MIX AND MATCH FRUIT CRUMBLES FOR TWO

Our household is made up of two people:  Guy and me.  Our childless boys live far away, one in San Diego, and one a day’s drive in the western end of our state.  We have no aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, brothers or sisters living close by, and both sets of parents are no longer with us.  So desserts are for company mostly, though it’s nice to have something small just for the two of us that won’t sit around for a week waiting for us to eat it up. 


Using the template provided by Food Network Magazine, I adapted to make a formula for two people, rather than eight.  It goes like this:

1.  PREP:  Heat oven to 375F.  Butter two (6-oz.) ramekins.


2. PICK A NUT:  Chop 2 Tbsp. of any of the following:  walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans or hazelnuts; set aside.


3. CHOOSE A GRAIN:  Whisk together in a small bowl 2 Tbsp. cornmeal, almond meal or oats,  3 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour, 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar and a pinch of salt.


4. MIX THE CRUMBLE:  Add the nuts to the flour mixture.  Work in 1-1/2 Tbsp. soft unsalted butter with your fingers until evenly moistened; set aside.


5. MAKE A FILLING: 
Apple-Cranberry:  1-1/4 cups chopped tart apples, 2 Tbsp. dried sweetened cranberries, 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar, 1-1/2 tsp. white whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, pinch salt
Peach-Raspberry:  1 large peach, peeled, pitted, sliced or chunked, 1/2 cup raspberries, 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar, 1-1/2 tsp. white whole wheat flour, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Blueberry:  1-1/4 cups blueberries, 1/4 cup diced apple, 2-1/2 Tbsp. sugar, 3/4 tsp. white whole wheat flour, 1/4 tsp. lemon juice


6. BAKE:  Transfer filling to prepared ramekins.  Dot each filling with 3/4 tsp. cold cut-up butter.  Top each with half of the crumble.  Set ramekins on a baking pan lined with parchment.  Bake till golden and bubbly and fruit is tender, about 40 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.  Top with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.


What I did:  I made a plain peach crumble using two small peaches (no raspberries), and chose almonds for my nuts.  For my grain, I used 2 Tbsp. almond meal.   I whipped 1/4 cup heavy cream with 2 tsp. confectioner’s sugar and 1 tsp. almond liqueur for the topping.
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MIX AND MATCH FRUIT CRUMBLES (FOR EIGHT)

In their September 2010 issue, Food Network Magazine printed a very clever outline for making virtually any kind of fruit crumble.  It goes like this:

1.PREP:  Preheat the oven to 375F.  Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish or eight 6-oz. ramekins.

2.PICK A NUT:  Chop 3/4 cup of any of these nuts, shelled – walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts.

3.CHOOSE A GRAIN:  Put 1/2 cup rolled oats or cornmeal in a bowl.  Add 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup light brown sugar and a pinch of salt and whisk.

4.MIX THE CRUMBLE:  Add the nuts to the bowl.  Work in 7 Tbsp. softened butter with your fingers until evenly moistened; set aside.

5.MAKE A FILLING:  Apple-Raspberry – 3 lbs. baking apples cut into 3/4-inch chunks tossed with 2 cups raspberries, 3 Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour, 1 tsp. vanilla and a pinch each of nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.                                       

Plum-Nectarine-Blackberry – 4 nectarines and 2 plums halved, pitted and sliced 1/2” thick, then tossed with 2 cups blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. flour.                                                             

Pear-Pineapple  --  3 lbs. baking pears peeled and cut into 3/4” chunks combined with 3 cups pineapple chunks, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger and 1/4 tsp. each salt and cinnamon in a skillet.  Cover and Cook over medium heat, stirring, 12 minutes.  Stir in 2 Tbsp. flour; cook 1 more minute. 

Blueberry – 4 cups blueberries tossed with 1/3 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp. flour and 1 tsp. lemon juice in a bowl.  Double the blueberry filling if using 8 ramekins.    

Quince-Grape – 3 lbs. quinces, peeled and cut into 1” chunks, then tossed with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water and a pinch of salt in a skillet.  Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in 1 lb. seedless red grapes and 1 Tbsp. flour.

6.BAKE:  Transfer filling to prepared dish or ramekins and dot with 2 Tbsp. cut-up cold butter.  Squeeze handfuls of the crumble mixture and scatter on top of the fruit.  Bake until golden and bubbly, 40-45 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.  Top with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

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PEACH-RASPBERRY CRUMBLE FOR TWO

With just one large peach and a handful of raspberries, you can make this delightful dessert for two.  The best part is there are no leftovers to seduce you into eating more of it than you should.  A crumble is so much easier than a pie, and just as satisfying.  Crumble toppings are perfect for slipping in good-for-you whole grains and nuts without making a dessert taste “healthful.” 

The extra step of cooking the peaches first reduces the liquid so you don’t have to use a thickener in the filling.  It also intensifies the peach flavor.  You can cook the peaches in the morning and finish the crumble before dinner.  Six-ounce ramekins are perfect for this little dessert which makes a great ending to any meal.

Peach-Raspberry Crumble for Two Source: Judy’s Kitchen Rating:  8 out of 10 CLICK FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS: 1 large peach, peeled, pitted, sliced 3 Tbsp. peach or apricot preserves 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. + 2 Tbsp. butter, softened, divided use about 14 raspberries 3 Tbsp. sliced almonds 2 Tbsp. rolled oats 3 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat) 2 Tbsp. brown sugar ice cream or sweetened whipped cream In 8- or 10-inch skillet, sauté sliced peaches, preserves and cinnamon over medium heat till mixture bubbles and peaches give off their juices.  Reduce heat if necessary to prevent peaches from burning.  Cook peaches till just barely tender, about 3-4 minutes.  In the meantime, spread bottoms and sides of each of two 6-oz. ramekins with 1 tsp. butter.    Transfer cooked peaches to ramekins.  Cook down remaining liquid in skillet till syrupy, about 1-2 minutes more.  Pour syrup over peaches, dividing equally.   Set aside to cool completely. In small bowl, combine almonds, oats, flour and sugar.  With fingers, work in 2 Tbsp. butter till mixture is crumbly.  Top cooled peaches with raspberries.   Spread crumble topping over all.  Heat oven to 375F.  Place ramekins on foil lined baking pan and bake about 20 minutes, or till filling bubbles and topping is nicely browned.  (Cover ramekins with foil,  if needed, to prevent burning.)  Turn oven off but leave ramekins inside oven for 10 more minutes.  Transfer  to rack to cool before serving.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

OVEN-ROASTED FIGS WITH RASPBERRIES

Better Homes & Gardens printed this recipe in their Summertime 2008 magazine, under the heading "Good and Healthy." I was intrigued. I love dried figs, but had never tasted a fresh one. Our local Harris Teeter had fresh figs. OK, I'm in. I bought 2 figs to experiment. (Sorry about the photos; I just can't get closeups with my camera, hard as I try.) This is a great recipe. The flavors of orange and honey with the thyme are unbelievable. I didn't have creme fraiche, so I subbed lite sour cream mixed with lite cream cheese, added a little honey, and it was perfect! If you want more fruit in your diet, here's your chance.

Oven-Roasted Figs with Raspberries
Rating: 9 out of 10
INGREDIENTS:
12 medium-size ripe but firm figs
1 orange + zest (zest is my addition)
1/4 cup honey
2-1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. butter, cut in very small pieces
1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries
Creme fraiche, (or plain sour cream, or sour cream mixed with cream cheese and sweetened with a little honey)

Preheat oven to 450F. Spray a large shallow baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cut figs in half and place them in the dish, cut side up, in a single layer Squeeze the juice of 1 orange over figs. In a small cup, whisk or mix the zest, honey, sugar and thyme. Drizzle over figs. Dot the top of each fig with butter.

Bake for 8 minutes; baste the figs with any accumulated pan juice. Place pan back in oven and bake additional 5 minutes, till figs just start to caramelize. Add the raspberries to the pan and bake an additional 2-3 minutes, just to heat the raspberries through. Serve warm with creme fraiche. Serves 6 (These are also good cold.)

Ea. serving: 247 calories, 10 g fat (6 g sat. fat), 30 mg chol, 34 mg sodium, 42 g carbo, 5 g fiber, 1 g pro. Daily Values: 14% vit.A, 37% vit.C, 5% calcium, 4% iron