Berry Crumble

Its been so hot in Oklahoma lately that I haven't been baking too much.  Our little apartment gets so hot once the oven is turned on and our air conditioner barely works.  So, I'm going to post this recipe for berry crumble that I made for some friends in June and for Max's family in July.  It was a real hit with everyone and there were no leftovers either time I made it.  This recipe is very easy and the only thing you will probably have to buy are berries.  I hope you enjoy!

Berry Crumble
adapted from Playing House

•  6 cups of berries of your choice (I like to use half frozen, mixed berries and half fresh berries such as strawberries or blueberries)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar (light or dark)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits, plus some for the pan
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for juicy fruit
• Dash salt

1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Toss the fruit with half the cinnamon or apple pie spice, the lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar (and a tablespoon of flour if your fruit is juicy) and spread it in a lightly buttered 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan.

2. Combine all the other ingredients, including the remaining cinnamon or apple pie spice and brown sugar, in a food processor and pulse a few times, then process a few seconds more, until everything is well incorporated but not uniform. To mix the ingredients by hand, soften the butter slightly, toss together the dry ingredients, then work in the butter with your fingertips, a pastry blender, or a fork).

3. Crumble the topping over the fruit and bake until the topping is browned and the fruit is tender and bubbling, 30-40 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. (I really like to serve this with vanilla ice cream when the crumble is hot, yum!)

Summer Veggie Lasagna (No Bake)

As you may have noticed from my previous post, I have indulged a bit over the past few weeks.  Max and I needed to start eating some more veggies so I combined a few recipes for Summer Veggie Lasagna that I found online.  This is nice for the summer too because you don't have to bake it in the oven so you don't heat up your whole house.

Summer Veggie Lasagna
adapted from a bunch of places

• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 small summer squash, thinly sliced
• 1 small eggplant (optional), peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 diced onion
• 1-2 tsp of minced garlic
• 3 tsp chopped, fresh basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 cups part skim ricotta
• lasagna sheets
• olive oil

1. Boil salted water for the lasagna sheets.  The number of lasagna sheets you need depends on how many people you are feeding.  You will need two sheets per plate.  Boil lasagna for the time stated on the box.  Set aside.
2. Saute onion in olive oil until almost translucent.  Add garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove onion and garlic from the pan and set aside.
3. Add summer squash, zucchini, and eggplant to the same saute pan.  Cook until the squash starts to become translucent.  Add salt and pepper.  You may need more olive oil to cook these.
4. In a bowl, mix ricotta, onion and garlic mixture, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Taste the mixture to make sure it is seasoned well.
5. To create the lasagna: cut one sheet in half and put on the plate.  Spread with ricotta mixture.  Layer with squash, eggplant, and tomato.  Cut another lasagna sheet in half and put it on top of the tomatoes.  If you want, you can sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and microwave for about a minute to melt it.  Enjoy!

Cruise of the Baltic July 2010

We (Mark, Joann, Allison, Matt, Joseph, Max, and I) recently went on a Cruise of the Baltic Sea.  We lived on a big boat for 12 days.  We started in Amsterdam and continued on to: Rostock and Warnemunde, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki and Porvoo, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallin, Estonia; and Copenhagen, Denmark.  During this time we ate some fabulous food and, since this is a food blog, I thought I would share some of our culinary pleasures during our travels.

Pancake with bacon and cheese in Amsterdam.

Croquettes in Amsterdam.  Tasted like deep-fried biscuits and gravy.

A little bird, I can't remember which kind right now!

Cheese and bread in Warnemunde, Germany.

Potato pancakes and fresh sauerkraut in Warnemunde, Germany.

Seafood risotto on the boat.

Strawberry soup with creme fraiche.

Steak with a cream sauce on pasta.

Crepe with a Grand Marnier sauce and vanilla ice cream that was made fresh on the boat.

Raspberry cream with peach sauce and whipped cream in Finland.

Escargot! It was so delicious that I ordered it three times on the boat.

Chicken spring rolls.

Seafood linguine with shrimp, scallops, calamari, and mussels.

Crepe cigar with pastry cream filling and a dulce de leche sauce.

Chocolate mousse with raspberry creme and Chambord topping.

I believe this was a mushroom and goat cheese puffed pastry.

Chilled butternut squash soup with sage.

Petite filet mignon with pea flan and fresh potato chips.

Another rich, delicious chocolate dessert.

Sorry this is crooked.  This was a popular dish in Copenhagen, an open faced sandwich.  This one had salmon, caviar, onion, and an aioli.

Steak tartare.  This was very delicious.

Mushroom and pearl onions within a puff pastry.

A palate cleanser during a formal dinner.  This one was passionfruit.

Lobster tail with shrimp and scallops and a lobster risotto.

Lamb shank with carrot mashed potatoes, baked apple, and cooked red cabbage.

Chocolate mousse pit with chocolate sauce.

I don't remember the name of this one, but it was like a light cheesecake with a coconut crust and passionfruit topping.

You'll notice that I have an abundance of dessert pictures.  Most nights, desserts looked so good that I ordered two.  I couldn't help myself!  Sometimes, I felt as if I was eating my way through Europe, but that is not a bad thing!  I tried a lot of things that I hadn't tried before, including steak tartare, escargot, and pate.  I hope you enjoyed this small taste of my culinary trip through Europe.