Apple Pear Clafouti

It was about 7pm last night when I had that familiar pang for dessert. Rarely does a night go by that we don't have something... Dessert is a major food-group in our house!

Usually, I have my "emergency ice cream" in the freezer, but nothing was on sale yesterday when I did my shopping, and I'll be damned if I'll pay $5.69 for the less-than-a-half-gallon containers! That, and it irritates the hell out of me that the dairy manufacturers quietly made their half-gallon ice cream containers 1 3/4 qt containers - and still raised the price! if it ain't buy one, get one free, I don't buy. But I digress.....

I had my latest issue of Bon Appetit, and saw a recipe for a Cherry-Almond Clafouti. Into the kitchen I went. For those who may not know, a Clafouti is a rustic French dessert somewhere between a pancake and a custard. It's been a while since I made one, and this one seemed to be just what the dessert doctor ordered! Here's the Bon Appetit Recipe - mine will follow!

Cherry-Almond Clafouti

  • 1/2 cup whole almonds (about 2 ounces)
  • 1 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 tbsp plus 1/2 cup sugar
  • 8 oz dark sweet cherries, pitted, halved (about 2 cups)
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • Powdered sugar

Blend almonds in processor until ground but not pasty. Transfer to small saucepan, add milk and bring to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep 30 minutes. Pour through fine strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer.

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter 10 inch diameter glass pie plate, sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar. Scatter cherries evenly over bottom of dish.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs, almond extract, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Add strained almond milk and beat to blend. Sift flour into egg mixture and beat until smooth. Pour mixture over cherries. Bake until set and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

I had some ground hazelnut meal in the freezer, so this I substituted for the almonds - why dirty the processor, right?!? And I didn't have any cherries, but I had an apple and a pear. And I didn't have any whole milk, but I had skim milk and heavy cream. Oh, and I didn't have any all-purpose flour, but I had King Arthur White Whole Wheat and what the heck, not having the 'called-for' ingredients has never stopped me before!

The milk is simmering, the pie plate buttered and sugared, I open the egg carton and - only 2 eggs! I could run next door and borrow one - we borrow back-and-forth with our neighbors all the time - or I could make a quick run down to Wawa. I chose Wawa. (I'm listening to a great book on CD in the truck "The Kite Runner" and I'm always willing to take a short drive to hear a bit more...) Anyway.....

Back home with eggs in hand, I make my substitutions. Oh, and since I had used hazelnuts, I didn't want to add the almond extract, so I used vanilla...

Mixed it all, into the oven, and about 40 minutes later, it came out of the oven! We did let it cool a bit, and then dived into a heavenly light custardy filling briming with sweet pears and tart apples.

While cherries may be the traditional fruit, absolutely anything will work! I think my next one will be fresh peaches - and I have that peach extract from Fante's.....

Hmmmmmmm.........


Is It Really Organic?

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It seems everyone wants to buy organic these days - and seem to be willing to pay a lot more for it. But are you really getting what you're paying for?!? I have my doubts.

Ask most people what comes to mind when they hear the word "organic" and they will probably come up with something like a small family farm, free of pesticides. Bountiful, nutritious crops being raised with love and care. They probably don't envision factory farms laser-leveling their fields to be able to mechanically harvest. But that is rapidly becoming the state of organic farming.

Don't get me wrong. I applaud the concept of pesticide-free produce, but I'm NOT willing to pay a premium price for something factory-farmed - especially since the term "organic" is being misapplied - in my not-so-humble opinion.

USDA Organic now means that only 95% of a multi-ingredient product must be organic ingredients. A rider to the 2006 Agricultural Appropriations bill, written in obscure legal language, effectively nullifies a 2005 Court decision affirming OFPA’s ban on “synthetic ingredients” in processed organic foods while reinforcing a loophole allowing the use of hundreds of synthetic processing substances without review. It gives the USDA unprecedented power to grant “emergency exemptions” to allow non-organic ingredients without citizen review when organic ones are deemed not commercially available. So... is it organic?!? Or, rather, how organic is it?!?

And then we have folks who incorrectly believe that "organic" automatically means "healthier." According to both the USDA and the leadership of the $6 billion organic industry, organic certification is only an accreditation of production methods used by farmers and not an assurance of food safety, quality, nutrition or health.

In other words, an organic "Pop Tart" is still a "Pop Tart." Even Consumers Report questioned the wisdom of paying more for processed organic foods like cereal or bread, which have limited nutrient value and aren't always fully organic.

How "organic" is that milk you're paying twice the amount for? Is it coming from "happy cows" like you see on the California Cheese commercials? From a local dairy farm? Probably not. The above rider also allows dairies to use non-organic replacement animals!

USDA National Organic Program Standards require Outdoor Access and Pasture for Organic Animals and Livestock. Sounds pretty basic, right? Well... Would you be surprised to lean that more and more organic milk is coming from factory farms keeping their cows in confinement feedlots and barns? Oh, they're feeding their cows certified feed, but is it "organic milk" if the cow is in a pen and not in a pasture? Is it worth twice the price?

Not to mention that most organic milk u=is ultra pasteurized to prolong shelf life.  Ultra pasteurization destroys proteins which is why ultra pasteurized heavy cream has to have carrageenan added to make it whip.

And then we have "free-range." One would think that free-range chickens have spent their short lives outdoors, enjoying the sunshine and grass, and fresh air. Well, it actually means that they had "access" to the outdoors - whether they ever went outdoors, or not. So much for the myth of happy chickens.....

Like "weapons of mass destruction" - a phrase that was never defined, leaving the individual to conjure up his or her own worst nightmare - "organic" and "free-range" have been equally co-opted. The vision of what we want to believe - and are paying premium price for - is not necessarily reality.

In a society that has put quantity over quality, it becomes the responsibility of the individual to look beyond the hype and labels. And if you're willing to pay more for "organic" make sure it truly is what you think it should be.