My eldest daughter isn’t leaving for college for another 5 weeks and already she is teaching me things.

She made these incredibly moist and delicious muffins and gave me the recipe.

She substituted raspberries for blackberries and I would switch out the wheat flour for coconut flour.

just a few ideas.

In any case, these were delicious!

She has taught me about Chia seeds which are wonderful; Extremely healthy and a great ingredient for vegan chefs to add texture, heft and “egg white” qualities to baked goods.

Blackberry Mango Muffins

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. Chia seed
1 1/4 Cup Warm Water
2 Cups Mango, No Skin/seed and Mashed
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
2/3 Cup Organic Sugar
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
3 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tbsp. Ground Allspice
1 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Fresh Blackberries
1 Cup Salted, Shelled Pistachios

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and get 24 cupcake liners ready in a baking sheet.

Stir the chia seed and warm water together and set aside for a few minutes until it is gelatinous.

In a small bowl, stir together the coconut oil, mango, sugar, ACV, vanilla extract and the chia seed mixture.

Using a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, Allspice, and salt.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir together until there are not dry chunks and it is smooth.

Fold the blackberries and salted pistachios into the batter. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the cupcake liners until it almost reaches the top.
Bake for 23-27 minutes, check to see if they are done baking with a toothpick to see if it draws clear. Place on cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Enjoy and Share!

I love these elegant desserts. Tarts remind me of the days when I lived in France and was able to eat beautiful food daily.

This is my first attempt at this recipe and my mistake was to make the crust too thick.

I should have used only half of the dough that this recipe makes.

Next time I will use half and freeze the other half for another day.

I also did not make the gelatin which tops off the fruit.

I will do so next time as I feel that it adds subtle flavor and it completes the presentation of the dessert.

This crust is delicious.

I used Martha Stewart’s Nut Crust recipe from The Martha Stewart Cookbook, Collected Recipes for Everyday 1995, Clarkson Potter/ Publishers, New York

Nut Crust

Makes two 8-10 inch tart shells or 12 2 1/2 to 3 inch tartlets

10 onces finely chopped nuts
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room tempeture
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Butter tart pan or tartlet pans.

Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until well blended, using an electric mixer or wooden spoon.

Divide the mixture and press into the prepared pans.

Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the shells are golden brown.

Let cool on racks before filling.

Vanilla Custard

Recipe Courtesy of Not Derby Pie

1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
seeds and pulp of one vanilla bean (reserve scraped bean for another use)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature

In a medium saucepan, bring about 2 inches of water to a boil.

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, salt, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and vanilla bean pulp.

Set the bowl over the saucepan and continue whisking as mixture heats up.

After about 10 minutes of stirring, the mixture will have become thick enough that the mixing spoon or whisk will leave a trail.

At this point, remove the bowl from the heat and let the curd cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Then whisk in butter, one tab at a time, until it has melted into the curd and the mixture is smooth.

Strain the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into the tart crust; use an offset spatula to smooth the top of the curd and distribute it evenly.

Arrange the strawberries in concentric circles over the curd, starting on the outer rim and working your way inward.

If not serving immediately, cover tart lightly with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator.

Remove the outer ring of the tart pan to serve, and plate with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

The winter blues are setting in and the best way that I know to combat this is with healthy fresh foods.

Today’s salad is one of my favorites as it has raspberries in it; sweet and juicy, full of antioxidants and vitamins.

I made an easy olive oil balsamic vinaigrette.

I put 2 parts olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar in a glass jar and shake it vigorously.

The result is a thick fully emulsified dressing that I can serve and store with ease.

Saved by my bff! Welcome relief following an afternoon of a crabby teenager and Fall yard cleanup, I end up at M’s house where he created an elixir to ease my pain!

A little alcohol alchemy led to this lovely Red Velvet Martini, which tastes like a chocolate covered raspberry jelly stick!

Three Olives Chocolate Vodka, some frozen raspberries, some ice in a shaker, and two pretty Martini glasses!