Pomegranate, Apple and Banana Salad

Serves 4
Each serving equals 1 cup of fruit or vegetables

2 pomegranates, chilled
4-6 apples of your choice, sliced and cubed
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 bananas sliced
2 limes (or 1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice)

Mix together the juice of the lime and the apples. Score and seed both pomegranates, freeing the seeds. Mix all ingredients together to evenly coat with yogurt. Chill until served.

***Kitchen Tip: How to Remove the Seeds from a Pomegranate: Cut off the pomegranate’s crown, then divide into sections. Place the sections in a bowl of water. Gently roll out the arils with your fingers. Discard everything else. Drain the water, and the seeds are ready to use. (from the Kraft website)

Caramel Apple Dip

The perfect fall treat! I make this every year and could eat it by the spoonful. The special ingredient is the small amount of cinnamon!

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Heat the above ingredients over medium heat. Stir. Be patient and don't turn up your heat- you don't want it to burn on the bottom!

When above mixture is smooth and brown sugar has dissolved completely, remove from heat. Stir in the following in the slightly cooled caramel mixture:

1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Pour into serving bowl. Serve with apple wedges.

Strawberry Lemon Shortcake

I got this recipe from that sweet cooking magazine Mom sends me! It was so good!

1 1/2 c sliced fresh strawberries

2 Tbls sugar

SHORTCAKE:

1 c all-purpose flour

2 Tbls sugar

3/4 tsp baking pwdr

1/8 tsp salt

2 Tbls cold butter

3 Tbls 2% milk

1 egg yolk, beaten

3/4 tsp grated lemon peel

LEMON BUTTER: (I omitted this part to save calories and instead used the lemon peel on top of the strawberries and whip cream at the end.)

1 Tbls butter, softened

1/4 tsp grated lemon peel

WHIPPED CREAM:

1/3 c heavy whipping cream

1 tsp sugar

In a small bowl, combine strawberries and sugar; cover and refrigerate until serving.

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking pwdr and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the milk, egg yolk and lemon peel; stir into crumb mixture until a soft sticky dough forms (dough will be sticky). (Mine was not. Oh, well- it still ended up tasting good!)

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 10 times. Divide dough in half (I divided mine into thirds- you could probably divide it into fourths for a smaller serving). Gently pat or roll each half portion of dough into a 3/4-inch-thick circle. Place 2 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack; cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine butter and lemon peel; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream until in begins to thicken. Add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form.

To assemble, split shortcakes in half. Place cake bottoms on dessert plates; spread with lemon butter, then top each with a fourth of the strawberries and whipped cream. Cover with shortcake top and remaining berries and cream.

Yield: 2 servings

Tarte aux Fraises (Pie with Strawberries)

My dear French friend, Elodie, taught me how to make this a couple of days ago and it is divine!!! The different parts of the recipe can be used for a variety of desserts- like the pie crust or the Crême Patissière (filling for cream puffs, side dish to cake, etc). The recipe is very detailed and isn't as complicated as you may think due to its length. I added a bunch of tips Elodie taught me along the way. Next time I make it I will take a photo and post it with the recipe- it looks beautiful!

Tarte aux Fraises (Pie with Strawberries)

Pie Crust (Can be used for any type of pie)
7 Tbls butter (softened)
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1/3 to ½ cup sugar

Mix flour, butter, and salt with hands until crumbly.
Wisk sugar and egg until white (pale yellow).
Pour sugar/egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir with spoon until manageable and then mix with hands.
When it’s mixed (should be sticky), wrap up dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

While crust dough is in fridge:
Prepare the strawberries (you could also use raspberries, apricots, blackberries, or kiwi).
You will need about 1 or 2 cartons of strawberries. *KITCHEN TIP: Wash your berries by placing them in a large bowl of water to soak. Twist of tops but do not yet dig out the middle (this will prevent water from getting inside the strawberries). Remove berries and put them in a strainer. Completely dry berries with a towel. Cut out the center of the strawberries and then cut in half (be sure to cut in a way that will allow the berries to lay the flattest). Set aside.

Bake crust:
Take dough from fridge and spread into a French pie dish (if dish is flimsy, put dish on top of a cookie sheet). If you don't have a French pie dish use a larger shallow pie dish. Pull crust evenly up the sides close to the top of dish. Poke crust with fork prongs. This is an empty crust so to prevent it from bubbling up in the middle, lay parchment paper/aluminum foil lightly on top and up sides of dough. Place dry beans on top of foil. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are turning brown. Remove from oven and remove foil and beans to cool.

While crust is baking:
Make the filling- Crême Patissière. (This is custard-like. It can also be used for éclair or cream puff filling. The French also eat this on the side with cake or pie as American’s eat cake with ice cream.)

4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 1/3 cup milk
Optional: 1 tsp vanilla or strawberry extract (best to use the French Sucre Vanilliné but if you don’t have it, use non-alcohol vanilla or a little strawberry jam)
¼ cup cornstarch

Mix yolks, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixture until white (pale yellow).
Put a couple Tbls of milk with cornstarch to make it liquid and add to yolk mixture.
Boil milk over medium high heat. Once it starts to boil, remove and pour into yolk/cornstarch mixture. Mix just enough to blend all ingredients.
Return to stove. Once it barely starts to boil (just one bubble), turn heat to low and cook 3 minutes. (If you find your filling getting chunky real fast, remove from heat immediately and stir quickly until it smoothes out.)

Finish the pie:
Put filling in cooled crust and lay the strawberries decoratively on top. You can sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze the strawberries with strawberry jam (warm jam for 30 seconds in microwave and then use a brush to paint the berries).

Place pie in refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving.