Good morning!
There is nothing I enjoy more than going on a shopping spree at Bonnie Togs.
I love, love, love shopping for kids clothing. It is honestly one of my great joys. The clothes are just so cute! I could stay in the stores for hours looking at all the cute dresses and itsy-bitsy shoes.
I hope my niece and nephew like them!
Look what our CSA brought us this week…
Grapes!
Well, that is what the CSA (Plan B Farm) called them, but to me I would expect they are a certain variety of grapes?? Surely, they can’t just be called plain old grapes, can they…?
They are delicious, sweet, and juicy.
And then I did the unthinkable.
I baked with them.
I know, I know, first avocado, now grapes.
I figure there is a first for everything in my kitchen.
They actually taste and look like blueberries, so I figured they could be a good substitution in a breakfast cobbler…
Grape, Banana, & Apple Cobbler
This was my first shot at making a cobbler without a recipe and I was pretty happy with it. The end result was a very chewy and moist cobbler- this isn’t a crisp if that is what you are looking for. If you want to make it crispier, you might want to use more Sucanat and less maple syrup, just as an idea. Have fun with the recipe and don’t be afraid to play around with different add-ins!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups regular oats
- 2 tbsp flour (I used spelt)
- 1 cup blueberries or grapes
- 1/4 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
- 1 ripe banana, peeled and chopped
- 1 apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance
- 3-4 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp fresh lemon
Directions: In a large bowl add the chopped apple, banana, grapes, oats, flour, sea salt, cinnamon, and Sucanat. In a medium sized bowl mix the slightly melted Earth balance, lemon, and maple syrup. Add wet to dry and mix well. Place in a casserole dish and bake at 350F for 70 minutes. Note: Next time I would bake at a higher temperature so it wouldn’t take as long…probably 400F for 50 minutes? Watch it carefully to avoid burning. Serve hot or cold. Top with your favourite nut butter!
The soy-free Earth Balance I use…
A few weeks ago, I did a blind taste test on Eric using Earth Balance and his regular margarine on toast. He pointed to the toast and said with much confidence, ‘This one is MUCH better, it has to be my margarine.’ and I grinned and told him it was Earth Balance and he has been enjoying it ever since!
It works great in baked goods too.
Whisk the maple syrup and Earth Balance until they are one.
Squirt some fresh lemon…
Just a tiny squirt…no more than 1/2 tsp or the lemon will overwhelm the dish.
I’m sure you can find a way to use up the rest of the lemon. :) Spike some water…or a margarita…
I made a much needed batch of lemon sugar scrub. Love that stuff! Dare I say it is my favourite face scrub ever?
Chopped apple, grapes, banana, oats, Sucanat, cinnamon, flour, and sea salt!
Mixed up:
Dressed up:
I saw something green in the mix and I realized it was the inside of a grape!
Whew.
into a casserole dish…
And baked for 70 minutes at 350F. Next time, I would bake it at a higher heat to speed up the process. The cobbler doesn’t get very hard, but it remains quite soft and chewy almost like overnight oats.
While this was baking I hit the road for a glorious run in some glorious sunny and crisp weather. I had two medjool dates and some tea before I left. I decided to run a 10k today.
The run was pretty uneventful except for seeing 3 pheasants cross the road in front of me!! They are so funny to watch. My 10k (6.2 mi) time was 53:55 mins. and then I ran another 0.2 miles to get home. The hills were killing me during the last mile!
When I got home I tried the cobbler right out of the oven and it was quite good, but I suspected I would like it even better cold, so I threw it in the fridge while I showered and did Polly’s Yoga for Runners.
It was delicious cold and it got all clumped up in big chunks. Mmmmm.
I spooned some TJ’s Sunflower Seed Butter on top. Man oh man was this heaven in a cup!!
To my delight, the grapes tasted really good in this. Very refreshing and juicy. I’m not sure if ‘regular grapes’ would work in this, but these ones sure did.
I’m off to do a bit of cleaning, make a chocolate sauce for the brownies, and then pack for our weekend getaway. I will do my best to get a post up tonight. Have a great start to your weekend! :)
Those baby clothes are adorable! My mom and I went into a baby burberry store and were swooning over the little hats and scarves there. Two of my cousins are pregnant right now and I can’t wait to start buying presents for their babies!
Grapes are definitely my favorite food ever. What an interesting way of incorporating them!! Looks yummy, and I think that I’d like them cold, too.
Have a beautiful weekend!
x
Shopping for clothes for my 4 year old daughter is almost more fun than shopping for myself ;) I love finding cute stuff for her! I think your niece and nephew will love your choices! Such a good aunt!
The cobbler looks SO yummy!! What a great morning treat!
I like shopping for kids clothes too. Especially dresses for my little niece.I don’t remember clothes being so cute when I was little.
I believe those are concord grapes – yum!
I think so too. Deeeelicious, but they have seeds :(
That’s so awesome, Angela! I’ve never seen anybody bake with grapes but your reasoning’s right on- they look like big blueberries so why should they bake like them? haha :P Awesome cobbler! :D
I’ve never tried baking grapes, but they do sounds good. :)
Baby clothes are so adorable! I love how little they all are.
They are definitely concord grapes! I can’t wait to get some, they are my favorite grape! The cobbler looks amazing, I will for sure make this when I get my hands on the concords :)
I must say that here in Italy people bake with grapes alllllll the time!! I personally hate it cause to me they end up tasting like rasins and i hate rasins. But your not strange for thinking of it, its actually very common. Usually the grapes here are put on top of a large sweet pastry or inside one with a latice top, Like a very thin pie. The Tuscans go mad for this dessert its a local treat! :D
There is a great Black Grape drink recipe:
http://galleygourmet.blogspot.com/search/label/black%20grape%20and%20honey%20caipirinha
I can’t believe you baked them!!! ha ha LOL!
Thanks for the recipe Angela!
I love reading you, especially that I live not so far and everything is in season at the exact same time here! Yay for grapes! This variety use to gross me out when I was a kid, my sister would suck the inside and leave the skins out, ew!
:D
wwoow this looks incredible! Do you think this would keep for a few days in the fridge if it was made on say a weekend for weekday mornings?
Baking with grapes – I have never heard of that but it sounds like a great idea! Apparently if you freeze them and eat them cold, they’re like candy too :)
Great run splits!
Baby cloths shoppng is fun. I bought a couple of gifts for my friends baby and had to control myself because everything was really cute. That cobble looks yummy. Have a great weekend getaway. :)
Looks delicious. You have used sucanat in a lot of your recipes recently, and now I have to ask what is it? I live in another country so I’ve never even heard of it. Thanks for the reply.
Looks delicious! I’m not normally a grapes person, but last week my mum bought some green ones and they were so juicy and crunchy! Enjoy your weekend getaway – can’t wait to hear more!
I’ve never heard of Sucanat either, but I love your ability to recipe-create so much right now. You’re awesome :D
That looks really good! I’m always looking to make something special for breakfasts on Sundays, so this might be the winner for tomorrow!!!
I am repeatedly impressed by your pace times in your long runs. Have you done speed work to improve your pace or did speed just build up overtime has you grew fitter and more comfortable at running?
And of course, I’m also always impressed by yummy dishes like this! What a perfect cool morning breakfast!
Those are Concord grapes and the sight of them makes me miss home. Growing up we had Concord grapes vines and I would eat them until my belly was sick.
What a delicious spin on breakfast with some of my favorite ingredients! <3 your blog.