Pear Crisp

Peel, core and slice up 4 pears. Since my pears were hard/crunchy when bitten into and still green, I also added a 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Add 1-2 tsp of orange zest, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg and some orange juice or water so that the pears don't brown on the bottom. Cover with lid and cook until the pears soften. Stir occasionally. Once the pears are soft and sweet to your liking, the sauce should be thickened with cornstarch. Should look like the below.

Pour your pear filling into a pie pan.

In a separate bowl, mix in 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup granola, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and a 1/2 cup melted butter.

Spread evenly on top of the pear filling.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350°F for 20-30 minutes or until the top crisp is nicely browned. 

Dig in and enjoy! You could even top it off with whipped cream for a more decadent treat!! I'm happy to say that I received many compliments on this dish, especially since, there isn't a lot of pear desserts out there. It truly makes this one different and so awesome! :D

Persimmon Pie w/ Coconut Crust No.2

Same persimmon pie recipe as the one two days ago, just more pictures added.

Three and a half persimmons - peeled, cored, and halved. Then placed in a microwavable bowl with some water and microwaved covered for 7-8 minutes or until a knife pokes really easily thru.

Coconut Crust: 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 3/4 cup coconut flour. Mix the first three ingredients then add the coconut flour in stages. Make a ball and place into pie pan and just use your fingers to make it into a pie crust like above. Poke holes with a fork. Place in oven heated to 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes.

Pie filling: Puree persimmons from above in food processor or a blender. Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup milk (I used 2), 2 eggs, 4 tbs brown sugar, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt. Then, pour the mixture into the coconut crust and place in the oven at 375F for 50-60 minutes.

I covered the crust this time so it's not as brown as the first post. Om nom nom nom! I used foil but it sure would've been easier if i just had one of these: Adjustable Silicone Pie Shield - Red (Google Affiliate Ad).

This pie was also gone in about 2 days!

Persimmon Pie w/ Coconut Crust No.1

Coconut Crust: 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 3/4 cup coconut flour. Mix the first three ingredients then add the coconut flour in stages. Make a ball and place into pie pan and just use your fingers to make it into a pie crust like above. Poke holes with a fork. Place in oven heated to 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes.

Pie filling: Quarter and steam three and a half persimmons in a microwave for about 7-8 minutes, then pureed (about 15-16oz). Mix with 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs, 4tbs brown sugar, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt. Once it's pureed, pour it in the crust made previously and place it in the oven at 375F for 50-60 minutes.

The coconut crust burns faster than regular flour crust. Next time, I'll need to cover up the sides with foil or something..

Mm-mmm delicious! With marble icecream on the side makes it that much sweeter!

Baked Chicken w/ Pie n Ice Cream

More baked chicken... lately the chicken's brine has been herby in place of sugar plus the sea salt, ain't no brine without the salt! Tonight we had the baked chicken with a bit of green olives and broccoli and brown rice, which is topped with salmon furikake. Super delish (as usual) :D

Plus, I made a smaller batch of persimmon pie but w/o the sugar:

As you can see, I guess I understand why pies are baked in a round shape now...

this picture above is after the poufiness settled down...

I guess this is just a preview of what Thanksgiving desserts would entail...

Strawberry Pie

Pie crust: Combine 1 cup of all purpose flour and 1/2 tsp of salt. Then blend in 1/3 cup of vegetable shortening (or butter or canola oil). Add 2-4 tbs of cold water until dough forms. Then roll the dough out and place in a pie pan. Take a fork and poke holes in the crust. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned in a 350 degrees oven.

Meanwhile...

Filling: Combine 1/2 cup mashed strawberries with 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Keeping the liquid, strain out the mashed strawberries and throw them out. To the liquid, add 1 cup of granulated sugar, 3 tbs cornstarch (I actually used potato starch and it turned out fine), 1 tbs lemon juice and a pinch of kosher salt. Cook until the mixture thickens on medium heat. Be sure to stir constantly. Once the mixture is thicken, take it off the heat and fold in 4 cups of sliced strawberries. Then pour into your pie crust and refrigerate.

Top with whipped cream. (I actually only used 2 cups of strawberries, which is why there's more cream than strawberries) but it still tastes pretty darn delicious!