Fresh Tart

If the only vanilla pudding you've ever eaten is from a plastic Jello brand cup, then please make this. It takes about 15 minutes to pull together and will knock your socks off, gone.

You can eat the pudding warm right out of the pan (Stephanie style) or chill it for a bit to serve after dinner (the proper way).  Because strawberries are amazing right now, crush some with a little sugar (and a splash of booze?) and spoon them over the top. I don't know what it is about vanilla pudding + strawberries in particular, but for me, it is a holy grail combination that tastes of childhood, my grandmother's kitchen, and the world's most perfect strawberry ice cream.

Mmmmm, nostalgia.

(If you're loathe to waste the egg whites, then hold on until tomorrow for a recipe that just happens to call for four egg whites... Update: And here it is! Warm Fruit Souffle. Dessert yin and yang, right? Right.)

Old-Fashioned Vanilla Pudding with Crushed Strawberries
Serves 6

1 pint strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 Tbsp. sugar + 1/2 c. sugar (or even a bit less, depending on how sweet you like your...sweets)
4 large egg yolks
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
4 c. whole milk
1 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. real vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, stir together strawberries and 1 Tbsp. sugar. Mash with a fork or potato masher into a chunky sauce. Set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

In a small bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in milk. Place pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling. Remove from heat.

Whisk a ladleful of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk the egg yolk mixture into the pan of hot milk. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until once again thick and bubbling. Cook for 2 minutes and remove from heat.

Whisk in butter and then vanilla. Cool in the pan, stirring occasionally, then spoon into serving bowls and serve at room temperature or chill for an hour. Top with crushed strawberries right before serving.

Duck eggs are prized by gluten-free bakers for adding loft and softness. My recipe for Cardamom Cake with Rhubarb Sauce & Whipped Cream (Gluten Free) at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Recipe for Tastebud Tart Molly Herrmann's famous Lemon Rosemary Shortbread at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

If you're scrambling today, wishing you'd made Christmas cookies, I offer this fast and delicious chocolate almond coconut bark.  It takes 10 minutes to prepare!  And just try to keep your hands off of it.  If you hate coconut, or almonds, substitute crushed toffee, or peanuts, or whatever you do like - this bark is whatever you want it to be.  Recipe at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly magazine.

So far this morning, the house smells of garlic and truffles after making a quick tomato dipping sauce for this evening's beef fondue.  Here's our whole menu, by the way, forgot to put it up yesterday.

Cheese fondue with radishes, peppers, pickles, and cubed bread

Escargot in mushroom caps with garlic cream sauce
Roasted asparagus with fresh lemon

Beef tenderloin and cauliflower fritters fondue
Dipping sauces: tomato-truffle, horseradish cream

Chocolate souffles

What are you cooking today?

Even I have to admit that the winter wonderland out my window is gorgeous.  We have a neighborhood hockey rink which one of my neighbors is kindly snow-blowing so everyone can skate today.  It'll be a Norman Rockwell painting of skaters as soon as he's done.  (While we enjoy this lovely view, exactly none of us skate...although we stopped feeling guilty about it years ago and now happily watch the fun.)

Merry Christmas Eve!

Behold, the first cake I've baked since giving up gluten.

I baked it for John's office's annual United Way bake sale - which I contribute to every year - so it's not like I was going to eat it anyhow (and therefore couldn't cut into it for pics, sorry).  But not eating it because it's not mine and not eating it because I can't are two different things.  Not terrible, since I'm not a big dessert eater anyhow, just strange, because let's be honest - I cook for myself.  I feed my family, of course, but I cook what I like to eat.

So making this cake, knowing that I don't eat cake, was a new experience.

It's a beauty of a cake by the way.  Thank you to Amanda of I Am Baker for the recommendation - she knows of cake! - and of course to Ina Garten for another perfect recipe.  Does she ever write a bad one?  I think not...  It's easy to put together and the buttercream icing is just dreamy to spread around. A winner, big time.  (Note: Sift the confectioners' flour, as directed, to avoid the little lumps you see in the pic, ahem.)

Because the purpose of the cake is to raise money, I baked it as an 11x14-inch sheet cake (vs. as two 8-inch layers) so they could cut as many pieces from it as possible.  Based on the almost 900 positive reviews of the cake on the Food Network site (not kidding - indeed a well-loved recipe), you can successfully bake the batter into any shape you like.

Here's John standing with a cake on our deck because...it's dark in November in Minnesota and I needed as much light as I could steal!  It's fabulous that it's actually warm enough for him to comfortably stand out there, though, so I'm not really complaining.

Until it snows tomorrow.

Then all bets are off.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake
Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home, 2006
Serves 8

butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 c. sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. buttermilk, shaken
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. freshly brewed hot coffee

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. sifted confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp. instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Happy Friday everyone!  Just in time for the weekend, here's another quick idea for using creme fraiche.  If you, like I, try to eat as little sugar as possible, then creme fraiche can be your new best friend.  Want to add the creaminess of ice cream to a bowl full of berries?  A small dollop of creme fraiche fits the bill in the loveliest way, adding the richness of ice cream for about 50 calories and no added sugar.

Or, if you're having a hard time putting your hands on good berries (there goes the season, sniff...), try this quick-n-lovely sauteed apple, one my favorite fall treats.  In 10 minutes your house will smell of cinnamon and your mouth will be full of soft warm apple, creamy and slightly sweet with a drizzle of honey (that's a jar of heavenly Ames Farm Dutch Clover in the background).

The creme fraiche melts over the apple slices, gah, so incredible. Top with a few chopped almonds for crunch.

Sauteed Apple with Honey & Creme Fraiche
Serves 1

1 tsp. butter
1 apple, cored and sliced thin
shakes of cinnamon
1 Tbsp. creme fraiche
honey (optional)

In a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, melt butter.  Add apple slices and a few shakes of cinnamon and stir to coat.  Cover the pan and cook the apples until nicely soft but not falling apart, stirring a few times, about 8 minutes.  Serve warm apple slices topped with creme fraiche and a drizzle honey, if using.

I posted this recipe a few weeks ago at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.  It might be tricky to put your hands on decent peaches or plums as the season fades, but that's OK - peeled, sliced apples sauteed as described below would be heavenly too.

Have you eaten at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA?  It's one of the best-loved restaurants in the country, long known for its delicious use of and advocacy for local, seasonal ingredients.  I've not (yet!) eaten there, so I make do with the Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook, a treasure of beautiful recipes that is particularly fun to leaf through right about now, when Minnesota produce can give California's a run for its money.  (Almost.)

This cake is fun for a dinner party, when you can serve the Sauternes used in the cake right alongside it.  The cake has a soft-springy texture, with a marvelous hint of booziness.  Fresh peaches nicely complement the peachy notes in Sauternes.

In the spirit of the book, local plums would be delicious in place of peaches.  Serve them very ripe in slices or saute them with a little butter and sugar and spoon them warm over the cake.  As you might guess, you can't really go wrong with fruit, cake, softly whipped cream, and wine.

Olive Oil & Sauternes Cake with Peaches
Adapted from the Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook by Alice Waters
Serves 6

5 eggs plus 2 egg whites
3/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. grated lemon rind
1 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. good quality Sauternes
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks and sweetened with 2 tsp. of sugar
3 peeled, diced peaches

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line the bottom of an 8-inch spring-form pan with parchment paper, then thoroughly butter the entire pan and paper. (Stephanie's note: I used a 9-inch nonstick round cake pan with good result.)

Separate the 5 eggs into two bowls - the yolks into a large mixing bowl, the whites into the bowl of a stand-up mixer.  Using a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 3-5 minutes until light-colored.  Add the lemon rind and salt.  Using the same whisk, slowly add the flour bit by bit to the egg yolk mixture.  Slowly whisk in the Sauternes and olive oil.  Set aside.

Using a stand-up mixer (or electric beaters), beat the 5 egg whites and 2 additional egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks.  Thoroughly fold them into the egg yolk mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the cake if necessary to ensure even cooking.  After 20 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 325F and bake for another 20 minutes.  Then turn the oven off and leave the cake in the closed oven for 10 minutes more while the cake deflates like a fallen souffle.

Remove the cake from the oven.  Invert the cake onto a flat surface, remove the sides of the spring-form pan.  (If you baked it in a 9-inch cake pan, run a knife around the sides of the cake and invert.)  Peel off the parchment paper and discard.  Cool cake completely (really - the Sauternes flavor is most pronounced at room temperature).  Serve at room temperature with fresh peaches and softly whipped cream.  (Store cake wrapped tightly and chilled.)

Here's a...thing.  Due to health problems I'd been experiencing for the last couple of years (puffy eyes/hands, fatigue, joint pain), and given that I'm otherwise totally healthy (blood pressure and cholesterol-wise), I started experimenting with eliminating various foods from my diet.

I started with nuts, then eggs, then dairy.

I felt exactly the same.

And then...I eliminated gluten/wheat, about a month ago, and I haven't looked back.

Puffy eyes - gone.  Fatigue - gone.  Joint pain - gone.  I feel fantastic, I look like myself again, and so far at least, it's been the easiest dietary change I've ever made.  It helps that I'd developed a subconscious aversion to pasta, bread, and even beer, because it was making me feel like hell.  I watch my son & stepdaughter tear into a baguette, and while they're happy as clams, I feel sick to my stomach for them.

For those of you who feel not only fine but great eating wheat and other grains, don't worry - I'm still going to include the same variety of foods here on Fresh Tart that I always have.  The rest of my family eats plenty of grains without consequence, and it's not hard for me to make them the dishes they still love and just adapt them for myself.

I'm personally coming to the conclusion that there is no one right way to eat, that diet is very individual.  Some people thrive on grains, others feel awful (like me!). Some are sickly without meat in their diets, some can't tolerate it at all.  (Everyone likes fruit and veggies, right?  Ha!)  I think we should all skip daily doses of sugar, soda, and processed and junk foods, but I've always felt that way (therefore this blog!).

I'm alone in that thought in this household, by the way...

Bottom line: You'll still find all varieties of fresh, real foods here.

In the meantime, if you're a coconut lover like I am (obsessed!), check out these grain-free, gluten-free coconut pancakes that I found from the Mark's Daily Apple website (a great resource for grain-free, gluten-free ideas).  They have an almost macaroon-like texture, lightly sweet from the coconut itself, and are utterly heavenly with ripe berries.  I layered in some cottage cheese because that's always how I eat pancakes, but you could easily skip it and just go for the berries.

On another note, I was recently Twitterviewed (interviewed on Twitter!) by Joel E. Carlson, a local social media guru and consultant.  I had coffee with him a couple of weeks ago and he is one of the nicest, easiest to chat with people in town.  Follow him on Twitter @JoelECarlson.

And if you're interested, check out the transcript of my interview on his site, Joel's Views.

Grain-Free Coconut Pancakes
Adapted from a recipe by Adam Kayce on Mark's Daily Apple
Serves 8

2 eggs
1 can coconut milk (not the light version; Taste of Thai brand is nice)
1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c. almond meal
1/2 tsp. of almond extract (or cinnamon)

sliced berries
cottage cheese (optional)

In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs with a fork.  Add coconut milk, coconut, almond meal, and almond extract, and stir until evenly incorporated.

Cook pancakes on a greased nonstick griddle, keeping in mind that 1) it's easier to handle smaller pancakes; I make them silver-dollar size, 2) the pancakes need to be cooked on the first side until they're almost dry, with nicely browned egdes, before flipping them, and 3) the pancakes are very tender, so flip gently.  After the first one or two, you'll have the hang of them, they're not difficult to handle, just a bit different than a typical pancake.

Serve hot with sliced berries, and cottage cheese (if using).

Note: If you don't use all of the batter, it keeps nicely in the fridge for up to a week.

I hated applesauce as a kid.  (I realize how many blog posts I begin by mentioning a food I hated as a kid.  I do it to reassure you, and myself, that picky children often become enthusiastic cooks and eaters.  So hang in there if you're feeding the seemingly impossible.)

I hated its grainy, watery texture. I hated its unappetizing pinky-grey color.

I hated that it didn't taste like apple pie, which I loved.

And then I made homemade applesauce and like many things homemade, it blew my mind a little bit.  Smooth and almost creamy, thick and not-too sweet, scented with cinnamon and tasting fully of apples.  Like apple pie, in fact, warm and comforting.  Yes.

It's the only applesauce I'll eat.  Bonus: It's one of my son's favorite foods, especially alongside pork (in particular, no-fail barbecued ribs, tonight's din).

I feel like I'm cheating calling this a recipe, since it's nothing but apples, a splash of water, and cinnamon.

So I'll give you this rough outline, and then say this: Make some immediately.

For another twist on the pork & apple theme, check out the Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Apple Salsa recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago at the Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine blog.

Homemade Applesauce
Makes several cups

About 20 apples (I picked up two bags at the farmers market, one of Cortlands, one of Honey Crisps)
1/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
Sugar (maybe, but you likely won't need it)

Peel, core, and slice apples, tossing them into a stock pot or Dutch oven as you go.  When all the apples are sliced, add water and cinnamon to pan and cover.  Bring to a simmer, turn heat to low, and stir occasionally, recovering, until apples break down into a thick sauce, about 20 minutes.  Taste applesauce and add 1-2 Tbsp. of sugar if needed (I didn't need to add sugar, but it does depend on 1) how sweet you like your applesauce, and 2) how sweet the apples are that you're using).  When the apples are dissolved, continue simmering over low heat, half-covered, sitrring occasionally, until sauce is quite thick, about 20-30 minutes.  Serve warm or cool.  Store remaining applesauce in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Happy Labor Day!  Are you stopping by for a little last-minute holiday cooking inspiration?  I have to confess that this day rather snuck up on me too - denial that summer is ending, I suppose.  If you're running to the market today, wanting to pull something festive together for later this evening, here are some quick-to-make ideas:

Pork Tenderloin Tacos, easy to pull together, fun to eat, great for a crowd
Souvlaki, more pork (as you know, I do love pork), packed with flavor and everyone's favorite, especially with copious amounts of grilled naan or pita bread
Perfect Burgers, topped with whatever your heart desires, nothing more to say
Summer Tomato Soup, since it's a bit chilly out there, alongside Grilled Corn - a meatless meal, straight from the farmers market
Grilled Steaks with Herb Butter feel decadent and celebratory, but are really easy and fast to make (shhh!)
Farmer's Market Potato Salad, substitute green beans for asparagus, enjoy the delicious basil vinaigrette for weeks on everything
Gazpacho with Poached Eggs Over Potato-Green Pepper Pancakes, my personal fave lazy-day meal of the season

And for dessert, Blueberry Kuchen, baby, The Dessert of Summer 2010! It's my dear friend Susie's recipe, and won the Kingfield Market Berry Bake-Off when I submitted it earlier this summer.  Substitute other fruit for blueberries (as my friend Kelli at I Had A Delicious Time beautifully did) if you like.  Plums, peaches, apples...just don't forget the whipped or ice cream to melt over the top, mmm.

No matter what you make or eat, enjoy the end of summer, friends. Here's to a lovely fall!