Author Archives: Jess

Blackberry Slump

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Who has heard of a slump?

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Not a senior slump, like the one I am now experiencing. No, I mean a fruity dessert slump.

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I had not heard of a slump until yesterday, when I decided I wanted to make a fruity, cobblery dessert with my cast iron skillet and found this recipe.

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The word slump goes back to colonial times, I read. We now generally call this a cobbler, but it is referring to the same delicious, beloved summertime dessert.

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This is the best dessert I’ve had in awhile And that is saying something, because I have had a lot of dessert lately.

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So sweet, so good, especially served with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream. This is delicious when it has cooled for a bit, but still has a touch of warmth to it. The berries become thick and creamy when mixed with the melted ice cream.

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This slump has made my senior slump seem more manageable.

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For this fabulous recipe, click here. I used blackberries instead of blueberries. Enjoy your Monday everyone!

S’mores Pie

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My mom loves s’mores. And anything chocolate + marshmallow in general. Chocolate marshmallow ice cream, an ice cream sundae with marshmallow topping. Anytime we are in a situation to have a s’more with the marshmallow cooked over a fire, I know my mom will want one, marshmallow slightly charred. I am pretty sure I remember a time when we would eat a s’more almost nightly, without a bonfire, just using our microwave.

So, today, something special. I love you momma!

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I used this recipe. Thank you, B. On a Whim blog, for helping to make Mother’s Day special for my mom.

Week in Photos

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Here are six little things that made my week happy!

{This beer. Bought just for me by my dad. Sweet + thoughtful + delicious.}

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{This rain storm. For some reason, lately I have enjoyed the rain. On this night, I just sat and listened to it for awhile. I can’t even remember the last time I did that.}

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{This sky. It continues to perplex me.}

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{This thank you card. I want to say thank you to this thank you. So sweet. And such a fun evening.}

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{This. Because it is here, and it made my life easier.}

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{This. It symbolizes the end of 134 credit hours, started six years ago.}

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I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Sweet Potato + Sage Hand Pies

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Is it okay to share with you three hand pie recipes in one week?

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I was going to wait until next week to show you this one, but I just couldn’t wait!

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These sweet potato hand pies are just so good!

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To start, they are simple. I used store-bought dough. Homemade would be lovely, but if you’re in a time crunch, store-bought is the way to go. Roast some sweet potatoes. Mash them with goat cheese and sage. Stuff into hand pies. Brush with egg wash. Bake. Four ingredients. It’s that simple.

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Second, they are delicious. Kind of remind me of Thanksgiving. I said the same thing about these. Yes, I love Thanksgiving meal so much that I could be happy eating food that reminds me of it all year long. Or the actual meal itself. I would have no problem at all eating a Thanksgiving meal right now. Anyone else?

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Back on the topic of how delicious these are: the sweet potato + sage combination is one of my favorites. It will never get old. It’s a classic. Just add goat cheese and that classic combination just got even better. Add flaky pie dough? Divine.

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Yes, a mini savory sweet potato pie for your Friday. 🙂

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Ingredients:
*This will make 14 hand pies
2 9-inch round pie crust dough
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 oz. goat cheese
1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
Egg wash — you can either use egg white mixed with water or egg yolk mixed with milk, I tried and liked both
Coarse sea salt, for topping

Start by roasting the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400*. Peel the skin off and then dice the sweet potatoes. Add the sweet potatoes to a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil and toss well so that they are coated. Place on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until they are very soft. Turn the oven heat down to 350*.

Add the roasted sweet potatoes to a bowl with the goat cheese and chopped fresh sage. Using a potato masher or fork, mash everything together well. The texture should be like mashed potatoes.

Prepare your work surface. Lightly flour a flat counter top and get your rolling pin ready. Roll out the two 9-inch pie crusts. Then, cut the circles for the hand pies. I used a 4-1/2 inch round container and it made five rounds. I then rolled the excess dough back out to get two more rounds. I got seven rounds each time from one 9-inch pie crust. You can use a cookie cutter, cup or container to cut the rounds and the size is up to you. I was very happy with 4-1/2 inches. I wouldn’t want to go to much smaller but bigger would be fine.

Once you have the rounds cut out, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the sweet potato mixture onto each. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash along one side of each round. Fold the round in half, making a half circle, or moon shape. Using your fingers, pinch and fold the edges of the half circle. Then use a fork to push down the edges to really seal the hand pie closed. Make two small slits in the top of each hand pie with a knife and then brush the top with egg wash. I then sprinkled the top with coarse sea salt.

Place the hand pies on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the hand pies are just slightly browned on top.

Enjoy!

*Notes:
*I had a little bit of the sweet potato filling left over, so the next day I mixed it with some noodles, reserved pasta water and parmesan cheese. Delicious!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

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Raise your hand if you love hummus!

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I do, I do!

I have three cousins under the age of four. At family gatherings we (the adults) always say “Raise your hand if you want ice cream!” when it is time to eat. Of course then, all of the kids just want to eat ice cream instead of real food. I’ve learned two things from this:

1. The adults want the ice cream just as bad as the kids (especially me).
2. Make sure that if you say “Raise your hand if you want ice cream!”, there is actually ice cream to be had. If not, disaster may ensue.

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Okay, what I’ve really learned is that maybe “Raise your hand if you want ice cream!” should be avoided before a meal. Maybe wait until after. Maybe before the meal say something like “Raise your hand if you want hummus and veggies!”

Now that just wouldn’t be as much fun, would it.

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So, about the hummus! This is good. Simple. It can be made quickly. Some beans, oil, a pepper and spices. Served with veggies and crackers, this makes the perfect lunch or snack.

Sorry for the lack of photos today! The process is just so simple, there weren’t many photos to take. Throw everything into a food processor, press on, and done! So simple, but truly delicious!

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Ingredients:
1 large roasted red pepper
2 15-oz. cans of chickpeas
1 15-oz. can white beans
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste

To roast the red pepper, preheat oven to 400*. Once the oven is preheated, place the red pepper on a baking sheet. Place a small amount of olive oil in your hands and rub it all over the red pepper. Once it is covered in oil, place the baking sheet in the oven. Roast the pepper for  about 20 minutes, and then flip it and roast another 20 minutes. The skin should be charred when it is done roasting.

Remove it from the oven and completely cover it in aluminum foil. Let it sit under the foil for about 20 minutes. When you remove the foil, the pepper should be very soft and smaller in size. Peel the skin off (it should come off easily) and remove any seeds from the center of the pepper.

Place all beans and the pepper in a food processor. Pulse a few times to begin to break down the beans. Turn the processor on and begin to stream in the oil. As you stream the oil in, everything will begin to blend well and get very smooth. Add the seasoning and then blend until completely smooth.

Serve with veggies, crackers, pita or on sandwiches!

Enjoy!