Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

Recently, I was diagnosed with borderline diabetes, and that I need to lose 25.5 lbs, (will recheck in October bc Dr. wants to make sure that it wasn't a mistake, since I drank coffee with creamer before the test. I had to have something and coffee makes me happy. 😬)  The words from my Doctor hit me with a, near, knock out punch. I was a mess, mentally and emotionally. 

Ok, boom, pow, I took the hits now it's time to get up and dust off my boots.  What's next dear Dr. Carpio?  He said, cut the sugar, eat lots of fruits and veggies and lose 25.5 pounds, then, as always he smiled.

Ok.  Cut sugar. I can do that.  Lose 25.5 lbs.......that's the challenge, but I will do my very best.  In college and shortly after, I used starvation to lose weight, therefore, I don't weigh myself because it triggers the starvation mindset and becomes an obsession.  I must come up with something else.  I consulted a Specialist to help me lose the fat in a healthy  manner. Weight loss in progress.

Next, cutting the sugar.  I love sweet tea, I love ice cream, I love cake, I love sweets.  I hate diet anything.  I can't use artificial sweetners because I have an allergy to something in them and my head starts buzzing, no kidding.  I have long since abandoned, as many things as possible, that contain GMO's and are not organic.  The research into an effective, natural sweetener began.

I can not emphasis more, DO YOUR RESEARCH, there are many "natural" sweetners out there that are only "natural" because a part of it came from nature at one point. Just because something says "natural" doesn't mean healthy. Take Agave syrup, it is terrible for you!  "Most agave syrup has higher fructose content than any commercial sweetener -- ranging from 70 to 97 percent, depending on the brand, which is FAR HIGHER than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which averages 55 percent."

While some Stevia products do contain stevia, they  also contain chemicals. The FDA has not approved pure Stevia for use as a sweetener, as seen in this excerpt from an article written by the Mayo Clinic. "Note that although the FDA has approved highly refined stevia preparations as a novel sweetener, it has not approved whole-leaf stevia or crude stevia extracts for this use."  Key words, "highly refined," code for adding chemicals in the refining process.  That's why Stevia still has an after taste, as do other "sweeteners." My sister bought me some Stevia plants, and when I take a leaf from the Stevia plant and chew on it, or add it to my tea, there is NO aftertaste.  Sigh, why does the FDA approve chemicals but not the natural/actual plant????

In my research I found Monk Fruit.  As you all know, I have food allergies so I have to be extra careful with regards to what I put in my body.  Lots of research later, I found out that the monk fruit  is a gourd and part of the pumpkin family.  Good news for me, I'm not allergic to pumpkins.  Yes!  I also learned that the area the Monk Fruit is harvested, has more Centanarians than any other part of the world. Also good news.  Monk fruit got it's name because the Chinese Monks used it medicinally, it's actual name is Luo Han Guo.  Some of the most important health benefits of monk fruit include its ability to treat diabetes, help with weight loss, lower inflammation, eliminate fever, prevent certain types of cancer, protect the heart, prevent allergies, and prevent signs of aging.  Monk Fruit is also 300 times sweeter than cane sugar.  Could this be true?  Only one way to find out, buy some.

While searching for Monk fruit, I found that 99% of all monk fruit sweetners are mixed with something.  For instance, dextrose is mixed with a popular "raw" sweetener.  Dextrose is a sugar, anyting with "ose" is a sugar.  How can it be raw, if it's mixed with something?  It can't have a lot of monk fruit in it for two reasons, #1 Dextrose is listed first in the ingredients and #2 monk fruit is brown, not white.  If a monk fruit sweetner is white, it's not pure.  There are other "monk fruit" sweeteners out there, but they all have an added ingredient or more.  Also, since Monk Fruit is approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar, and the container says that 1 teaspoon, is a serving, it can't be pure, right?  I want PURE, 100% pure.  So I searched Organic and found a product with 100% pure monk fruit in it.   I purchased it, and WOW.  Just WOW!

I'm not trying to do an ad, but I have to share!  Monk Fruit, pure, 100% organic Monk Fruit is BOMB!  It's is delicious,  no aftertaste, it dissolves in cold drinks, hot drinks, it doesn't break down into a chemical mess when it's added to baked goods.  It is out of this world.  My son with a massive sweet tooth even likes it!  Here's a picture of it:

This is the scooper included in the container. 

The container says 1 gram is a serving, and there are 100 servings in each container. NO WAY, there's probably more like 300 servings in there, simply because it's SO sweet!

This is about how much I use in my coffee, probably less.  It is super super sweet!

I have been using the Monk Fruit for about a month and I have to tell you, I don't miss sugar at all!  This stuff is so sweet that you have to be very careful with how much is used.  I carry it with me,  and my friend asked me to sweeten her tea with it.  (I've given up Sweet Tea, I order Unsweet and put Monk Fruit in it.)  I kept shaking a little in at a time, and she said more....more.....I accidentally dumped more, a lot more!  We both gasped in horror, that tea would be way too sweet to drink!  Thankfully, the tea was so strong that it was ok.  

If you have been following my blog, you see that we love cobblers!  I tried to make cobbler with a little bit of monk fruit and no sugar whatsoever.  I'd never tried to cook with the monk fruit before so I didn't use enough causing the end product to not be as good.  I tried again and this one, well, that's why there's a picture of an empty dish.  I took the cobbler out of the oven, and the two, 10 year old, boys were trying to taste it while it was bubbling hot.  I had to defend it against them until it could be plated.  In all the turmoil, I didn't take a picture of the "before."  I did get a picture of the "after," like less than 15 minutes after, literally.  

Enough Jabber.....Here's the recipe!  Try it and let me know your thoughts in the comments!!!

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

1/2 Stick organic butter

1/4 cup organic brown sugar

1 cup organic flour

1 organic egg

1/2 cup 2% organic milk

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 scoop of Organic Monk Fruit apx. 1gram (scoop included in pkg.)

pinch kosher salt

1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

1/2 cup Blackberries (or fruit of your choice)

1/2 cup Raspberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Put casserole dish in oven with the butter, allowing it to melt

Pull out when butter is completely melted

Sprinkle the brown sugar on the the melted butter

In a bowl mix the flour, egg, milks, monk fruit, salt and baking powder

Pour over the butter and the brown sugar

Drop berries on top of the batter, (don't completely cover the batter but put as many as you like on top.)

Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.  

Let cool before serving, with a scoop of frozen whipped topping. (freezing it gives it the consistency of ice-cream, which satisfies our sweet tooth, but with 1 gram of sugar and 25 calories for 2 tablespoons.  compare to your favorite vanilla ice cream and you'll see this is a "diet" SCORE!)

credits:  Agave: Marcola, click on link to go to page. Stevia: Mayo Clinic, click on link to go to page. Monk Fruit: Organic Facts, click on link to go to page.  Links are highlighted in blog.

Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler Recipe

The field behind our house is full of wild blackberry bushes.  The brambles rise up to the light, full of red berries and the ripened blackberries.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  We have 12 acres, and nearly every where you look there are blackberry bushes.  Some are surrounded by poison ivy, some right along the trails that are cut through the thick underbrush, and some just waving in the breeze among the high grass.  You'd think we would have so many blackberries, we'd be sick of them.  Maybe we could pick so many of them we could sell them at the Farmers Market.  You'd think and you'd be wrong.  Those blackberries are very sought after, and not just by us, but by the animals that live in the field.  We are nestled at the base of a mountain, altitude about 2400 feet above sea level.  

While we do not live IN the mountain, we have a plethora of wild animals to compete with for the blackberries.  One of which is a fat, black bear.  That's right, a bear.  He lives in the field behind our house, periodically breaking into our trash cans to have a feast. Last year were able to only pick one small bowl of blackberries before  he grumped at us, causing us to beat a hasty retreat.  This year, I was determined I would get more than one bowl.  If we don't pick them as soon as they turn black, the bear, deer, skunks, raccoons, possum, squirrels and a variety of birds will pick the vines clean.  I was able to pick the berries 2 times.  I got enough to freeze, which is wonderful, although I doubt they'll make it to the winter because of our love of cobbler.  A few weeks ago, when the red berries were turning black, a friend went to pick some berries.  He has been in the country his whole life of 72 years, and armed with 4 wheeler and a pistol (to scare, not harm, the bear) he went into the field.  A short time later, he came back out.  He said he was picking berries and heard something following him in the bushes.  He looked down at one point and saw a pile of bear poo.  Jumping on the 4 wheeler, clutching his prize of berries he came back to the house. Having admitted he was scared of the bear he thanked me for the berries and left.  I decided I best not go pick anymore either.  Once the berries are scarce, the bear might be a little less fearful and more aggressive since his winter survival would be in question.   

This is a picture of a Mama bear and her cub that frequent my Dad's property.  She is a black bear, the same as the bear who occupies the field.  As my child would say, "Cute, but not cuddly."  I should say so!  Nonetheless, I managed to get some delicious, fresh blackberries and made a fantastic Blackberry cobbler.  I made a video of the process.  Trying something new on my blog.  Hope you enjoy it! 

Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler

1/2 stick organic butter
1 cup organic milk
1 cup organic flour
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 organic egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Blackberries (or any other fruit you like)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F
Place 1/2 stick of butter in 2 8x8 Cobbler pans (or 1 stick in 12x12 pan) and put in the oven as it pre-heats
Take out when the butter has melted and slightly browned
Take pan out of the oven and sprinkle the brown sugar all around the pan, especially the edges

In a seperate bowl mix the rest of the ingredients and pour into the pan, on top of the butter and brown sugar.

Drop blackberries (as many/little) on top of the batter

Return the pan to the oven and bake 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly

Serve warm with a scoop of organic chocolate ice-cream

Note:  You can use non-organic ingredients and the egg is optional, you can also adjust the sugar to your liking.
To make a larger pan, just double the ingredients.
If you'd like you can add a tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt, this will make the batter rise more.
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Frozen Fresh Strawberry Syrup with dried up Brown Sugar and freshground Cinnamon

Frozen fresh? What is that? My Dad went to North Carolina this past fall and harvested a bunch of fresh strawberries.  He brought me about 6 gallons of them.  I washed them off and let them dry. After they were dry I placed them, in a single layer, in a freezer safe container and directly into the freezer.  So, Fresh Frozen. Dad's idea and it worked beautifully.  Stored in that way, they could be used, at will, throughout the winter.  I still have some left and noticed that they were "growing" ice, which means they are going to be ruined and frost bitten.  What in the world was I going to do with them?

My son asked for waffles for breakfast.  We have gluten free, multi-grain Pumpkin spice waffles, which actually taste like gingerbread.  How to incorporate those strawberries?  Strawberry syrup.  

I have been purchasing organic Ceylon cinnamon sticks so I can grind my own cinnamon.  I have read articles that claim some cinnamon is cut with bark.  Cinnamon is bark, but I don't want another kind of bark in my cinnamon.  I prefer pure cinnamon.  How can I assure this?  Grind it myself.  I put several sticks in my coffee mill and poof, freshly ground cinnamon that I know is 100% and nothing extra added.  

Where does the dried up brown sugar come into play?  I keep my Organic brown sugar in a ceramic container, with a terra cotta bear to keep it moist.  However, not all of the brown sugar fits.  Some of it has to stay in the original container, where it dries up into a big ole' lump.  I know if you add sugar to strawberries, the strawberries released their juice so it becomes a delicious syrupy treat.  It's so good, just strawberries and sugar.  Not so much frozen strawberries and sugar, fresh strawberries.  

I capped the strawberries,  dumped the dried up brown sugar over them, and sprinkled some cinnamon on them too.  Let me tell you, it only took a few minutes to have a fresh strawberry syrup with delicious strawberries to go with it!

Fresh Frozen Strawberry Syrup

Skillet for cooking

Frozen Strawberries

Organic Ceylon Cinnamon sticks

Organic Brown Sugar (dried up, fresh, whichever doesn't matter)

1-2 cups frozen strawberries, cap them and place into the skillet

Sprinkle the ground cinnamon over the strawberries

Put brown sugar on top

Turn skillet on low

The heat will start to un-thaw the frozen strawberries and a syrup will start to form, 

Gently stir the berries to incorporate the brown sugar and cinnamon

No need to wait too long, the syrup will form pretty quickly 

Ladel the strawberries over the waffles, scoop out some syrup and you have your own, freshly prepared Strawberry syrup.   

My son gobbled all, but 4, of the strawberries (I saved some for myself) and his entire waffle.  Which he rarely does.  Healthy goodness I could feel good about.  Like most Moms, I beat myself up over every little thing I think I'm doing wrong.  Today it was, that I didn't think I was feeding him enough healthy things to help him grown and develop properly.  This was a good start to a great day!  

The best Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Lentils

Ok.  Yes I said it! Lentils!  Yes, these cookies are made with Lentils. I was watching the Cooking Channel, years ago, and saw a woman making these cookies.  They looked so good.  I didn't get around to trying them until this year.  A friend of mine is opening her new Pastry shop, called Luv Berry, and she asked if I could help her find a chocolate chip cookie recipe that doesn't use white flour or white sugar.  I immediately searched for this recipe.

I modified, as I always do. Since I have a trace wheat allergy, just to whole wheat, I used regular organic flour. I joke, sort of, that I can eat white bread because it use to be wheat, but has been processed so much that it doesn't affect my allergies.  I also left out several ingredients because I don't like nuts or seeds in my cookies.  

Here is my version of the recipe from Bal Arneson via the Cooking Channel website, a link to Bal's original recipe can be found at the bottom of the recipe.

Quick note:  Let the Lentil's cool before adding the butter, I didn't and all the butter melted and I had butter and lentil soup.  I ended up having to add more flour.  It was a near disaster. 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Lentil Cookies (modified version)

1 Cup dry Lentils

2 Sticks unsalted butter

1 Cup brown sugar

1 Egg

1 Cup Organic Flour

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Cup regular dried Oats

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Raisins

1 Cup Sweetened dried Cranberries 

Cook Lentils in boiling water for 35 minutes.  Strain and smash with a fork.  LET COOL.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or grease cookie sheet)

In a bowl, cream together the cooled lentils, butter, and brown sugar 

Add the egg and blend well

Add the baking soda, flour and vanilla extract and blend

Stir in the chocolate chips, raisins and cranberries

Drop the cookies and flatten on the cookie sheet, by the spoonful

Bake for 13 to 18 minutes 

Remove from oven and place on a baking rack to cool 

Now, try to stop yourself from eating them all.  I dare you!  

For the original recipe go to: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/bals-lentil-cookies.html

Baked Butternut Squash with stewed apples, raisins, cranberries and molasses

Baked Butternut Squash with stewed apples, raisins, cranberries and molasses

                           Many times I have gone into the grocery store to buy butternut and acorn squash.  Almost every time, the cashier has no idea what I am purchasing.  When I tell them what it is, they look confused and some will ask me what do I do with it?       When I have my friends over for dinner and serve them their own acorn squash filled with stewed fruit, they are amazed.  It's so pretty, and the taste is incredible.  Most people think of squash, as a vegetable that you boil or bread and fry, not one that you bake.  I tried a recipe that called for peeling the butternut squash, cutting it into pieces then boiling it.  

 That took so much time, it was not fun. I spent more time trying to peel that hard skinned squash than I did preparing the turkey.  I will never do that again.  What a pain!
Acorn squash are smaller with a lovely dark green color.  Check out my post for Balsamic Maple Glazed Pork Chops and Acorn Squash, for a great dinner recipe with a lovely picture of an acorn squash ready for the oven.  The picture is from another blogger, and a link to her recipe is also included.  I can't take credit for that great picture.

Butternut squash are long and light tan in color.  I'm not sure I can describe their taste.  Maybe somewhere between a pumpkin and a sweet potato?  They are not too sweet, nor too bitter. They have a lovely flavor, that is enhanced by adding butter and stewed fruit.  Butternut squash can be the entire meal, or a lovely addition to a meal.  It's definitely a great "wow" dish.  One butternut squash can serve 4 people.  With an acorn squash, I serve one person a half of an acorn squash filled with the fruit.  Like a bowl.  The Butternut squash is bigger, and a little awkward.  I generally put the butter in the squash, stir it up, then add the fruit on top.  Instead of putting a enormous butternut squash on each persons plate, we dish it out with a serving spoon.  It still looks nice on the serving platter, then it's gone.  All of it usually.  

Baked Butternut Squash with stewed apples, raisins, cranberries and molasses:

Butternut Squash

Butter or Coconut Oil

Cinnamon

Apples

Raisins

Cranberry's

Molasses

Orange Juice

Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Wash the Butternut squash (to stop the spread of any germs that may be on the skin, when slicing through with the knife)

Place the tip of a sharp kitchen knife into the side of the butternut squash.  Place gentle pressure on the knife and slice toward the end of the squash.  Once you have a nice sized slit, slide the knife deeper and cut the squash in half.  Generally, once the initial opening is made, the squash will kind of "crack" open as you force the knife through it. It's not hard to cut at all.  

Scoop out the seeds and discard

Place each half, flat side down, on an edged baking sheet and add water.  Don't leave out this step.  ADD WATER!  This keeps the edges from burning, and keeps the squash from drying out.  Just enough to cover the bottom of the sheet.  

Place in the preheated oven and allow to bake for 45 minutes.  

The squash are cooked through when you can make an easy "dent" in the skin by lightly pushing on it. If it doesn't give easily, and make a small dent, then let bake a little bit longer.  

When the butternut squash are baked through and soft, pull out of the oven, and add butter to taste.  The squash should be easy to stir with a spoon to incorporate the butter. Drizzle on some molasses or brown sugar to sweeten it up.  It really does add a nice layer of flavor!

Stewed Apples:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 Red delicious apple
Some sort of fruit juice
Orange Juice
Dried Raisins and cranberries
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon (to taste)

Heat a small saucepan on medium low and add the butter
Wash the apple, then slice into bite size pieces, add to the butter. I leave the skins on, that's where all the nutrients are, and they become soft during the cooking process
Stir it around and let the apples cook a little in the butter
Don't let the butter turn brown!
Add the cinnamon
I use whatever juice is in the fridge, tonight it was actually fruit punch. I just pour in enough to cover the apples half way up, and then add a splash of Orange Juice. It add's a surprise taste that is lovely.
Add the raisins and cranberries and put the lid on let simmer for 10 minutes or until the apples are soft.
Scoop the stewed apples into the prepared Butternut Squash