Fruit Tart

This recipe is one of my absolute favorites. It’s easy; it’s made from 100% healthy, whole foods; it’s delicious; and it’s pretty enough to serve to guests. I’ve been waiting until spring to post it, because it’s perfect for spring and summer BBQs. But another reason I love this recipe is because it doesn’t have to be a dessert. You can just as easily serve this for breakfast on top of some yogurt or oatmeal.

I adapted the recipe from one I found on the World’s Healthiest Foods website (here). I just added a few things – almonds, other berries, and some fresh lemon juice. And, I reduced the honey because I think the berries make it sweet enough. I’ve passed this recipe along to some family and friends and it always gets great reviews. You can make it with any type of fruit – I’ve done all berries but I also made one last summer with peaches and blueberries.

The nutritional value is pretty obvious: berries, nuts, dates. And we learned Tuesday that frozen berries can be just as nutritious as fresh, so if you don’t want to spend a fortune on fresh organic berries, frozen will work really well. Usually I use a mix of fresh and frozen, but today I used all frozen. I chose cherries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries.

Oh, and we usually serve this with ice cream. I’m hoping I have time today to pick some up! (Don’t worry Ed, I’ll make time).

Recipe

2 ½ cups walnuts (I used about 1 ¾ cups walnuts, ¾ cup almonds)

1 ½ cups dates (don’t forget to buy pitted dates or remove them yourself, which only takes a few minutes and saves money)

5 cups fresh or frozen berries (or any fruit)

2 tbsp raw honey

1 ½ tbsp arrowroot

2 tbsp water, or juice from frozen berries

1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine nuts and pitted dates in food processor until well ground, but not smooth (about 45 seconds for me). Press into a pie pan and refrigerate.

Thaw the frozen fruit. Place 2 cups of fruit, water, and arrowroot into food processor or blender and puree. (If you’re using some frozen and some fresh fruit, use the frozen for this part).

Place puree into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 4 minutes. When puree thickens, remove from heat. Mix into a bowl with the other fruit, raw honey, and fresh lemon juice. Pour mixture into tart shell, cover, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or more) before eating.

I made this when I got up this morning, but had pulled the recipe out last night and set it on the counter. Apparently Ed saw it and decided to add something… see below.

(In case my iphone photo isn’t clear enough, it says “1 happy husband” – ha! It's his favorite dessert and he always will casually ask when I'm going to make it again!)

Enjoy!

Nuts for the Holidays

I use Twitter. Some people think it’s worthless but it’s not. I try to only “tweet” (or “twit” as my brother-in-law calls it) things that are useful to others. But the best part is following other tweeters. For example, I follow a few of my favorite restaurants in Denver so I know the scoop on happy hour deals and seasonal menu changes. Another example: I got all the latest updates on the Tiger & Elin saga (very important gossip) all weekend long because I could follow the tweets about it. Do you tweet? If so, let me know! I am always looking for good people to follow. You can follow me (@annpierce) here.

I also follow some great people who blog about food and recipes, and this is often where I get my inspiration for the things I cook at home. Today I found a recipe for Maple & Spice Glazed Nuts. And even though I just told guest blogger Jessica that I am addicted to dipping almonds in raw honey and I should really cut back, I went ahead and made these anyway because they looked too easy and too wonderful to pass up. I added a couple of my own ingredients and in 20 minutes I had delicious nuts and a house that smelled like Christmastime.

The recipe is at Jamie Living blog, found here. Jamie has great recipes and usually a good story to go along with it! I’ve copied the recipe below and added my own personal touches.

Recipe

2 cups nuts (I used pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews)

2 tbsp 100% maple syrup

1 tbsp raw honey

1 tsp lemon zest (Jamie lists this as optional, however I am listing it as mandatory! The lemon flavor makes these nuts unique and not too sugary tasting)

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper (I love the spiciness, but feel free to reduce)

½ tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients and bake on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.

And as a refresher, here are the all the healthy things you’ll find in this recipe:

Pecans: full of antioxidents, help lower cholesterol, high in vitamins A, E & B1, calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium and protein.

Cashews: lower in fat than other nuts (contain the same healthy fats found in olive oil), high in copper and magnesium, known to help prevent gallstones.

Almonds: rich in protein, iron, calcium and vitamin B2, help relieve coughing and asthma symptoms, can help lower cholesterol and protect against diabetes, rich in manganese and copper.

Walnuts: can reduce inflammation and alleviate pain associated with arthritis, high in omega-3 fatty acids (good for bones), help with coughing and chest pain, good for cardiovascular health.

Remember, a serving size of nuts is the equivalent of about one small handful.

The spiced nuts are a great holiday snack that contain so many more nutrients and health benefits than your typical sugary treats, and they just as good!