strawberry rhubarb crisp

yay for rhubarb season! yay for home grown rhubarb!

once i have my own garden & don't have to steal all my parents herbs, fruits & veggies i am gonna plant SO much rhubarb. i absolutely love baking with it. i am pretty sure it is a fairly easy plant to harvest, i hope. who knows though, i was told the same about succulents & my precious plants are almost ALL dead. i have managed to keep one alive for now, go aloe! maybe my green thumb is just something that cannot be fixed, especially if you can't even keep a succulent alive.

anyways, back to the fresh rhubarb i harvested from the garden last week. finally i can make the strawberry rhubarb crumble i have been planning on making for weeks now in these cute little oval cocottes with brass knobs. yes BRASS! these might just be my new favourite kitchen item. i think everything should come in a brass or copper finish, what about you? the crumble itself is both sweet + tart thanks to that sour rhubarb & the oat crumble topping is thick + buttery. be very very generous when you are topping this crumble, it'll cook down more then you think, so load it up!

ingredients

for the crumble

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole oats
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold & cubed

for the filling

• 3 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

directions

• in a large mixing bowl add the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon & vanilla. toss until evenly combined.
• add the cubed butter & using your hands work into pea sized crumbs. set aside.
• in a separate mixing bowl mix the rhubarb, strawberries, corn starch, raw sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & lemon juice.
• pour into one large baking dish or four mini cocottes.
• top generously with oat mixture.
• bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly & the topping is golden brown.

like what you see? get it here. mini oval cocottes | bowl | wood scoop | flatware | linen | mug | teapot

georgia peach honey pie

moving to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches.
i'm moving to the country, gonna eat me a lot of peaches.
peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man.. in a factory down town.

now that i've got this song stuck in your head for the rest of the day (or week), here is my recipe for a georgia peach pie sweetened with bee raw's raw georgia holly blossom honey (how fitting, right?) this honey has an strong floral taste, with a hint of freshly cut pine.

i am pretty excited for peach season now that i am back in the niagara region & live around the corner from a peach farm! i am going to be making peach desserts & eating fresh peaches all month long. i feel like i have been really into baking with ALL the in season fruits this summer has to offer. because of my excitement i thought this pie deserved not one, but TWO braided crust. i could have kept going, but maybe it would have been a braided overkill. as if that is a thing though, right?

happy peach season!

ingredients

for the dough

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold & cubed
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, cold
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 1 egg, for egg wash (optional)

for the peach honey filling

• 6-8 ripe georgia peaches, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup bee raw georgia holly blossom honey
• 1/3 cup raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

directions

• begin by making the dough. using a food processor pulse the flour, salt and sugar.
• add the cubed butter, shortening and vanilla. pulse until a crumb like mixture forms.
• add the cold water one tablespoon at a time until the crumbs begin to come together. turn out onto a pastry board and shape dough into a disk. if dough seems wet, add a bit more flour. if the dough seems dry, add a bit more water.
• wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for minimum 2 hours.
• in a large mixing bowl mix the peaches with the honey, sugar & vanilla.
• sprinkle with cornstarch & cinnamon. toss until evenly combined.
• set aside while you roll out the pie dough.
• heavily flour a smooth surface & roll out the dough to 1/4 to 1/2 an inch thing.
• line pie dish & fill with peach mixture.
• top crust with remainder of dough, in a lattice top or braided edge! bonus points for two braids;)

this post was created in partnership with bee raw. they make a ton of different raw honeys in fun flavours. find the georgia blossom honey i used here! 

mini strawberry pistachio pavlova

a couple weeks ago i went to the toronto launch party for KitchenAid’s® new KitchenAid® Artisan® Mini Mixer!!! it was so much fun. there was a honeydew infused cocktail to celebrate the latest colour addition to the KitchenAid® family, a mini instant polaroid camera to capture guests mini moments & mini foods galore. the KitchenAid® Artisan® Mini Mixer is a perfect addition to tiny kitchens or small batch families, especially for those city dwellers. the launch party inspired me to create some mini moments of my own starting with this mini strawberry pistachio pavlova. the matte white finish of the mixer compliments the soft, fluffy, cloud like meringue layers. i topped this pavlova with fresh whipped cream, fresh summer strawberries & crunchy pistachios. while pavlova is usually served as one large layered dessert, i decided to scale it down into mini individual portions. this light dessert is a perfect finish to an outdoor summer gathering or barbecue. my family was not familiar with pavlova but they absolutely loved it! oh, they have a LOT of learning to do:)

happy canada day & fourth of july weekend!!!

ingredients

for the pavlova

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter or vinegar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped

for the pistachio strawberry topping

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

for the vanilla whipped cream

• 2 cups whipping cream, cold
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions

• preheat oven to 225 degrees.
• in the bowl of the kitchen aid stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites until soft peaks are formed.
• gradually add sugar, followed by cream of tarter, vanilla extract & cornstarch until egg whites reach stiff peaks. mixture should be smooth & glossy.
• fold in pistachios carefully, ensuring not to deflate the whites.
• on a parchment lined baking tray trace out six evenly sized circles (i used a mason jar lid). fill each circle with the meringue & create a small dip in the middle of each.
• bake for one hour, turn off oven & let the meringues rest in the oven for another hour.
• while the pavlova bakes, prepare the strawberry mixture & whipped cream.
• for the strawberry mixture: in a mixing bowl add chopped strawberries, sugar, lemon juice & pistachios. stir & set aside until ready to assemble.
• for the whipped cream: in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment add the whipping cream. beat until soft peaks are formed. add the sugar & vanilla, beat until stiff peaks are formed. set aside until ready to assemble.
• when ready to serve, layer pavlova with whipped cream followed by pistachio strawberry topping. sprinkle with additional pistachios if desired.

this post was created in partnership with KitchenAid® in celebration of the new KitchenAid® Artisan® Mini Mixer available now! tag all your mini creations with #minimoments.