I cannot explain my appreciation for backyard fruit trees. The taste of fresh, plump jewels straight from nature is a hard thing to describe. That first heavenly bite into the soft flesh, with juices running down your chin... is a sight to behold. When I left home for the long weekend,  our current bounty was not yet ripe. I wonder what will greet us upon our return! Impatiently waiting for my FIGS...

Almost perfect pears...

They've got a little suntan!

Fall is coming, and so is our fruit. The only challenge will be deciding what to make with this batch of nature's bounty. I'm thinking breads, tarts, cakes, salads... the possibilities are endless. Of course, you'll get to be a part of the adventure. Stay tuned for Fall Fruit Fun, and have a lovely Labor Day!

A simple ingredients list for a simple meal on a simple Saturday night. Pistachio & Cherry Salad: spinach, cherries, pistachios, green beans, avocado with a dijon-balsamic vinaigrette.

To serve 4 people, I used about 4 cups spinach, 2 cups cherries, 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, a large handful of green beans and 1/2 avocado.

Directions: Wash and dry all produce. Halve and pit cherries, stem and chop the green beans, and slice the avocado. Combine in a large salad bowl with spinach and pistachios.

Dijon-Balsamic vinaigrette: This is perhaps my favorite salad dressing of all time. I don't know any measurements, because I prefer to use guesstimates. Fiddle with the quantities and figure out what works for you. 2 parts olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, ground black pepper, a little honey and a little sesame oil. Into a small sealable container and shake-shake-shake.

Sesame-crusted Salmon: I saw Rachel Ray do something similar with scallops on TV a few weeks ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since. She seared them in a skillet, but I baked the salmon and it developed a really nice golden crust. To serve 4 people, use 4 7-ounce fillets of salmon, 2 cloves garlic, 4 green onions, lots of sesame seeds and a bit of olive oil.

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the skin of your fish and cut into medium-sized chunks. Toss in a bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil to lightly coat. Mince garlic and chop the green onions. Combine in a shallow dish with about 1/4 cup sesame seeds. Roll salmon pieces in sesame mixture on all sides and place in a baking dish lined with tinfoil. Bake for 12 minutes, then switch to the Broil setting and cook another 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly. When ready to serve, drizzle with sesame oil.

As the seasons slooowly begin to turn, I find myself wanting to eat outside in the evening heat more and more. I'm one of those people who grasps tightly to something the moment I feel it starting to leave. I don't let go easily, and Summer is no exception. I plan to enjoy it 'til its last warm breath!

But then it will be Fall, and I will have every excuse to throw myself even further into spiced baked goods. You have this to look forward to in the coming months :)

This is the last of my three-part apple post. See part one here, and part two here!

Let me start by saying that I love desserts that have anything to do with apples. When I began to rebel against traditional birthday cake as a kid, the first confection I requested was homemade apple pie. There's something about the combination of tender apples with warm and spicy cinnamon, swimming in their own syrupy juices and tucked into a flaky crust. Holy, I say. The crisp I'm about to share with you is slightly different, however. As you know, I'm a fan of putting a healthy spin on things and trying new combinations. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever made the same thing twice. Everything comes out different every single time, simply because I always manage to find some random ingredient to throw in or some new technique to try. I might have fibbed a little right then. I may have made my Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread exactly as I wrote it. My friends, I guess there are some things you just shouldn't mess with. Apple crisp is not one of them. It can be made better, much better, and I'm about to tell you how. This crisp has a tart crust made from almonds and pecans. It has a crumble topping that uses Greek yogurt. Yep, yogurt in crumble topping. It has minimal sugar, no butter and plenty of great spice. It's magical! Let's begin! Start by grinding 1 cup each of almonds and pecans in a food processor to make a coarse flour. Be careful not to process too long, or you may end up with nut butter.

Take 1 1/2 cups of your almond/pecan meal and place in a bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/8 cup softened coconut oil. Then add 1/3 plus 1/6 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and a few shakes of cinnamon. Mix it all together to form a sticky dough. Grease a 9-inch pie plate with coconut oil and press the crust into it, like so:

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then allow to cool completely before filling.

For the filling, peel and chop 2-3 apples, depending on size. The ones I used were quite large, so I only needed 2. Combine in a bowl with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Set aside while you make the crumble topping.

For the crumble, combine 3/4 cup rolled oats, 3/4 cup of the nut flour you just made, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of salt, 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, and 1/3 cup Greek yogurt. Mix well.

Once your crust is pretty much cooled, fill it with the apple mixture and make sure to scrape all the juices in there. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top. You may have to use your hands, like I did, because it's a little dense.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, until golden on top. The edges of the tart crust may burn slightly, but don't worry. You can easily remove the burned parts. Let cool slightly, if you can wait that long, and then serve. It would probably be fantastic with a scoop or two of Vanilla Island Coconut Bliss ice cream! I'm obsessed with this stuff at the moment.

Apple Crisp with Almond & Pecan Crust

1 1/2 cups almond/pecan meal, or any nut meal you prefer 1/4 cup olive oil 1/8 cup coconut oil, softened 1/3 + 1/6 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract a few shakes of cinnamon Directions for crust: Combine all ingredients above to form a sticky dough. Press into a 9-inch pie plate greased with coconut oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, and allow to cool completely. 2-3 sweet apples, peeled and chopped 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp. cornstarch 3/4 cup rolled oats 3/4 cup almond/pecan meal 1/2 tsp. cinnamon pinch of salt 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted 1/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt Directions for filling and crumble: Combine apples with brown sugar and cornstarch. Toss to evenly coat, and set aside. Combine oats, nut meal, cinnamon, salt, coconut oil, and yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Once the tart crust has cooled, pour in the apple mixture. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, until golden. Slightly cool, and serve! Yield: About 6-8 servings.

What's your favorite birthday dessert, cake or not?

Here is the sequel to my wordless apple post! I've decided that, if I do it again, I either need to have many more pictures or only one or two really strong ones. My goal was to tell a story with the sequence, and I think adding a few more pictures might have helped. But sometimes, just one great picture is sufficient.

Hopefully, you were intrigued enough to wonder what I made with my abundance of apples. Well, I have a few deserving friends who were in need of housewarming gifts. So naturally, I baked them a nourishing breakfast. An apple cinnamon breakfast, to be exact!

Now my friends have a warmly spiced and nutritious way to start their day- at least for the next week or so. The addition of almond flour in place of some of the whole-wheat makes for a slightly more dense but still soft cake. The subtle nutty flavor compliments the apples and cinnamon perfectly. Make one for yourself, and see what I mean!

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

Modified from 101 Cookbooks' Unfussy Apple Cake. 2 cups crisp red apples, diced and with the skin on 2 cups whole-wheat flour 1/2 cup almond meal 1 Tbsp. baking powder 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 cup brown sugar pinch of salt 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup olive oil rolled oats and white sugar for the top Directions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 8x8 glass baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper. Place chopped apples in a bowl of water along with the juice of one lemon. Set aside. Combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and buttermilk. Whisk in the olive oil. Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Drain the apples well and fold into batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan, pushing into edges, and sprinkle with a handful of rolled oats and then a couple teaspoons of sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until cooked through and golden on top. Serve with a little Greek yogurt! Makes about 9 servings. How do you feel about wordless posts? Ever done or want to do one? Any wisdom you'd like to share? Keep an eye out for the next post, which is my second apple recipe of the week: Apple Crisp with an Almond-Pecan crust!

It occurred to me recently that I've never done a wordless post. So today, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking. Because as we say, they're worth a thousand words. Recipes to follow in the next two posts.

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