MyLivingDays

Many of you wonder what I do with my time besides bake. Funny thing is, I actually do quite a lot that doesn't involve an oven and a taste tester. One of my most recent endeavors has been exploring other areas of writing beyond the foodie realm, specifically submitting work to share on MyLivingDays. A brilliant forum for sharing news, stories, lifestyle tips, foodie exploration, and just about anything else you can dream of, MyLivingDays has become a creative outlet of sorts for me. Easy to use, share, and comment, MyLivingDays coins itself a midlife magazine for those seeking to take a departure from other busy, confusing social media platforms. A close friend is one of the co-founders and has done me the wonderful service of reminding me that there is an entire world of stuff to write about, if I would simply put down the measuring cup for a while. We all have our vices, right?

Here are a couple pieces I recently contributed. Check their website frequently for updates as they are soon to launch a small suite of social tools. Feel free to join and contribute to the voice of the masses!

Family Trumps Oktoberfest
Fall Into Great Food
The Elephant Called Grief
Tips: Navigate Airports Like A Pro

Enjoy!!

Pear Panda Puffs

After the Mediterranean themed foodie fest from last month, I ended up with leftover phyllo pastry sheets. What is a baker to do? Create a new recipe, of course. And that is exactly what I did with these little bundles. 

I call them Panda Puffs due to their adorable size, tasty filling, and the way they leave a smile on your face when you are finished. Finger licking goodness right here. 

It's insane how easy it was to make these. After doing one batch and realizing this, I went back to the oven and made a second batch for my pals (primarily because I had eaten my way through the first one). 

My changes to the original recipe include adding more spices for a fuller flavor and marinating the pears in Frangelico (a favorite of mine). I even made a little pear Frangelico cocktail with the leftover marinade (uber tasty). 

Don't forget to let the phyllo sheets thaw out overnight in the fridge. It makes them much easier to work with. Enjoy! 


Pear Panda Puffs 
Adapted from: Spiced Pear Phyllo Bundles 

• 16 sheets frozen phyllo pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge 
• 3/4 c melted butter
• 1/2 c sugar + more for sprinkling over the top
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
• 1/4 tsp ginger 
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 4 large pears, cored, sliced & marinated for at least 1 hour in Frangelico 
• 1 egg + 2 tsp water (beaten together for eggwash)

Core and slice pears, then marinate them in a small bath of Frangelico for at least an hour. The longer the better!

Mix together spices and 1/2 cup sugar, then set aside.

Brush a sheet of phyllo pastry with butter and sprinkle the entire surface with about 1 tsp sugar. Top with a second sheet of phyllo pastry. Brush half this sheet with butter and sprinkle with about ½ tsp sugar. Fold the sheet in half to make about a 9x12 inch rectangle which will now have 4 layers of phyllo pastry. Place a pear half in the center of the shorter side of the rectangle and spoon about 2 tsp of the sugar and spice mixture over the pear half. Fold the two longest sides of the pastry to meet at the center of the sheet covering the pear half. Roll up the pear in the phyllo, leaving the seam on the bottom of the pastry covered pear.

Repeat for the other pear halves.

Brush the tops of the pastries with the egg wash and sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar if desired.

Place the pastries, seam side down on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is evenly golden brown. Makes around 8 bundles. 

Happy Halloween!

A very merry Halloween to everyone out there! 

And happy Día de los Muertos!  

Happy Renewal

I've been a bit lousy with posting of late, but I have a good excuse. It was my birthday! Yippee! For anyone who knows me, this meant I had another reason to celebrate. And that is exactly what I did this past week! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 2011 Awkward Adult Prom crew. I heart these guys, in a big way.

Another Foodie Fest & Pesto Polenta Bites

Yippee! Another foodie fest! Oh the joy in having friends gather together for an afternoon of good eats, tasty spirits, and one foodgasm after another.

Our very sweet hostess, Samba. My ongoing doggie crush. Ssh, don't tell her. It might inflate her adorable ego.

This time around we went with a Mediterranean theme, encouraging any recipe that may come from a Mediterranean country. The turnout of dishes was amazing! Homemade pesto, homemade hummus, cheese and fruit spread, tzatziki, beef gyros, kalamata olive poundcake, a roasted vegetable pie, falafel, dolmas, and many more recipes.

We even had a beer flyer with (some) beers from Mediterranean origins. Plus ouzo, of course. There is always room for ouzo!

One of the world's best pound cakes right here!

One of my offerings this foodie fest were pesto polenta bites. Easy as can be, flavorful to boot with the pesto, and open for a lot of variety in morphing the recipe. Next time you are at the store and see a tube of pre-made polenta, I encourage you to pick some up and try out a recipe. It may surprise you, enjoy!

Pesto Polenta Bites

• About 1/4 cup purchased or homemade pesto
• 24 rounds purchased cooked polenta (sliced from tube works)
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• Herbs

Place polenta rounds slightly apart on an oiled baking sheet. Spread pesto over the top of each polenta slice, sprinkle with cheese and herbs, and bake for 400 degrees F until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown (usually 10-13 minutes). Let the polenta rounds cool for a few minutes, then transfer with a spatula and serve!

Creamy Pear Pie

Pears. One of the quintessential late summer, early fall fruits. When the pears start dropping, you know harvest is upon us.

Did you know that China, the US, and Italy produce the most pears of any nations in the world? In the US we tend to eat them raw, however elsewhere folks have come up with some tasty alternatives. For instance, a traditional plate of poached or baked pears. Or maybe a dish of crostini with feta and pear-strawberry salsa. Or even some chickpea curry with pears. Seriously, you can't go wrong with pears!

With all of this in mind, I proposed a challenge for myself of late - to make a pear pie that departed from the norm. Sleeves rolled up, goal in mind, I researched a number of pear pies until I settled upon this one as my starting point.

The big changes included using my favorite pre-made vegan pie crust in place of something homemade (pandas have so little time these days), swapping out the sour cream for vanilla non-fat yogurt, adding almond extract, and beefing up the flavor of the topping by adding a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. 

How many pieces of this beautiful pie do you think I consumed? If you aren't to at least five in your guess, keep trying. Five slices is when I stopped counting. Keeping my hands off of this delicious foodgasm was impossible! In the end I finally started handing out slices to anyone who would take them, just so that I wouldn't finish the pie in one sitting. I call it a pie crush, and this is my current one! Enjoy!


Creamy Pear Pie
Adapted From: Pear Sour Cream Pie 

Pie

• 1 (9 inch) pie crust pastry
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 large pears - peeled, cored and sliced

Topping

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 5 tbsp butter, melted
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger 

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Take pre-made pastry out of the freezer. 

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, sour cream, 1/4 cup flour, egg, vanilla, and salt in a bowl until blended. Fold in the pears. Pour the mixture into the pie plate and bake the pie for 15 minutes.

While the pie is baking, prepare the topping: mix the 2/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, spices, melted butter, and rolled oats together in a bowl.

Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle with the crumble topping. Return the pie to the oven and bake until the filling is set and the crust is brown, about 20 minutes more. Allow to cool and set before serving.

Farmer's Market

When all else fails and life seems too complicated to face, head to the Farmer's Market. Or at least that is one of my life mottos. Honestly, it works. So far it hasn't let me down.

So why the Farmer's Market for a pick-me-up? Well, a lot of it has to do with the ebb and flow of the place. I enjoy people watching, local produce, and any reason to snap off a few shots. These reasons combined with the fresh aromas of whatever is freshly roasting/baking/being assembled are plenty enough for me to spend a few lazy hours wandering around the stalls. 

The last time I was at my local Farmer's Market I discovered these beautiful pink pearl mushrooms. Delicious! 

Prices are reasonable, if not cheaper than the local grocery store, plus the produce is typically straight from field to table (win!). 

My goal is to stock up on everything while I can as our Farmer's Market only runs on a seasonal basis, harvest already upon us. For instance, these lovely melons. 

If I'm lucky, I'll have a few moments to put in some fall starts to keep the garden going as long as possible. If nothing else, it'll give my feathered ladies another treat, little spoiled fatties!