raw sugar

Directions:

Crust:

1. Mix the dry ingredients.

2. Add half the butter to the flour mix and place the other half in the freezer. Bear with me! Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your finger tips, until it is the size of breadcrumbs. You can use a pastry cutter.

3. Add the remaining butter and continue to rub it in until it is the size of small peas. Try to make sure that the butter stays cold.

4.Sprinkle the water into the flour, one tablespoon at a time, stirring with a fork. It should stick together but still look dry.

5. Form into a disk and wrap with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour but ideally overnight.

Filling:

1. Cut the apples into tiny cubes.

2. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients with a whisk.

3. Add the apples and mix until all the apples are evenly coated.

Pies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Roll out the dough until about 1/8 inch thick. Using a round 2.5 inch cookie cutter, cut out 24 rounds. Then with a 3 inch cookie cutter cut out another 24 rounds.

3. Place the smaller pie crusts on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

4. Add between 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon of the apple mixture to the center of each crust. 

5. Make an egg wash with the egg and a little water.

6. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash around the edge of each pie crust to help seal it.

7. Add the larger pie crust to each pie and press down the seams to seal. Using a fork crimp the edges.

8. Brush the top of each pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar.

9. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until the pies are a golden brown.

Happy Home Cooking!