The Kitchen of Belis

I know, I know, I know... In these time-conscious days, it can often be better to buy a dessert than to make your own. You can buy many delicious desserts for quite reasonable prices. Also, coming into contact with a dessert in the form of a "finished product" makes it easier to justify the caloric intake - your brain can't begin to process the magnitude of the possible damage based on the ingredients.

So with this being said, if you have some time on your hands, it can be a lot of fun to bake your own dessert. The bonus of making your own dessert is that you are aware of what you are putting into your body and you can make adjustments to ingredients based on these concerns. This was my line of reasoning, when I made my own dessert from the "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch" cookbook. How can one go wrong with a recipe when the subtitle of the book says "Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)".

OK without further dalliance, here is the Fresh Fruit Crisp recipe -



Serves 6

1/2 cup of coconut oil, plus a bit more in the pan
1 cup plus 2 table spoons Sucanat (sugar substitute)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 cups of pitted fresh fruit of your choice/s
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
A friend who knows how to bake stuff
1 pint vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven 375 (oil 8 * 8 Baking pan)

In a bowl, combine 1 cup of succanat, 1/2 cup of the flour, the oats, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add coconut oil and mix until pieces are pea size.

In another bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of succanat, 1 table spoon of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the cinnamon. Mix in the fruit, lemon juice and vanilla.

Transfer fruit to the prepared baking dish, spreading evenly. Sprinkle on the topping. Bake for 30 minutes to an hour.

You can cover the top lightly with foil and open the foil.

OK - here is the tip that is not in the book... If you are not sure whether or not it is thoroughly cooked, stick a knife inside and see if the knife comes out warm. If it is not warm, then it means it is ready. This little tip comes to us from my friend Scott.

Next, take out and cool it down for 10-15 minutes. Serve it with some vanilla ice-cream.