The goal has been achieved!

In just about the 2 weeks, I have reached my goal weight…10lbs less than when I started. And it stays off (as long as I don’t go wild with the carbs! – carbs are my arch enemy!) I am going to continue the crazy diet during the week, but the weekend is free (that means I am back to drinking again! – after being dry for the entire 2 weeks). We’re heading off to Paul and T’s next weekend, so I have to build my endurance again!

My brother was asking for a great corn bread recipe, so here is one (not on the diet, of course, but really really tastey!)

Fred’s Not Here (restaurant in the big smoke) Jalapeno Corn Bread

• 1 1/4 cups medium ground cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cups  flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup diced fresh jalapeno peppers (or a couple of tbsp of dried chili peppers)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Pre heat cast iron molds in 375F oven. Coat with oil.
2. Sift cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Blend eggs, milk and vegetable oil. Stir into dry ingredients.
4. Fold in jalapeno peppers and cheese.
5. Spoon batter into molds (it is a relatively thick batter, so you will need to spread into the mold).
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, but it will depend on the size of the mold. You may also bake it in a 10″ cast iron frying pan and cut the cornbread into wedges (really rustic look). I prefer to use my corn and cactus molds!! of course, you do, as JT would say!!!)

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Navy Bean & Wild Mushroom “Risotto”

On this diet, I’m allowed 3.5oz dried (100g) Navy Beans (instead of a protein), so tonight I am making navy bean and wild mushroom risotto (minus the Parmesan cheese, of course!). I’m glad I made enough for my lunch tomorrow, it was SOOOOO good!!!!!

• 10.5oz dried navy beans rehydrate in water as per directions on package.
• a good handful dried wild mushrooms (I like to use the dried, because you will use the hydrating liquid as stock for the “risotto”)
• 4 cups water (to make the mushroom “stock”)
• 3 cups of low sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 vidalia onion medium chop
• 3 cloves finely minced garlic
• 3-5 sage leaves finely sliced (chiffonade)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Couple of squirts of Pam
• 1 green onion finely chopped for garnish

1. The night before, place beans in a large bowl and fill with water (as per directions).
2. The morning of the meal, place the handful of mushrooms into a large Pyrex measuring cup (4+ cups) and fill with warm water. Allow to sit all day hydrating (make sure you cover tightly with cello, otherwise your place will smell of mushrooms).

To make the meal

1. Drain the mushrooms through a very fine sieve (I use a yogurt cheese maker to do this). Reserve the liquid. Rinse the mushrooms as they may be sandy!
2. Drain and rinse the beans.
3. In a large cast enamelled dutch oven, spray a couple squirts of Pam and begin sweating the onions (you may need to add a bit of the mushroom stock to do this).
4. When the onions have turned translucent, add the rinsed beans and stir thoroughly.
5. Add all of the mushroom stock, and the low sodium chicken stock (don’t add the mushrooms yet). Add the sage.
6. Cook covered on med-high heat for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally (add more stock if it has been completely absorbed). As the stock is absorbed into the beans, the beans will cook to a creamy consistency, leaving some beans whole. Just at the end, add the mushrooms.
7. To finish, you may wish to add a pat of unsalted butter (but not I) and a dash of cognac – as these flavours are wonderful with mushrooms.
8. Garnish with finely chopped green onions or cheese.
9. Enjoy!

You can add sausage, cooked chicken or any type of meat you like. Or make a mock Cassoulet, and add some torn duck confit pieces!!!

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Braised Purple Cabbage with Seared Scallops & Cider Vinegar Dressing

As I mentioned in a previous post, this diet I am on is extremely strict; there are forbidden foods (such as beets, kale, carrots, peas, yellow beans, corn, etc – mostly because they are high in sugar!). But I am allowed red cabbage – a fantastic fall vegetable. I have taken an old recipe and turned it healthy, but really really yummy!

• 1/2 purple cabbage, finely sliced
• 3/4 Vidalia onion, finely sliced
• 1 Golden Delicious (or Jonagold) apple, grated
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1-4 drops of liquid smoke (this is to give the impression of bacon (I cannot have bacon now!)
• about 1 cup water or low sodium chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• 14″ square parchment paper

1. Preheat oven to 500F.
2. In a hot, heavy cast iron dutch oven, spray a couple of squirts of Pam into bottom (or if your not being good, then render about 5 slices of Pancetta finely chopped and once crisp, remove). Add onions and sauté until soft (4-5 minutes). If the pan is getting dry, add a bit of water (not too much, you don’t want the onions steaming, just so they don’t burn).
3. Add apples and sauté about a minute longer. If dry, add water (or low sodium chicken stock).
4. Add purple cabbage and sauté for another couple of minutes – stirring well. If dry, add water (or low sodium chicken stock). If you’re being bad, add the pancetta back to the pan and stir well.
5. Take the parchment paper and fold into quarters, and again. Cut 1/2 the diameter of the pot in a circular form. Cut about 1/2″ out of the centre. Now when you open the parchment, it should be a circle with a hole in the centre!
   
6. Take the cabbage off the heat. Put the parchment circle into the pan directly on top of the cabbage so that it is covered (with the exception of the hole in the centre). Put the pan into the oven and braise for about 1 hour. Stir every 15-20 minutes. You may need to add a bit of water throughout, so keep an eye on it, particularly near the end.

Cider Vinegar Dressing

• 1/4 cup finely chopped Vidalia onion
• 2 tsp cider vinegar
• about 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1-2 drops of smoke (to simulate the flavour of bacon!)

1. In a small 2 cup saucepan, begin sauté-ing the onion in a couple of squirts of Pam.
2. Use small amounts of chicken stock to help the caramelization of the onions (remember, you don’t want to steam them).
3. Add the cider vinegar and about 1/4 cup of the chicken stock.
4. Reduce until there is virtually no liquid remaining.
5. Remove from heat and add about 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. The caramelization process should have made the onions a golden caramel colour.
6. Set aside.

Seared Scallops

• 5-6 oz of scallops per person. Our’s were about 2oz each!!)

1. When the cabbage has about 15 minutes left to braise, remove scallops from fridge and dry thoroughly (very important to be able to get that beautiful “sear” on them!)
2. Remove the tough mussel on the side (this is that little bit on the side that looks like it’s added on – should come off very easily, discard).
3. Heat cast iron skillet until very hot.
4. Spray a couple of squirts of Pam.
5. Add very dry scallops and sear about 2 minutes per side.

Serving

1. Place a generous amount of braised cabbage onto the centre of the plate (I prefer white).
2. Add 2-3 seared scallops into the centre of each cabbage mound.
3. Drizzle with the warm cider vinegar dressing.

Enjoy!

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Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Stir-fried Vegetables

A little of this, a little of that!

This is a delicious low-cal main course (low-fat, low-sodium but high in taste)! I’ve had to go back on my strict diet because we’ve not been going regularly to the club over the summer and I’ve packed on about 7lbs (it doesn’t seem like much, but I just don’t want it to creep on since I worked so hard to lose 25 in the first place!). I’m doing great, my first week down 4lbs!!!

So, we made this meal and it turned out very well. The green of the cilantro stays so bright and beautiful…largely due to the lime juice. You can flavour with a touch of sugar, to cut the lime, but I wasn’t allowed to, and it still tasted great!

• 1 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed and washed
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped or on a micro plane)
• 1 tsp ginger (finely chopped or on a micro plane)
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp green curry paste
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped green onion
• Salt and Pepper to taste (I couldn’t, but you sure can!)

• 3.5 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast per person (if you’re not on this ridiculous diet, then up it to 5-6oz as JT did).

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In an immersion blender container, put all of the ingredients except the chicken. Blend feverishly until almost smooth (you can leave chunky).
3. Dry chicken breasts and score in about a 3/4″ grid on smooth side (this allows the cooking marinade to penetrate).
4. Lightly spray an oven-proof dish with Pam. Place chicken in smooth side up (this is where the skin used to be).
5. Pour cooking marinade over and rub into the chicken so that the score marks are also saturated within.
6. Bake uncovered at 375F for about 30-40 minutes, or until juices run clear (it depends on how thick the breasts are).
7. Serve over steamed vegetables or stir fried vegetables…only your favorites, of course!
   While baking chicken, steam or stir fry some of your favourite vegetables in a touch of oil (or Pam). Sprinkle with about 1 tsp of 5 Chinese Spice (really warm flavours)

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Poached Pear with Stilton, Walnuts, Dates and Bacon

The original recipe is from the LCBO Magazine, October 2008 (not yet on line!) – this one is JT’s version. I was surprised with a lovely dinner of Poached Pear with Stilton, Walnuts, Dates and Bacon last night. YUM.

Serves 2 for dinner.

Poaching Liquid

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (use the same wine you will serve with dinner!)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (if pears are sweet, no need to add a lot of sugar!)
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 pear (1/2 each serving)

Dressing

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 slices bacon slided into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 1 medium shallot diced finely

Salad

• 6 dates, pitted and chopped coarsly
• 1/4 cup Stilton, crumbled into medium sized bits
• 4 cups mixed flavourful greens (arugula, endive, radicchio, escarole)
• 1/8 cup chopped nuts

1. In a large saucepan, bring water, wine and sugar to a boil.
2. Peel and core the pear, slice in half.
3. Place the pears cut side down into the poaching liquid and cover and simmer for about 25 minutes or until knife tender.
4. Remove from poaching liquid and set pears aside to cool.
5. In a large non-reactive sauté pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and add bacon and sauté until crisp. Remove bacon and drain off excess oil. Add another tsp of olive oil and toast walnuts until crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel.
6. Add another tsp of olive oil to same sauté pan (no need to wash) and sauté shallots until tender.
7. Add balsamic vinegar and warm. Add dijon to emulsify the pan juices and the balsamic and keep warm.
8. Lay a bed of greens on a simple white plate. Place the pears just off centre and crumble the stilton into the core area and allow to cascade off the pear to the greens. Evenly distribute the bacon, dates and walnuts on each plate of greens. Pour 1/2 the warm dressing over each of the salads (this will wilt the greens. Try to avoid the cheese so it won’t melt!)
9. Salt and Pepper to taste
10. Enjoy!

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Nuit Blanche in Toronto

JT and I decided to head downtown to Nuit Blanche on Saturday night. It was wild! Apparently a million people showed up! The sidewalks were packed – it was so cool! We planned out trip to take in Zone A – too bad it’s on for only one night, it would have been fun to check out the other zones. We TTC’d it down to City Hall and walked up to Bloor street, taking in as many installations as we could along the way – about 3-4 km. The night was gorgeous! Great temperature for walking.

Credit: All photos from Nuit Blanche website.

Our first stop was City Hall where we watched Blinkenlights this German company transformed our city hall windows into a giant screen where they played with the lights in each window to create art. It was way cool. Check out the video.

Our next stop was Into the Blue at the Eaton Centre…way weird in a cool kinda way. It is literally rings of rubber filled with air and suspended from the ceiling. You walk under it and look up.

We found Four Sisters, 2008 a very large time lapsed video taken of the Gardiner Expressway. Check out the video

Our next stop was Time Piece 2008 which shows the 27 phases of the moon in fast video. It loops really quickly. The screen was huge so you really got to see amazing details in the moon.

We then ventured further north to Collage and Universtity to see Waterfall, 2008. This is a really interesting installation quilt made of recycled plastic. It was supposed to have a waterfall effect, but I didn’t see it. It might have been better if it was lit differently, perhaps with moving lights to simulate water falling.

Along the way, we came across Sound Forest, 2008 bunch of darkly dressed people walking around making weird humming sounds. We didn’t stay long.

We culminated our journey at the Roof Top Lounge at the Park Hyatt hotel, each with a lovely $14 glass of wine!!! Then we hopped on the subway and went home (around midnight!). It was quite a fun evening!

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Thanksgiving at my brother’s cottage

For the last couple of years we’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving (Oct 13th) at my brother’s cottage and this year is shaping up for the same! My brother likes to cook, so I don’t generally cook up there, but I do bring up my goodies.

Gus, Wendy and JT will be playing golf on Sunday morning (just 9 holes) so I’ll be looking after the kids. I’ll need to look after lunch, I am planning on home made personalized pizza (so each kid can roll-out their own dough and put toppings of their choice on the pizza!) and a really really cute dessert of Ice Cream Cone cakes. Here is a photo from Metro‘s recipe site, but their’s uses a mix cake, and I plan on making my own batter! I’ll eventually replace this shot when I make the cakes!

I thought it would be fun to have the kids decorate their own cakes…gives us something to do while the other kids golf! I am going to make Nigella’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake Recipe for this one, and because it’s the cottage, I’ll probably just buy some frosting and bring some decorations from the bulk food store!

Here is a list of goodies I am planning on bringing up:

• Hungarian Cheese Sticks
• Eva’s Whole Wheat Flatbreads
• Hungarian Donkey Ear Cookies
• Apple and Pear Crisp with Walnut Streusel Topping
• Pumpkin Pie
• Korozot
• Tapinad
• Roasted Onion and Cheddar Dip (from the LCBO)

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Oven Roasted Beet Soup

Fall is the time for root vegetables, and beets are one of my favorites! Beautiful in colour, rich in nutrients and it makes a really filling meal! Roasting beets instead of boiling them brings out their natural sugars and actually will reduce the earthiness somewhat.

I picked up about 4 large red beets at my local green grocer. Peel with rubber gloves (so your hands don’t stain!)

• 4 large red beets
• 1/2 Vidalia onion
• 4-6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• 4 cups stock of your choice (I used miso, but chicken or vegetable would work well too)
• 1 cup buttermilk

1. Pre heat oven to 400F
2. Peel beets and chop into 2 cm cubes. Add to roasting pan.
3. Peel and chop onion into 1/4′s (leaving onions larger will help them slow down in cooking)
4. Toss the above in olive oil and sea salt.
5. Roast for about 45 minutes or until tender.
6. Peel outer layer of garlic so each clove is still covered in skin.
7. Using about 30cm square of parchment paper, place garlic in centre. Pour olive oil over and season with sea salt.
8. Wrap garlic with parchment and wrap that bundle in foil paper. Place this garlic bundle beside the roasting pan and roast along side of the beets for about 45 minutes or until soft.

To make the soup:

1. Add the roasted beets, onion and the garlic to a glass blender (squeeze the garlic from it’s casing and don’t forget to pour in the olive oil from both the pan and the parchment!)
2. Add about 1 cup of the broth and blend well. The beets will be an exceptional fuchia colour.
3. Add broth as required to achieve the desired consistency.
4. Pour the soup through a fine sieve to remove all woody bits — this makes the soup unbelievably creamy and silky — don’t skip this step!
5. Add buttermilk, if desired — it adds depth of flavour, but if you don’t like buttermilk, then by all means omit it!
6. Serve this soup hot or cold, both are unbelievable.

For something different, try roasting golden beets AND red beets (in different pans) and preparing each soup separately. Pour carefully into a bowl, one side gold, the other pink or better yet, if serving cold, use a clear drinking glass and pour golden soup into bottom first then carefully pour pink on top, serve with a dallop of crème fraiche or sour cream. Wow, what a presentation that would make!

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The so-long Geo dinner

Geo my dear Mom’s widower husband (is that how you say that she’s dead, nicely?) has decided to move from his bustling metropolis condo in Scarborough (more like Scareborough) to his eldest daughter and son-in-law’s in Lindsay – his last week is this one coming up. I decided to make a special dinner! didn’t take pictures, too bad, because it was lovely, it’s just difficult to photograph with the kitchen so open and I like to serve things piping hot!

The Menu:
Cheddar shortbreads with fig compote (the compote was gift so I have no recipe)
Smoked Salmon Three Ways
Pear stuffed Roast Loin of Pork
Fall Roasted Root Vegetables
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Kalamata Olive Bread with olive oil for dipping
Apple & Pear Crisp with Walnut Stussel Topping
Coffee

Hors D’oeuvres: Cheddar shortbreads from a previous post

Appetizer: Smoked salmon three ways I served these three salmon appi’s on a long rectangular white plate, the soufflé in a mini white ramekin, the tartar on a white Chinese spoon, and the mousse on one of my flat breads in a cool shape.

Smoked Salmon Tartare With Ginger And Sesame my adaptation from Bon Appétit | August 1999

• 2 tablespoons Rose’s Lime Cordial (this is a sweetend lime juice, which can be made to taste with fresh lime juice and simple syrup)
• 1 teaspoon wasabi cream (or to taste)
• 6 ounces sliced smoked salmon (not lox), finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely diced seeded peeled English hothouse cucumber
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon minced green onion
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger (see my tip about Fresh Ginger below)
• 1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil (use sparingly, it’s stonge stuff)

1. Mix in salmon, cucumber, cilantro,green onion, sesame seeds, ginger and sesame oil.
2. Before serving, stir lime cordial and wasabi powder to blend.
3. Serve in Chinese spoons as part of Smoked Salmon Three Ways

TIP: I can never use up the amount of ginger I buy at once and it’s alway so difficult to peel and slice so it’s not woody. Chef Michael Smith from FoodTV.ca recommends to freeze fresh ginger and use a Micro plane grater to grate, you don’t even need to peel because it grates so finely. This is WONDERFUL! I have not had woody bits of ginger nor have I had to discard rotting bits in my fridge!!!

Smoked Salmon Soufflé my adaptation from Gourmet | November 1994
NOTE: I have reduced the original recipe to suit my requirements – beware!
Serves 4 appetizer portions or 6 mini hors d’oeuvres.

• 1 small onion, chopped fine (about 3/4 cups)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup pound smoked salmon, chopped
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cups milk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. and butter and flour a mini ramekins, knocking out excess flour.
2. In a large saucepan cook onions in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add salmon and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, about 2 minutes.
3. In a small saucepan heat milk to a bare simmer and add gradually to salmon mixture, stirring constantly. Boil salmon mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in egg yolks, dill, and Parmesan. Transfer salmon mixture to a large bowl.
4. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat egg whites with a pinch salt until they just hold stiff peaks. Stir one fourth whites into salmon mixture to lighten and fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Pour mixture into prepared dish and put in middle of oven.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. and bake soufflé about minutes, or until puffed and golden and a tester comes out clean. Place on a small rectangular dish to one end. Serve immediately.

Smoked Salmon Horseradish Mousse my adaptation from Gourmet | November 1992

Servings: Serves 6 as a first course (lots left over if serving like I did).

• 3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 3/4 cup sour cream (I used yogurt cheese)
• 2 ounces smoked salmon, chopped (about 1/3 cup), plus 6 ounces smoked salmon, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh horseradish, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill plus dill sprigs for garnish
• pumpernickel toast points as an accompaniment, if desired

1. In a small saucepan sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it soften for 1 minute.
2. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved, add 1/4 cup of the yogurt cheese, and cook the mixture, whisking, until it is smooth.
3. In a food processor purée the chopped salmon until it is very smooth add the gelatin mixture, the remaining 1/2 cup sour cream, the horseradish,
4. Remove from blender and stir in the minced dill, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Pour into decorative containers which are easy to unmold (you may need to wrap the inside of the container with plastic wrap to help unmold it)
6. Chill the mousse, covered, for 1 hour, or until it is firm. The mousse may be made 2 days in advance and kept covered and chilled.
7. Unmold each one and place carefully on the plate as above, garnish with a sprig of dill, serve with Eva’s Flat Breads.

French Bread with Kalamata Olives and Thyme Bon Appétit | February 20 – I didn’t change anything on this recipe, it worked beautifully! Very tasty bread.

Roast Loin of Pork with Pear Stuffing my adaptation from Gourmet | June 2002

• 4 slices bread of your choice (or 1 cup croutons)
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots (3 large)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 Bosc pears
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (we don’t love pepper so I omit this)
• 1 (3- to 3 1/2-lb) center-cut boneless pork loin roast (3 1/2 inches in diameter), not tied
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Make stuffing:

1. Cut just enough bread into 1/3-inch pieces to measure 1 cup and spread evenly in a shallow baking pan. Toast bread in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Leave oven on (for pork).
2. Cook shallots in butter in a large skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add pears and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bread, parsley, and salt, (and pepper).

Stuff and roast pork:

1. Make a hole for stuffing that runs lengthwise through pork loin: Beginning in middle of 1 end of roast, insert a sharp long thin knife lengthwise toward center of loin, then repeat at opposite end of loin to complete incision running through middle, repeat to form an X.
2. Open up incision with your fingers, working from both ends, to create a 1 1/2-inch-wide opening, then pack with all of stuffing, pushing from both ends toward center.
3. Pat pork dry and and season well with salt and pepper.
4. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until very hot and just smoking, then brown pork on all sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast in middle of oven until a meat thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into meat (avoid stuffing) registers 160°F, 45 to 50 minutes.
5. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 20 minutes.
6. While loin is standing, straddle roasting pan across 2 burners. Add 1/2 cup water and deglaze pan by boiling over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits.
7. Slice meat and serve with sauce.

Garlic Roast Mashed Potatoes this is from my test dinner menu in February 2008.

Roasted Root Vegetables: I used parsnips and sweet potatoes (red and white). The trick to perfect roasted vegetables is to chop them the same size so they all cook evenly. The other thing to keep in mind is to roast similar density vegetables at the same time (for example, onions will take less time because they are less dense than parsnips and sweet potatoes!). Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt and roast at 450F for about 45 minutes or until soft. Turn occasionally to ensure all sides are caramelized!

Apple Crisp with Walnut Steusel Topping my adaptation from Gourmet | January 1996

For topping:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

For Crisp:

• 5 medium Golden Delicious or Jonagold apples
• 5 Bosc pears
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice to keep apples from browning
• 1-4 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar (taste apples, if not sweet enough, add more sugar)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

To make streusel:

1. In a small bowl with pastry blender, blend butter, brown sugar, and flour until smooth and blend in nuts and rolled oats. Chill topping, covered.

To make crisp:

1. Peel and core fruit. Cut fruit into 1 cm cubes and toss with lemon juice.
2. Toss fruit with remaining filling ingredients to coat.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. Prepare a oven proof container coating lightly with butter.
5. Spoon apple mixture into container.
6. Crumble streusel over the top, breaking up any large chunks.
7. Bake for about 30 minutes or until fruit is soft (you may wish to broil the topping so it is crispy).
8. Serve crisp warm or at room temperature with ice cream (or as I did, a dallop of yogurt).

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