plum fruit leather

School is now in session. 

Whew.

If you knew what I've gone through to get here you'd understand my long silence. Influenced also by a crashed hard drive and end of summer woes. 

But we don't need to talk about the past. Let's look toward the future. A future of new experiences and all things fall, which can't be bad.

To celebrate fall I've begun a new kind of cooking.

In addition to cooking in the kitchen I've begun to make enamel jewelry. After thinking about it for over a year I finally had a private lesson at Liloveve with the talented Emilie Shapiro and I am now hooked. Expect to see more jewelry in future posts... and hopefully a new Etsy shop.

Another thing I've been wanting to do for a long time is make fruit leather. I figure now is the time since every parent is casting around their kitchen for something relatively healthy and low maintenance to throw into the lunch box. The perfect back-to-school snack.

Plum Fruit Leather

adapted from Natashia's Kitchen

Ingredients

• Plums
• Sugar (optional)

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 400. Please washed, halved and pitted plums skin side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook for 15-20 minutes, you want to avoid burning them, so check on them.
2. Puree in food processor. Add sugar to taste or skip it. I tasted the plum puree and decided to go without sugar.
3. Line same rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour puree into baking sheet and smooth to level out, you want 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.
4. At this point we are just trying to dry the stuff out and not cook it, so if you have access to open air and sunshine, place it in sun for 2 days. If not, place it in an oven at lowest temp, no higher than 140F. Leave in center shelf for 6-8 hours. Leather is done when it is smooth to touch and not tacky.
5. Roll up in the parchment paper and cut into sections.

skillet cornbread salad {panzanella}

This savory cornbread is really hearty with a nice crunch. The first night we ate it with corned beef and cabbage. Next I made a Mexican inspired salad. I got the idea for this here.

If I make it again I will cut the salt by one half which might release more of the natural sweetness of the corn, since the recipe calls for no sugar. It was perfect straight out of the oven with a teaspoon of maple syrup drizzled on top.

{skillet cornbread recipe}

But then what to do with the whole loaf? In researching a plan I came across How Sweet It Is' Black Bean and Cornbread Panzanella. I was intrigued. What was panzanella? It turns out to be a Florentine tomato and bread crumb salad dish which was originally made with only onions and toast, topped with oil and vinegar. Today it can be all kinds of things. Smitten Kitchen's Corn Bread Salad
includes lots of tomatoes, which works in summer but now is not a great idea, unless you like them hot-housed.

So I opted for the more Mexican style that How Sweet It Is went with and I was not sorry I did. It was a fresh breath of summer in these teasing days of spring when the green grass and warm sun are just fingertips away, you can almost smell them.

{salad recipe}

black bean brownies

Week two of no sugar and week three of running has me craving some chocolate in a major way.

But I didn't want to undo all my hard work so I tried making brownies without sugar. Well, not entirely. Just cut by two thirds.

I chose Joy the Baker's recipe for Triple Chocolate Black Bean Brownies, figuring you can't go wrong with a little bit of protein thrown in the mix. Unfortunately, they came out too dry and more cake-like than I like. I prefer a chewy fudgy brownie you can sink your teeth into. Even so, they were definitely chocolatey enough.

To relieve some of the dryness, and in honor of the upcoming green festivities, I tried to make a vegan mint frosting for them. Avocados were the base, of course, their being green and all, but as pretty as it was, it was a total disaster. You just can't hide the avocado flavor with mint extract and maple syrup, no matter how hard you try. I had to toss the entire batch. Sorry avocados.

So instead, I'll try some fruit compote on top. Might be nice.

{recipe}

sugarless pancakes

I have been reading about high cholesterol and what causes it.  There is some evidence that an excess of sugar may be the cause. I don't know about you but I am a sugar addict. When I don't have my afternoon dark chocolate treat I feel my whole body sag and slow down.

In an effort to decrease my sugar intake I started making my usual weekend pancakes without the 2 tablespoons of sugar I usually use and skipping the puddles of maple syrup. Instead I add a splash of vanilla and some cinnamon and they taste great. Especially with some sugarless applesauce on top.

Sugarless Pancakes
Makes 6 medium pancakes
1 cup soy milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2-3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons canola oil

1. Whisk all wet ingredients together. Add dry and combine, removing any large lumps.

2.  Put 2 tablespoons oil in skillet and heat over flame so that water spits when splashed into it. Pour three ladles worth of batter into three puddles. Wait until the puddles have bubbles around the outer edges and a few in the center. Flip the pancakes and cook on other side until browned on both sides.

3. Serve with any topping that suits you.