recipe of the week: blueberry crumb breakfast cake

blueberry crumb breakfast cake

you're lucky i took a picture before i devoured it... ;-)

a recipe on pinterest caught my attention a few weeks back

and i decided it had to be made

(even though i'm not necessarily a breakfast person)

i don't know as this is the original pin

but i basically found this post while searching "blueberry crumb breakfast cake"

and it looked amazing

trust me...it's worth every moment.  i put everything together on a friday night and popped it into the oven saturday upon getting up.  DEFINITELY worth the time waited while it baked.

i made a couple of (very) slight modifications, so i'm listing the recipe as i did it.  

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

zest from one large lemon

1 cup sugar, plus more for topping

1 egg at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour, measuring out 1/4 cup separately

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup buttermilk *

*to make buttermilk, use the ratio of 1 tbsp lemon juice to 1 cup skim milk (putting the lemon juice into the cup and pouring in milk to the 1 cup line...so technically it's 7 tbsp of milk...7/8 cup...whatever)

cream butter with sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy

add egg and vanilla, beat until combined

toss the fresh blueberries in a bowl with 1/4 cup of flour

whisk together the remaining flour, baking soda and salt

alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk  a bit at a time

then fold the blueberries in

after lightly greasing, spread batter in a baking dish

add at least 1 tbsp sugar to the top (i'm pretty sure i'll be using about 1/4 cup from now on.  we like a crunchy top.)

this is the point where i popped ours in the fridge overnight.  or, you can put it in an oven heated to 350゜

bake approximately 40 - 45 minutes (the original recipe says 35, but allowed up to 10 minutes more for baking.  i needed about 42 minutes.)

i test by using a chopstick, but you know...you can use a toothpick or fork :-)

it was ready.  YUM.

worth every moment.  

what are you waiting for?  don't you need some breakfast? :-)

3 in 30: march

so i started this in february, and am continuing on because it was kinda fun...and pretty effective :)

so here are this month's goals

• drink at least 3 glasses of water per day (i know that's pathetic, but my water intake of the moment is pretty pathetic too...)
• try at least 4 new recipes
• carve out at least 30 minutes of time per day for me.  this cannot include wedding planning or doing laundry... ;)

by the way, here's how i did last month:

* exercise at least 4 times each week...and stop using that "busy" excuse!
(i managed this at least 3 out of the 4 weeks, so that's not bad :D)
* eat at least 1 fruit and 1 veggie each day
(well, that was a small goal, but i'm not convinced the fruits always happened.  i'm just not a fruit girl.  however, i'm pretty sure i got in at least 3-4 servings of vegetables every day.)
* sleep. 6 - 7 hours at LEAST per night. this means when i have to get up at 5:15
(this didn't always happen, but steps toward the right direction.  i think i got between 5.5 and 7 hours most nights, which is MUCH better that what i was doing before.  so this is an ongoing goal for sure)

what are your month's goals?

recipe of the week: fruit skewers and tropical fruit dip

so it's beautiful and sunny

and HOT

and i'm trying so hard to be a fruit lover

(i love love love veggies. and i like most fruit. i just don't eat it all the time)

but i went to the store last week and picked up a few organic treats

strawberries

(ps, these were also amazing in the mojitos this weekend...)

kiwi

blueberries

pineapple (that one wasn't organic but i bought the real deal...and i figure not much can get through that tough skin)

peaches

and i got a message from our friend who hosts the small group on thursdays that i've been going to for awhile.

i had asked if i could bring anything and she said "something with fruit."

to which i had replied "just fresh fruit?"

and she said "whatever you want to do that involves fruit. i love your creativity in the kitchen"

(uh-oh.

now i feel the need to be creative-esque)

so because i didn't want to mess up the fruit

(because it's already perfect the way God made it)

i decided to enhance it with a fruit dip.

only i couldn't stand the thought of marshmallow fluff...

processed the heck out of

so i sought an alternative

and of course what i ended up with was very far removed from the actual recipe that i found

this one pictured was made with cool whip

however i'm most definitely going to make it with actual whipping cream next time

at least i'll feel better about it then :)

here's my new and improved recipe:

tropical fruit dip

1 (8 oz) block of reduced-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar or stevia (please don't use man-made chemicals as sweeteners...soapbox moment!)

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

1/4 cup almonds, plus a few for decor on top

1 tsp vanilla

optional: about 1/4 cup shaved coconut (i'm not a fan but i put it in and people went CRAZY over it)

beat cream cheese and sugar together until creamy and combined well. mix in whipped cream, almonds, vanilla and coconut (if using) until well blended. pour into serving bowl and garnish with almond slivers/slices. refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours so that flavors will blend. serve with freshly sliced fruit

OR

you can make fruit kabobs like i did :D

(i think those are pretty self-explanatory)

Thursday's Ten: a day off

today's blog comes to you from a little haven

where i'm shaded from the sun

surrounded by a few boxes that i'm either going through or taking back to storage

and where breezes are blowing the windchimes

it's just a carport

but i'm loving it :)

the family i'm nannying for this summer

left for a week

i drove them to the airport yesterday

and now i have a loooooong holiday weekend to look forward to

some of it will be busy

but i hope most of it will be just like today

i find myself more productive on days where i don't feel rushed or stressed

(anyone else like that?)

so here's what i've done so far today, or am planning to do as the day goes on

1. slept in

(ahhhhh)

2. planted and watered in my little garden

(i should have ripe tomatoes soon!)

3. introduced emi to her new surroundings, outdoor edition

(i know we've been here 2 months nearly, but i wanted her to be comfortable INDOORS first, and today is just gorgeous so it was perfect)

4. cleaned out a bit of the carport

5. returned some emails

6. chatted with the neighbors

7. ate some fresh fruit

8. fixed myself another iced coffee

9. cleaned out the cooler from yesterday's chicken adventures

(that's another blog in itself)

10. sat in the carport with my little macbook on my lap and enjoyed relaxing...because i deserve a day to relax!

oh, there's plenty on the agenda today...like laundry, organizing, cleaning, etc. but i figure i have the whole looooong weekend to do these things. so for now, i'm kicking back with my iced coffee. (which may turn into a nice iced bloody mary later on this afternoon--only 3 hours til 5 pm!)

what about you? what are you up to today...or what do you normally do on a day off?

Recipe of the Week: LB Connection Fruit Pizza

a couple of weeks ago i was in delaware. my friend laura and i were trying to make a healthy dessert, and did a 3-layer deal with strawberries, honey and cinnamon being one of the layers. i loved the combination...and i love how when we put our heads together we come up with this kind of stuff!

* "lb connection" is because not only do our first and last names sound alike...we also both go by "lb" (elle bee) on occasion. so we often have "lb moments" when we get together--and we create some pretty fun things (often food) together! *

i've made this twice now, and it's gone over really well both times...it was kind of a made up recipe based loosely on several fruit pizzas that i found on other blogs and websites, mixed with the aforementioned layer in the dessert we made a week prior to me creating this recipe.

so without further ado:

lb connection fruit pizza

1 package of refrigerator sugar cookie dough (i use pillsbury)

1 package of low-fat cream cheese (you could use 2 if you want it to be less liquid-y, but then you're adding unnecessary fat and calories...in my mind at least)

3/4 - 1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 package of fresh strawberries, sliced

1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp (ish) cinnamon

2 tbsp (ish) honey

first, combine the fresh strawberries with the sugar, cinnamon and honey in a bowl. refrigerate for at least an hour, but up to 24 to let the juices flow. it sounds like an odd combination, but i promise you it's good :)

approximately an hour before you want to serve the pizza, spread the cookie dough over a pizza pan. i haven't tried this with a pizza stone. i assume you could use that as well...but the 'lip' on the pan helps with the next few steps.

bake the dough at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes. let the cookie crust cool completely.

with a mixer, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar until it's creamy. then add the strawberries.

* warning: this gets rather messy...because it'll basically be a liquid. i don't mind, and neither have the people who i've shared this dessert with...but as previously mentioned, you can add a bit of whipping cream or cream cheese to make the consistency a bit thicker if you like.

pour strawberry goodness mixture over the cookie crust, and chill in the refrigerator until it's ready to serve. be prepared to run out :)

(in fact, that's why the pics are the quality they are--i snapped them with my phone when i noticed there were only 2 slices left!)

Thursday's Ten: Produce!

(sorry the last couple of weeks I've slacked off on this...)


We've hit that time of year where I eat SO well
because it's springtime and things that are fresh and organic and wonderful just seem like the perfect thing to eat
Farmer's Market is in full swing
Trader Joe's produce section continues to amaze...

yeah. I'm a fan.
So because food--and more specifically fresh produce--is on my mind, here are the top 10 things I get on a regular basis to snack on!

1. tomatoes. but i'm picky. they MUST be homegrown.
2. avacados. oh.my.gosh amazing. and i enjoy making my own guacamole as well, so that's a bonus!
3. pears. i always thought i hated them because i'd only had canned when i was growing up. fresh pears? nothing like the canned crap.
4. broccoli. my favorite veggie, hands down
5. carrots. i only like them raw, but they are SO good with hummus...
(yeah, i'll wait for you to go try that...)
6. oranges. arguably my favorite fruit.
7. celery. packs a nice little crunch. i know there's little flavor there, but when i'm craving chips i reach for celery and carrots first to see if i can be satisfied by a crunch instead.
8. banana. i have a tendency to buy too many of them at once and watch them turn black, but thankfully Trader Joe's sells them one at a time--even the organic ones!
9. onion and garlic. i especially love it when vidalias are in season. i'm lumping these together because, well, i use them to cook with more than to snack with...
10. plums. my parents have a plum tree, and buying a couple of plums every couple of weeks makes me a little nostalgic :)

I also love strawberries, cherries, grapes, cherry or grape tomatoes, and so much more...
what about you? what fresh foods are always at the top of your list?