Category: Fruits

No. 590Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Avocado Olive Cake

Avocado Olive Cake | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Yes, we really do need another avocado oil cake recipe. Avocado Olive Cake, always a Little Jewel.

VENTURA AVOCADOS

As the avocados ripen here along the Coast, it’s time to savor the season. Once they become available locally I have one almost everyday. My neighbor has a stellar tree and I await the brown bag by my door filled with avocados. The groves fill our Ventura hillsides and some of the best avocados are right here in our own town. Many of the roadside fruit stands carry our local fruits. Avocado is a fruit you know. I like to shop local and support our local farmers.

Avocado Oil Cake | Bijouxs Little Jewels

AVOCADO OIL CAKE

One of my favorite cakes is made with avocado oil, not olive oil. When it comes to avocado oil, it pays to buy the best, purity is a factor. Check the date and ingredients to make sure you are getting PURE avacado oil. There are many brands to sample, I have used this Extra-Virgin one and found it quite good., easy order on Amazon. The cake is best made with a lighter avocado oil then finished with a richer extra-virgin olive oil, either way the cake is wonderful  I enjoy topping this tender cake with a dollop of crème fraîche.

Avocado Olive Cake | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Avocado Olive Cake | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

 

No. 562Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Autumn is here and with the season arrive persimmons, a perennial favorite in the Bijouxs Kitchen here with a new recipe. Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars made with a little gleaning, always a little jewel in the kitchen.

GLEANING FRUITS & VEGETABLES

Let’s start with the gleaning of the persimmons. Gleaning is new term to me, defined as the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. Turns out I have been gleaning for years.

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

Along my neighborhood walks I find crops of fruit and vegetables that have fallen to the ground, soon to be food for the critters. I’m careful not to encroach, but lemons, avocados, and persimmons which all thrive in the beach-influenced climate fall off the tree, often sitting for a days are perfect candidates for gleaning. I know my neighbors and they have give me clear reign to collect fallen fruit.

PERSIMMONS IN FALL

Persimmons have a storied place in my blog. Some of my very first posts way back in 2012, with my recipe for Persimmon Pudding, which is the crown jewel recipe for the season. I also have made wonderful cookies which were shared by a dear friend.  I only had a small gleaning of 4 persimmons which I had used in a “punk ikebana” floral workshop with the amazing Ojai artist Louesa Roebuck. I love her works are her books are amazing, so beautiful check them out here.

PERSIMMON BARS

I was seeking a new way to use persimmons, and with only four I had some limits. It is a natural jump from cookies to bars, which is where my mind went, sort of a persimmon bar like a brownie. Seems there are a plethera of persimmon bar recipes, so I had some choices. This recipe is one of the minimalist recipes, close to a cookie but thicker and softer with a crackling lemon glaze.

Now, my four ‘gleaned’ persimmons may appear a bit sad, however, I ripened them in a paper bag along with an apple. Although they had not visually changed they were soft and ripe, perfect to cook with.

This bar recipe is very easy. I used my stand mixer to complete the final mix of the batter, but you can do it by hand. I found that if the baked bars are covered, they are even better the next day, with the crackling lemon glaze.

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars |Bijouxs Little Jewels

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Persimmons are fall’s little jewels.

 

 

No. 561Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Italian Prune Plum Torte

Italian Prune Plum Torte | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Italian Prune Plums are in season, but savor them now in this classic Italian Prune Plum Torte, the newest Little Jewel from the Bijouxs Collection.

ELUSIVE ITALIAN PRUNE PLUMS

I wait every year for this time, scouring the markets for the elusive Italian prune plums. Then one day on a walk through the market, there they are. Usually they set off to the side in smaller crates alongside the other plums. I grab my shopping bag and purchase a generous amount enough for the torte and a small batch of jam.

Italian Prune Plum Tart | Bijouxs Little JewelsItalian Prune Plum Torte | Bijouxs Little Jewels

TORTE VS TART

So, what is the difference between a torte and a tart? A torte, from the Italian word torta means “cake.” So, a torte has a batter base, more like a cake. A tart like this one is baked on a crust like this one on my classic Plum Tart. Once you look at them both the difference becomes apparent.

ITALIAN PLUM TORTE

This cake or torte is very easy to prepare. This recipe originated from Marion Burros. 40 years ago and The New York Times published Marian Burros’s recipe for this Plum Torte every September from 1983 until 1995. A very iconic recipe.

A simple batter is topped with the plum halves, sprinkled with sugar and baked until the plums are bursting.

Italian Prune Plum Torte | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Italian Prune Plum Torte \ Bijouxs Little Jewels

My grandmother had an extensive garden and grew this variety of plums, as well as a couple others. She mainly ‘put up’ jam and preserves with the stone fruits.

I have been baking this torte since 2012 since I first became aware of Prune Plums for my original Plum Tart post. So moved, I posted my favorite poem from Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle, “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams. This is just to say…

No. 551Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Blackberry Catsup

Blackberry Catsup | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

Catsup or Ketchup, either way this Blackberry Catsup is so simple & delicious you will never want to buy ketchup again. Blackberry Catsup the newest Little Jewel from the Membership Recipe Collection.

RECIPE NO. 551

The Membership Recipe Collection keeps growing. With full access to over 550 recipes, with NO ADS, NO POPUPS no tracking. Nothing to interrupt your cooking mojo. I have created the Recipe Membership with a very low yearly subscription rate, less than $2.00 per month! Fully searchable with a PRINT RECIPE tab that allows you to easily print recipes. Plus, you have access via your phone or any device, perfect for pulling up  ingredients for a recipe. Oh, and lastly beautiful simple photography and cookbooks to order as well. I have got you cooking covered!

Blackberry Catsup | Bijouxs Little Jewels

CATSUP OR KETCHUP

Checking into this issue it seems either title is correct for this beloved condiment. My search unearthed an interesting fact. Both names are Westernized terms for a condiment that has origins in China: fish sauce. Who knew? I love these little known facts about recipes.

Blackberry Catsup | Bijouxs Little Jewels

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

The ingredients are simple, you may have most of them on hand except the fresh blackberries. The recipe comes from my all-time favorite chef-designer, Lee Bailey. An immense talent, he contributed food, tabletop, garden and design books. I met Lee at a local book signing for Cooking with Friends. Great recipes for guests and simple home style meals. Lee was never fussy. Many of his books contain the tabletop items he designed and sold. This from Saveur Magazine, tells you he was at the beginning of the taste movement. His shop in Henri Bendel NYC was fabulous.

Blackberry Catsup | Bijouxs Little Jewels

I like to make my own dips, dressings etc. and there are a bounty of them to choose from in the Recipe Membership Collection. This way you know what is in them, control the ingredients and avoid all the nasty additives in processed food. Never a better case for creating your own condiments.

 

 

No. 549Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Martha’s Bottom-Crust Apple Pie

Martha’s Bottom-Crust Apple Pie | Bijouxs Little Jewels

The All-American Apple pie, with a just a bit of a flavor twist. This pie is an old-fashioned Bottom-Crust Apple Pie I have been making for years, but the apples are flavored with a Winter Spice Blend. The cinnamon, allspice, anise seeds, black pepper and nutmeg create a one-of-a-kind spice blend that complements the apples. A Little Jewel from the Bijouxs Little Jewels Kitchen – Fall Forward.

Martha’s Bottom-Crust Apple Pie | Bijouxs Little Jewels

MARTHA MY DEAR

I always think of the Beatles song, Martha My Dear, which was composed for Paul’s sheepdog Martha. This recipe comes from a heritage cook from my vast collection, Martha Stewart’s Quick Cook, still a favorite in the Bijouxs Kitchen. There are many great recipes and you can still find used versions of this book on Amazon. This has worked to help me find many out-of-print cookbooks, many times available through thrift shops such as Goodwill.

OLD-FASHIONED BOTTOM CRUST APPLE PIE

This pie recipe is not common, yet omitting the top crust and replacing it with sugar, spices and butter it really allows the apple flavor to come through. Deeper than a tart it has been my go-to apple pie to make with my yearly bounty of over 100+ Anna Apples on my tree again this year. This apple tree variety really likes the coastal influence vs the hot interior valley. Yet, the Anna variety grows fabulous in Southern California, and bears a boatload of fruit. Check your local garden stores, this is one apple variety that bears fruit in warm California weather. More about Anna Apple Trees here.

Martha’s Bottom-Crust Apple Pie | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Martha’s Bottom-Crust Apple Pie | Bijouxs Little Jewels

WINTER SPICE BLEND

The Winter Spice Blend originated at March SF. This is one of my favorite stores to visit when in the beautiful city by the bay. As we all know, cities have changed since the downturn from COVID and other factors. The images from our cities are not dissimilar to the Great Depression, so sad for everyone. Their Winter Spice Blend contained allspice, anise seed, black pepper and nutmeg it remains a favorite, yet it is no longer available via the store.

So, I have tried here to recreate the blend to season this apple pie. The spice blend has a unique peppery finish. It is perfect for fall cooking, so make up a batch. Using a small coffee grinder dedicated to spices makes creating your own spice bends easy, as well, pie. Little Jewel No. 549 in the Recipe Collection.

 

Still Hungry?