Happy Monday! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Mine was filled with some surprise excitement followed by a lovely visit to the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival, where I watched an amazing demo for Raw “Blizzards” put on by Lisa and Nicole. What I wouldn’t give to have the energy of those two! (And the ice cream was pretty heavenly as well).
Well, summer here in Toronto may be “unofficially” over (don’t wear white after Labor Day, and all that), but you’d never know it by the weather over the weekend. Summer produce is still going strong, too. We’ve had blueberries in abundance and even a fresh pineapple a week or so ago!
I made this fabulous Blueberry-Pineapple Crumble originally for a guest blog post over at Christy’s The Blissful Chef. If you’re not yet familiar with Christy, check out her wonderful cookbook filled with simple, delicious and environmentally-friendly meals, Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals that Nourish Mind, Body and Planet. The book offers over 150 recipes that are based on macrobiotic principles and that everyone can enjoy. I reviewed Christy’s e-cookbook here and reviewed Blissful Bites here.
In honor of a never-ending summer, here’s that recipe for you to make–warm weather or not.
Fresh Blueberry-Pineapple Crumble
The pairing of blueberries and pineapple may sound unusual, but this marriage creates the most intensely flavored, juice and delectable fruit combo you can imagine. Pineapple is surprisingly suited to baking (think grilled for summer), and the grain-free crumble topping is a perfect complement. Topped with a little ice cream, this dish is summertime heaven all year round.
For the filling:
1-1/2 cups (360 ml) washed fresh or frozen blueberries
1 heaping cup (260 ml) diced fresh or frozen pineapple
Zest of one organic lemon
1 Tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Ricki’s All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour mix (or any mix that measures one-for-one for regular all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup (60 ml) water (reduce to 2 Tbsp/30 ml if using frozen fruit) mixed with 10-20 drops of plain or vanilla stevia liquid, to your taste
For the Crumble Topping:
2 Tbsp (30 ml) coconut sugar, xylitol or other low glycemic dry sweetener
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
1 Tbsp (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
30-40 drops plain or vanilla liquid stevia, to your taste
1 cup (240 ml) gluten-free whole rolled oats (not quick or instant)
1/2 cup Ricki’s All-Purpose Gluten Free flour mix (or any gluten-free mix that measures one-for-one with regular all-purpose flour)
2 tsp (10 ml) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) ground ginger
Pinch fine sea salt
1/3 cup (80 ml) unrefined coconut oil, preferably organic
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a small casserole dish or 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment, or spray with nonstick spray.
Make the filling: In a medium bowl, toss together the blueberries, pineapple, lemon zest, lemon juice and water mixed with stevia. Pour into the prepared casserole dish.
Make the topping: In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, mix together the coconut sugar, water, vanilla and stevia; stir to begin dissolving the sugar. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt until everything is well distributed. Add the coconut oil in spoonfuls scattered over the top and then pinch with your fingers until the mixture comes together in a crumbly dough (you fingers will get full of oil at first, but it will eventually come together). Drizzle with the wet mixture and toss with a fork until well mixed. It should be moist, but still crumbly.
Top the fruit mixture with the crumble topping, pressing the top down very gently (it should look bumpy, not flat). Place the casserole dish on a cookie sheet (to catch any spills) and bake for 50 minutes to an hour, rotating the dish about halfway through, until the top is browned and the fruit is soft when pierced with a sharp knife. Allow to cool 10-20 minutes before serving.
This is also good at room temperature. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to 4 days. May be frozen.
Thank you so much for coming to cheer us on. It was so nice to see your smiling face in the front row.
I can’t wait to hear the reactions from all the baked goods you delivered. I really hope George calls before he leaves town.
What a weekend.
xo
Thanks, Lisa! You were amazing.
I did receive some very positive feedback from Mr. X. . . and, apparently, Madonna is now in possession of my cookbook! *faints* 😀
Wow, Madonna really has your cookbook?! The word is getting out, Ricki! Tell HH to watch out … one of these celebs might want to steal you to be their personal vegan dessert chef! Seriously.
And this crumble looks divine … oh to be at your table enjoying some of your treats! 🙂
Shirley
Thanks, Shirley! 😀 We were surprised at how delicious the pineapple-blueberry combo tasted. I’ve never baked fresh pineapple before–it always seemed too good not to eat fresh. 🙂
I LOVE pineapple-blueberry crisp…such a great combo!! I have only made it once before but I must do it again soon…topped with vanilla bean ice cream = delish!
I wanted to try the ice cream variation but we didn’t have any. . .next time! 🙂
glad the sunshine is still hanging in there – and that crumble sounds lovely
Thanks, Johanna. I loved it for breakfast! 🙂
Thanks for the link to The Blissful Chef. I’m getting lazy in finding new sources of inspiration..gotta get that coconut sugar! Still haven’t got around to it, but then we’re going to India for 4 months in a couple of weeks and it’ll be jaggery all the way – though they should be able to make coconut sugar with the amount of coconuts they have there I’ve never seen it…
From what I have read, coconut sugar IS jaggery! So you should be able to get a great sense of what it is and how to use it! Have a fabulous trip. 😀