Baked Oatmeal

Puzzled with how to have a healthy breakfast at work, my sister suggested Heidi's baked oatmeal. She served this at a brunch with some girlfriends. Not only is it great for crowds, but it's re-heatable in single-serve portions that will have all your co-workers asking for the recipe.

 

 Baked Oats with Bananas and Blueberries

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain salt
• 2 cups milk (or nut milk) 
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 bananas, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries or a mix of berries

 
Preheat. 375 degrees w/ a rack in the top third of the over. Butter the inside of your baking dish.


Step one. In a bowl, combine the oats, half of the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

 
Step two. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, vanilla and half of the butter.






 


 




Step three. Lay bananas across the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries on top. Cover with the dry mix and then drizzle the milk mix over the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and walnuts over the top.












 



Step four. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the oats are set. Let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle with the remaining melted butter and serve.










Serve. With a little maple syrup on top. Divine.  

 enjoy.

Blueberry Pie

Get Well Blueberry Pie

 

My mom is on bed rest this weekend, so I thought I'd surprise her with a drive home, and a blueberry pie. 

 

Nothing says 'Get Well Soon,' like a pie and some flowers. So I picked up an orchid and rolled out this blueberry pie. I've been practicing on my pie crust and my friends have been benefiting. But finally, I've perfected this rye pie crust from Heidi Swanson. At first, pie crust can be intimidating. But as long as you've got an apron, or some clothes you don't mind getting floured, it's really simple, and very rewarding. And with the holidays in full swing, I'm sure you can find lots of instances for practice of your own before the New Year.

I found my mom trip planning on her iPad when I arrived. My dad brought up a serving knife and plates and we I had pie together on the balcony overlooking my parents' spectacular view of Jamul. I had to keep my dad away from the pie after his second helping because I'd invited my sister over for leftovers later. 

Blueberry Pie with Rye Crust

(This recipe is from Heidi Swanson shared on the blog Forty-Sixth At Grace by Herriott Grace)

I won't be hurt if you click that link and follow Heidi's recipe, because that's what I did.  Although I couldn't find lemon verbena anywhere so I just used extra lemon zest. Harriott offers two ways to get the dough into a ball, by hand, or with a food processor. I prefer the manual method because it makes me feel more involved. And remember, always keep your counter surface and rolling pin well-floured to make the dough easier to work with.

rye pie crust: 

2/3 cup rye flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4+ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup salted butter
1/3 cup cold beer

special equipment: rolling pin & pastry brush recommended

Harriott's notes: You can make the crust using the quick and popular food processor technique. That said,  I always make it by hand, using the above ingredients, and this technique. If you like a super-puffy crust, do the folding in Pim’s instructions 4x. I usually like mine less so, and fold & roll just 2 or 3 times, depending on how the dough is feeling.

step 1. 
   Mix together the flour and salt. Using one of the methods above, get your butter and flour well mixed until it resembles small flakes.

step 2. 
   Create a well with your dough, add the beer, and as quickly as possible work into a tight ball. Wrap with clear plastic and refrigerate for at least 40 minutes.

step 3.
   Fold your dough.

Pim's Instructions: 
Flour the pastry board or counter very liberally.  Place the dough on the board and flour the top of the dough liberally as well.  With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to an elongated rectangle.  Pick up the pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough.  Then pick up one end of the rectangle, fold it 2/3 of the way in.  Brush the flour off the newly folded section, then pick up the other end and fold it over that section. Now you have a dough that is folded neatly into thirds.  The dough will crack and might even break, don’t worry about it.  Just make sure you brush off as much flour as you can between the folding so you don’t trap more flour in the dough than necessary.

step 4. 
   Roll it.  I don't like to cut my dough in half, I always end up miscalculating. So I just take about 2/3, roll it into a thin crust, and make sure the bottom of my pie pan is perfectly covered. Then I trim off the edges and roll the scraps back in with the remaining 1/3 of the dough and this way I always have enough for the top crust. If you don't have a rolling pin, a bottle of wine will do. Once, I used a large salt shaker. This is a pretty sturdy dough so you shouldn't experience too much breakage.

Refriderate the remaining dough and prepare the filling.

Blueberry Pie Filling: 

•  1/3 cup natural cane sugar
•  1/3 maple sugar (or brown sugar) 
• 1/3 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 2 pounds of blueberries, rinsed 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice & zest from that lemon (I like to use double the zest) 
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water, whisked
• Large grain sugar, for sprinkling (optional) 

Preheat your oven to 425F

 

step 5. 
Toss the wet blueberries with the flour and salt.

step 6.
Fill the crust with the berries, drizzle with lemon juice, and dot with the butter. Brush the rim of the bottom crust with a bit of egg wash, then top with the other piece of pie crust.

Trim the top crust a bit if needed, then press the top and bottom crusts together at the edges. Working around the rim, tuck the overhanging dough under itself, and crimp with a fork or flute using your fingers.
 

Brush the crust with more of the egg wash and place in the oven for about 45 minutes – until the crust is deeply golden. I like to cover the edge of the rust with foil and then remove the foil 10 minutes before cooking is complete. I also sprinkle with large-grain sugar about 25 minutes in – for a little extra crunch and sweetness. Let cool a bit, slice and serve.

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

     When I was living in Paris, I was two doors down from a produce stand. And practically every day after school, I'd stop in and pick something up for dinner. I became friendly with the man who ran the small, outdoor shop, and he'd help me with my French by pronouncing the names of the fruits and vegetables, and then he'd proceed to tell me the reason that that particular produce was good for me. For example, and I very keenly remember this day above the others for some reason, he pointed to a heaping pile of blueberries and said, "myrtilles," the word for blueberries, and then he said, "les yeux," and pointed to his eyes. It's one of those sweet little memories I've kept from Paris. And when I hear either of those words in French, I'm taken back to my favorite produce stand, and my educating, produce-selling friend.

     Blueberries are good for the eyes because they contain Vitamin A. 

     Here's some good things my nutrition books(1)(2) had to say about Vitamin A:

"...Is traditionally known for it's role in the maintenance of night vision."
"prevents some skin disorders, such as acne."
"A well known wrinkle eliminator."
"A powerful antioxidant, helping to protect the cells against cancer and other diseases."

Let's learn some Yoga vocabulary:  Drishti

Drishti (दृष्टि): means focused gaze. You may hear your yoga teacher instruct you to, "Find your drishti." What they mean by that is to find a place to focus the eyes. Sometimes it's focusing on a place on the wall, or in your own reflection. Sometimes, you're not really looking at anything but space, but as long as you hold your focus on that space, you're maintaining your drishti. Sustaining this deep level of focus allows the yogi to withdrawl from his/her surroundings, concentrate, and turn inward. And it's this practice of great concentration, which develops a yogi's ability to meditate. 

A great pose to practice drishti is: Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon) 

Image from: The Key Muscles of Yoga, by Ray Long, MD, FRCSC

     In this pose, I usually bring my gaze to the floor, about one foot ahead of my toes. An advanced practitioner may bring their focus to the ceiling. Done right, this pose is not easy. Press back through your top heal, engage your core, and squeeze quadriceps in toward your pelvis, as you butterfly your hips open. Arms are open wide, reach equally through both fingertips. If you're not balancing on your lower fingertips, try bringing your lower palm to heart-center. 

Now, let's bake!

 

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

(Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Maple Hukleberry Coffee Cake)

 

Ingredients:  

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or spelt flour)
• 3 tablespoons rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup maple syrup, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• zest of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut 1/4-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup maple sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Equipment: 

• 1-pound loaf pan

"but you could likely get away with a 8 or 9-inch cake or pie pan." - Heidi Swanson

 Step 1.
     Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, rack in the middle. Butter your pan.

Step 2.
      In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, thyme, and rosemary. Set aside.

Step 3.
      In a separate large bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer or by hand - until light and fluffy. Drizzle in the maple syrup and beat until well incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times along the way.

Step 4. 
     Beat in the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, scraping the sides again. Add half of the flour, stir just a bit, now add a splash of the buttermilk, stir again, but not too much. Add the rest of the flour and stir a bit, and now the rest of the buttermilk. Stir until everything barely comes together and then very gently fold in one cup of the huckleberries. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan and set aside.

Step 5.
     To make the streusel topping, place the flour, butter, maple sugar, thyme and pecans in a food processor and pulse 20-30 times or until the topping is a bit beyond sandy/crumbly. It should be moist-looking - on its way to being slightly doughy. Crumble 2/3 of it over the cake batter, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup huckleberries on top of that, and then add the last of the crumble. Barely pat in place with your fingertips.

Step 6.
     Place the coffee cake in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool for five minutes. Brew yourself a pot of coffee, and enjoy!

Books mentioned in this entry:


(1). Prescription for Nutritional Healing: The A-to-Z guide to Supplements, by Phyllis A Balch, CNC
(2).   Natural Health, Natural Medicine: The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-Care for Optimum Health, by Andrew Weil, M.D.