East of Eden Cooking

2018/07/08

Olallieberry Peach Galette

Olallieberry Peach Galette is a fabulous summer dessert. Without all the waiting and pie making the ethereal combination of a buttery crust and sweet summer berries is all yours with Olallieberry Peach Galette.

“Liza was rolling out pie crust on the floury board. She was so expert with the rolling pin that the dough seemed alive. It flattened out and then pulled back a little from the tension in itself. Liza lifted the pale sheet of it and laid it over one of the pie tins and trimmed the edges with a knife. The prepared berries lay deep in red juice in a bowl.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Olallieberry Peach Galette is more instant dessert gratification than pie. Especially with Olallieberries. These are fragile and juicy berries, a pie cut too soon will be a glorious mess of sweet, fragrant berry juice. Waiting for the Olallieberry pie to firm up is more self restraint than I wanted to impose on myself. With Olallieberry Peach Galette
the ethereal combination of a buttery crust and sweet summer berries is all yours, without all the waiting and pie making. Who has time to make pie when Olallieberry jam needs to be made? READ MORE . . .

2018/06/24

Blueberry Crumble

Dive into summer with Blueberry Crumble. Lush, seasonal, easy to make, this is an all-American dessert. The crumble is reminiscent of oatmeal cookies, hovering gloriously above the jammy blueberries. This is summer in every bite.

“When June came the grasses headed out and turned brown, and the hills turned a brown which was not brown but a gold and saffron and red—an indescribable color.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Summer has overtaken me. A deep dive into the season is all I seem to care about. Even my dreams have been drenched in sunshine. One was set in Paris. The early summer heat bounced across the stately buildings, warming all the old stone that was still cold with winter. We went to a museum with air-conditioning. Chilled, we zig zagged into blinding light, then a cafe. Perched on those classic red and white bistro chairs, the men were bare chested and tan, intent on their political conversations. Women in washed out linen and humongous straw hats dripping with vintage ribbon flowers. Bored with Paris, they were waiting for their annual summer holiday on the French Rivera. I thought to offer them some all-American Blueberry Crumble but it was just a dream. READ MORE . . .

2018/05/21

Chocolate Superfood Energy Bites

Chocolate cravings and a desire for healthier eating habits come together in these Chocolate Superfood Energy Bites. Rich dark chocolate collides with the superfood powers of cacao, hemp seed hearts and turmeric. Walnuts and tahini add richness and more protein.

“Of course it occurred to him that he might be wrong, that some misbegotten shadow had fallen across his face and warped his seeing.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

I’m not a health food junkie and always find a way to enjoy an occasional sweet. Yes! But I’m also aware of hovering heath issues, especially the osteoarthritis I inherited from both my parents. Prescription meds help, but like many other diseases, it progresses. Inflammation is a body’s enemy. It was difficult for me to believe that certain foods would quickly reduce the inflammation, but amazingly they do. The super food turmeric, short acting and hemp seed hearts, longer acting have changed my daily life. How do I know? I added them to my diet and then stopped when my supply was exhausted. Within a week I was miserable again. Now both turmeric and hemp seed hearts are part of our lunch time smoothies. READ MORE . . .

2018/05/01

Strawberry Almond Cake with Strawberry Crumble

The wonder of early spring is captured in Strawberry Almond Cake with Strawberry Crumble. Freeze dried strawberries bring intensity of color and flavor to the decadent crumble topping. Almonds add depth and contrast to the voluptuous berry flavor.

“There’s a capacity for appetite, Samuel said, that a whole heaven and earth of cake can’t satisfy.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Like a greedy flower starved for water I can say that spring has arrived after devouring the first basket of locally grown strawberries. When that first basket disappears I’m looking for a cake that screams spring with a big bang of intense strawberry flavor. This spring I found that recipe with Strawberry Almond Cake with Strawberry Crumble. READ MORE . . .

2018/04/202018/04/21

Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust

Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust is a deep dive into an ocean of chocolate. A sultry, dark chocolate filling laps up again the crunchy, salty pretzel crust, fitting together like the waves of the ocean and the rocky shore. Serious chocolate lovers will swoon over a thin slice of this voluptuous tart.

“Liza stayed away a week. She cleaned the Trask house from the top clear down into the grain of the wooden floors. She washed everything she could bend enough to get into a tub and sponged the rest.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

It was one of those days when organizing the pantry seemed less daunting than organizing a closet. Days, then months go by, ignoring the ever growing volume of stuff is so easy. Things that need sorting, tossing or to be recycled. It’s always a good exercise. Gratitude for having more than enough is the best attitude for this project. The pantry wasn’t out of control but there was chocolate for baking in two different places. There were chocolate chips, melting chocolate wafers and an odd assortment of other chocolate. To clarify, this included, white, milk and dark chocolate—unsweetened, semi-sweet, bittersweet—bars, wafers, discs and chunks. The dark chocolate included half packages, random squares and one small unlabeled chunk. Too much? Or not enough? Both! The odd assortment of left over dark chocolate was too much to waste and not enough for a single recipe. READ MORE . . .