Chocolate cake in a single serving is always a good thing, especially when it’s keto. I’ve got a quick and easy chocolate mug cake that you can make and enjoy anytime.
Hi again, Dear Readers:
It’s been over a month since my last blog post, and for that, I apologize. We did a little traveling, and it’s been go-go-go since we got back. Maybe I need to listen to Stephanie O’Dea’s Slow Living Podcast, if I could find the time. I’ll tell you more about our trip in a future blog post.
I intended to post this much earlier. With the Holidays bearing down on us there’s a lot happening for nearly everyone. Things are about to get very busy and complicated for many people. As I was once told by a former supervisor at Boeing, “we’re getting into the time of year where a month is not a month.” For those working in the corporate sector, it means vacations, either yours or someone else’s. Many people will be gone for days, and probably when you need them the most. That’s been my experience, so be forewarned.
But at the Casa de Rurale, we’re debating on whether we want to tackle that backroom area where all the Christmas stuff is stored behind a bunch of other things or leave it for another year. I’m guessing we’re probably going to try later.
Meantime, let me catch you up on our recent happenings.
My Birthday
Before our trip, it was my birthday. I did make a Swerve chocolate keto cake, although we didn’t “do” anything because we had a trip the next week. I made some chocolate buttercream icing from Suzanne Somers’ book Somersize Desserts but using the same 1:1 sweetener you see in this post. Then rushed the process so the icing’s texture was a bit clumpy:
But it was still delicious and we enjoyed a keto/low-carb/Somersized (sort of) chocolate cake. Earlier in the day, I made it to Starbucks for my birthday treat:
The protein box wouldn’t ring up, so it ended up being the drink that was free. I was also running errands so I needed a bite.
The Banana Rat Gets Married
We went to Houston for a few days, finally. It was a short trip with multiple mishaps, but we made it there and back just fine. After hiring a local sitter on the Rover app, we solved the problem of who to ask to take care of things while we were gone.
We couldn’t see everyone and go everywhere, but we did make it to our intended destination and made a few in-person visits. Zoom calls just aren’t the same. It was good to see some folks after so long away. BF was his usual very entertaining self.
The focus of the trip: our favorite web guy, Rafael, aka “Banana Rat,” recently married his longtime partner, Carmen. It was a beautiful wedding at an incredibly gorgeous place called The Springs of Magnolia. The venue is in Magnolia TX, north of Katy, and about a 45-minute drive north from Katy on the Grand Parkway.
Their wedding was at the Stonebridge venue. The actual ceremony was outside, with cocktail hour on the porch including delicious appetizers, then the full reception inside. The building is nestled in a grove of pine trees with fountains and bridges for picturesque views. Pinehaven has a long porch area that goes around the entire building. The weather was perfect, and I’ll tell you more about the wedding and the wonderful food in a future blog post.
Meantime, here’s a picture that Rafael put on social media not long after the wedding.
I managed a selfie with Rafael during the busy reception, too:
We took our own pictures, of course, and were close enough to get some great shots. I’ve since shared them with Rafael, once I figured out the most efficient method to do that. More in a future blog post.
The Double Chocolate Mug Cake
I’m piggybacking on my last blog post about the new book Easy Dirty Keto by Emilie Bailey. I decided to try this recipe after I published that blog. I intended to publish either before we left for Houston, or right after we got back. That didn’t happen. Finally, when I’m caught up a little bit, I have the time to finish up.
To make things easy, I’ll put the printable recipe right here so you can print your own copy. It’s an easy, fast recipe, and it takes just a few minutes. If you don’t have sugar-free chocolate chips on hand, you can skip it—because, let’s face it, you may just snack on the chocolate chips anyway. There’s also an unusual ingredient that you might not be expecting, but it works well here.
Double Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Keto yellow cake mix (from a box) See note below if you don't have a box of this
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp water
- 1 tbsp sugar-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a mug, combine cake mix with cocoa powder and mix well. Add mayo, egg, and water; stir well to combine. Mix in the chocolate chips
- Put the mug into the microwave and cook on high for 1 minute to 1 minute and 20 seconds, until the cake is firm but still glossy. If you're using a large mug, you may need to cook for a few more seconds.
- Top as desired and enjoy.
- NOTE: if you do not have a boxed keto cake mix, stir together 2 tablespoons of almond flour, 1 tablespoon of 1:1 granulated sweetener, ¼ teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix together, then proceed with Step 1.
Now let me show you how to make one when you just really need some chocolate cake.
How To Make It
Like many of the mug cake recipes you see on Pinterest, Instagram, and other places, there are only two steps here, and the third is optional.
First, you mix the cake mix and the cocoa powder in a cup.
Then add the wet ingredients: mayonnaise, egg, and two teaspoons of water.
Stir it well, then stir in the chocolate chips if you’re using them.
Stir them in:
Next, microwave it on high for one minute to one minute and 20 seconds. Emilie says, “until the cake is firm but still glossy.” A larger mug takes a few more seconds or a microwave that’s not as powerful. I think our microwave takes one minute and 30 seconds to be completely done. Just don’t cook it too long.
At this point, you can sprinkle on a little bit more of the 1:1 sweetener, you could put a little whipped cream on it, or just eat it as is. I usually skip the embellishments because I think it’s fine right out of the microwave. But if you put, say, some sugar-free raspberry preserves on top when it’s done, I won’t judge.
Mayonnaise In Cake?
Yes, you read that right, and I’m guessing Aunt Ruth and Aunt Kathy are nodding their heads in agreement. I’ve heard of it before, but never tried it myself, until now. And, honestly, I thought it was a horrible idea. But Emilie comments in the book that she’s tried multiple recipes for cake in a cup but they tended to be too dry or too “eggy.” The addition of a tablespoon of mayo makes it rich and fudgy, just like a cake should be. You don’t taste the mayo, honest.
No, I haven’t told BF.
You can read more about mayo in cakes in this article on Epicurious’ website with links to other recipes, including this one by BestFoods/Hellman’s using their own mayo. Apparently it’s a “secret ingredient” in chocolate and other cakes that gives it richness and moistness. Here’s another chocolate mayo cake recipe from Taste of Home. Warning: unlike Emilie’s recipe, these cakes aren’t keto, and are both whole cakes.
The Keto Cake Mix Dilemma
Like many people, I haven’t bought much in the way of prepared keto products. There are so many keto things in most grocery stores now. Of course, you must read through everything to know if it really is keto or just something with the “keto” name pasted on it. I’ve seen a few things that claimed to be keto, but they contained wheat or other things in them that disqualified them from being “keto.” But then again, there’s “dirty” keto, too, but I don’t want wheat at all.
What I really like about this recipe, and what made me try it, was Emily’s note to tell you how to make it with other ingredients. Well, I had them, and I appreciated the note on making them without buying a full box of cake mix. Since discovering this little variable, I’ve enjoyed this chocolate cake in a mug several times.
Instead of the boxed mix, you simply whisk together 2 tablespoons of almond flour, one tablespoon of granulated 1:1 sweetener, ¼ teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt for your cake base.
That replaces the three tablespoons of the boxed yellow keto cake mix. Just mix it up and proceed with the recipe.
Easy!
Ready For A Little Keto Chocolate Cake?
Really, I wish I’d done this before, but I’m glad I finally got around to trying this recipe.
Miss Alice has not had the pleasure of making any recipes from the book yet, but she’s planning on doing some while she’s off for Thanksgiving break. I highly recommended this recipe and a couple of others to her so that she and her daughter don’t have to rely on mac and cheese or some other “instant” thing when they get home at night. But they still haven’t gotten around to using a slow cooker during the week just yet.
This chocolate cake is an easy and fast keto dessert that makes just one serving whenever you’re ready. You don’t have to make an entire cake, just one little cup of cake. And isn’t that what you need sometimes just to hit the spot?
Enjoy!
Crab cakes in your air fryer? Yes—and they’re pretty good. Of all the versions of crab cakes you can find, this one is simple and easy to make. And if you want, it’s gluten-free, too. (Note: plenty of live affiliate links included today.)
Hi Again, Dear Readers:
Here’s hoping you had a great Labor Day. I sewed for most of the day, but I’d imagine Miss Alice, who is a teacher in HISD, slept in. Can’t say that I blame any teacher for that.
With fall in our forward sights, I need to use the basil and make some pesto soon. This year’s basil didn’t take off like it normally does, so next year it’s back to buying new plants or starting seeds inside. I was kind of proud of saving and propagating two cuttings from last year’s crop, but it just didn’t work well.
I’ll use up the basil, more mint, and some leftover parsley from this weekend’s recipe to make one or two batches of pesto for the freezer.
I only needed this much:
Thankfully, I’ve got a big pesto stash in the freezer from the last two or three years to hold me over. I just need to stock up on frozen peas.
Hungry? Let’s get started.
Finding A New Recipe
OK, this is part procrastination, and part “you need to know about this.”
Friday afternoon, I found a new recipe for crab cakes on Instagram and I just had to make some for us. BF, as always, was skeptical. After all, he can always have a ham sandwich or bowl of cereal if he doesn’t like what I made. But not this time.
For this occasion, I pulled out our little air fryer from the back of the cabinet.
If you’ve not seen my previous blog post on the air fryer, you can read it here. At first, Neighbor E said he wasn’t getting an air fryer, but eventually, he decided to get one.
E’s air fryer is a 2.5 quart, while ours is 1.9 quart. Most are not terribly expensive, and many are under $100. There’s even a Pioneer Woman branded 6.3-quart model. You can find them as big as 8 quarts or even more. Some have two baskets, so you can air fry two things separately at once, like burgers and French fries.
I bought ours for $30 two years ago. It now costs $50 in the store at Walmart but shows up as $40 on their website. If I was going to spend $50 on an air fryer, I’d get a bigger one. We may buy a bigger model one day, but for now, I’ll use this little dinky one.
The Crab Cakes Recipe
This comes from a blog called DanniMade Kitchen, and you can read Danni’s bio here. The Dash Company featured it on their ByDash Instagram account to show off their air fryer. It’s a quick and simple recipe that’s tasty, and you can make it anytime.
To make it easy, I’m putting the recipe here so you can print it and take it to the grocery with you. Heck, I need to print one for myself so I can add it to my notebook of recipes I have on the bookshelf.
Air Fryer Crab Cakes
Equipment
- 1 air fryer Cooking time will depend on the size of your air fryer; you may need to cook in batches
Ingredients
- 8 ounces lump crabmeat you can also use canned crab meat
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs gluten-free Panko also works well
- 1 tbsp plain greek yogurt
- 1 to 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Hot sauce of choice I used Tabasco Chipotle for the flavor but not heat
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together until evenly combined. if the mixture is too wet, sprinkle more Panko breadcrumbs until they reach the desired texture and are easier to shape into patties.
- Form into six even balls, and lightly flatten balls to create patties,
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with oil. Place the patties in an even layer inside the fryer basket. Spray lightly with oil then cook for six to eight minutes at 400F.
- Serve patties hot, warm, or at room temperature with tartar sauce, ketchup, or condiment of your choice for dipping.
So here are the ingredients:
I made one change, and that was to use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs. I found them at Rouses, but I’ve bought them at our local Winn-Dixie before.
Longtime readers know I always like to measure everything out before I get started.
I do this even when I’m not taking pictures for a blog post because it just makes the process easier. Additionally, there’s no risk of “oops, I put too much salt” or something else in the mixing bowl, pot, etc. Then it’s one-two-three and you’re on your way.
Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa recommends cracking each egg into a separate bowl before you add it into your recipe. This is in case you get a bad egg, and you don’t ruin the entire recipe. I usually do that, too, although I’ve never found a bad egg.
Once you’ve got everything taken care of, it’s time to get started.
In the original recipe, Danni lists eight ounces of lump crab meat from Whole Foods. On Instagram, Dash lists “eight ounces of lump crab meat.” Of course, when Amy was buzzing through our Rouses on a busy Saturday after running errands, she read “eight ounces of canned crabmeat.” So that’s what I bought.
And it worked just fine.
Drain the Crabmeat
The cans are 6 oz, but once you drain the liquid off, it’s about 4½ ounces of crab meat. That’s why I bought 2, which comes to just over 8 oz.
Danni says that if the mixture is just a little too wet, add a little more of the panko. I drained the crabmeat as best I could, pressing it with my hands to squeeze out more of the liquid.
I didn’t spend too much time on that task, so the resulting mixture was a bit damp. Decided to add one or two more tablespoons of the panko, and that was perfect. The mixture must stick together like ground beef, or it will fall apart in the air fryer basket.
Bottom line is that if you can get fresh crab meat, great, but if not, the canned is available. I also know from another book by keto author Jen Fisch that Trader Joe’s has affordable crab meat in their own freezer section.
Mix And Air Fry
Really, once you have all the ingredients measured and the parsley chopped, it comes together quickly.
Mix well, and pat down into the bowl:
Separate the mixture into 6 sections like you would ground beef:
And shape them into little patties.
Spray the inside of your air fryer basket with oil.
My air fryer’s instructions say to preheat it for five minutes before cooking. So if yours says that, do so now. Then spray the patties with oil.
Add the crab cakes into the basket and cook at 400F degrees for about ten minutes. With my little air fryer, I had to do this in batches, but that’s OK. I put them into the countertop oven to keep them warm until dinnertime.
They really do come out nice and crispy and tasty.
What to serve with it? Well, I made some Triston’s potatoes in the big oven:
Of course, if you’re making a keto dinner, you’ll have something else. The frequent rain means a not-so-hot summer, so it was OK to turn on the big oven. As always, they were delicious.
Danni suggests serving these with tartar sauce. BF didn’t want tartar sauce, so he didn’t buy a bottle. I just had some sugar-free ketchup with mine, and BF had his regular ketchup.
We both enjoyed dinner that night, with a thumbs-up to make them again sometime.
About The Oil
One of the more prominent features of air fryers is that they only need a small amount of cooking oil. But you still need some oil for most recipes. The difference is that compared to regular deep frying, you don’t need nearly the amount of oil that’s required to get the crispy texture.
Additionally, remember the quality of oil you use is also important. We use a lot of olive and coconut oils even when the recipe calls for vegetable oil. That’s because vegetable oil, which is toxic hydrogenated soybean oil, is banned at the Casa de Rurale.
You can use cooking spray, or get an oil sprayer, which sprays a fine mist of whatever oil you put in it.
Olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil cooking sprays are available now, so it’s easy to use them. But oil sprayers easily and inexpensively do the same thing.
That white one in the picture is from the old Martha Stewart Everyday line at Kmart. I used to have two, but I think I threw one out. Only when I went to use the second one did I discover that you’re not supposed to fill it more than halfway full. You pump the cap a few times to build up the pressure and that’s what propels the oil through the sprayer nozzle. Works perfectly.
I recently washed it to get the old oil out and refilled it with fresh oil. I don’t know how long it’s been sitting since I moved here. Now that it’s clean and refilled, it still works perfectly.
But Amy, I Don’t Have An Air Fryer
Well, nobody said you had to use an air fryer. Like the Instant Pot, it’s 110v vs. 220v. It’s a neat little appliance that offers another way to cook meals. Some folks have reconfigured nearly all their cooking to the air fryer. They are devotees. An air fryer is not a bad thing, but not an absolute necessity.
I’m thinking about Aunt Ruth and Aunt Kathy dismissing the idea of getting an air fryer for this type of thing. Really, though, you don’t need one to enjoy these tasty crab cakes.
If you have a toaster/countertop oven or even a regular oven that has a convection setting, you already have an air fryer. But even if you don’t, there’s no reason why you can’t make them either in a 350F degree oven, or even in a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil.
Other Alternatives
Have a countertop grill like the Cuisinart Griddler? You can also fry them this way. There’s also the sauté function on your Instant Pot if you’re itching to use yours. If you’re lucky enough to have one with an air fryer lid, that would likely work too. I can’t see pressure cooking as a benefit to this recipe. But if you’re on a generator, as we were a year ago, the Instant Pot sauté function and the countertop grill are both good options for frying them.
You’ll still need to use a little oil. So don’t be afraid to use some however you cook them.
If you decide to make these crab cakes, I do hope you enjoy them as we did. It’s another recipe to add to our regular dinner rotation, long as we have some crabmeat and a few other ingredients available. There are two crabmeat recipes we like, so I guess I need to stock up on a few more cans. I don’t want to disappoint BF if he decides we should have crab cakes again.
Much as we both enjoyed them, BF says that they should be served alongside fried fish, as you would see in a restaurant. Maybe next time.
Incidentally, I told Neighbor E about this recipe on Saturday when I was making dinner. But because he no longer has a Facebook account, I had to send him two screenshots so he could see the recipe. He says he’ll try them one day this week.
Coming Soon
Labor Day is over, and so is “summer,” officially. All the fall décor is out at Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and every other retailer in the US. Next month is when retailers begin up-shifting for the holidays. They’ll shift into top gear the day after Thanksgiving when the fall frou-frou goes on sale for 50% or more off.
Here in the South, we know that cooler weather won’t be coming for a while. We’re still going to experience heat, humidity, and of course, mosquitoes for quite some time. But I’ll soon be sewing up fall things, including a sweater, this weekend because one day we’ll wake up and it’s chilly again.
I’m late on the Easy Dirty Keto book review, I know, but it’ll be worth the wait. It’s already a long blog post, and I just need to finish it up and load it and the pictures into the website. Plus, I have a couple more topics in the draft queue that I need to finish up soon.
Our sixth anniversary is on the 15th of this month, and I’m wondering what kind of nice dinner to make for BF that day. It’s not a “wedding anniversary,” but our date for getting together. I say we celebrate six years together no matter what. I’ll find something. I’ll blog it if I do anything spectacular.
As always, if there’s a topic you’d like me to research and write about, let me know.
Happy Dining!
Are you a blackberry fan? I’ve got a great dessert recipe for your upcoming Labor Day outing, or just anytime you want something easy, sweet, and tasty.
Hello again, Dear Readers:
How did it happen that it’s the end of August? Well, while were busy with other things, Father Time kept moving. Labor Day is Monday, and that kicks off the fall season in the US. Kids go back to school, fall fashions arrive, regular schedules resume, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) returns to Starbucks. Then social media memes about pumpkin spice everything arrive, as well as other products with the flavors and spices of pumpkin pie.
Cooler weather will be coming to the South sometime around late October to mid-November, whereas our neighbors above the Mason-Dixon Line will be reaching for their winter gear in the next few weeks. Until then we can still enjoy some summery things, like today’s featured recipe from The Pioneer Woman Magazine. I know, I’m late doing this one. I finally got around to not only buying the ingredients but also baking the thing. BF is happily licking his paws and enjoying it this week.
I’m also late writing this post because for the last two weeks we’ve experienced a serious “rainy season.” No kidding, long periods of heavy rain every day, which takes down the Internet for a while. The rain kept the temperature in the low 80s, so I did turn on the big oven once or twice.
Never fear—I’m told that there’s a new Internet company that’s installing fiber optic cables in the area, and they’re going to be installing them on our little country road soon. After five years of the Internet that’s knocked out every time clouds roll in, I’m hoping for better service. Maybe I can finally use my little MagicJack and the (now-discontinued) Plantronics phone instead of just the iPhone app.
Prime Time For Hurricanes
It’s been a year since our Hurricane Ida adventure started. We survived that, plus The Big Freeze in February, so maybe we’ll survive anything—we’ll see.
Others aren’t so fortunate and are still not back in their homes nearly a year later. Many don’t know when they’ll be going home again.
Hurricane season isn’t yet over, because it runs to November 1st. But this is the time of the year (August through late September) to keep an eye out for things happening in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s the same season where other storms have happened:
- Hurricanes Laura and Marco, 2020 (there were more, and the National Weather Service ran out of names)
- Hurricanes Gert, Harvey, Maria, and Irma, 2017
- The Big Flood in Southern Louisiana, 2016 (not a hurricane but a weather system just as destructive, even this far north of the coast)
- Hurricane Ike, 2008 (Houston and Galveston were seriously impacted; I was in New Orleans with The E Man and his wife for nine days)
- Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005 (I drove through the Rita evacuation to Austin, it took 11 hours)
- Hurricane Ivan, 2004
Just to name a few. We’re ready, we think, especially with all the tea light candles I bought last year, but I also think we need to stock up on batteries soon. As one of my Boeing Brothers posted on Facebook over the weekend, there are things that happen, and you don’t think about those possibilities ahead of time. He shared it on the date they were devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He and his family had to quickly evacuate their home with what they could carry, including three cats and two dogs, one of which didn’t make it out.
If you’re thinking about hurricane preparation (better late than never), here are some checklists:
- Houston Office of Emergency Management, with information and checklists including a “shelter in place kit”
- Southern University of New Orleans Police Department
- Hurricane Safety from the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University (IHRC)
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA)
If it sounds like I’m becoming a “doomsday prepper,” then I’ll take it after two power-out periods last year. Better ready than being caught unaware, right? Ask anyone who went through Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
I’ve got a post coming up that can help with those possibilities, too.
Hatch Chiles
Recently I headed to our local Winn-Dixie for a few things and bought a couple of Hatch Chiles. I was so happy to see the display:
However, I went back last Friday and planned to buy more, but they were gone. One of the very nice employees said that they were all spoiled and had to be thrown out. I said, “because nobody knows what they are and I’m the only one who bought them?” She nodded.
What do I need to do—start a PR campaign?
Albertson’s and Rouses will have some, and maybe the Winn-Dixie in Hammond, too. Walmart hasn’t carried them locally, but they do have Anaheim chili peppers from Mexico all year around.
Another Year Of Blackberries
As I’ve done for the last couple of years, I picked the wild (and free) blackberries that grow around here.
I walk out with my colander, suited up with gloves, heavy jeans, and my knee-high black Muck Boots to pick them. (The vines have sharp thorns on them.) Once inside, I wash them gently, drain them, and put them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then I put the tray into the big freezer on top of everything and let them freeze. If you just toss them into a freezer bag, they’ll freeze into a huge block, and you can’t get them apart to eat or use.
When that’s done, I start adding them to a large Ziplock bag, marked with the date I started the bag, and of course, the contents. The berries are frozen until I am ready to use them. This year’s harvest was pretty good:
I guess I’d have more of them if I would quit eating them and hand-feeding a few to Buddy (aka “Broccoli Stirfry”) when we went outside.
What To Do With The Blackberries
I like the bragging rights that the blackberries are “organic,” because we just let them grow on their own, and they’re “locally grown,” because they’re right outside. They’re picked for our own consumption, and certainly not for sale.
BF never paid attention to them until I found out that blackberries were growing wild. Then I let him know not to mess with the vines until blackberry season ended. Mother Nature provides you with fresh, free fruit—why wouldn’t you pick and enjoy them? Respect the berries, pick them, and freeze them for later. They thaw nicely in the fridge for a day or so, or you can leave them out on the counter for a little while. Don’t leave them too long or they’ll get mushy.
You may remember in my review of Emilie Bailey’s The Southern Keto Book that I made Granny’s Blackberry Cobbler. I still make it occasionally, and both BF and I really enjoy it.
But sometimes, BF doesn’t want the keto/gluten-free/sugar-free stuff. He wants “the real thing, with real flour and sugar.” Lucky for me, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, came through with a recipe in the Summer 2022 edition of her magazine on page 80: the Blackberry Cheesecake Galette.
Warning: today’s recipe isn’t keto, low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-free, or in any way “diet” or “healthy.” Except for the use of the blackberry.
What’s A Galette?
Well, it’s like a pie but a bit simpler. Made free-form, it’s a French-style dessert that just has crust with an open top. You can see a short explanation on Delighted Cooking. If you want something more thorough, Wikipedia has a detailed explanation.
Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, has a recipe that’s similar, called Apple Crostata, which is also very good.
In Ree Drummond’s case, her galettes use an ingenious shortcut: store-bought pre-made pie crusts. So that’s what I did. BF is enjoying the second one piece by piece as he did with the first one.
The magazine has recipes for three different fruit galettes:
- Blackberry Cheesecake, pages 80-81
- Blueberry-Raspberry, page 82
- Strawberry Basil, page 83
All three use the same basic crust iteration, and different fillings with fruit, sugar, and cornstarch. They also start out by using the bottom of a baking sheet, adding parchment paper, sticking the two crusts together, and rolling them to a 12-inch circumference.
Note that these recipes are not on her website, but there are five other fruit galette recipes there. On the affiliated Tasty Kitchen collaborator website, there are a total of 79 recipes for galettes, both sweet and savory, as well as 276 blackberry recipes.
I haven’t tried the other two galettes myself, but I think nearly any sweet (or even savory) filling you tossed together would work well in this crust. Make sure to leave a two-inch border when adding the filling to the crust so you can fold it up easily.
Making The Blackberry Cheesecake Galette
So, let me just say that it does take a bit of prep work to get this going, especially since I prefer to measure things ahead of time. But the smile on BF’s face makes it totally worth the trouble. He’ll keep me around for this one, even if I didn’t do it exactly correctly.
Here’s the printable recipe, re-typed from the magazine’s instructions.
Blackberry Cheesecake Galette
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce package of refrigerated pie dough
- 2 cups blackberries
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the bottom position and preheat to 400F. Flip over a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Unroll the pie dough on a work surface, then stack the two rounds, gently pressing to adhere. Roll out into a 12-inch round and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Combine the blackberries, cornstarch salt, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl and gently mix until the cornstarch has dissolved
- Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla, egg yolk, remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into another medium bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until combined and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes
- Use a slotted spoon to remove six or seven blackberries into a separate bowl. Spoon the remaining blackberry mixture into the center of the pie dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Drizzle the cream cheese mixture on top, leaving the border uncovered. Gently fold in and pleat the dough edge, taking care not to rip it. Scatter the reserved blackberries on top of the filling. Brush the crust with the beaten egg, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
- Bake the galette until the crust is a deep golden brown, the cheesecake is set and the blackberries are slightly bubbling through the cheesecake in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the galette cool completely about 1 hour.
So, gather up your ingredients, including your blackberry bowl:
Preheat your oven to 400F, with the oven rack in the bottom position. Flip over a baking sheet and add a length of parchment paper on top, weighing it down so the paper doesn’t fly off.
Unroll your pie crusts and stack them on a work surface—a cutting board, or another flat thing.
Now the second:
Here’s where I went wrong: you’re supposed to use a rolling pin and roll them out to a 12-inch round and get them to stick together. But because “rolling pin” isn’t in the recipe directions, I didn’t think about using one. So I just kind of pressed them together by hand to make them stick:
It worked OK. Next time. Now move that base onto your parchment paper, if you’re using a flat surface, and go fiddle with the blackberry mixture:
Add the berries, cornstarch salt, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, lemon zest, and a tablespoon of our lemon juice into a bowl.
Carefully mix them so you don’t mess up the berries (especially if you use thawed frozen ones as I did.)
Mix until the cornstarch dissolves, set it aside, and move on to the cheesecake part.
Into another bowl, add the 3 ounces of cream cheese, a tablespoon of sour cream, vanilla, the egg yolk, the remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar, and the rest of the lemon juice. Use a hand mixer on medium-high speed to blend that well, two to three minutes.
Now you’re ready to bake.
Galette Assembly
First, remove a few berries from the other bowl and set them aside. These will make the top look pretty.
Then add the rest to the flat piecrust, leaving a two-inch border for the up-folding.
Grab a roll of paper towels, because the blackberry liquid is now running all over the place. (Thank heavens it’s pink and not red. Next time I’m using the inside of the baking sheet or buying new ones.) No, I didn’t get a picture of that–I was busy trying to catch all that dark pink liquid rolling down the stove.
At this point I transferred the galette and the parchment paper to a flat baking sheet with an air cushion underneath that I’ve had for many years but ruined on the first use. Parchment paper makes everything all right.
Now carefully drizzle the cream cheese mixture over the berries, keeping it within the confines of the center and away from the two-inch border. Start folding the border inward, creating a nice looking. . .ok, whatever you can do with it, but don’t tear or rip the pie crust.
If you haven’t done so already, beat the whole egg, and brush it on the crust you just folded up over the side:
And sprinkle some coarse sugar on top of the egg-washed crust area:
The coarse sugar gives the galette a nice, crunchy crust when it’s done. Into the oven for 30 to 35 minutes:
Bake until the crust is golden brown, the cheesecake part is set, and the blackberries are bubbling up through the cheesecake part in spots. Alternately, you can just wait until it oozes all over your baking sheet and your oven like I did:
I think I forgot to take more pictures at this point. BF was sniffing around during the commercials during that gory “true crime” show he was watching. But using a large spatula or two, transfer the galette to a baking rack and let it cool completely, which will take an hour or so. If you try to eat it right out of the oven, you know you’ll be paying for it with terrible mouth pain for days, right?
Oh, and you’ve got a bit of a mess to clean up. But it’s totally worth the trouble:
Let cool, then slice it into six or eight slices (or even twelve if you’re trying to serve more people.) I found that my large round pizza cutter made the job simple. Packed up pieces in individual containers for BF to take with his work meals and enjoy some then. He’s already let one coworker try a bite–thumbs up.
Whether you’re having a little get-together or going to a Labor Day celebration, the Blackberry Cheesecake Galette will be a favorite. Ask BF, and he’ll tell you.
Until Next Time
I’ve finally finished testing five recipes for Emilie Bailey’s newest (and possibly final) cookbook, Easy Dirty Keto. BF refused to try any of the recipes this time, including dessert. I’ve had no other willing taste-testers around. So you’ll have to go on my comments alone.
Miss Alice in Houston also has her own copy of the book but hasn’t yet tried anything. However, she’s anxious for her and her daughter N to have some new and easy recipes to enjoy, irrespective of keto. Since she’s a teacher, and N is a teenager, school started last week, and it’s now “crunch time” for them both. I asked her to let me know what they try and how they like the recipes. Maybe I can talk her into some pictures, too.
Once I finish writing and uploading all the pictures, you’ll be able to see what some of these new “dirty keto” recipes are like. Even if BF wouldn’t taste any. I’m sure I’ll eventually find something that will please his ornery, manly, and non-keto taste buds.
I’ll also tell you more about our newly renovated Winn-Dixie soon. It’s in the same building and has the same floor space but seems to have doubled in size. Our little store has a wider variety of things than before and may also mean less driving for me to find ingredients that were not previously available locally.
Until then, Happy Dining!
In this final installment on tea, I show you a few more teas and the contents of the box LH sent from California.
Hi, again, Dear Readers:
I promise this is the last blog post on tea, for now. If I find something new I’ll let you know. Besides, there are plenty of other subjects in the pipeline. Missed the previous posts? Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here.
Beverly’s Chanterelle Mushrooms
Our friend Beverly is currently enjoying a plethora of fresh chanterelle mushrooms, which she is fortunate enough to find on her property. There are occasional mushrooms growing here at the Casa de Rurale, but they don’t look like that. I’m afraid of finding the wrong kind of mushroom so I don’t even bother. Beverly says that they smell fruity, like apricots, so that’s a strong indicator.
She and her husband harvest them daily and dry them:
Beverly will either use these delicious morsels immediately or dry them like this. Chanterelle mushrooms don’t last once they’re picked, so they need to be used that day or dried for longer-term storage. Dried chanterelle mushrooms are available in many grocery stores and online (and at Amazon, of course.) They’re not cheap, so you understand why Beverly is excited about being able to harvest them for free. Same reason I like the wild blackberries that arrive in late April and finish in late June.
Coming Soon: Easy Dirty Keto
I’m now in possession of a review copy of Emilie Bailey’s new Easy Dirty Keto cookbook, (thank you, Emilie!) and it’s looking pretty good so far.
Spaghetti Squash with chorizo? Oh, YEAH!! (When BF is not home, of course.)
I’ll explain more in a future blog when I’ve had more time to review and of course, try a few recipes. The release date is scheduled for August 23rd, next week. The Kindle version is available now, and you can pre-order the paperback book.
BF will, of course, be pressed into service as a taste-tester, along with anyone else who shows up at the house when I’m making some of these. Hey–he liked the broccoli cheese soup from Emilie’s Vegetarian Keto book, so there just might be something he likes here, too.
Most of the ingredients are technically “keto,” or “low carb,” but some are a bit less conventional. Many recipes use ingredients that are technically “low carb,” but not the usual “clean eating” type. Why didn’t anyone tell me that there is now a sugar-free version of Cool Whip?
Emilie made the announcement on Instagram a couple of weeks ago and in her email to her list. This book, she says, is likely to be her last–unfortunately.
Blog post coming. Back to the subject of tea.
Lipton Found
A couple of months ago, I went into the pantry and opened the jar of decaf tea bags that I kept on my desk at Boeing.
It just collected dust. The tea bags are wrapped. The jar has a tight-fitting lid, so the contents were fine.
And then I saw it: three Lipton decaffeinated tea bags, at least ten years old. I remember the original conversation with LH, so I posted this on Facebook and tagged her.
She commented, “Omg that Lipton needs to go!!! It wasn’t any good when it was fresh lol!!”
Honestly, I only posted the picture because I thought she’d get a kick out of it, and I was right. Those three tea bags did go out. After trying real British tea, you can’t go back to Lipton. it just doesn’t taste right anymore.
Sorry, Lipton.
The Gift Of Tea And Nibbles
LH said on the post, “send me your address and I’ll send you some good tea.” I did, and a few weeks later, a heavy box arrived. The mail lady, as usual, gave me a funny look.
I wasn’t expecting all this! But LH was very kind and sent me all kinds of delicious British things, some of which I’d never seen before. Obviously, I am very appreciative. I’d like to send her something, but as of yet, I haven’t figured out exactly what.
Understand that LH lives in Southern California, where, like Houston, Dallas, and other big cities, you can buy things like that. (No, not New Orleans, and not Baton Rouge, either, except in Cost Plus World Market–sometimes.) There was the packet of Typhoo (I still can’t find the picture) and Yorkshire tea, LH’s favorite:
Plus, something I knew about from watching a great Britcom called The Thin Blue Line, but had never tried: Chocolate Hobnobs.
These cookies are the favorite of the show’s protagonist, played by Rowan Atkinson. Oh, my GAWD they are so good!
They are neither sugar-free, gluten-free, nor keto. Save these for an occasional treat, and don’t eat more than two at a time in a 24-hour period. Trust me on this–they are that good, and hard to resist.
There was the shortbread from Scotland which is divine:
We can also get the regular Hobnobs at Cost Plus World Market in Baton Rouge, along with BF’s favorite Jammy Dodgers. I don’t see the chocolate ones there. Yes, Amazon has them too–but if you order them in warm weather the chocolate may melt. I’ll look around next time I’m at Whole Foods or a bigger Rouses to see if maybe they carry them locally.
WF told me later that she likes the regular Hobnobs, but not the Chocolate Hobnobs. Of course, it’s funnier when you hear Rowan Atkinson talk about his Chocolate Hobnobs. They go well with tea or coffee, or in BF’s case, milk.
LH also included a couple of British candy bars, which, thankfully, didn’t melt because it was April and not that hot yet. Cadbury’s Flake is interesting.
We realized on the second one that it’s crumbly:
The other one is also from Cadbury, but called Crunchie:
The sweets didn’t last long enough for the blog post, although we didn’t have them all at once. We tried to wait. Everything was delicious and appreciated. We enjoyed these with respect.
Earl Grey/Lady Grey Tea
Earl Grey Tea is a specific blend of tea, not a brand. It’s a standard black tea blended with bergamot, a type of citrus fruit. The result is a sweeter type of tea than the usual black teas. This is not to be confused with what’s called “sweet tea” in the south, iced tea with plenty of sugar.
The story goes that this blend of tea was created for Charles Grey, the Earl of Grey, who served as the British Prime Minister from 1830 through 1834. He introduced it to British society, and the tea became well known in the years since. He allegedly saved the life of a Chinese mandarin’s son, and the mandarin sent him a gift of Chinese tea. The Earl requested that a tea vendor re-create it (allegedly teamaker Richard Twinings, according to their website) complete with oil of bergamot, and it’s been Earl Grey Tea ever since.
But the Earl never set foot in China, so there’s that. And it may have been created to cover the taste of hard water in Northumberland.
Lady Grey was created as sort of a counterpoint to Earl Grey by Twinings in 1994, although many brands now have their own version.
It’s a nice tea that’s permeated with a fresher flavor and distinct orange taste that replaces the stronger bergamot flavor in the Earl Grey variety.
LH didn’t have a box for the tea bags she sent. I just said, “thank you.”
Which One is Better?
If you try them side-by-side as LH suggested, you definitely taste the difference. It’s not that one is necessarily better than the other, although LH’s preference is for Lady Grey tea.
Comes down to personal preference, as always. As it turned out, I had a box of decaffeinated Twining’s Earl Grey in the pantry from my desk at Boeing.
I have no idea how long I’ve had this tea, but I suspect it was bought between 2010 and 2012. The tea tastes just as good as it did when I first bought it. Twining’s, like a lot of tea manufacturers, puts their tea bags into sealed plastic packets, unlike the porous paper wrappers around Lipton Tea bags.
LH insisted I try them side-by-side, so that’s what I did. They’re both very good but have different and distinctive flavors. Pick the one you like best and enjoy it in your favorite cup.
Green Tea
Then there’s green tea, which is described as having a “vegetal taste.” The first time I tried it (years ago!) my first thought was that it tastes like someone mowed the lawn and brewed the clippings. I know, I know, it has its devotees, and it’s full of antioxidants and the like. It’s the same thing as black tea but not oxidized. Mostly it’s popular in China and Japan, and very caffeinated. If you like green tea, go for it.
But because LH sent me a little box, I decided to try green tea again:
If you sip it without anything in it, that “vegetal taste” comes right through.
It’s not like chamomile.
But if you add cream and a sweetener, it tastes like. . .tea. Your choice. I can’t say that it’s bad, of course, it’s just not as exciting as English Breakfast tea.
Tea Pots
After watching many episodes of multiple British TV series, I eventually bought a few teapots too. Why not? I have some from Cost Plus World Market, and one from IKEA, that I like for the colder months.
They also make a smaller version of this teapot, which may be in my next order.
I also started making teapot cozies from a sewing book and I have them for all the teapots. They work well and look good, with obvious American touches like a southwestern print for one of them.
For my birthday last year, I ordered two boxes of Typhoo decaf from The English Tea Store. I also bought myself this little cutie:
I just didn’t realize it was that small when I ordered.
See, I used to have a “tea for one” set that I bought somewhere in Houston. It held a fair amount with a nice-sized cup. I don’t remember where I got it, and I don’t have it anymore. Decided that I’d get another one because this is what I normally drink tea from these days:
It’s what the British call a “beaker.” With the Texas flag on it, right? So, the little red tea-for-one set, well:
Yes, it’s tiny. The price was right, and it’s cute. It will probably go into the china cabinet I’m planning to get from IKEA, one day.
When I sent a picture of it to our friend WF in Turkey she sent back a voice message on Facebook Messenger. Mostly, she was giggling. WF and her husband were very amused at my tiny little red tea-for-one set.
Finding British Tea In America
Well, online, of course, unless you’re lucky enough to live near a place that sells this sort of thing like LH. Two of my favorites are:
- Teadog, which sells just teas from all over the UK, Canada, and Northern Ireland, and guaranteed fresh
- The English Tea Store also sells UK foods, sweets, tea ware (like the little red teapot set), gifts, accessories, and even their own blends of tea. Some of their tea-for-one sets are very pricey like this Royal Albert set that you can just see Hyacinth Boo-kay using.
You can also just do a search to find tea sellers in the US, too. That’s how I found both of those. When Teadog was out of something, The English Tea Store had some.
Remember that import stores that carry multitudes of incredible things from around the globe were just a car ride in Houston. Phoenicia Foods is one of the biggest, and I bought so many things there in addition to tea. Those cookies from Poland were delicious. And they ship, too!
HEB and Central Market, of course, are also repositories of all manner of incredible foods, ingredients, and imported things in the larger stores. Unfortunately, they no longer ship–everything is curbside pickup or delivery if you’re lucky enough to be in the area.
Also, understand that “imported” to a Texan means “from outside of Texas.”
There’s always Amazon, which is the source of all the affiliate links in the blog. Don’t forget that Amazon is also a great place to research just about anything you’re interested in, even if you don’t buy it there. Be forewarned that sometimes food things sit in an Amazon warehouse for quite a while.
Until Next Time
There’s one person I know who probably won’t try British tea (but maybe the Chocolate Hobnobs if he hasn’t already.) That would be Neighbor E in Houston, bless him, who is a fan of the chai latte, and he makes them at home. Anytime I see this, I think about you, Dude:
Admittedly, when we went to the opening of the big new HEB in Clear Lake, he was right next to me getting free coffee. That’s the only time I ever saw him drink any. Well, it was free, after all.
Tea is a huge world, much like coffee and wine. Finding a new favorite may be as simple as a visit to your local grocery store, or to an online vendor. You can drink a different tea every day and never try every tea available. Once you find one you like, bookmark it and try another one.
Enjoy!