homemade muesli

 

I would have thought that all of the “healthy new years resolution” buzz would have slightly died down by now (i.e. some people would have already given up).  But no, everything is still in full swing.   People are bumbling left and right carrying yoga mats, Safeway is totally sold-out of kale, and I have to elbow through people while trying to run my normal (usually very uncrowded) loop around the block.  Right now, everyone is so focused on what they want to change about themselves/their routine. 

What about the things that we actually like about ourselves?  What about our little daily rituals and routines that make us happy?

I think that this whole mentality that we need to “fix” our bad, former ways, and “totally revamp” our routine is problematic.  So Dr. Oz told you that the gingerbread latte that makes you smile is going to slowly and painfully kill you, or your neighbor told you that Cross Fit is so much better for you than your weekly Friday night yoga class.  Do you need to switch your gingerbread latte for celery juice?  Should you tone your booty with jump squats instead of utkatasana?

Personally, I don’t think so.  New Years is a great time for trying new things, and sometimes they work out (I recently became re-obsessed with green smoothies).  But why be miserable for the entire month of January? A little bit of familiarity and routine is important to hang on to in this crazy, unpredictable world that we live in. 

Right now, things are a little crazy for me (exams, track starting again, new semester… not to mention that it’s beyond freezing outside).  This is a recipe that I’ve been making forever, it’s a little bit of familiarity in this otherwise chaotic time.  My special muesli has powered me through many English exams, track meet, and chilly days — I know it’ll still work.

What’s a familiar thing that you’re going to hold on to in the new year?

With love,
Erica

 

Ingredients

  • 1 gala apple, grated
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup juice (I love Odwalla!)
  • 1/2 cup yogurt
  • Large pinch ground cinnamon
  • a dash of cloves 
  • 1/2 cup nuts and dried fruits of your choice
  • 1 Tbs. chia seeds (optional)
  • fresh fruit (for serving)

Combine all of the ingredients except for the fresh fruit in a container with a lid. Place in the fridge overnight.  In the morning, scoop into bowls and top with fresh fruit.

    raspberry jam crumble bars

    “An artist is nothing without his or her obsessions, and I have mine.”
    -Andres Serrano
    In English, the word “obsession” has a  negative connotation.  
    From Mariah Carey taunting us all with “why you so obsessed with me?,” to the fact that being “obsessive” seems synonymous to having a “disorder.”
    Who said being “obsessive” is a bad thing?  Does being “obsessed” with something make you a crazy person?
    I don’t think so.  In fact, I think that I can be an “obsessive” person, and it’s one of my favorite things about myself. 

    The root of my obsessions lie in things that I’m passionate about.  Today, I’m going to talk about two of my obsessions: baking and writing. 
    Are you an obsess-er too?  How do you know what an obsession feels like?  For me, it feels like a mosquito bite that I’ve been trying to ignore too long — I have to itch it. 
    It’s like when I get home from school, throw my backpack onto the floor, and power walk to the kitchen.  In no time, I’ve got the oven preheated to 350 degrees, the KitchenAid whipping at full-speed, and a stick of butter softening in the microwave.  I haven’t even taken my coat off.  
    It’s like right now, when it’s 12a.m. on a Friday night, I’m sitting in bed with my notebook and laptop typing away about obsessions.  Most kids are probably watching T.V., doing homework, or partying — I’m sitting here trying to think of a way to describe the feeling when I can’t sit still and have the sudden urge to whip up a vanilla buttercream. 
    It feels naughty sometimes, like watching six episodes of Wipeout! in a row or eating an entire pint of Java Chip Frappuccino Ice Cream in one sitting.  I feel like I shouldn’t do it but I really really want to.  That’s how I feel about baking and writing. That’s when I knew I was obsessed. 
    Everyone from Martha Stewart to Gwyneth Paltrow to Michelle Obama all seem to be touting living a “balanced” “whole” life.  These buzz-words are on the cover of every woman’s magazine and snuggled in the pages of all advice books.  Although I believe that some balance is needed for survival and happiness (balanced meals, hydration, family time, alone time, homework time), I think that if you’re super passionate about something, obsessed with it, why try to fight that?
    Obsessions are things that don’t feel like work — you can do them for days and weeks and the hours just slip away.  I can stand over a layer cake for hours, I can sweat over a short story for days.  Since it’s so effortless to spend a lot of time on the things that you’re “obsessed” with — you will naturally get better at them with time.  Practice makes better.  Thanks to my obsession, my cakes no longer look like science experiments, and I no longer write short stories about elves and horses.  Now, thanks to my “obsessions” I make cakes with buttercream roses, and I write short stories about real things, like trying to go vegan, the perils of driver’s ed, and the smell of Astroturf in May.
    If spending an hour at the gym as part of a “balanced” day makes you want to lock yourself in a closet, but you’re itching to go dancing this Friday night.  Why in the world would you strap yourself to the treadmill? Life is SHORT (and dancing is great exercise).  I’m not saying that we should all just neglect unpleasant responsibilities, but if they’re not vitally important to us, we can let them go and succumb to our obsessions. 
    I whipped up these raspberry jam crumble bars approximately thirty seven minutes after I handed in my English exam last week.  Obsessive behavior? Perhaps.  Am I concerned? Not at all.

    With love,
    Erica

    Ingredients
    2 sticks butter, softened
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    12 oz. raspberry jam (or any other flavor you like)
    1 cup granola without dried fruit

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper. With your electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until combined.  Add vanilla.  Sift flour and salt together, add to the butter mixture until it all sticks together in a ball.  Place dough on a board.  Gently press 2/3 of the dough evenly in the bottom of your pan and about 1/4 inch up the sides.  Spread evenly with jam.  Mix the granola into the remaining dough, break it into small bits and crumble them on top of the jam, covering the surface.  Bake for 45 min, cool completely, cut into squares, and enjoy!

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    orange cranberry pound cake

    I’ve noticed that a hot shower feels 100x better than normal when I come inside after a cold and sweaty run, a bag of pretzel sticks tastes amazing when I’m ravenously hungry, and my bed is the most comfortable place in the world after a busy day.  

    Actually the last one’s always true… no matter what I did that day.

     What I am trying to say is, contrast makes everything more awesome. 

    This adorable pound cake plays upon this awesome concept of contrast.  Sure, a sweet vanilla pound cake is always yummy — but it can get a little boring after the third bite.  This pound cake is the perfect yin-yang balance of tart, zesty, and sweet. (i.e. not boring)

    This cake never gets boring because it totally nails the “contrasty” thing.  Fresh cranberries are super tart.  Oranges are fresh and citrusy.  Pound cake is rich and sweet.  Mingle all of these friends together and you have the perfect, totally-not-boring, pound cake.  Pound cake perfection.

    This is a great counter-top cake.  You know, the kind of cake to just put on the counter top looking all pretty, and as people walk in and out of the house — mom, dad, the dog walker etc., the cake slowly gets nibbled away.   

    And when the glaze hardens and gets all nice and crackly…  Ugh.  I just wanna pour it on everything. 

    glaaaaaaaaze

    With love,
    Erica

    Ingredients

    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    1 cup vanilla yogurt/plain yogurt/or sour cream
    1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
    3 eggs
    zest of one large orange
    1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    1/2 cup vegetable oil
    1 cup frozen cranberries
    1/3 cup orange juice

    For the glaze:
    1 cup confectioners’ sugar
    2 tablespoons orange juice

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a loaf pan.  

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a larger bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter.  Fold in the cranberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

    While the cake is in the oven, cook the 1/3 cup orange juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

    When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  While the cake is still warm, pour the orange-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

    Once cool, carefully remove from the pan.  For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake. 

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    most popular recipes of 2013!

    2013 is coming to a close — and although I am knee-deep in studying for exams, fighting off my cinnamon bun cravings, and battling a nasty cold, I can’t help but feel extremely grateful for all of you who visit my little corner of the internet.  

    Cannella Vita wouldn’t exist without you all.  If it wasn’t for you, who would I rant to about the agony of baking a wonky batch of brownies,  instagram inspired FOMO (fear of missing out), and the time I lacerated my thumb making lemon blueberry cake.  Yeah, without you, I have no one to over-share with, so thank you for being there. 

    Without further ado, here are your five favorite recipes from 2013.

    5)  Minion Cupcakes — I’m so glad this made the list.  I just got the Despicable Me 2 DVD for Christmas and that movie totally changed my life (I personally identify with Agnes and her love of unicorns and bangs). 

    4) Banana Nutella Eggrolls — A banana smeared with Nutella is a very good thing.  A good thing is always made better when it is wrapped in dough and deep-fried.  Case and point.

    3)  Really Good Marble Cake — this marble cake is really good.

    2)  Sex in a Pan — This recipe won #1 recipe of the year on Best Dessert Recipes.com.   I guess with a name like that it’s hard not to get noticed ;). 

    1)  Julia’s Banana Bread — I made this recipe as an afterthought while studying for a math quiz.  It was the most popular recipe of the year by a long shot.  I guess the moral of the story is “when you have to study for a math quiz, bake banana bread.”  I can live with that ;).

    hehehe I’m the winner!

    What was your favorite Cannella Vita recipe of the year?

    With love,
    Erica

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    brownie stuffed chocolate chip cookies

    Look at these chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven. So innocent looking, right?
    There’s nothing about these cookies that could possibly reinforce your trust issues.

    They’re chocolate chip cookies. They look so inviting and comforting sitting next to a tall glass of cold milk.  They’re a little large and lumpy… but a homemade chocolate chip cookie is a homemade chocolate chip cookie. The largeness/lumpiness just enhances their whole “homemade” vibe.  Right? 

    WRONG!  These seemingly innocent cookies were all large and lumpy because they were hiding a full on double-fudge brownie on the inside!  You sneaky cookie you!

    Let me tell you how these stealthy cookies came about.  I was experimenting with a new brownie recipe, and I screwed up… they tasted pretty good but they were unbelievably skinny, and no one likes skinny brownies.

    I was about to chuck messed up batch in the trashcan when I felt a bout of sympathy for those brownies.  It wasn’t their fault that they were too little to cut it in the harsh world of thick cut, chocolate chunk brownies.  They hadn’t done anything wrong… it was my duty to save them.

    So with a little help from some homemade cookie dough, those sorry little brownies were saved.  I wrapped each one in a big layer of soft cookie dough, and they were transformed into these huge, amazing mounds of bake-sale-worthy-goodness.

    With love,
    Erica


    Ingredients
    1 pan of baked brownies (either homemade or from a mix)
    1 cup butter, softened
    1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
    2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
    1 tablespoon vanilla
    2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    12 oz. chocolate chips

    Cut your brownies into 10, 1 inch squares.  Enjoy the leftovers for yourself 😉

    To make the chocolate chip cookie dough, beat butter and sugar with a mixer until creamy. Add the eggs, yolk, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and add to the butter mixture until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

    Let dough chill covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
    Scoop out 1/2 cups of the cookie dough (I told you these are HUGE!).  Place the dough onto the baking sheet. You can only fit six cookies on a standard sized baking sheet — so you will have to make several batches.

    Make an indention in each mound of cookie dough and place a cut brownie in the center. Press the brownie down and work the remaining dough around the brownie. Shape the dough into a ball.

    Once all your cookies are “stuffed” with a brownie, bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Return the remaining dough to the refrigerator until time to bake the second batch. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    nutella twists

    “I realized this week that I just cannot do it all, so I will choose to do what I can, fabulously.” 
    — Clinton Kelly 

    In school, I’ve heard a lot of pep-talks.  From teachers, coaches, mentors, etc.  They all go along the lines of “work hard,” “always do your best,” “never give up.”

    spread

    I am a firm believer in all of these things, and I take pride in doing my best and really putting my heart into things that I care about.   However, I’ve realized is that no matter how hard I work, it is physically impossible to do it all.   And that’s OK.

    Moderation is a tough concept to grapple with, especially for a young person like me.  I want to learn things, I want to be able to do things, and I want to understand things.  And I’m impatient.

    slice

    In Japanese, there’s this word, tekitou.  In English, it translates to “halfhearted.”  However, to me, the word means quite the opposite. “Halfhearted” has such a negative connotation.  To me, tekitou means doing the things that I love and care about wholeheartedly, and in regard to living a balanced life (and not driving myself totally crazy), not sweating the little details in all of the other things I have to do, and remembering that not everything has to be picture perfect.

    twist

    So onto the recipe, there’s nothing quite like homemade pastry.  But ask anyone who has rolled out their own puff pastry — it’s an ordeal and a half.   Ain’t nobody got time for that.

    Sometime’s it’s OK to cut a few corners.  Especially in the baking world.  Like for instance, (this is for all of you food bloggers and avid bakers out there), how many times have you actually taken butter out of the fridge an hour before baking to let it “soften to room temperature?  I’ve never done this (except for the one time I simply forgot to put it back in the fridge after buttering my toast).  I always just give the stick a 30 second zap in the microwave.  Tekitou. 

    I’m always in the mood for some buttery, flaky, Nutella-swirled goodness.  And although I am often in the mood to play with dough as well, my schedule doesn’t always allow for making homemade puff pastry.

    Here’s a quick-and-dirty little recipe for beautiful, Nutella twist pastries.  They look like I slaved for hours over them — rolling and folding puff pastry.  They taste all insane, buttery and chocolatey, and take minutes to twist together.  Win win win.  I finished my math homework, and got to make these awesome little twists of goodness.  Tekitou.

    powdered sugar always classes things up

    How were you tekitou today?

    With love, Erica 

    Ingredients 
    1 box frozen puff pastry (thawed)
    Nutella
    1 egg
    powdered sugar for dusting

    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

    Roll out your defrosted puff pastry into a 2mm thick long, rectangular shape.  Spread a thin, even layer of Nutella onto the pastry.  Roll the puff pastry up jelly-roll style from the long end.

    Using a sharp knife, slice the roll in half vertically, exposing all of those layers of Nutella.  Cut each half into fourths.

    Hold one piece of puff pastry from both ends and start twisting it, turning each hand in opposite directions until you have a tall spiral shape. Hold one end of the strip in place with a finger, and roll the rest of the spiral around it until you get a small spiral. Tuck in the last end underneath the pastry, making sure you do so tightly so it won’t uncurl during the baking process.

    Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry.  Place each spiral about 3 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.

    Lightly brush each pastry with beaten egg.   Bake in the preheated oven for 14-18 minutes, or, until the puff pastry has turned into a golden brown.

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    fool-proof no-knead bread

    Fall is a crazy wild ride.  There are a million-and-one things to do and  I used to wish that I could do all million-and-one things at once (or at least a nice hand-full of them).   I used to think that doing just one thing at any given moment was a luxury — sometimes, even wasteful!  I would catch up with friends via text on my walk home from school.  I would study my Chinese vocabulary while doing my nails.  I once attempted to study for a physics test while making gooey Nutella butter cake (as you can imagine, that was a gooey, chocolatey mess).

    Then I finally realized, after all of these years of trying to paint my toes, while listening to a book talk, while doing my math homework — that multi-tasking sucks.   Here are my five reasons that multi-tasking sucks.

    1. It’s actually less efficient.  If I have my history reading open on one tab and my Pinterest tab open on the other, most likely I will find a killer pumpkin bread recipe and leave poor old Thomas Jefferson neglected. 
    2. Things happen and I don’t notice them.  While I’m attempting to text my friends about my day while crossing the street, I don’t notice that adorable little pug puppy being walked on the other side of thestreet from me (not to mention oncoming traffic…).  A study at the University of Washington found that 75% of students who walked across the quad while on their cell phones didn’t notice a clown riding on a unicycle in the quad.   A CLOWN RIDING ON A UNICYCLE! He was probably wearing a bright red fright wig… if they didn’t notice that, think about all of the other things they were missing . 
    3. It’s rude.  Having my cell phone on the table while having lunch with a friend is distracting. I am totally guilty of this, but sometimes, I at least try not to read the message until I’m on my own.  
    4. It’s stressful.  That little “bing” of a new message sends my heart racing.  Spilling sea foam green nail polish on my Chinese workbook sends my blood-pressure through the roof.   
    5. It kills creativity.  Brilliant strokes of genius (putting Nutella in baklava) only happen when your brain has a little extra room to be crazy.  Multitasking requires a lot of “working memory,” leaving very little wiggle room for those awesome strokes of genius.  
    So, I’ve decided that when I’m reading about Thomas Jefferson, I will give him all of my attention, and when I’m painting my nails sea foam green, you better believe I’m not going to screw one up attempting to crack open my math text book.   When I’m working, I’m working, when I’m playing, I’m playing, and when I’m baking, I’m baking.  Work hard, play hard (wise words from Wiz Khalifa).  
    That being said, there’s one little exception when multi-tasking is a good thing. 
    This no-knead bread.  
    Basically, I just stir up the ingredients in a big bowl — then proceed to paint my nails, make Nutella baklava, talk to some friends,  spend some quality time with Thomas Jefferson, and totally forget about my bowl of ingredients.  While I’m doing all of these things,  the yeast in there is working hard to make the bubbliest, chewiest, dough I’ve ever seen.  Multi-tasking at its finest. 
    Then, as an afterthought, I throw it into my big dutch oven and uncover a perfectly crusty, yeasty loaf of artisan bread.  

    This is not the kind of bread that I cut into slices and make elaborate sandwiches on (although you totally could, whatever floats your boat).  This is the kind of bread that I tear off big chunks of while it’s still warm, and smother them in melty butter and honey.   It’s got that thick crust that snaps when you break off a piece and a soft center with tons of scraggly nooks and crannys just begging to be filled with melty butter. 

    Are you a multi-tasker?

    With love,
    Erica

    Ingredients
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 1/2 cups luke-warm water
    • 1-2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2-1 tsp yeast

    Dump all of the ingredients in a large bowl and give them a stir until they resemble a shaggy dough.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in room temperature for 8-18 hours. Dough will bubble up and rise.
    After dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 F.
    Put your dutch oven in the oven while it preheats.
    Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and shape dough into a ball.
    After the oven has preheated, carefully remove the dutch oven and with floured hands place the bread dough into it.
    Replace the cover and bake for 30 minutes covered. Then remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered.  Now you have a perfect, crusty, artisan loaf of bread!

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    everyday vita: peanut butter jelly time!

    IT’S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!
    peanutbutterjellypeanutbutterjellypeanutbutterjellywithabaseballbat.  (click here if you’re confused).

    If you’ve been wondering why Cannella Vita is almost completely devoid of peanut butter recipes (but wayyyy overloaded with Nutella ones…) — it’s because peanut butter’s not really my thing.  Nevertheless, I absolutely love spreading it.  I love making a smooth little squiggle in the peanut butter (am I the only one who does this?). 

    the famous squiggle

    There’s something seriously therapeutic about spreading things on Wonder bread. 

    PB&Js are as classic as you get.  They’re absolutely perfect just the way they are and that’s why they’ve basically been around since Columbus discovered America (that’s not actually true, I have my first AP U.S. history test tomorrow and PB&J has been around for ages – so that’s where my mind is at the moment).

    i’m liking that bread-to-fluff ratio

    Anyways, you know what we do with classics around here? Totally corrupt them and slather them with Nutella.  So I made PB&Ns too.  Peanut butter Nutella sandwiches.  Not my worst idea 😉

    Also, I had to throw in a few fluffernutters, because they’re my dad’s favorite.  And fluffernutter is fun to say.  And I wanted an excuse to buy marshmallow fluff.  So obviously those were necessary. 

    Lastly, the Hawaiian girl in me just had to make some of these on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.  Because that’s how I roll (haha). 

    Tomorrow I’m going all the way up to Pennsylvania with the soccer team, so I packed a few of these up with some chocolate chip Chewy bars for the long bus ride.

    How do you like your PB&J?

    With love,
    Erica

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    minion cupcakes

    I had a pretty great time in preschool.  I was born with a natural gift for making play-dough snowmen and I had these sick-nasty Digimon goggles that I wore every single day.

    Despite the fact that I was clearly living it up,  I (like all preschoolers) had my fair share of worries.  Those “first-day jitters,” the trauma of sharing at “Show-And-Tell” on Fridays, and the fear of being abandoned on the playground. 

    To deal with all these little predicaments, my mom and I had a special daily ritual. 

    Every morning before she dropped me off, she promised to come back to pick me up with a Twinkie.  Sure enough, every day I saw her cherry-red Toyota station wagon pull up to the preschool.  Sure enough, she always had a Twinkie. 

    This little daily ritual made the traumas of preschool a little more manageable.   It also taught me that I am very easily motivated by food. 

    Even now, my mom and I joke about our little “Twinkie” ritual whenever she drops me off somewhere.

    This brings me to the recipe of the day: minion cupcakes!

    These mischievous little minions are made out of Twinkies — and they are almost too cute too eat.  Emphasis on the almost.

    If you don’t know what minions are, they’re these little, impulsive, bean-shaped creatures who are quite talented singers and have a contagious laugh.  (If you haven’t heard the Banana and Potato Song and want to smile, click here). I had almost too much fun giving each of my minions a different facial expression. 

    So what are you waiting for?  Whip up you’re own entourage of minions today!

    With love,
    Erica

    Ingredients
    1. 24 frosted cupcakes of your choice (I made funfetti with blue buttercream!)
    2. 12 Twinkies
    3. 1 bag Ready-Made Candy Eyes
    4. Brown sprinkles
    5. Black writing icing

    Cut each of your twinkies in half and squeeze two dots of black icing onto the backs of the Candy Eyes to act as glue.  Stick them onto your Twinkie (note some minions only have one eye).   Draw on a mouth and goggles using the black writing icing.  Stick a few brown sprinkles in the minion’s head for hair.  Gently press your minions cut side down on top of your frosted cupcakes!

    © Cannella Vita. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission/linking back to Cannella Vita. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post.

    bourbon peach crostata

    I’m really sorry for disappearing for the past few weeks.  School started the Tuesday after Labor Day, and since then things have gotten truly insane.

    There is so much hype about junior year.  It seems like when my classmates used to talk about The Bachelor and the scary new P.E. teacher, they now talk about AP classes and college apps.
     
    All of this hype freaked me out a little bit.  My label-maker went into overdrive, I felt as though my life was scheduled down to the minute, I was constantly writing myself illegible notes on my phone,  I had calenders solely dedicated to keeping track of my other calenders. 

    Then I took a step back.  I realized that while jamming my label-maker and staring down at my bi-weekly calender, I was missing a heck of a lot.   Things were just passing right by me.   The air started smelling like fall, Carly got a haircut, and I desperately needed a manicure… and I didn’t even notice.  Missing out is a scary thing.  I realized that sometimes, I need to get my face out of my agendas.  Sometimes, it’s absolutely necessary to do something “pointless.”

    I did a dryer load of fuzzy socks, so I could put them on when they’re still warm.

    I painted my nails this electric peachy pink color.

    I went on a long walk blasting “Don’t Drop That Thun Thun” and looking at the trees. Then I started noticing things again and how beautiful everything was.  I noticed how the light reflects of the wavy windows in my neighborhood, how birds manage to nestle into precarious little crevices of brick walls without falling down, and how simply tilting my chin can give me a whole new perspective on my neighborhood. I wondered what the world would look like if I were 6 feet tall, or what it looks like to Carly.  Before I knew it, I was eighteen blocks away from home.

    Most of the time, I bake for a purpose (bake sales, birthdays, sports games), and I absolutely love my classic cookie/blondie/brownie repertoire (i.e. things that can be eaten with one hand on the way to English class or on the sidelines).  But I think that sometimes, it’s important to make something impractical and crumbly.

    Like this crostata.  It’s not particularly ridiculous like some of the other things I make.  It doesn’t have the “wow” factor of a triple-decker Nutella cake or oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies.

    It’s a little crumbly, a little rustic, and the dough looks a little like a six-year-old’s play-dough creation.

    But it’s really delicious.  It’s one of my favorite things to make.  It’s pretty simple and great for sharing.  Perhaps some would say that it’s a little “pointless.”  But maybe “pointless” isn’t such a bad thing after all.

    With love,
    Erica

    Ingredients
    2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
    1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    11 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
    2 eggs
    zest of one lemon
    pinch of salt
    1 small jar of peach jam (mine had a hint of smoky bourbon in it)
    1 peach
    raw cane sugar for sprinkling

    Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a 9″ tart pan.
    Place flour in a large mixing bowl, make a well in the center and add the eggs. Using either your hands or a fork, incorporate the eggs into the flour. Work the butter into the dough until it forms clumps.
    Add the sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Keep working the dough until is it very crumbly and slightly sticky.
    On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a couple of times, then take off about 1/3 of the dough (for the lattice pattern on top). 
    With a rolling pin, roll out the bigger piece of dough into about a nine inch circle and press into the tart pan. Prick a few times with a fork, then spread the jam evenly on top.Break off little pieces of the small piece of dough and roll them between your hands into long strips. Place the strips over the jam, pressing lightly at the edges so they stick to the crust.
    Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly golden.

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