day #4: vont choo haf a leetle dessert?

lebalu wanted a blueberry crisp with cinnamon, ginger, grand marnier, and almonds. well, as much as i love her, i couldn't make her what she wanted. so it goes. not that i didn't want to, i just lacked the ingredients. so i made a spiced blueberry fruit bake and served it in this adorable tart shell. this was a nice finish to a saturday night dinner, and the serving was so adorably small that i didn't have to unbutton my pants for the rest of the night. this dessert is super easy to make and only looks fancy--the perfect thing to make with over ripened fruit and for those freaks of nature who don't seem to like chocolate.

so here you go ms. lebalu, i call this dessert the "close enough"

you'll need: fancy tart cups
your favorite vegan pie crust recipe
2 quinces -(apples will do just fine if you don't have this fruit. this is what i had on hand)
2 pears
a couple cups worth of blueberries
1 T corn starch
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch o' cardamon
3/4 c. juice (i used an apple cherry blend)
1/4 c. agave nectar

make yer pie crust and press 'em into those tiny lil' tart pans. bake according to your favorite recipe's suggestion. prep your fruit: peel the pears and quince* and set aside. what the hell is a quince? think of it as the red-headed step child of the pear/apple family. you can't really eat it raw--it's too sour. you have to bake it to appreciate its flavor and texture.

get yourself a big ol' glass baking pan and put your chopped fruit and add the blueberries to the mix. blend the corn starch, spices, juice, and agave and pour the mix over the fruit. cover with foil and put this in the oven for about 35-40 minutes at three fiddy. the finished product should look like a compote sort of thing, the fruit should be nice and soft. i prefer mine slightly heated, but you can also eat this chilled. it's all about what you want. i suppose you could even live out lebalu's dream and soak all the fruit in grand marnier, but i don't do booze. you'll have to report your findings to me if you go that route.

assembly: with your finished tart shells, fill them with warm or chilled fruit mixture, and top with your favorite vanilla non-dairy ice cream. i have also found the fruit mixture to be an awesome add-in to hot cereal or a nice snack by itself.


thanks again for stopping by. please spread the word about my one million hit mission! together we can help a really awesome food bank!