Rebecca Davis 8/1/17 Rebecca Davis 8/1/17

DIY Stonefruit crumble

Chopped fresh fruit, a simple buttery cookie crumble that bakes quickly, and a honey-sweetened whipped cream result in a perfect summer crumble that is quick, fresh, and delicious. Me & The moose | DIY Stonefruit crumble #meandthemoose #crumble #peaches #nectarines #plums #fruit #summerbaking #dessert

The easiest, make-ahead, assemble-yourself dessert that celebrates summer produce and lets guests (or picky kids) customize it to their liking.

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What's better than a summer crumble, amiright? It's the easiest dessert because you don't have to deal with a finicky pie crust or fish out any special kitchen gadgets (or even non-special ones like the mixer). However, the downside of a crumble is that it often requires 40-50 minutes in the oven, which means 40-50 minutes of heating up your house. No thanks!

This "crumble" lets the ripe seasonal fruit be the star— it's just chopped and mixed with a little lemon juice to prevent browning— while a quick bake of the crumble topping adds crunch and a fresh honey whipped cream adds a little decadence. And ALL of this is toddler approved, especially the part where you get to DIY the toppings.

The crumble topping was a bit of an experiment. I started with a recipe from King Arthur Flour. Initially, I used all coconut sugar and tried to sub in coconut oil for the butter, but it burned almost every time and tasted burned even when it wasn't quite baked yet. Gross. The proportions I landed on are buttery and caramel-y and form a crispy cookie that’s easy to break once it cools. But, if you don’t have coconut sugar, using all brown sugar works well too!

DIY stone fruit crumble

3.5-4 lbs mixed stone fruit (I used 6 peaches, 6 plums, 5 nectarines, and 6 apricots)
1 large lemon or 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Chop the fruit (leave the skins on) and cover with lemon juice to prevent browning. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For the crumble:
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

½ cup melted butter
½ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup brown sugar, loosely packed (or, use 3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar if you don’t have coconut sugar)
¾ cup whole wheat or AP flour
½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300.

Melt the butter in a large bowl. Add the dry crumble ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Spread onto a baking sheet in a thin, even layer.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes to prevent burning.

Let cool for about 30 minutes or until the cookie can be easily snapped into pieces.

Yield: 3.5 cups crumble

For the honey whipped cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Whip the cream until soft peaks form, about 5-6 minutes. Add the honey, vanilla, and salt and whip for 3-4 more minutes, until the cream has reached your desired consistency. Don’t overmix or the cream will turn into butter.

Yield: 3 cups

Serves: 6-8

Rebecca Davis 7/26/17 Rebecca Davis 7/26/17

Guacamole skewers

Guacamole skewers are a super easy way to use up a late-summer bounty of tomatoes AND feed everyone from a solo diner to a crowd of people.

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This recipe is also a way to use an avocado that is JUST ripe enough as well as cilantro at any life stage. For me, the cilantro is usually a few days past its prime because I was overly ambitious when I went shopping. And I am notorious for checking the avocado when it’s *nearly* there, but then forgetting about it for 5 seconds too long and suddenly it’s overripe and disgusting. But we are not wasting food in this house!

And I seriously love this sauce. If you don’t love cilantro…you’ll hate it. But I was luckily born without the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, so I want to slather it on everything. Feel free to double the sauce ingredients if you want some leftovers: It’s bright and tangy and a perfect topper for chicken, veggies, and eggs.

Guacamole skewers

Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 16 skewers, plus extra dipping sauce

For the sauce
1 bunch cilantro, well-soaked/rinsed/de-sanded
4 Tbsp neutral oil
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 very generous pinches of salt and more to taste
1 large clove garlic

Roughly remove the stems from the leaves of cilantro (but a few stems are fine). Blend ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice, as needed.

For the skewers
Red, orange, and yellow cherry tomatoes
1 large avocado (halved, quartered, and then chopped into fours to get 16 pieces)
2 limes (halved and quartered)
1 red onion (pickled if you like)

Rebecca Davis 7/11/17 Rebecca Davis 7/11/17

Chimichurri meatballs

These easy, quick meatballs get some extra zing from vinegar-y, herby, garlicky chimichurri. #meandthemoose #chimichurri #cilantro #parsley #meatballs #quickmeals #easyrecipes

This herby, vinegar-y Argentinian sauce perfectly cuts through fatty meats like beef, pork, chicken thighs, and even salmon. Here, I’ve added the sauce directly to the meatballs to give them a bit of extra zing.

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I'm writing this from a Starbucks while M is at his first day of drop-off camp. Drop off. As in, I bring him to camp and then leave and go live my life for two hours while he lives his. WWWWHHHAAAATTTT?????? I mean, this is literally the goal while raising kids: You want them to be able to function without you and eat and breathe and play and learn and share and manage their emotions, but oh my god, how can he be able to function without me ALREADY???

But I know this is totally normal. He's such an independent kid that I know he'll be okay without me. And thinking of him going to his own place to do his own thing reminds me that I, too, am a separate person who exists outside of my role as a mother.

If I was a smart person, I would be posting today about nut-free lunch packing because that's one challenge we're encountering for the first time. Buuuut, I'm not. Instead, I'm posting about a good way to get M to eat protein: Fill it with the strong flavors of garlic, lime, and cilantro. Actually, this is a good way to get anyone to eat protein.

A few notes about this recipe: I tried to make this one into a Whole 30/Paleo recipe by using almond meal in place of flour, but the texture never felt totally right. They were delicious, but a little softer than I wanted. However, if I were to do another Whole 30, I would definitely make these with almond meal and just deal with it because the flavor is great. I used homemade bread crumbs here because we had some stale whole grain bread, but store bought would work just fine. I made these meatballs huge because I wanted them to be sliders and a good, hearty meal, but one could absolutely make them smaller. I served them with more chimichurri on the top and bottom and a whole wheat slider bun. These would also be great over some zucchini noodles or with roasted veggies like fennel and potatoes.

Chimichurri meatballs

Time: 40 minutes (10 minutes of prep, 30 minutes of cooking)
Yield: 9 large meatballs

Chimichurri
1 small shallot
3 large garlic cloves
3/4 cup fresh cilantro
3/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup red wine or sherry vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until everything is combined.

Note: I always use the stems as well as the leaves of the cilantro and parsley. Pack down the herbs into the measuring cups as much as possible- this sauce requires A LOT of herbs.

Meatballs
1 lb ground beef, turkey, or bison
½ cup chimichurri
1 cup bread crumbs or panko
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 400.

Make the chimichurri sauce.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix just until everything is combined. Try not to over mix.

Using your hands or a large spoon, form into palm-sized balls (about the size of a lacrosse ball).

Bake in any oven-safe pan, but preferably a casserole or pie dish with higher sides to keep the balls in place, for about 25-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160.