Apricot, Pistachio and Lemon Shortbread Tart

It is always this time of year when the weather gets too hot to be outside when I start getting anxious to travel and I become even more melancholic about all my friends and family back home. Beaches flooded with people anxious to soak in the sunshine after a rainy spring. I too remember those times and I miss them.



This weekend, I found myself looking through the pages of Martin Berasategui's "Calendario de Nuestra Cocina Tradicional". It is one of my favorite Basque cookbooks as it depicts very well the seasonal approach to our cooking with emphasis on the quality of our raw ingredients and always with a modern approach.

The summer chapter is filled with colorful tomatoes, green peppers from Gernika, pisto, fruit salads. Just the colors alone are so inspiring.



I love seeing all the fruit stands filled with stone fruits and berries. It reminds me of my childhood and how my dad always filled up a cooler full of peaches, nectarines, apricot, saturn peaches or any other summer fruit when we took day trips to the beach or to the French border. Lots of fruit, tortilla and bread.



And when I came home with a bag full of apricots this week, I decided to make a simple tart. I know there are thousands of different ways of cooking with stone fruits, but for some reason, I always must have a tart. They are the perfect match and the simpler the tart the better.

This time I made a super quick gluten-free lemon shortbread recipe to fill the bottom of the tart pan. No need to roll it out. It is one of those doughs that you just press into the pan. Add some chopped pistachios on the bottom and fill the tart with fresh apricots. Lots of them tightly packed. Sprinkle some sugar, dab a bit of butter and a drizzle of honey. Simple and perfect for summer.



The fruit salad was also simple. I placed some yogurt over cheesecloth overnight and let it drain most of the whey. The next morning, you will have a thick yogurt that is perfect for a fruit salad with some honey. Kids love to arrange the fruit on the plate and dip it in the yogurt.



We are off to Seattle this week. I hear the weather is cool. It will be the perfect break from the Florida heat. Time with friends and family that we haven't seen in a long time. Can't wait to share with you photos and hopefully great meal reports.

Apricot, Pistachio and Lemon Shortbread Tart

makes a 10" tart or 8 individual tarts

225 grams butter or non-hydrogenated shortening
110 grams powdered sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla
170 grams superfine brown rice flour
110 grams cornstarch
30 grams tapioca starch
pinch of salt
chopped pistachios
sugar for topping
10-12 apricots
lemon thyme leaves, optional
honey, optional

Cream the butter and powdered sugar together. Add the zest and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Press the dough into tart molds. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.

Cut the apricots into thin wedges. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on the bottom of the tarts. Arrange the apricot slices inside tightly packed as they will shrink in the oven. Sprinkle more pistachios on top and some sugar.

Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes until golden. Drizzle honey and add some lemon thyme leaves on top, if desired.

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Butterscotch Smoked Almond, Raspberry Vanilla and Peach Basil... A Trio of Frozen Treats

Summers are always full of activity and hassle around here. I have been meaning to write about these ice creams and sorbets for days now, but something always seemed to come up. And aren't summers about relaxing and not rushing anyway?

The oven has been turned off for the most part. This heat and humidity deserve nothing but a freezer full of frozen treats and that is what we have been up to. As I mentioned to you in my last post, I spent an entire day in the kitchen making ice cream and sorbet bases. This is when I wish I had a commercial grade ice cream maker or even better, a PacoJet.



There are very different palates in this household so when it's time for ice cream, I must take into account everyone's preferences. The fact that I cannot have any dairy at the moment, certainly limits my choices of ice cream. That is really not that big of a deal as I prefer fresh fruit sorbets in the summer when fruit is so luscious.

These peaches were super ripe and juicy. I love their color once they were blanched and peeled. So bright. I made a simple syrup flavored with some of my own thai basil and lemon thyme and then added the pureed fruit. Once frozen I served it with a little bit of raspberry syrup and fresh raspberries. Amazing.



When we move to C's flavor territory, he wants chocolate, vanilla, nuts, caramel... All those flavors that I reserve for colder months. I had to grant his wish for ice cream sandwiches with gluten free fudge cookies and butterscotch and smoked almond ice cream. For a minute, I almost licked the spoon as I was making the butterscotch anglaise with all that muscovado and vanilla bean. Almost.



J. is always simple. Vanilla ice cream. Not many add-ons or texture contrast. He is a boy of simple needs, but I did sneak in some raspberries in there for these vanilla and raspberry swirl ice cream cones. The cones were also used as bribing mechanism to prolong a modeling shoot I had with miss D. She was a trooper, but once she was done with the ice cream, that was it. She was done, done.



Our sumer travels begin this week with our trip to Seattle where I will be visiting family, friends and teaching a small workshop. The class is full and I hope it doesn't disappoint. I can't wait to get there and smell the rugged Pacific NW sea. It has been too long.

Peach, Basil and Lemon Thyme Sorbet

600 grams fresh peach puree (from about 6-7 peaches)
150 ml water
150 grams sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1-2 Tbs fresh basil and lemon thyme leaves, to taste

Make a syrup with the water and the sugar by bringing them to a boil. When sugar dissolves, turn the heat off, add the herbs and let them steep in the syrup for a couple of minutes. Taste it to see the intensity you like. Strain the syrup and let it cool completely. Refrigerate for an hour or until chilled.

Blanch the peaches in boiling water for a few seconds to peel the skins. Shock them in ice water. The skin will come right off. Cut the flesh and puree it in the food processor. We want about 600 grams of puree.

Mix the peach puree with simple syrup and lemon juice. Churn in ice cream machine. Add a few leaves of lemon thyme at the end if you would like. Freeze.


Butterscotch and Smoked Almond Ice Cream

450 grams heavy cream
250 grams whole milk
1 vanilla bean, scraped and seeded
75 grams butter
150 grams muscovado sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 egg yolks
125 grams smoked almonds, coarsely chopped

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the muscovado. Don't caramelize it or it will turn bitter, only melt them. Add the heavy cream, milk and salt and bring them to a boil.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl and temper the liquid into them. Return the custard back to the pot and cook on low heat until it reaches 84C or 183F. Strain the custard through a fine sieve and chill it over an ice bath. When cooled, refrigerate the mixture overnight. Churn it in the ice cream machine and add the chopped smoked almonds at the end. Freeze.


Vanilla and Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

500 grams whole milk
140 grams heavy cream
150 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
6 egg yolks
175 grams raspberries
40 grams sugar

Place the whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla bean and half of the first amount of sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolk and the other half of sugar in a medium bowl. Temper the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Return this to the pan and cook to 84C or 183F. Strain the ice cream base through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and chill over an ice bath. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

In the meantime, macerate the raspberries with the 40 grams of sugar (even mash them a bit) until sugar dissolves and juices come out.

Churn the vanilla ice cream base in the ice cream machine. When finished, add the raspberries, mix and transfer to a container and freeze.

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A Week of Frozen Treats

It has been so hot these last few days and I have been so busy with family and various projects that not much baking has taken place in our kitchen. However, last week, we spent a whole day making ice cream and sorbet bases to fight this summer heat.

Here is a little sneak peek into what we made. Peach, basil and lemon thyme sorbet with lightly poached raspberries. Delicious and refreshing. Can't wait to share more!



Also, this is an outtake from a shoot I did this week with a darling little girl. She was such a trooper and she also enjoyed some of the frozen treats we made.

And I hope you have noticed the new summer banner. Thank you Kaytlyn!

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A Craving for Gluten Free Coconut Doughnuts

A few weeks ago, my best friend Jill and I were texting back and forth at insane hours of the morning trying to design the perfect doughnut. She told me about the chocolate and blueberry doughnut she once had at The Donut Mill and I told her plain is good enough for me. "How about a super coconut charged doughnut?", I texted. Coconut flakes invaded my brain and that's when I told myself this would be the next baking project.



I have never been much of a fried dessert kind of person, but it was about a year ago during my last trimester, when I started to have those cravings again. Fried dough and perhaps something to dunk it in.



I am really trying to be good about limiting the amount of sugar I eat these days. In fact, according to my doctor, I should have none. Zero. I am also trying to be a better, mindful eater, so when I ate these on Saturday, I enjoyed every single bite.

My little J. and I sat outside in the sun and ate the doughnuts in silence. And when does that ever happen?



All this got me thinking of how amazing it would be to run a doughnut shop or any shop for that matter. I had thoughts of my childhood when we sat on the step in front of the pastry shop and just watch people come in and out all afternoon long.

Who knew doughnuts could inspire so much, but they do as one of the goals for my upcoming trip to Seattle will be to see how many doughnut recipes I can get out of Lara. As you might know, she is coming out with a book entirely dedicated to them. How beautiful will this book be! It's already pre-ordered in my shopping cart.



I know you will be disappointed when I tell you I'm keeping this recipe for something I'm working on. I promise it will be good and worth the wait. Something special. They are indeed gluten-free and dairy-free with lots of coconut flour, coconut milk, coconut extract and shredded coconut.

Consider this a sneak peek.

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{Sunday Lunch} Fava and Quinoa Salad and a Plum, Oat and Rosemary Crisp

Weekend meals in our house are a bit of a hodgepodge of sorts. I play around with food, C. likes to experiment with the smoker, I bake all sorts of sweets... So I would say we graze all day long and maybe have one decent, sit down meal, which is usually breakfast.

I grew up in a family where all our activities revolved around our meal times. Lunch was always served at 1:30pm during the week and 2:30pm on the weekends. Even to this day, if I call my parents at that time and they are not home, my internal alarm immediately goes off wondering if something has happened. There is something very comforting about that and that's perhaps why I crave routine so much.



I think it's clear I love to cook, especially I love to cook for my family. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work from home and to have a flexible schedule so I can always fit our dinnertime together. I am very passionate about what I feed my children, but above all, I love the task itself. I love peeling, sauteeing, dressing, roasting, dicing, icing... I love the action that happens in the kitchen. The smells and sounds that come out of it.

But weekends are different... On weekends, I like to feel no obligation to have lunch on the table at a certain time or to have to rush home to prepare dinner. I just want to play around and have fun.



So early this morning, when I had barely finished cleaning our breakfast dishes, I got back in the kitchen and started cooking our lunch. C. took our little boy out for some errands and M. napped peacefully. I sat at the dining room table and started patiently peeling the bag of fava beans I got at the market yesterday. Brought back memories of my dad snapping and cutting flat green beans for my mom. Put me in a trance.

I quickly blanched the favas in salted, boiling water and made a salad with red quinoa, the fava beans, shallots and a soft boiled egg. All dressed very simply with salt, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and some mini purple basil leaves.



For dessert, we had a gluten-free plum, oat and rosemary crisp. I know it might seem odd to add rosemary to a crisp, but believe me, it worked. The lemon zest and the rosemary complimented the sweet and slightly acidic fruit very, very well. Even J. agreed. I snapped these photos in a pinch while the skies were threatening rain. I can see the grayness in them. I like it.

And tell me, what did you cook this weekend?

Gluten-Free Plum, Oat and Rosemary Crisp

3 lbs sliced plums
2/3 cups palm sugar or cane sugar
3 Tbs plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 vanilla bean, scraped
Juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt

1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour
1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs finely chopped rosemary
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup melted butter

Toss together the sliced plums, cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla bean and salt. Transfer to a 10" round baking dish.

In a bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, sugar, sea salt, rosemary and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and fold with a spatula until all the dry ingredients are moist with the butter. Crumble it on top of the fruit.

Bake at 350F until golden and filling starts to bubble. About 45 minutes. If the topping starts to get too dark, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper.

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Raspberry, Cocoa Nib and Mesquite Cookies

I first learned about mesquite flour a couple of years ago through Heidi's blog and her famous mesquite and chocolate chip cookies. I was very intrigued by the new flour, but never got around to using it until a couple of weeks ago when I was browsing the shelves of a health food store and there I found it again.

I had to buy it, of course, and experiment with it. When I opened the bag, I got a wave of cinnamon, chocolate and coffee notes. Warm and lovely.



Come to find out, mesquite meal, which comes from the mesquite tree, has been an integral part of the daily diet of Native Americans for centuries. It has a low glycemic-index and is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc, and the amino acid lysine.

I have been using it in many different preparations. J's favorite seems to be the mesquite and chocolate chip pancakes I have been making on the weekends with the mesquite flour, palm sugar, hemp milk and lots of mini chocolate chips. (Palm sugar is also another one of my favorite latest discoveries). Heidi was on to something with her cookies as the warm spicy aroma of the mesquite goes perfectly with chocolate.



I always like to have logs of unbaked cookie dough in the freezer for those unexpected afternoon treats and yes, sometimes even a bribing technique. So a few days ago, I spent an entire afternoon mixing cookie dough batches and freezing them.

Amongst other more traditional cookies like chocolate chip, snickerdoodle and lemon sugar, I thought the slightly sour raspberries would be great with the aroma of mesquite and the texture of the cocoa nibs. I even dried my own raspberries in the dehydrator, which I hadn't used in months.



Of course, you should know by now that the cookies are gluten free and no one even knew it. Perfect.

Raspberry, Cocoa Nib and Mesquite Cookies

110 grams non-hydrogenated shortening or butter
110 grams brown sugar
55 grams sugar
1 egg
150 grams superfine brown rice flour
50 grams tapioca starch
25 grams mesquite flour
3 grams baking soda
4 grams salt
50 grams cocoa nib
20 grams dried raspberries

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light. Add the egg and mix. Scrape the mixture well. Whisk together the superfine brown rice flour, tapioca starch, mesquite flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Fold in the dried raspberries and cocoa nib.

Dump the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and shape it into a log. Wrap the log with the parchment and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Cut the log into 1/4" disks and bake at 350F for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

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A Weekend of Gluten-Free Bread Baking

If there is one food other than eggs I love, it must be bread. When given the choice, growing up I always preferred a loaf of bread or a bocadillo over dessert. Pan con chocolate was always my favorite mid afternoon snack after school.

My mom or aunt or anyone who would pick us up from school in the afternoons, always had a loaf of bread stuffed with bars of chocolate inside. Sometimes even Nocilla, which was our version of Nutella.



Although I did have bread baking classes in culinary school, pastry chefs and bakers always had different roles in all the places I worked. Even rivalry at times. Bakers were super fast and sometimes even messy. Pastry cooks meticulous. (ok, I know I will get some grief by saying that!). Pastry was my love.

I did however go through a bread baking phase a few years ago. I became a bit obssessed with Peter Reinhart, Richard Bertinet and Ciril Hitz. I read and experimented at home.



Soon after that, C. also started experimenting with sourdough bread baking trying to emulate the taste of the northern California sourdough loaves he grew up eating. But recently all that came to a halt when we had to start living gluten free. I have had great gluten free bread before (particularly from this place), but apart from this, I had not been very successful at baking it at home.



A few days ago, my friend K. sent me a link to a recipe published in Body & Soul magazine. It was loaded with great grains and molasses. Not just plain rice flour, but millet, teff and quinoa (a substitution I made since I cannot have soy).

So this past Sunday morning, while I had the house all to myself, I decided to bake bread and play around with the recipe. I made different batches with raisins and pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, and dried fig and walnut.



Nothing beats the smell of yeast fermenting and bread baking in the oven. This is a great basic recipe that can be adapted to add other flavors and textures. My freezer is now stocked up with bread and I will certainly be using this recipe again.

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