No. 460Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Simple Apple Tart

Simple Apple Tart | Bijouxs Little Jewels

This year I found my self in the thick-of-it with apples from my new garden, many recipes ensued. Simple Apple Tart is a preview recipe from my 4th upcoming cookbook, Beautiful Food, by Design. 

APPLE CROP

This is the first year with my tiny Anna apple tree. I planted it in my new garden to remind me of the wonderful Anna tree from my home of old. The thin trunked tiny tree was planted, I had no idea what would ensure. In this first year the tiny tree yielded over 50 beautiful apples. At times, the branches bent down from the weight of 5-6 apples per branch. This really restores my belief in nature and the power of a garden.

Simple Apple Tart | Bijouxs Little Jewels

APPLE RECIPES

Thankfully I love apples and have a collection of recipes to choose from. Simple Apple Tart is really a variation on my Thin Apple Tarts recipe, another simple apple avenue. For this recipe I used a basic sweet pastry recipe and rolled out one large tart topped with thinly sliced apples, a sprinkle of sugar and baked.

As you can see, not all the apples were the same size so they don’t spread out perfectly, and of course the sugar gets a deep brown and burns slightly on the edges of the tart not to worry.

Simple Apple Tart | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Simple Apple Tart | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Simple Apple Tart | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

Simple, you got this. Enjoy another jewel recipe from Bijouxs.

 

No. 456Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Roasted Strawberries Parfait

Roasted Strawberries Parfait | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Strawberry season is here! I now live in strawberry fields along on the California Coast, which means I receive many baskets of berries dropped off by friends.  Here is a great way to preserve the ripe fruit and provide a lovely fruit compote that tops just about any dessert. Roasted Strawberries Parfait is a jewel of a recipe.

ROASTING FRUIT

Roasting makes almost anything taste better, and believe it or not, even fruit is becomes more  joyful when roasted. I have shared recipes featuring roasted pineapple, apples, grapes and of course strawberries. This simple yogurt parfait is layered with spiced roasted berries, vanilla yogurt and a crunchy layer of granola.

Roasted Strawberries Parfait | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Roasted Strawberries Parfait | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

OTTOLENGHI RESATURANT AND RECIPES

I adapted a roasted fruit recipe from Ottolenghi Simple to create the parfait. I have collected everyone of their cookbooks. I even have their very first cookbook, printed in England with recipes in metrics. The store and restaurant really embraces my mantra “beautiful food by design.” My parfait is an anytime treat as serves as breakfast, a snack or dessert. This makes it a little jewel recipe. 

Roasted Strawberries Parfait | Bijouxs Little Jewels

SUMAC SPICE ROAD

Exploring new spices is a great way to ramp up your cooking game. Sumac is a spice that you may not know about, but it is a little jewel. Once again, Ottolenghi introduces us to this Middle Eastern spice. Sumac are red berries that grow in areas of the Mediterranean which are dried and ground into a powder. It features a sweet and sour taste, quite vibrant with undertones of lemon.

BIJOUXS LITTLE JEWELS FROM THE KITCHEN

Wow! Soon celebrating 10 years of Bijouxs! I began the blog in the “golden age of food blogs”, with a great group of LA food bloggers.  That is when it easy easy to have loyal followers with lots of comments on the recipes, but now food is a VERY crowded space. ALMOST every website has a “recipe” section. For those of us who worked as chefs, the food world has really changed. Please don’t forget to sign up for my recipe newsletter – just the recipes please:) Thank you for your support.

 

No. 445Recipe Card Posted on Leave a comment

Seasonal Arugula Citrus Salad

Seasonal Arugula Citrus Salad |Bijouxs Little Jewels

Salads, can we ever have enough recipes? This lovely little jewel originates from Charcoal in Venice Beach. Citrus season makes this a perfect time for this salad with blood oranges and grapefruit, tossed with arugula, radicchio and French feta, a healthy and delicious little jewel.

L.A. RESTAURANTS

I am a L.A. born and bred girl now living along the beautiful central coast. I have tried to utilize our extended down time by cruising through all of my cookbooks, hundreds in fact. Eat. Cook. L.A. brings recipes from many of my favorite haunts in L.A. like this salad. Sadly, with the downturn, many of my favorite restaurants have closed. I am happy though to cook recipes from L.A.’s  great restaurants in-between cooking and creating my new No. 4 Beautiful Food By Design Cookbook.

CITRUS SEASON

This is a favorite time of year. The winter citrus crops bring that bright spot to winter, vibrant color while we wait for Spring. There are so many choices, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit and blood oranges just to name a few. California citrus are exported for enjoyment all over the world.

Seasonal Arugula Citrus Salad | Bijouxs Little Jewels

SEASONAL ARUGULA CITRUS SALAD 

I have lightly adapted the original recipe, substituting a few of my favorite ingredients such as Sherry vinegar & olive oil. French feta is my favorite but a Greek Goat milk feta will work just as well. Use baby arugula, or better yet grow your own. My garden is just beginning to produce lettuce. It is wonderful to go out and collect lettuce for your evening salad. I have other citrus salads on the website, such as Beet, Citrus and Olive Salad, Blood Orange and Fennel Salad, and a classic Orange & Olive Salad. All deliver the fresh California forward flavors.

Seasonal Arugula Citrus Salad | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Wishing you a happy and safe new Spring.

No. 443Recipe Card Posted on 4 Comments

Pixie Poppy Seed Cake

Pixie Poppy Seed Cake | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Oh my darling Clementines, you are in season again. Now residing in the central coast citrus circle, the crops are plentiful, especially my favorite Pixie Clementines. What better way than to use in a cake and even better use the whole fruit, Pixie Poppy Seed Cake, the sweetest season. Continue reading Pixie Poppy Seed Cake