Tag: fruit

Easy Pineapple Cobbler

done2A cobbler is a classic American dessert that is made of a very simple quick batter and dotted with fruit.  Perhaps pineapple is not what you most associate with cobbler, it may be overshadowed by the peach or even the apple, but really just about any sliceable fruit or berry can be turned into a cobbler… This version is my husband’s absolute favorite as I have been making it for him for years.

This specific little dish of sweetness was made for him to top a special little dinner we had about a month ago to celebrate our engage-aversary.  The dinner was made up of Shrimp Mozambique over white rice, a glass of wine and finished off with the cobbler.

This time of year we have robust peaches, pears and apples in this part of the country. Earlier in the year we have berries of all kinds.  But, what we have year round is canned and frozen fruit and either will work nicely here.  You may say, why on earth use canned fruit when there is so much fresh fruit available right now?  Well, for one, like I said it is my husband’s favorite.  For two it’s what I had on hand, I didn’t happen to have a fresh pineapple hanging around.  And for three, if unless using a berry, that whatever fruit you use is prepared at least to an “al dente” or slightly softened stage before adding in.  That is an additional step I didn’t have time for on this particular fine evening. Pineapple chunks it is! But, the batter is the same no matter the fruit! So get creative with it!

Before you start with your dry ingredients, melt one stick of butter. Set aside.

To a medium bowl, add in flour.

To a medium bowl, add in flour.

Add in kosher salt.

Add in sugar… Now you can use the traditional 1 cup of sugar here which matches up with the flour measurement, but if you like things a little less sweet, take it down to 3/4 cup. You should gauge that by how sweet your fruit is as well.

Add in Baking Powder.

Combine all your dry ingredients. No need to sift, just use your wisk.

Once your dry ingredients are properly combined, add in milk. I like to use whole milk when baking, but it really doesn’t matter too much here as long as its not skim.

Add in vanilla. Be sure to use a good quality pure vanilla extract. There are so few ingredients that it really makes a difference. A vanilla bean would be extra special here too!

Once the vanilla is added in, mix all the wet with the dry until combined.

Slowly wisk in the melted butter.

Be sure it all gets fully incorporated.

And there you have it. This is your basic cobbler batter. To this you can go crazy with possibilities!

Spray a 9″x13″ dish with cooking spray.

It will look like you don’t have enough batter to fill the whole pan. But, for a cobbler, you want a thin layer, this will puff up.

Spread all the way to the edges.

Now you can add in your fruit.

Bake for 25-30 mins. See how it puffs right up over the fruit… that is yummy deliciousness right there!

Top with either some homemade whipped cream or take a little short cut like I did and use your favorite canned stuff.

Top with either some homemade whipped cream or take a little short cut like I did and use your favorite canned stuff.

Recipe for Pineapple Cobbler:

(serves 4-6)

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup sugar (up to one cup for not sweet fruit)

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained (or desired fruit)

cooking spray

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375°F. (Oven must be properly heated, do not skip this step)

In a medium size mixing bowl combine flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.  Wisk together.  Add in milk and vanilla.  Wisk together.  Add in melted butter.  Wisk together slowly to combine. Once the batter is smooth pour into a 9″x13″ baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Spread batter into a thin layer all the way to the edges.  Bake for 25-30 mins until golden.

Cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Enjoy!

A Taste of St. Michael Sparkling Sangria

done3The beauty of St. Michael, Azores is made up of its lush and vibrant vegetation.  Not only are the rolling hills filled with hydrangea and honey suckle, but the St. Michael fruit is like

no where I have been in the world.  Passion fruit, pineapple, figs and exotic fruits not even found in the U.S. are found there in great abundance.  Many enjoy these deliciously sweet treasures plain and right off the trees, many make wonderful desserts like passion fruit pudding (one of my favorites), but today I have decided to apply it to a refreshing cocktail.

This week I am featuring left overs, so this is meant to use up some extra wine you have from the dinner or a party.  Add in a bit of juice, sparkling water and some fruit and you may start opening that bottle of wine just to make this light and airy drink.  It’s a simple drink you’ll come back to again and again.

Start by preparing your fruit... First up is the pineapple. I'll take you through how to easily slice up a pineapple, but if you don't have one available, you could used canned or frozen pineapple chunks.

Start by preparing your fruit… First up is the pineapple. I’ll take you through how to easily slice up a pineapple, but if you don’t have one available, you could used canned or frozen pineapple chunks.  I start by slicing off the bottom.

pine2

Then I cut off the top.

Now it is stable. So, I now start trimming off the sides.

Now it is stable. So, I now start trimming off the sides.

Once I go all the way around the fruit, I cut down the middle.

Once I go all the way around the fruit, I cut down the middle.

Then I quarter and cut out the inner core on a diagonal.

Then I quarter and cut out the inner core on a diagonal.

Next, I slice it up into chunks.

Now slice up an orange. I like to leave the skin in tact.

Now slice up an orange. I like to leave the skin in tact.

Now start measuring out your ingredients. Two cups of sweet wine. This is actually a sweet Sangria wine, but a white zin or a blush or just a plain sweet red wine would be nice here.

Now start measuring out your ingredients. Two cups of sweet wine. This is actually a sweet Sangria wine, but a white zin or a blush or just a plain sweet red wine would be nice here.

This drink that is a cross between a sparkling juice and a soda is a favorite amongst many Portuguese people and indeed can be found throughout the Azores and anywhere Portuguese people have migrated to. If you don't have passion fruit drink available, look for a passion fruit juice.

This drink that is a cross between a sparkling juice and a soda is a favorite amongst many Portuguese people and indeed can be found throughout the Azores and anywhere Portuguese people have migrated to. If you don’t have passion fruit drink available, look for a passion fruit juice.

Add in pineapple.

Add in oranges.

For best results, you will want to soak the fruit in the wine for 2-3 hours or up to over night.

For best results, you will want to soak the fruit in the wine for 2-3 hours or up to over night.

Once the fruit has been propperly steeped in the wine mixture, take a few pieces and place in individual glasses. (then I use fresh fruit to garnish the rims of the glasses as shown here)

Once the fruit has been properly steeped in the wine mixture, take a few pieces and place in individual glasses. (then I use fresh fruit to garnish the rims of the glasses as shown here)

Now fill about half way with wine mixture. You need to allow room for ice and sparkling water.

Add in ice.

Here is where you can really customize the drink on the spot. I like my drinks a little less sweet, so I allow more room for sparkling water (on the left). My husband enjoys his with a bit more sweetness, so his (on the right) is filled a bit more to allow for less sparkling water.

Now top with some sparkling water. Again, this is personal preference, but I use unflavored, unsweetened sparkling water. If you like a bit more sweet and still like all the fizz, you can grab a sparkling water with panache! A coconut or pineapple sparkling seltzer would be nice here as well, even a grape.

Now swizzle together. I am using a butter knife. if you have an official drink stirrer, use that of course 🙂

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Enjoy!

Recipe for A Taste of St. Michael sparkling Sangria:

(serves 4)

2 cups sweet red wine (or any type of sweet wine you have left over)

3 cups Sumol Passion Fruit drink or passion fruit juice

1/2 pineapple, chunks

1 orange, sliced

1 cup sparkling water

8-12 ice cubes

Directions:

Prepare fruit.  Add wine to a pitcher or 10 qt. bowl.  Add in passion fruit drink or juice.  Add fruit to the liquid.  Soak fruit in the liquid for 2-3 hours before serving if possible and up to 1 day before serving.

Pour into glass over ice.  Top with sparkling water to match level of sweetness desired (the more water, the less sweet the drink) Mix with stirrer.  Serve with fruit rimming the glass.

Breakfast in Bed – Kid Friendly Version

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Breakfast in bed has long been a Mother’s Day tradition across the country.  This post is not meant for Mom’s, but for those who care about them.  So, I will be addressing both kid’s and their adult helpers.  This is my Kid Friendly version of breakfast in bed.  Although mom’s love to be pampered, it’s not always a good idea for a young child to be handling mom’s good china and crystal.  So, I thought it would be fun to give kids some ideas on how they can prepare some simple crafts and recipes (with adult supervision) to surprise Mom.  And even if they don’t have the adult supervision needed for cooking on the stove or using a knife to cut things, I will mention some easy substitutions!

So, if you are a mom… now is the time you turn the computer over to your children or significant other or whomever may be a trusted adult in your child’s life…

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OK kids, Mom’s love feeling special and knowing that you love them.  You don’t need to crack open your piggy bank to do this.  With some easy supplies and ingredients you can probably find around your house, you can bring Mom a beautiful breakfast in bed tray with a delicious and nutritious breakfast!

tray

Start with a tray. I got this one around Christmas time for a dollar at a local store. If you look around you might have a hard plastic tray you can use too. It may have Easter bunnies on it or even sun flowers.

get towel

Now find a dish towel or a tea towel. This one is plain white, just use whatever color your mom likes.

towel cloth

Fold the towel nicely to cover the tray, but not over hang.

mommy cup

Use a disposable coffee cup for this project. If you don’t have a plain white one available, you can color a piece of computer paper or construction paper, cut it to the size of your mom’s travel mug, color it with pictures or just a simple “I love Mommy” and tape it to the mug.

kidcup

Then your cup will be ready to set on the tray with coffee or tea… or whatever your mom likes to drink in the morning.

fruit salad1

Ask an adult to help you get some of your mom’s favorite fruit and make her a little fruit salad in a paper or plastic cup. Here there are some sliced mango pieces and cut up strawberries. You could use grapes, blueberries and raspberries if you can’t use a knife. Just be sure to rinse them and dry them gently first.

fork and knife

Get a pretty napkin and plastic fork and knife or in this case a wooden set.

flower

Make a pretty flower like this one. This one is a pom-pom flower (I will be posting the tutorial soon, so look for it). And place it in a bud vase. You could also make a tissue paper flower or get creative and make one from pipe cleaners or popsicle sticks or whatever you have in your craft supplies.

eggs with hats

This is an egg with a hat… You can click on this link to find my Eggs with Hats recipe! (Also, notice it is on a plastic plate, you can use whatever you have, plastic, paper)  If you aren’t allowed to use the stove, make mom some nice toast with butter and jelly!

BCT2

Mom’s usually like having something healthy for breakfast and this BCT  (Bacon, Cheese and Tomato) salad is yummy and healthy.  Again, if you can’t use the stove you could just get some pieces of cheese and toss with some tomatoes and maybe use microwaveable bacon.

Here is what you will need for my BCT salad:

BCT1

My BCT salad is super simple! It’s just some crispy bacon (1 slice, chopped into 4 pieces), 4 grape tomatoes (they were grilled with the bacon for about 1 minute) and about 2 oz. of diced cheddar cheese. Toss them all together.

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And that’s it. I will have a list of supplies for doing it exactly as I did. But, you can definitely substitute with supplies you have around the house! Have fun and remember that your mom will just love the effort you are putting into it so make it special and keep her tastes in mind!

Supplies:

1 hard plastic tray

1 kitchen towel

1 plastic plate

1 bud vase

1 homemade flower

1 pretty napkin

1 plastic cup

1 coffee cup, decorated

1 fork and knife

Food:

1 egg with hat (bread, egg, butter see recipe here)

1 BCT salad (grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon)

1 fruit salad (mango and strawberries)

Coffee or tea for the mug