Feed the Stomach, Soothe the Soul

I have been re-reading my last couple of blog posts on Life Intensifier and Self Care & Compassion because many of you, my dear friends, have sent me such heart warming comments about these posts.  I am moved deeply by your thoughts and words that you share with me.  It inspires me to keep writing.  I realize my writing is not only for me, but also for many others in ways that I can not predict, only trust that whatever needs to be received by the reader is transmitted through the words. This fills me with such a sense of deep meaning and life purpose that is new for me.  It’s a feeling that says, ‘keep going with this.’  

These are indeed intense times filled with many surprises.  I want you to know though that I also have many easy, wonderful, and fun times in between the more challenging situations.  Life is a series of moments strung together on a strand of twinkling lights.  Many of these lights are filled with laughter and good times with dear friends. 

This has been another silver lining for me this year; the opportunity to form deeper friendships with my wonderful Swiss neighbors, nurture connections with colleagues from work, and enjoy learning to communicate more in German with all my health care related outings. 

I share with you a recent moment where I created an absolutely delicious vegan dessert out of thin air!  Have you ever made a dessert that came magically together from a kitchen pantry that seemed like it was empty of vital ingredients? 

This happened for me the other day when a family friend was coming to visit on the weekend from out of town and I forgot to shop the day before.  In Switzerland, all the grocery stores are closed on Sunday.  You have to be somewhat organized living here because it’s not possible to go pick up what you might need on a Sunday. 

I got an intuitive nudge to make an apple cobbler, but I knew I didn’t have enough apples or other fruit for that matter. 

organic 'bio' pears (Birne) ready for the chopping block

So I went to the kitchen and prayed that the right combination of ingredients would show up.  My eyes glanced over to the counter, where in a bowl were sitting 6 ripe pears calling out to me.  I forgot I had bought them!  Pear cobbler is what it will be then! 

This is where kitchen creativity opens up for new creations!

Listening to my stomach, my inner recipe guide, I began my cobbler adventure outside on the deck in the morning sunshine. 

All ingredients are ready for the topping

Pear (Birne) Cobbler: 

Depending on the size of your baking dish, you will have to decide how much fruit and topping to make.  I will give you my ingredients and then I invite you to play with the portions for your eating situation.  With a cobbler you really can’t go wrong because it all cooks together and tastes delicious once it’s in the bowl. 

Ingredients: These portions will easily make enough for 4 people.

*I use all organic ingredients.

·            6 pears – the riper they are, the sweeter & softer they will taste after baking

·            1 apple – nice for added taste but not necessary

Wash fruit, don’t peel skin off, and then chop up into bite sized pieces.

·            Lemon – squeeze half to whole lemon over the fruit.

·            Goji berries – add ½ cup to fruit

·            Dried cranberries – add ¼ cup to fruit

·            Cinnamon – either sprinkle on powder or I have added 2 sticks into the fruit mixture.  This worked really well for adding cinnamon flavor and then removing when you serve.  (I thought if you have young children you could play a game and whoever gets the cinnamon stick in their dish gets to make a wish for the day of something they’d like to do or gets something special from you:)

·            Stir up all of these ingredients in the baking dish.  Now add about ½ inch of water in the bottom.

Topping-the Crumble: Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl.

·            Walnuts or Almonds-your choice: depending on how much crumble you like use ½ - ¾ cup of nuts. Put in blender/food processor and grind up just enough until it’s in a powder form.

·            Oats: 1 cup.  Put into blender/food processor and grind up until into a flour. 

·            Coconut Palm Sugar: ½ cup (I like this sugar because it’s not too sweet and it has a slight caramel flavour, plus a host of benefits over other sugars) 

·            Spice – I like cinnamon, however I also have a mix I found here of cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, cardamon, bourbon vanilla. It’s called Spekulatius-Gewürz (similar to a gingerbread spice mix)

·            Coconut oil – 2 tablespoons. Melt in a small pan over low heat. It only takes a minute so watch it.  Then add the oil to the dry mix & stir lightly.  This takes the place of butter.  It clumps up just a bit.

Once stirred pour the dry mix over the fruit spreading evenly.  I then sprinkle over the whole area with about 3 tablespoons of water.  This helps clump together the dry ingredients.  It will never come out as crunchy as a typical cobbler topping made with loads of butter and brown sugar! But, it is extremely yummy and much better for you!

Cover the dish with foil or a lid if your dish has one and put in the oven at 180C until the fruit is soft and bubbling. Usually about 30-40 minutes.  Remove the foil or lid, put back in the oven uncovered for about 5-10 minutes until the topping is browned and a little crunchy. 

Browning up in the oven

Allow to cool before serving, but still warm.  Top with either Almond cream for the vegan option or whipping cream.  Both are delicious!

When I tried this cobbler with the Almond cream, I was happily surprised at how well it turned out given that I started not knowing how I was going to make it.  My stomach was smiling! 

The good thing about this cobbler recipe is you can eat it guilt free for breakfast, lunch, or as dessert after dinner!  And that is precisely what I did until it was all gone.  Added bonus with breakfast is enjoying it with your morning café.  If you know me, you will know that I adore my cappuccino in the morning.  So the two together, make for a great start to the day!

Served up with an extra helping of whipped cream (one of my weaknesses!)

PS: I just watched the movie: Julie & Julia again and loved it as much as I did the first time I saw it.  If you haven’t seen it and you want to enjoy a light drama/romcom, then you must indulge!  This blog post is inspired from ‘Julie’s’ blog that becomes the focus of her character.  Here’s a video with a clip of Julia on the Importance of Practice! 

PPS. My technical support and formatter is currently on a work assignment in the far North of British Columbia. Although I try, the formatting of this post will not be as interesting.