Skip to content

Cheddar Crusted Apple Pie

2013 May 16
tags:
by admin


My mom’s husband (I hesitate to call him my step-dad because they were married after I was out of the house and married myself, after all) has a thing for apple pie.  He talks about his late wife’s excellent apple pie and it is clear that those memories hold a special place in his heart.  When you combine love, nostalgia, and sweets there’s almost no beating the memory you have of something you can’t ever taste again.  There’s no point in even attempting to make the pie of his past.

IMG_6400

 

So when you’re up against those kind of standards it is best just to turn the other way and make something completely new and different.  Enter: apple cheddar pie.

I remember the first time I encountered this combination of cheddar and apples.  During college I worked at the circulation desk in the library and I often shared shifts with this Greek boy, Morgan.  He was an eccentric sort – decidedly intelligent but belligerently lazy.  I would peer across our shared desk, jealous of his ability to live-and-let-live and be happy with a C in college classes.  He adored the combination of cheddar and apples and remember him, once, talking incessantly about how delicious it was.  I was skeptical but intrigued.
IMG_6397

 

I didn’t try the combination but I started comparing it to my love of pineapple on pizza, the presence of grapes on cheese platters, and raisins in chicken salad.  The combination makes sense.  But should it pass as dessert?

IMG_6405

 

It should pass as an any-time-of-day treat.  This crust was amazing.  AMAZING.  So cheddary.  So flaky.  Easy to work with.  The Omnivore, who was very skeptical of this treat, adored the recipe as well.  The filling was perfectly consistent – not runny and gooey.  It was a tad lemony from the addition of both lemon zest and lemon juice so next time I’d omit the zest.

 

Black Bean Avocado Brownies

2013 May 14
by admin


I could not stop grinning after I made these brownies.  And that, my friends, was the downfall.

IMG_6300

 

I made the recipe, tasted a crumb, declared it a success, and went bounding to find my husband.  I just KNEW he would be in love with this recipe and totally fooled when it came to the ingredients.  I, of course, would never divulge the ingredients.

You know when you’ve planned a bit surprise and you can just barely keep it in?  You’re all giggly and jumpy.  That’s how I was.  And he knew something was up.  And he knew it has something to do with the brownie I was practically shoving down his throat.
IMG_6307

As a result of me totally blowing the delivery I ended up with a wonderful batch of homemade brownies all for myself.

Brownies that were laced with black beans, avocados, cashews and studded with chocolate chips.  Damn good brownies, regardless of the high fiber content.

Oh people will say: “If I’m going to spend calories on a brownie, it is going to be a BROWNIE and not some legume filled impostor.”

Those people might be beyond converting.  People like me, though, who are curious and don’t mind experimentation, eating healthfully whenever possible, and expanding culinary boundaries will love this gluten free brownie recipe.  More protein packed and more filling than the average brownie, you won’t even think about the sugary, floury alternative.

 

 

Broccoli Pesto Pasta

2013 May 9


I remember when I was first getting into cooking, I was obsessed with the thought of getting a food processor.  The Omnivore would be on his way to Lowe’s and I’d go along for the trip to the home improvement store for the sole reason of looking at food processors.

I’d bookmark recipes that I thought could only be made with a food processor (which obviously isn’t true as amazing things have been made for centuries without food processors) and then talk incessantly about them.

IMG_6248

 

This recipe is one that I’d file under “food processor” and if you are on the fence about making the purchase, this should send you over the edge.  I’ve made broccoli pesto before but this one definitely has a different spin.  It is more chunky than saucy and more complex and varied.  I used chick peas for bulk and protein but I don’t see why a cup or so of shredded chicken or even cooked shrimp couldn’t work.