Strawberry, Apple and Buckwheat Crumble and a Salad

Strawberry season is in full bloom in Florida. This year, it was delayed a bit by the unusually cold winter, but it's here now and we are taking full advantage of it.

Every year, we love to take the kids strawberry picking. They love getting down and dirty and eating the berries right off the plant. One of the best pleasures in life, if you ask me. So earlier this week, we packed up the car with kids and snacks and headed north to the Dekker Family Farms in Ft. Pierce.



It was a gorgeous day with blue sunny skies and a nice breeze. The drive alone was worth the trip with endless green fields, cows, citrus groves and the windows down.

Dekker Family Farms is a hydroponic grower. This was my first time in a farm of this nature where everything grows vertically in pots. We picked strawberries, arugula, rainbow chard, lettuce and herbs. I have to admit that although the produce was beautiful, something was missing for me. Getting my hands dirty, knealing... It was just not the same experience. The kids enjoyed it regardless and their baskets were overflowing with berries.



We came home and baked these little bowls of gluten-free apple and strawberry compote topped with buckwheat and almond crumble inspired by Y's strawberry and buckwheat pairing. So so delicious.

A small salad of radishes, strawberries and goat cheese was also on the menu. Fresh, sweet and spicy.



Strawberry, Apple and Buckwheat Crumble

300 grams strawberries
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 vanilla bean, seeded
25 grams sugar
10 grams cornstarch

Toss all ingredients together and place in bowls. Top with buckwheat and almond crumble.

100 grams butter, cold and cut into small pieces
100 grams sugar
100 grams buckwheat
100 grams almond flour
1/4 tsp salt

Mix the sugar, buckwheat, almond flour and salt in a bowl. Add the cold diced butter and work it into the flour until a crumb forms and small pieces of butter remain.

Top the fruit with the crumble (it makes more than what you will need). Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes or until fruit starts to bubble over. If the crumble turns dark before the fruit is bubbling, cover with aluminum foil.

The rest of the unused crumble may be frozen until next time.

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Spring English Pea, Potato and Rice Soup

Some of my most vivid childhood memories revolve around my amama Miren wearing an apron (she always wore an apron) while peeling something. My grandmother's peeling skills are legendary in our family and always a benchmark to compare ourselves to. Every time we make tortilla de patatas in our family, we check the leftover potato peels and judge what my grandmother would have thought of that. Nothing was ever wasted.

I remember her in the pastry shop's kitchen, sitting on a stool with a large bowl of peas on her lap, peeling away while she watched everyone around her. Food took time and nothing was ever rushed.



J. is beginning to be very inquisitive about everything and anything around him these days. "Tell me the story of how you got these peas", he asked the other day after we came home from the farmers market. He was there and he saw it, but for some reason he likes reliving it through my words. His curiosity is endless.

But I also realized that is something I do to my own mom often. Everyday I ask her to tell me stories from our past. Stories that she's told me a million times and that I know by heart. I ask her about all the details and subtleties like I want to recreate the story in a visual way in my own head. I tend to do that a lot.



"Tell me about amama Antolina's garden in Lezama", I asked her yesterday while we were peeling these English peas for lunch. Antolina was my great grandmother who raised six children as a widow during the times of the Spanish Civil War. They struggled, lost everything, but after years of hard work, they built an amazing home with the most beautiful garden. Baby heirloom potatoes, walnuts, apples, wild strawberries, leeks, honey bees, peas, cherry trees... My great uncle and aunt still live in that house and still maintain that garden.



We got these organic peas from our farmers market last Sunday. I told my mom, "I feel like patatas en salsa verde". It is a soup we grew up eating, with english peas, potatoes, rice, lots of garlic and parsley and often times a raw egg yolk quickly whisked into the soup. I used to love the raw egg yolk in there and to this day is one of my favorite Spring time soups.



English Pea, Potato and Rice Soup (Patatas en Salsa Verde)

Makes enough for 4 people

2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
7-8 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 Tbs parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1 qt water (enough to cover and a bit more)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen english peas
2 Tbs arborio or bomba rice
1 tsp salt
4 eggs, soft boil (optional)

In a large pot, heat the olive oil with the garlic. Cook for about a minute on medium heat. We don't want it to turn brown, just lightly cook. Add the sliced potatoes and cook them in the olive oil for about 2 minutes until you feel they are starting to stick to the pan. Add the chopped parsley and stir.

Add the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Cover with water, add the peas, rice and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. taste and adjust salt.

Serve with eggs if desired, fresh parsley, cilantro flowers and toasted bread.

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Cherry Blossom Doughnuts and the Smells of Spring

Spring is only days away and I can feel it in the air. Longer days spent outside, trees blooming, the anticipation of egg hunts and beautiful produce in our market mark the beginning of one of my favorite times of year. Even though we are lucky to have gorgeous winter weather, I always look forward to Spring and its bounty.

I remember the park in my hometown lined with rows of endless blooming tress. Pinks, purples and greens so vibrant with crisp mornings and morning dew.



A few days ago, I received a wonderful package all the way from Japan from fellow food blogger Chika of the beautiful She Who Eats. It was filled with all things cherry blossom. Sakura extract, sakura sugar, freeze dried sakura, preserved sakura... I am not a big fan of floral scents and flavors, but this sakura extract is surprisingly mild and fresh.

Chika was telling me about how the japanese love their sakura confections. I have always wanted to travel to Japan, but that particular conversation really revived my curiosity. Japanese patisserie is really turning into something very, very exciting that I would like to experience soon. Soon, I hope.



This is a gluten free doughnut recipe based on my pumpkin and hazelnut doughnuts that I posted a few months ago. They are scented with lemon zest and cherry blossom extract and rolled in cherry blossom sugar while warm. I am keeping this one for another day after I tweak it a little bit more, but I also found a great looking recipe over here.

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Lemon, Pistachio and Millet Cakes

The one thing I am really enjoying about eating gluten-free is all the new grains and flours I get to experiment with. I have actually been baking much more now than I did before. Everyday, we try something new. I am running out of space in my pantry for all the flours and new ingredients I have been baking with. It was only a couple of years ago when my friend Jill was asking me to start baking more allergen-free desserts. I suppose I should have listened better.



I have made these lemon, pistachio and millet cakes about a dozen times now. I am not exaggerating. They are moist, light, full of citrus flavor and the crumb is amazing with all the green pistachios in there. I cannot get enough of them and I try to keep some in the freezer for those times that we have a cake craving or need a treat to pack for the day.

My parents are coming tonight and I saved some of these for them for tomorrow morning. Breakfast is our favorite meal of the day when my mom and I seat down and enjoy every morsel. I think she will be pleased with these.



I also wanted to share with you a little interview I did with Kate Manchester for Edible Radio last week. I was very nervous and I think it shows. I always get nervous speaking in public, even if it's over the phone. You can listen to the full interview here.

Gluten Free Lemon, Pistachio and Millet Cakes

Makes about 14 regular size cupcakes plus 20 mini tea cakes

115 grams butter
180 grams sugar
Zest 2 lemons
2 eggs
80 grams yogurt
80 grams millet flour
70 grams pistachio meal
30 grams sweet rice flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until light. Add the eggs one at a time and scrape the bowl well. Add the yogurt and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Add all the dry ingredients and mix until it comes together.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake cups or pipe into mini tea cake pan. Bake at 350F until done.

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Gluten Free Pastel de Arroz, Molds with a History and a Nomination

As I have told you many times before, I grew up in a pastry shop and I am not exaggerating one bit when I say it was the most wonderful way to grow up. It really was. We lived about 50 meters across the street from the shop and my grandparents lived just above it. Often times, we would go out on the balcony and could have an entire conversation with my amama Miren who spent time observing the street out her window. And she liked to chat, a lot.

I describe those smells often as they are engraved in my head. Milk simmering, cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, lemon peel, the smell of butter being rolled into puff pastry everyday. It really was an idyllic childhood.



Pastel de arroz was always my favorite tart. Crispy and flaky puff pastry encasing a wonderful baked custard that smelled of cinnamon, vanilla and lemon peel. On Sundays, they would make suspiros which were the pastel the arroz topped with a dome of air-like chiboust slightly caramelized. Need I say more. I am not sure where the name pastel de arroz (rice tart) came from as this recipe contains no rice at all. I will have to look into that, but this is one of the most traditional tarts in the Basque Country. So simple.

Last time my parents visited, my mom brought for me these old tart molds that belonged to my grandfather. They must be at least 50 years old and I think they are one of my most treasured belongings. They really show their usage as the inside still feels slightly greased. So much history.



On another note, I wanted to share with you that Saveur Magazine has nominated Cannelle Et Vanille for "Best Food Photography" in a blog in their first ever Food Blog Awards. I am so honored to be nominated amongst such great people. You can vote and view the rest of categories and nominees here.



The traditional recipe uses puff pastry, but I baked the tarts in a gluten free pie dough. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Pate Brisee

makes 8 3"x1" tart molds

85 grams sweet rice flour
35 grams quinoa flour
30 grams amaranth flour
25 grams tapioca starch
20 grams sugar
3 grams salt
2 grams xanthan gum
115 grams butter, cold and cut into small dice
60-80 grams ice cold water

Place the flours, sugar, salt and xanthan gum in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to air ingredients. Add the cold diced butter and pulse about 10 times. Add the ice cold water and pulse until flours are wet but do not over mix it (it doesn't have to form a ball). Start with 60 gram of water and add more if needed.

Transfer dough into your work surface and press it together. Wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten it into a disk. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Roll the pastry with a rolling pin to about 1/8-1/16" thickness. Use some of the flours so the dough doesn't stick to your work surface. You can also roll it between two sheets of parchment paper. Must work quickly.

Cut circles of dough and fill the tart molds. Cut the top edges. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours. In the meantime, make the custard and let it cool completely.

Pastel de Arroz Custard

250 ml whole milk
60 grams butter
Zest of half a lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean
60 grams cornstarch
55 grams sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Place milk, butter, lemon zest, cinnamon and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat off and let it steep for 10 min.

Whisk the sugar and cornstarch into a bowl. Add the eggs and whisk them until a smooth paste forms. Temper the warm liquid into the egg base while whisking. Strain this custard through a sieve and let it col completely before filling the tarts.

Preheat the oven to 425F for about 15 minutes before using. Have your rack positioned in the lower middle part of the oven.

Fill the tart molds with the cooled custard (about 3/4 full). Bake the tarts at 425F for about 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown and crust completely baked. It will puff up slightly and then sink in the middle.

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