Fall is back. Back with all things I love: slow cookers, back to school, scarves, the desire to get cozy and a new sense of routine (with a few bumps along the way). When I was asked if I would like to try out one of Ricardo’s slow cooker recipes I jumped at the chance. When I saw slow cooker rice pudding I was sold. I used to think both rice pudding and tapioca pudding were gross. Once I tried rice pudding I quickly changed my tune. Rice is normal food, tapioca ball things are not. Still in the gross category for me.

Now that my oldest is in school I have more time with my middle, Sawyer. He was the perfect assistant to help with this recipe. Middle children are sneaky. They grow up when you aren't looking. Everything is anticipated with the oldest: walking, talking, school. The middle is who they are right now, I am so much more in the moment with him. So he surprises me when I notice the passing of time. My husband picked him up yesterday, he was so long. We were both gob smacked. So sneaky. The third is a whole other story. He has three molars. We just noticed them. Yikes. We catch on, eventually.

On a side note: moving forward most of my blog posts will feature iPhone snaps. I realized that I was blogging less because in the chaos of my life the simple act of grabbing my digital SLR camera was too much. I don’t think you are here for the beautifully styled food photos anyways. You are here for ideas and my undeniable wit and charm, right?

So onto the rice pudding recipe...

Ingredients:
1 cup (250 ml) arborio or other short-grain rice
1 cup (250 ml) 10% half and half
4 cups (1 litre) 3.5 % milk
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup (125 ml) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Cinnamon to top

Directions:

In the slow cooker, combine the rice, cream, milk and salt. Cover and cook on high heat for 2 hours. Add the sugar and vanilla and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool partially. Serve warm with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top, or cover and chill.

Turned out beautifully; creamy, perfectly sweet and cozy. I prefer it a little warm, it is easy to reheat in the microwave. All my kids liked it and I may of even converted my husband to the “not the gross food I thought it was" category. Of course you can add raisins or nuts or whatever you feel like. I took it to work for breakfast one morning with almonds and raspberries thrown in. I played around with the milk and cream in the recipe to use what I had on hand.  I also decreased the sugar a bit, because why not. As you can tell by the brief directions, this is simple. Great chance for your kids to help out.

So I hope the start of your fall has brought good things with it.

If I see a bag of Meyer lemons I buy them. If I see them when I am pregnant and citrus crazed I buy two. I was then left to decide what to make with them. Lemon loaf has already been covered on my blog. I am not really a pastry person so tarts and pie was out. Scones crossed my mind, but I didn't have all the ingredients. Muffins seemed too boring. I dug a little deeper. Lemon pudding, um yeah. 

Being a child of the 80's I think of pudding coming in cardboard boxes with Bill Cosby on the commercials. Let me tell you that from scratch puts the powder to shame, like I needed to tell you that though. It is also pretty easy. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup lemon juice, fresh
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, whisk sugar and cornstarch together. Whisk in milk until well blended.

In a cup or small bowl, whisk egg and yolk until slightly beaten, then whisk into the milk mixture in the saucepan. Put the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, juice and butter. Spoon into individual serving bowls. Serves 6.

 

These were so good, even non-pregnant people thought so. You can garnish with fruit or mint, but I don't think it's needed. Good as is. 

Oh and I guess I promised that I would tell you the gender of #3. We are having boy number 3! I know I have mentioned this before but I need to bring it up again. When I was 12 weeks pregnant with my oldest (before I knew for sure I was having a boy) I was sitting on my parents' deck. I had this strange moment where I knew I would have all boys, no matter how many kids I had. People thought I was crazy, but I knew. This third boy feels so right to me. 

Here in Campbell River the ultrasound technician doesn't tell you gender. The radiologist needs the read the images write their report and then your health care provider can tell you. This is all torture to me and was told it could be 24 hours to two weeks until I heard. When the tech gave us the baby tour I saw a penis waving at me, I was sure (I have seen a lot of ultrasound penis). Braden was oblivious. Lucky for me my midwife called a mere five hours after my ultrasound confirming my penis sighting. 

Now please don't feel disappointed for us or think we need to keep trying for a girl. These three boys were meant for us, I can feel it in my soul. This little one has been whispering to me since Sawyer was born. Telling me we needed him to join our family. That sounds strange even to me, but it is true. I can't wait to meet this boy, he already seems to have some pretty powerful influence. We are so, so lucky.

Two years ago today I posted my first blog entry. For real. The time has gone really quickly. When I started out I wasn't really sure what this blog would look like or what sort of information I would provide. It quickly evolved to a recipe testing/transforming/sharing format. A much slower evolution also took hold; the sharing of more of my personal life. There was only so many ways I could talk about how I swapped out whole wheat flour for white, or Greek yogurt for sour cream before things get a little dry and repetitive. When I was younger I was a diary keeper, my last entries were done around grade eleven, After that I kept a yearly planner that included homework, weekend adventures, dinner plans, holidays and work schedules. I have now progressed to iCal on my phone. I keep track of the boys' big moments in the calendar too (I have yet to get a baby book started for either of them). I guess I have always had a need to document. The part that is missing is the details. Maybe that's where this blog fits in, a way to document some of the details. 

It has also been a great way to keep track of my favorite recipes. I refer back often. There are still things I would like to do: add a print option, figure out a better way to categorize the recipes so they are easier to find, add a search box, etc. Someone asked me a while ago "Why do you write your blog?". I thought it was kind of a strange question. It was hard to answer. I don't make any money doing it. I guess it does provides some exposure for my business and website, but that's not the motivator either. I think I would still write entries even if no one was reading. I just really like doing it, which is really the best motivator. Of course I love that people do read, try recipes and realize that healthy eating doesn't have to be tasteless or difficult. 

For this entry I am sharing a recipe for lemon loaf. When I was younger I was not a lemon dessert fan at all. My Mom and Grandma love them. I was sure it was an older lady thing. Then it hit me like a truck. A sudden love of lemon desserts. I am officially an older lady by my own definition. Whatever, as long as there is lemon loaf. Of course I was looking for something a little more healthy, but still moist and very lemony. I used Meyer lemons. Good lord, go out and buy some if you haven't already. First off they are the most beautiful yellow colour, they scream spring. They release the most amazing smell when you zest them (like candy). They are also easier to juice than their traditional cousins. 

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 cup of low fat plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of grated lemon peel (I was very generous to achieve max lemon flavour)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Squeeze lemon juice from a fresh lemon. Then grate the peel.
Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl.
In a large bowl, stir egg, oil, yogurt, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and lemon peel. Once mixed, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix well (it will be a pretty thick batter)
Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan. 
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes.
While baking, mix together the sugar and remaining lemon juice to create a glaze. When bread is done baking and has cooled, apply glaze. I used a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the bread. Adapted from here.

So yeah, delicious. I doubled the recipe (of course) and froze a loaf for a later date. I added a little more lemon juice to the glaze because I wanted it more tart than sweet. Loved it. Very moist. 

Thank you for reading, trying recipes and all your comments. The last two years have flown by. I feel so lucky to have something in my life that I enjoy so much.

So much has happened since I last posted that I can't even begin to write it all out, so I am going to offer the highlights:

1. Hudson turned three! He was so excited. It was the first year I felt motivated to pick a theme and really go for it. If you need a theme for anything choose a Hawaiian theme! It was really easy to find the decor, music, food ideas and everyone can dress in their summer clothes.

We did the decorating while Hudson was out of the house. All of his "this is for me?", "this is for MY birthday?" and declaring "all I want to do is dance" made the decorating more than worth it (even the oh so tedious for me cupcakes). 

I won't even start on how incredible it is that my first born is three. 

2. I finally bought a bottle of my new favorite hot sauce Chalula. Go out and get some. Best ever. All the flavour without burn your face off heat. 

3. I may have also watched the best documentary I have ever seen: Stories We Tell. Incredibly emotional, I don't think I have stopped thinking about it since I saw it three weeks ago. My mother-in-law got us tickets to see it at the Comox Valley Art Gallery TIFF Film Series. I have no idea where else you can see it? But if you get the chance....watch. Hopefully it will make it's way to iTunes.

4. So I am not the greatest sports star, at all. But I have always had this secret idea that there was a sport out there that I had an incredible amount of natural talent. I just hadn't discovered or tried it yet. I was proven wrong with tennis. I enjoyed my lessons but my instructor wasn't blown away by my talent. I always thought rowing could be for me, but chickened out before signing up back in my UVic days. This weekend I tried cross country skiing. Again I didn't have my instructor wondering how I was so good given it was my first time on cross country skis, but I for sure had more talent than one other person in the lesson (Yes!). Most importantly I really loved it. Can't wait to give it another go.

5. Lastly I discovered the recipe for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies on the back of a bag of Trader Joe's gluten free oats. I never make cookies, more of a muffin girl, but this caught my eye.

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
8 oz dark chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a large bowl.  Beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and baking soda: mix well.  Add peanut butter and mix.  Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and nuts. Place dough by heaping teaspoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper), about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light gold on the edges. Makes approximately 48 cookies.  

Love these. I made them small because they are pretty calorie dens.There are about 100 calories, 3 grams of protein and 6 grams of sugar per cookie. I reduced the amount of sugar that was called for and they were sweet enough. They freeze very well. It is hard to believe that they don't have any flour in them. You can also get creative with what you add into the mix. Instead of chocolate chips and nuts you could do raisins and coconut or cranberries and sunflower seeds. Endless ideas. 

A side note about oats and gluten. Oats themselves are gluten free, but are usually processed in factories that process wheat so there can be cross contamination. Look for uncontaminated or gluten free oats to be sure your oats are gluten free. 

Any new discoveries you want to share?

I had to re-new my drivers license today. How has it already been five years I mused to the woman at the counter. She assured me the next five years would go even faster. She gestured to my dozing baby and said next time you re-new he will be in kindergarden....wow. The last time I was in that building was when I got my license at 16. I was so nervous. I still have the slow motion image of my tester's head bouncing off the headrest when I hit the curb attempting to parallel park (both times). I passed, but was for sure a horrible driver. City living taught me how to parallel park, trial by fire. I am positive my new photo will be very flattering given that you can't smile anymore (guaranteed to look like a criminal).

The other highlight of the week was making chocolate syrup. It was ridiculously easy. My son, like most kids, loves chocolate milk. So do I actually. What I don't love is the amount of added sugar, the price or using store bought syrup.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whisk sugar, cocoa and salt together in a saucepan; add water and whisk to incorporate.
2. Bring sauce to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously (get into the edges too).
3. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Carefully transfer syrup to a glass bottle, mason jar or other container. Store syrup in fridge for several months. Adapted from here.

I reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe. I also doubled it when I made it as I knew it would be a hit. One cup of milk with one generous teaspoon of syrup comes in at 14 grams of sugar (12 grams from the lactose in the milk alone). For one cup of store bought milk there are 25 grams of sugar! Huge difference. I don't have a problem giving this to Hudson. I have also drizzled this syrup on frozen yogurt and strawberries, yum. I can also envision some sort of chocolate, raspberry, yogurt popsicle concoction for summer. It costs about a dollar a bottle to make...good deal.

I used a washed out red wine vinegar bottle to store mine in. Peeling off the label was extra annoying, but it looks good. If you are the crafty type you can print out one of these pretty labels.

I really like scones, not the oversized, floury, run of the mill coffee house ones. Good, aromatic, homemade ones. I don't ever make them though. I am always turned off by the large amount of butter required. A friend sent me a recipe for grapefruit oatmeal scones, so I changed my mind in a big hurry. Grapefruit obsession + almost 40 weeks pregnant + overwhelming urge to bake = match made in heaven. I must say I am a huge believer in the 80/20 principal: making healthy choices 80% of the time and less healthy choices the rest of the 20%. Healthy eating to me isn't about constructing the perfect diet (whatever that is). Sounds like torture and a sure fire way to end up fantasizing about the foods you can't have all day long leading to over eating them when you finally get your desperate hands on them. All that said I still tweaked the recipe a little (I can't help myself). 

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons granulated sugar + more to sprinkle on top
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Ruby Red grapefruit, zested and segmented (how to do this here)
1 tablespoon orange zest
3/4 cup cold salted butter, sliced into 1/2-inch cubes 
3/4 cup plain non- fat Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 400°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Toss the grapefruit zest and orange zest with the dry ingredients.

Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, rub or cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small, coarse peas. Work quickly so the butter doesn't warm too much. Add the yogurt and honey, and toss everything together with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.

Add the grapefruit pieces last. Quickly and gently envelope them into the scone mixture. You don't want the grapefruit chunks to become smashed or release much juice as that will alter the texture of your scones.

Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form into an 8-inch circle, about 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into ten triangles using a knife. Place the triangles on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with sugar.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top and firm but soft in the center. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. Adapted from here.

Are you kidding me? These were perfect. Waiting the recommended 15 minutes of cooling was torture. What did I change? I reduced the amount of sugar, butter and salt. I also used non-fat Greek yogurt. The original recipe called for oat flour, but I switched it for whole wheat just because I didn't have any. I also cut them into ten pieces instead of six to take down the portion size a little. I was thinking the zest of the entire grapefruit would be a little over powering, but it wasn't at all (be sure to zest your grapefruit before you segment it).

So now two days away from my due date I have a special treat to enjoy, something that seems so fitting to this grapefruit frenzied pregnancy.

All of a sudden I am 38 weeks pregnant. In other words 2 weeks and away from my due date. Of course it isn't all of a sudden, but it still has a way of sneaking up on you. The last week has been spent finishing room details for both boys, organizing newborn baby clothes (which includes gushing over how small newborn diapers are), making appointments for the dentist, a massage and a pedicure (don't want to look at ugly toes when I am in labour). My parents were also kind enough to have our house cleaned top to bottom. There are meals in the freezer, the infant car seat is clean and ready to be used to safely bring home another amazing little boy, the house/car are clean and I have almost packed my hospital bag. I dare say I feel ready.

Then I think about the whole delivery idea. I have done this before, but I don't know if that makes me feel any more ready for it. I also feel like a newbie in someways. When I had Hudson my water broke with no labour so I was induced. I am hoping to go into labour myself this time which would allow me to spend a little longer at home. The one thing I did learn is that you can hope for a lot of things but you don't have a lot of control over the process. Sometimes your water breaks with no labour, sometimes you need to get induced, sometimes baby is posterior, sometimes baby has a short umbilical cord that leads to fetal distress, sometimes forceps are used, and sometimes you tear. But most of the time there is a healthy baby at the end bringing on the biggest wave of emotion you have ever felt. I am ready for that. In the mean time every Braxton Hicks contraction or twinge I feel I wonder...is this it?

When a friend announced on Facebook that she  had made Raspberry Cream Cheese Quinoa Muffins, I had to get the recipe. And get it I did....worth sharing.

Ingredients: 
1/2 c quinoa
1c water
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 oz cold light cream cheese, diced small
1 c frozen raspberries
1/2 c white or cane sugar
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 c light sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Cover, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave covered pot on burner for 15 mins, fluff with fork and allow to cool. 

Preheat oven to 400, line muffin pan with paper liners. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda in medium bowl, blend well. Add 1 1/4c of cooked quinoa and mix until its evenly coated with flour mixture. Stir in the cream cheese, breaking up any large pieces. The cream cheese should remain chunky in these muffins. Add the frozen raspberries and coat in flour mixture, set aside

In large bowl whisk sugar and oil together, followed by the egg. Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla. Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until just combined. Spoon the dough evenly into muffin pan. Bake on the center rack for 25-27 mins until muffins are light brown around edges and toothpick comes out clean. Store in a sealed container in fridge up to 1 week or freeze. Makes 12. Adapted from Quinoa 365.

I reduced the amount of sugar and eliminated the salt. When I made them I doubled the batch, I like to have muffins in my freezer at all times. This is a great recipe if you have leftover quinoa around. These were really, really good. They have a really nice texture. And can you really beat the  raspberry cream cheese combo?

Maybe I will see you here next week, maybe I won't. I have a feeling I will.

I am not a Christmas baker. The only Christmas baking that I look forward to (other people making) is shortbread, specifically my Grandpa's recipe, and something referred to as "Christmas Crack". My mother-in-law makes it, it consists of a layer of soda crackers with a toffee like layer smothered in chocolate. We are spending the holidays with my in laws in Edmonton this year and I have been assured the "Christmas Crack" has been made....fewf. A pregnant girl has got to have something while others are enjoying rum and eggnogs or mulled wine. That being said it is nice to have something sweet around, so I decided to make some glazed nuts.   

Ingredients
1 egg white
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 pound walnut halves or pecans or mixed nuts (works out to about 3.5 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). 
2. In a large bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla. Add nuts, and stir to coat. Spread evenly onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until well toasted and golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Adapted from here.

I used mixed nuts and accidently bought salted nuts. I like the salty/sweet combo so no big deal. These turned out really well. I thought the amounts of spices sounded like a lot (especially the cloves) but they all blend really well together. When you take them out of the oven they will still be a little sticky but will harden up once they cool. I highly recommend the use of parchment paper or a really good non-stick cookie sheet.

Overall: really easy and great taste. They also make a great gift, are a perfect topper for salads and are add some tradition to holiday gatherings. They are pretty easy to get carried away with, so watch out. Nuts are loaded with protein and healthy fats but are also calorie dense, so try to stick to a handful (good luck).

Over the weekend we went to visit Santa at Woodland Gardens, didn't go so well. But really, would childhood be complete without a crying with Santa photo?  

When I first saw this recipe for healthy double chocolate muffins I was intrigued. On the up side there was a lot of interesting ingredients, plus the promise of double chocolate. On the down side, could it taste good? Sometimes the healthy version of things are so far off, it is embarrassing to even pretend they are the same thing. I did note this is a muffin, not a cupcake. Let's keep expectations under control here. 

Wet Ingredients
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk ( or 1 cup skim milk + 1 tbsp vinegar let sit for 5 min)
1 cup (250 mL) pure pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie filling
1 cup (250 mL) dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup (125 mL) bran
1 egg

Dry Ingredients
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
¾ cup (175 mL) ground flaxseed
½ cup (125 mL) cocoa powder 
2 tbsp (30 mL) wheat germ (I didn't have any so I left it out)
2 tbsp (30 mL) cinnamon
1 ½ tsp (7 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1/2 cup (60 mL) chocolate chips at least 60% cocoa mass or 70% cocoa mass chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C.) Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl using a wire whisk, beat together all the wet ingredients: buttermilk, pure pumpkin puree, brown sugar, bran and the egg. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl using a whisk or a fork mix together all the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, ground flaxseed, cocoa powder, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and chocolate chips or chunks.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix till just combined.
5. Scoop the batter equally into 12 muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Each muffin contains: 190 Calories, 4.6 g Total Fat, 1 g Sat Fat, 5 g Fibre, 18 g Sugar, 5 g Protein
Adapted from here.

These are not muffins you want to eat hot out of the oven, they taste better once cooled. I really liked them. If you are looking for a hard core chocolate fix, this is not your winner. But they are not too sweet to have for breakfast.

The whole wheat flour, bran and flax add fiber (who doesn't want to take great poops?). The pumpkin is acting as a fat replacer with the added bonus of adding a lot of moisture and beta carotene (with the left over pumpkin make these). The dark chocolate contains fabulous antioxidants, plus it is chocolate. The flax brings omega three fatty acids, almost all of us could use more of those. I bought the flax whole and ground it myself in the Magic Bullet to the consistency of corn meal. You can buy ground flax, but be sure to keep it in the freezer. Once the outer shell is cracked they can go rancid quickly. At the same time the shell needs to be cracked for our bodies to be able to digest the omega three fatty acids, otherwise out the same way as they came in. A lot of poo talk today, not that I mind. I have never grown out of poo and fart jokes, I can't help myself.

This did seem to make a real mess in my kitchen. You might envision Susie Homemaker over here, umm not so much (if you know me well you probably don't). I can be a disaster while in preparation mode. Maybe that's part of the fun?

I was recently the lucky recipient of a large box of fall fruit from my uncle who had just been in the Okanogan. The Bartlett pears were divine, my favorite fruit when they are the perfect ripeness. A little trick I learned from the pear growers: pears ripen from the inside out so don't squeeze the flesh to judge ripeness, instead feel the ends. If they are starting to soften eat the pear. If the outside is getting soft the inside is usually turning brown and is unpleasantly mushy. 

But this is about apples. Also in the box were various kinds of apples, all very authentic with their matte, just picked off the tree look. We have been eating them like crazy, but I decided to do something extra special with some of them. As I have mentioned before I don't really like pastry, but do love the baked apple cinnamon taste of the filling. My all time favorite dessert is cheese cake and one of my favorite cookies is shortbread...when I came across the recipe for this apple tart on the Joy of Baking website there was no decision to made. Start to preheat the oven! 

Crust:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

Filling:
One 8-ounce package of light cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups BC apples, cut into 1/4 inch slices (about 2-3 large apples)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Spray a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan with non-stick spray. I think you could use a pie pan as well.

Crust: In the bowl of your food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and pulse to blend together. Add the butter and pulse until dough just begins to come together. Pat the dough onto the bottom and one inch up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator while you make the filling. My crust was still quite powdery, it didn’t “come together” as the recipe states. I was thinking flop for sure, but it turned out fine. I still was able to press it into the pan.

Filling: In a food processor process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Blend in the egg and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling.

Topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss the sliced apples in the sugar mixture. Spoon the apples evenly over the cream cheese layer and sprinkle with almonds. Place the spring form pan on a larger baking sheet to catch any drips. 

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until the crust is brown, the apples are tender when pierced with a sharp knife, and the filling is almost set. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve at room temperature. Leftovers can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. Adapted from here.

So what did I do differently? I used whole wheat flour instead of white, I reduced the amount of sugar, used light cream cheese and didn't peel the apples. Didn't make an ounce of difference in the taste, I loved every bite...no maybe savored is a better description. I do think butter is essential to the short bread crust. Making shortbread cookies with margarine is a crime as far as I am concerned, so not happening with the crust either. A slice of this tart comes in at 273 calories, 16 grams of fat and 8 grams of sugar. A slice of apple pie is 400 calories, 21 grams of fat and 23 grams of sugar, quite the savings and a much better taste if I do say so myself.

I would also like to plug my hand blender that is pictured above (I used this in place of a food processor with this recipe). Love this thing...I hesitate to call it a gadget as that implies something more gimmicky. It is a motor top portion that attaches to either an emersion blender (great for soups and making baby foods), food processing unit (use it for fresh salsa, guacamole, dips) and a whisk attachment (perfect for small jobs where a mixer is over kill). The best part - all dishwasher safe. Every time I use it it makes me happy.  

Anyways the tart was a hit all around. It is also a way to appreciate the changing seasons and all they have to offer. The smell of apples baking evokes crisp mornings, crunching leaves underfoot and  all else that fall means to you.