Hot and fresh from the oven!

  Recently, my wonderful daughter-in-law Lisa brought me some beautiful peaches from a tree in her mother's yard in Santa Rosa. The timing could not have been better! The wild blackberries throughout the neighborhood and all around the Russian River are getting ripe and ready to pick! 

Time for a walk...

The sweet berries always seem to be buried amongst the thorns...

My fresh wild blackberry harvest!

Fresh local peaches ready to peel...

Drop 'em into some boiling water for just a minute to loosen the skin for easy peeling...

Cut a small X on the bottom before boiling for easy peeling...

Freshly-peeled peaches...

Add the peaches to the berries along with some freshly-ground cardamom, brown sugar, and some tapioca starch for thickening.

Place the filling into your prepared pie crust...

I added an oat crumble topping...

It's time for pie! :)
​

Begin with preparing the pie crust. Here is my recipe below:
Basic Pie Crust
Yield 1 crust

1 cup                     flour
1 stick                   chilled butter
1 Tbsp                  cold water

Place the flour in the bowl of your mixer. Using the paddle attachment, begin mixing the flour on medium-low speed. Dice the chilled butter and begin adding it to the flour as it continues to turn in the bowl. Gradually increase the speed on the mixer, and continue adding the butter until it is all in the bowl. The butter and flour will begin to combine into a crumbly texture. Add a bit of the cold water to the mixture as it is turning in the bowl. The mixture will begin to form a loose ball of dough. Shut off the mixer when this happens, and turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap the dough in plastic. Place it in the fridge to chill until you're ready to roll it!

​Prepare the crumble topping and place in the fridge to keep chilled until ready for use...

Oat Crumble Topping
1/2  cup                    rolled oats
1/2  cup                    flour
1/2  cup                    diced and chilled butter
1/2  cup                    brown sugar

​Combine all of the crumble topping ingredients in your stand mixer fitted with the paddle, and mix on high speed until the ingredients just start to come together. Be sure not to over-mix everything. You do not want the gluten in the flour to develop. A brief mixing period keeps your topping nice and crumbly! 

Peach and Blackberry Filling
Using a hot water bath to loosen the skin, peel and slice the peaches.
Place the peeled and sliced peaches in a mixing bowl along with the blackberries.
Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar
Add 1 Tbsp tapioca starch
Add 1 tsp of freshly-ground cardamom
​
Assembly Directions
Prepare the pie crust, roll it out and press it into a pie pan and place it in the fridge to chill.
Prepare the crumble topping and place in the fridge to keep chilled.
Prepare the peach and blackberry filling.
Place the filling evenly into your chilled crust.
Spread the crumble topping evenly over the top of the pie.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour until everything is nice and bubbly. :)

Hot and fresh from the oven!

  These savory beef and cabbage stuffed buns are perfect for a meal on the go! I had no idea when I began making these  that they are called bierocks; which originated in Eastern Europe. I was just looking to bake something a bit different.

The dough has been prepared, rested, and risen...

Savory cabbage and beef filling...

Adding a bit of cheese to the filling...

Rolled, stuffed, rested, and almost ready for the oven...

A bit of egg wash and cheese, then into the oven...

Freshly-baked buns!

Begin by preparing a batch of basic pizza dough. Here's a link to my pizza dough recipe.

While your dough is resting/rising, prepare the filling ingredients...

Filling Ingredients:
1                        small head of cabbage (shredded)
1                        large yellow onion (diced)
2                        large carrots (peeled and diced)
2-3 cloves        fresh garlic (minced)
1 package        fresh mushrooms (diced)
1 pound           fresh ground beef
1 1/2 cups        shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, provolone... Anything handy will do)
2-3 tsp              dried Italian herbs (basil, rosemary, sage...)
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef along with the other filling ingredients and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes until everything is thoroughly cooked. Set aside and allow the filling to cool completely.

Assembly:
Roll your dough out onto a flat and well- floured work surface.
Divide the dough into equal rounds. When rolled out, each bun should be about 6 inches round or so...
Place a few tablespoons of the cooled filling along with a bit of shredded cheese onto the center of each dough round.
​Gather the dough around the filling ingredients and gently place them seam side downward onto a baking sheet.
Cover the buns with a cloth and allow them to rise for about an hour...

Bake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Brush the buns with egg wash and top with a bit of cheese just before placing in the oven.
Bake for about 45 minutes until toasty and browned.

Enjoy! :)

  I have thought a lot about whether I should even mention this part of my personal life in my blog. After all, this is a blog about cooking and all of the neat things you can do with natural food. However, some readers may wonder how I find the time to take photos and create all of these cool recipes. After some deep soul-searching about the subject, I have decided to share. Perhaps other people with challenges of their own will be inspired or motivated in some way? I'm nobody special. I'm just someone trying to put it all back together one recipe at a time. 

  When I started this blog back in November of 2014, I wasn't too sure where it was going to go, or why exactly I was doing it in the first place! All I knew was that things had recently changed in my life in a major way and I was looking for something to help make sense of it all!

  In July of 2011, everything in my life was moving along just fine. I had recently moved my family back home to California after living in the Blue Ridge mountains of Northern Georgia for over a decade (that's a whole other story). I had just started a new job with a great software company in San Francisco. I loved my new job! I was back in the Bay Area that I love! I was learning new things and truly enjoyed the challenge. Life was good. Life was very good...

  Suddenly, I awoke in the hospital emergency room with the most excruciating headache! My tongue was all chewed up. Strange people were asking me questions such as; "Do you know where you are?" "Do you know what happened to you?" "Do you know what day it is?" Not only did I not know the answer to any these questions, I could not even recognize myself in the mirror! Something was seriously wrong with this picture! I felt like I had been abducted by aliens or something. I could barely speak, walk, or even think clearly at all. My thoughts were moving in slow motion. Virtually everything was a struggle!

  I vaguely remember my wife and the doctor trying to explain to me that I had slipped and fallen in the bathroom at home and suffered a grand mal seizure when my head hit the counter on the way down to the floor. The force of the impact created a shock wave that was strong enough to cause me to sustain a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). This type of injury causes the tiny little nerves (axons) in your brain to become pretty much obliterated in the affected areas. In other words, the complex and microscopic pathways throughout my brain were severely damaged or destroyed.

  Each person with this condition is affected in different ways. Much of it depends upon the area of the brain that is injured. My injury is fairly diffuse and affects multiple areas. I'm never left alone. I always have somebody in my family kind of babysitting me, whenever Annette has to leave the house for any reason without me.  I struggle both physically and mentally. My ability to walk, talk, or do just about anything is severely affected in various ways. I often confuse my left and right orientation. Too much activity of any kind can be very exhausting. I am easily overwhelmed with simple tasks. A trip to the grocery store can quickly overload my brain. Sometimes my words get stuck when I speak. Sometimes I cannot speak at all. Sometimes I cannot understand the words as they are being spoken. You never truly realize how many things that your brain does for you until it doesn't work properly.

  The human brain is a mysterious, wonderful and complex creation. I don't pretend to understand why I am still able to cook and create new recipes when I struggle with nearly everything else in my daily life. All I know is that I am grateful for the ability! 

  Summer is rapidly approaching and I have a lot of recipe stories on deck. I am not always able to get my recipes published as quickly as I would like, but I am usually cooking something in my kitchen whenever I am able. It is nice to share my recipe creations with everyone. Thanks so much for your patience and all of the positive feedback! 

Sincerely,
​Carlos

Colorful and sweet!​

  This is the perfect pie to bake whenever you are expecting a crowd! It is filled with a combination of apples, pears, blueberries, cherries, and cranberries. Feel free to use whatever fruit you have available! :)
​

A double batch of pie crust was needed to fill my baking pan! Here's the link to my pie crust recipe.

I tossed the fruit filling with a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and orange zest! 

A crumb topping works great for a pie this large!

Ready to serve a crowd! :)

Filling Ingredients:
 4 to 5 cups       mixed fruit (your choice)
 1 cup                 brown sugar
​ 1 to 2 Tbsp       tapioca starch
 2 Tbsp               cinnamon
 2 tsp                  cardamom
                            Zest of orange or lemon or both
Crumble Topping:
 1 cup                 chilled butter
 1 cup                 brown sugar
 1 cup                 flour
 1/2 cup             oatmeal
 1 Tbsp              cinnamon

 2                        prepared pie crusts combined  Here's a link to my recipe

Crumble Topping Directions:
 Place all of the crumble ingredients in your stand mixer bowl.
 Using the paddle attachment, mix on high speed until everything combines. Be careful not to over-mix.
​*You can also prepare the crumb topping by hand using a pastry blender.

Directions:
 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
 Prepare the pie crust in a large baking pan. I used a 15x10 inch baking pan here, but use whatever you've got.
 Place the fruit and all the other filling ingredients in a large bowl and blend well.
 Pour the filling ingredients into your giant prepared crust.
 Top with a crumble topping.

 Bake at 325 for about 1 hour or until everything is bubbling all over. The larger pan may require a bit more time, just   keep an eye on it. 
​ Enjoy :)
​

     Making your own wild sourdough bread starter is pretty simple. With a little bit of patience and vigilance, you and your family will soon be enjoying the best sourdough breads and other amazing treats. Here are the steps for putting it all together...

Local Gravenstein apples are perfect for making a sourdough starter! Any apple or pear variety will do, just be sure that the fruit is organic. 

Place the fruit peels in a large clean jar...

Cover the peels with clean, filtered water. Add 2 tablespoons of organic flour and stir gently...

Seal the jar with cheesecloth to allow ventilation, and write the date...

The jar on the right is a starter culture that began a bit earlier than the one on the left. You can see how it will break down over time. I forgot to write the date on the culture on the right, but it is roughly a month older. 

TIPS: 
Place your starter mixture on the kitchen counter. After a couple of days, things will start to break down and ferment. Check the starter every few days. Add a bit more flour and clean filtered water to maintain the volume and keep things from getting too dry or thick.

After a few weeks on the kitchen counter, your starter will begin to acquire that familiar fermented sourdough aroma. This aroma only gets better as your starter ages. At this point it is okay to place your starter in the refrigerator. This slows down the ferment, but does not seem to hurt anything.

Be sure to routinely feed and water your starter with a couple of tablespoons of flour and enough filtered water about once per week to maintain a consistent volume in your container.

I usually use about 1/2 cup of starter for each bread recipe. 

​Enjoy :)
​

    When I was a kid growing up; the smell of bacon frying could mean more than simply just "It's time for breakfast!". It could also have meant that it was time for lunch or dinner for that matter. Everyone in my family ate refried beans! To say they were a staple is an understatement. This remains true to this very day. Here's my classic recipe for rich and flavorful refried beans...

Fry up that bacon...

Set the bacon aside. It will definitely come in handy for other things... :)

Reserve the bacon fat, and keep it smoking hot!

Listen to that sizzle! ​Toss in your pre-cooked pinto beans. (Here's the link to my pinto bean recipe)

Let them fry for a minute or so, then give them a good smash...

Simmer and top with cheese just before serving...

This is a pretty basic recipe technique. I used the following quantities of ingredients. You can tweak it a bit to your liking. Enjoy! :) 

6   Bacon Strips (fried crisp:reserve the fat)
​4   cups cooked pinto beans
     Salt and pepper to taste
     Garnish with freshly-grated cheese (I tend to use whatever is handy: cheddar, Monterey Jack, a bit of feta...)

Fresh from the oven!

   I absolutely love this time of the year in the Russian River Valley! The weather has chilled, the wine grapes are all harvested, and there are still a few apples clinging to the trees here and there. This recipe came together because I was recently visiting a dear friend with some amazing old heirloom Gravenstein apple trees in her yard! I came home with a big basket filled with fresh late-season fruit. This simple recipe does not require any fancy crust design skills, just a large spring-form pan to press the crust into. The added dates in the crumble topping provide a deep caramel flavor that simply can't be beat. One more thing, just in case I forgot to mention it: This pie is free of refined sugars! Simply sweet apples, local honey, and dates!
​

Freshly-prepared buttery crust ready to roll...

Be sure to roll out the crust large enough to go up the sides of your spring-form pan...

The crust is all pressed in and ready to fill. Place the crust in the fridge while you prepare the fruit...

The apples are peeled and cored. Time for the next step...

Freshly-grated cinnamon for the apples...

Be sure to grind the cinnamon nice and smooth for maximum fragrance and flavor! :)

Combine the sliced apples and cinnamon with some local honey...

Prepare the crumble topping while the apples are absorbing the cinnamon and honey flavors...

The crumble topping is ready to go! Time for the oven...

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a real treat! :)

Begin with preparing the pie crust. Here is my recipe below:
Basic Pie Crust
Yield 1 crust

1 cup                     flour
1 stick                   chilled butter
1 Tbsp                  cold water

Place the flour in the bowl of your mixer. Using the paddle attachment begin mixing the flour on medium-low speed. Dice the chilled butter and begin adding it to the flour as it continues to turn in the bowl. Gradually increase the speed on the mixer, and continue adding the butter until it is all in the bowl. The butter and flour will begin to combine into a crumbly texture. Add a bit of the cold water to the mixture as it is turning in the bowl. The mixture will begin to form a loose ball of dough. Shut off the mixer when this happens, and turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap the dough in plastic. Place it in the fridge to chill until you're ready to roll it!

​Prepare the crumble topping and place in the fridge to keep chilled until ready for use...
​
​Date and Oat Crumble Topping

Assembly Directions:
Prepare the pie crust, roll it out and press it into a spring-form pan and place it in the fridge to chill.
Prepare the crumble topping and place in the fridge to keep chilled.
Prepare the apple filling.
Place the apple filling evenly into your chilled crust.
Spread the crumble topping evenly over the top of the pie.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour until everything is nice and bubbly. :)
Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a real treat. Enjoy!
​

Ready to serve!
​

   This recipe actually began a couple of years ago. Back then, I had some fresh local pears that I needed to use up. I also had some plain white rum handy. I decided to combine the rum and the pears with a cinnamon stick and pack it away in a jar on my kitchen shelf. There it sat for about two seasons...
    Today, it was time to crack it open and see how everything was doing. Honestly, I was expecting some mushy fruit. To my surprise, everything turned out great. All of the fruit had a firm texture and quite a boozy rum wallop! 

Boozy rum-soaked pears in waiting...

Pears saturated in cinnamon-spiked rum...

A sprinkling of brown sugar over the layer of pears...

A crumble topping with a dash of cinnamon. Into the oven we go... :)

Time to cool. The smell is amazing!

Filling:
1 jar of sliced pears packed in rum* 
​1/3 cup                                     brown sugar
​
Tart Crust:
1                                                prepared unbaked tart crust (my crust recipe is here)

Crumb Topping:
1/2      cup                                butter
1/2      cup                                brown sugar
1/2      cup                                flour
Combine the butter, brown sugar, and flour in your mixer fitted with the paddle.
Mix on high speed until everything just begins to combine.
​
Directions:
Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly across the bottom of the prepared unbaked tart crust.
Layer the sliced fruit over the brown sugar.
​Sprinkle the prepared crumb topping over the entire tart and bake at 325 degrees for about an hour.

* I don't expect most folks to have any boozy rum-soaked pears lying around. Feel free to substitute your favorite canned pears and rum. I have not tried this, but it would be worth a shot. Please be sure to share with me if you decide to give it a try! :)


​

Freshly-picked quince!

  The quince looks kinda like an apple, it is fuzzy like a peach, and has a firm texture like an unripe pear. The fragrance is like a bunch of freshly-picked roses! The fruit even transforms into a gorgeous shade of pink when cooked.
  I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this fruit in the yard of a dear friend of mine a few years ago. Her tree produces an abundant crop of quince each season. Every year she kindly and generously shares her harvest with me. Of course, one of my favorite things to do with quince is blend them with apples to make an amazing pie! (here's the link) 
  This season, I had enough quince to not only make a pie, but I also had enough to make an amazing jam and some nice quince syrup...
​

Freshly-sliced quince...

All peeled, rinsed and diced...

If you're using the stovetop, add just enough water to keep everything from sticking. Place on low flame...

Time to break out the classic Crock Pot! This is my preferred method. It is easier to manage the heat. The stovetop requires much more vigilance to keep things from burning. 

This is about an hour into the cooking process. I have added some local blackberry honey to sweeten things up just a bit. The transformation is beginning...

Just over two hours at a low simmer and here we are! The fragrance is amazing!

Fresh homemade quince jam!

Nothing goes to waste! The peel is very high in pectin. Time to make some quince syrup...

After a gentle simmer for about an hour, the rosy syrup is ready...

I got almost a full liter of quince syrup! This stuff goes great on pancakes or waffles. It is also really good with club soda or create your own cocktail...

Quince jam is very simple to prepare. (See pics above)
​Simply clean, peel, core, and slice the fruit. 
Add enough water to cover the fruit to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Bring everything to a low simmer.
Add your choice of sweetener to taste. I chose local blackberry honey because I think it compliments the flavor of the quince.
Fresh lemon or orange zest is also a nice touch.
At this point your jam can be canned and processed or simply kept in the refrigerator until gone! The jam will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. It never lasts that long in my house!

The quince syrup is made by placing the cleaned peel in a pan with just enough water to cover. Bring to a low simmer. Add your choice of sweetener and simmer until thickened. 

Notes:
​Quince is very high in pectin. This means that your jam and syrup will not require any additional thickening agents.
I prefer to prepare the quince jam in a "Crock Pot" slow cooker in order to keep the jam from scalding.

The wine grapes are just about ready for the crush...

This is my favorite time of the year here in the Russian River Valley! All of the surrounding vineyards, orchards, and family farms are bursting with fresh fruit! The local produce stands are filled with everything under the sun and more. Here are some of my favorite pics from around this beautiful and amazing valley...
​

Fresh Gravenstein apples...
​This heirloom variety of apple is kinda unique to the area. They were brought here by Russian settlers way back in the early 1800's. These apples make the absolute best pies! In my humble opinion, no other apple comes close. Gravenstein apples are the perfect balance of sweet and tart with an amazing floral fragrance that will make your kitchen smell amazing. Imagine the smell of roses and apples! That's a Gravenstein apple!

These old trees still bear quite a bit of fruit!

My pile of Gravenstein apples!

These won't last too long around here...

Juicy blackberries...

Gorgeous!

These things are huge!

Time to make more jam. Here's my recipe using plums. The process is the same.

Beautiful peaches...

I used the peaches and some plums to make this pie... 

Ready to serve!

You can see why there is always something cooking in my kitchen. ​I hope you enjoyed my little photo journey. Peace :)