Fresh Fig Newtons

This is a great summer treat! My wife's grandmother got this recipe a long time ago from her friend, Phillis. It is a great addition to our cookbook. Even if you don't like figs or those thin, dry newtons from the grocery store, I have no doubt you will love these. They are moist and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh figs
2 cups sugar - divided
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 tblsp cream or milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup flour

Dice figs and soak in water for an hour. Add 1 cup sugar and cook on medium heat until mixture is like a thin jam consistency. Set aside.
Beat remaining sugar with butter, egg, milk & vanilla until well blended. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Place half of dough on well floured dough cloth and knead about 6 times. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and line the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish. Cover bottom layer of dough with fig mixture. Knead and roll out remaining dough to cover fig mixture. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares. Enjoy!

Sidenote: Fresh figs can be hard to find. Most grocery stores don't carry them because they ripen so quickly. Check your local farmer's market in late summer. We bought some this morning at the market and I'm very eager to make these.
(You can also substitute 1 lb of dried figs instead of fresh and double the water.)

Tomato Pie

I've never been a big fan of tomatos. I love the smell of the tomato plant, but have always been slightly nauseated by the smell of the actual tomato. However, I do love salsa. My wife has slowly found more and more meals with tomatos that I will eat. They are actually starting to grow on me, but just a little! A friend passed along this recipe and I admit I was hesitant to try it, but I'm glad I did. It is incredible and too good not to share. Thanks Fiona!

We planted a lot of tomatos in the garden this year and have been enjoying this fantastic dish with fresh picked tomatos. I hope you will enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

1 frozen pie crust

3 - 5 medium sized tomatos, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup mayo (my wife swears by kraft)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

3 tbsp fresh basil (we just diced up a small handful)

1 cup chopped green onions (can use red or sweet)

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bake pie crust at 425 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Spread sliced tomatos on bottom of baked crust. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over tomatos. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

This is an amazing recipe from Cascadian Farms. It was on the back of a package of frozen blueberries. I just thought it was too good not to share. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan.
Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl - set aside. In large bowl, beat milk, oil, honey & egg with fork. Stir in flours, baking powder & salt; just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries. Divide batter into muffin pan (should make 12 muffins). Sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of batter. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. (13-15 minutes in a convection oven.) Remove from pan and enjoy!

Sidenote: The batter seemed too thick to me, so I also add a 1/4 cup applesauce. I think it helps to keep them very moist.

Carol's Peach Cobbler

Carol is a very sweet friend that shared this with me. This is the quickest cobbler recipe I've seen yet and is an excellent standby for those last minute desserts. She said she always kept a jar of peaches in the pantry because you never knew when you would need something quick.

1 can/jar of peachs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 stick butter

She said you litterally "dump" the first three ingredients into a 9x13 baking dish in this order and then sliver the butter on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Carol told me it was the perfect amount of time to enjoy dinner and then have dessert hot out of the oven.

We love to buy fresh peaches in the summer. We always slice some to freeze for smoothies. The quart sized bags of frozen peaches are perfect for this recipe. I thaw a bag in the microwave for a couple minutes and dump it into a baking dish. I prefer a deeper dish that isn't as wide. I admit I do mix everything together first, but it all works out the same. I also add a little cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Top it off with a little yogurt or ice cream and it is the perfect dessert! Thanks Carol for sharing!!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

We had a really big bag of apples that were starting to go bad faster than we could eat them...so I thought why not try to make some apple cinnamon pancakes? They are my new favorite!

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp brown sugar (light or dark)
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
1 cup milk
2 apples - peeled and cut into small chunks

Combine all dry ingredients in mixing bowl and stir. Set aside. Combine apples and milk in microwave safe bowl and microwave on high 3 to 5 minutes - stirring every 60 seconds. The cook time depends on the size of the apple chunks and your desired crunch in the apple. I like them cooked but still with a little bite to it. Now combine cooked apples & milk with remaining ingredients into mixing bowl and stir. You may have to add a little more milk if the batter is too thick. It seemed like the longer I cooked the apples, the more milk I needed to add - usually another tablespoon or two, not too much. Then cook on griddle as usual and enjoy!

Chocolate Apple Bread

We recently bought a 1/2 bushel of green apples with the intention of making apple jelly. We didn't realize how over ambitious we were with a 4 month old child. There is just too much going on in our lives right now for the process of jelly so I've been making lots of quick apple recipes later in the evening after our daughter goes to sleep. This is a combination of several great recipes to make the best apple bread. We enjoy this in the morning with our coffee (but is is great anytime!)

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar - firmly packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup grated or chopped semisweet chocolate
4 green apples - peeled & coursely grated

In a medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, extract and oil. Fold in the grated apple. Add this wet mixture along with the chocolate to the dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. (Over mixing may cause the bread to be tough.) Pour batter into two greased loaf pans and bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted near the center comes out clean. (I always test it first at 45 minutes just in case.)
Cool in pan on wire rack for about ten minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Best if wrapped and stored overnight before slicing.

Pancakes

I think a plain recipe is often overlooked. This is a simple one that we use ALL the time. I love pancakes! This recipe is so easy to modify with whatever is in season - see my notes below.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 egg
2 tbsp oil
1 cup milk (you can use buttermilk, but only use 1 tsp baking powder and add 1/4 tsp baking soda)


Mix all dry ingredients in bowl. Then add wet ingredients and stir just until moistened. (it is usually a little lumpy - thats ok) Pour desired amount onto hot skillet or griddle. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, or until pancakes are golden brown. Serve hot with syrup of choice.

Note: In the summer we love to add blueberries or strawberries (about 1/2 cup) to the batter. Blueberry pancakes are my favorite! In the fall I like to make pumpkin or sweet potato pankcakes. I add 1/2 cup puree (it doesn't have to be fresh, you can use it from a can too) and use less milk depending on how thick the puree is - I usually use about 3/4 cup instead of a full cup.