hidden tuscany

My heart breaks thinking about this trip. It breaks over the fact that we had to leave - that we couldn't stay tucked away forever in that hilltop villa. What bliss. What beauty. We were all so happy there.

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More photos and insights from the trip here & here.

recipe: upside-down mother’s day cake

Note: This post was previously published as a part of my freelance work here.

Your mom. She’s the woman who breathed you life, the one that gave you your place in this world. When Mother’s Day rolls around, you don’t have to do anything extravagant to tell her you love her. Something thoughtful will do.

So why not bake a cake? And why not make it the most fantastical cake you could ever imagine? Try figs and dates and cranberries simmered in whiskey with apple cider, cinnamon, and aromatic rosemary. Delicious pears covered in a vanilla bourbon batter. The top of the cake looks wild like a garden. The fruit, the herbs, its intoxicating power – it is Mother Nature’s own masterpiece. 

This is a recipe to celebrate every mother and her graceful beauty. Mother’s Day is almost here…

Ingredients:

½ Cup Chopped Dried Figs (pick your favorite kind or do a mix)

½ Cup Dried Cranberries

1/3 Cup Chopped Dried Dates

½ Cup Apple Cider

½ Cup Bourbon

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Sprig Rosemary

2 Pears

1 ¾ Sticks Butter, Softened

¾ Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar

1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 ½ Tsp Baking Powder

¼ Tsp Salt

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Tsp Vanilla

½ Cup Whole Milk

2 Tbs Bourbon

Directions:

1.       Simmer cranberries, figs, dates, ½ cup bourbon, cider, rosemary, and cinnamon in a pan over low heat. Cook down until liquid is mostly gone.

1.       Remove rosemary & cinnamon. Pour into a colander, and let liquid drain into a bowl underneath. Set aside liquid for reserve.

2.       Preheat oven to 300F.

3.       Butter a 9-inch pan using ¾ stick of butter, and then evenly spread brown sugar on top.

4.       Core pears, and place them face down onto the brown sugar. Fill in extra spaces with the dried fruit mixture.

1.       Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) in a medium bowl.

2.       In a large bowl, beat together sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time followed by vanilla, reserved liquid, and 2 Tbs bourbon.

3.       Mix in dry ingredients, alternating with milk until fully integrated.

4.       Pour batter over fruit.

5.       Place 9-inch pan on a cookie tray to avoid any drip overs (bourbon on the bottom of an oven is never a good thing), and cook for about 45 minutes. Do the toothpick test to make sure it’s fully cooked through.

6.       Let cool, flip onto a plate, and serve.

gluten free fig newton recipe

This post was previously published on Free People's BLDG 25 blog. Thought I'd bring some of the contributing over to Numie :)

When life gives you figs, make fig newtons. It’s a lesson I learned after stumbling upon free figs one Friday afternoon. We were getting ready to leave the office, and noticed someone had left a flat in the kitchen with a free sign. In season and ripe, I couldn’t help myself. They reminded me of fresh markets in Israel and long summers in Italy. I grabbed a bunch and quickly got them home.

Over the stove the figs turned into preserves. When it came time to assemble, I jazzed them up with a little goat cheese and rolled everything up in a gluten free dough. The perfect in season treat, they’ll win over even the biggest gluten free skeptics. You can ask my boyfriend, he ate more than half the batch in one day. Don’t tell him I told you ;).

Fig Preserves:

Ingredients:

3 ½ Cups Fresh Figs – Stemmed & Quartered

1 Cup Raw Cane Sugar

1 ¼ Cup Water

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions

- Throw all ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to a boil

- Once boiling, turn flame down to a slow simmer

- Let simmer until preserves lightly cling to the pan when you drag a wooden spoon through (2-3hrs) 

- Remove from heat and let cool

Gluten Free Pastry Dough:

Ingredients:

*Adapted from Gluten Free Homemaker

¾ Cup Brown Rice Flour

¾ Cup Millet Flour

¼ Cup Sweet Rice Flour

¼ Cup Potato Starch

1 Tbsp Xantham Gum

2 Tsp Sugar

1 Tsp Unflavored Gelatin

½ Tsp Salt

1 Large Egg

8 Tbsp Butter

¼ Cup + 1 Tbsp Almond Milk

Directions: 

- Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl

- In a separate bowl, beat together almond milk and egg

- Combine the milk and melted butter with the dry ingredients and mix with a fork

- Using your hands, mush the dough into a ball and work it until smooth.

- Wrap the dough in plastic, and let refrigerate for at least an hour

Filling:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Preserves

4 Tbsp Goat Cheese

Directions: 

- Mix ingredients together in a bowl and set aside

Assembly: 

- Roll out the dough on a well (gluten free) floured surface until about a ¼ inch thick

- Making a 4” x 15” long strip, cut off rough edges to make a smooth rectangle 

- Line one half with fig preserve and goat cheese mixture 

- Fold dough over the top and press edges closed

- Cut into approx. 1.5 inch fig newtons

- Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes