Pear Blueberry Crisp (Vegan, Gluten-free)
Don’t tell anyone I baked this during my workday…
Monday morning. I’ve missed a couple weeks of vegan recipes posts because 1) not one, but both of my children had COVID (they’re fine), 2) I had family in town visiting and the delightful chaos that brings didn’t leave time for much else, and 3) I forget what three was for. I’m a bit weary.
I also lost track of what’s in my fridge — which stresses me out. I loathe wasting food, especially when it’s organic produce.
So this Monday morning — trying to focus at work and get my head in the game for a busy week — I instead turned to the about-to-molder pears in the crisper and decided I needed to bake. As one does.
A quick Google search brought me to this Vegan Pear Blackberry Crisp recipe in Women’s Health. I substituted the flour to make it gluten-free, and swapped the blackberries (which I didn’t have) for blueberries (which I did). Feel free to swap about for whatever about-to-expire fruit you’ve got in your fridge.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup gluten-free flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons cold vegan butter (I used Earth’s Best), cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup instant oats
- 1/2 cup almonds, chopped fine
- 5 pears, peeled and diced
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (yes, more brown sugar)
Recipe:
For the crust:
Preheat your oven to 425 and locate a 2 quart shallow baking dish. Then add flour, cardamom, salt, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and pulse till combined. Add vegan butter and pulse till you form small crumbs. Transfer to a medium bowl and mix with oats and almonds. Then pop it in the fridge while you mix up the fruit filling.
For the fruit filling:
Mix the fruit and brown sugar with the orange zest and juice. Dump it all into your baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes.
Assemble and finish:
Remove the dish from oven, stir the fruit mixture and inhale the amazing warm fruity aroma. Then put the crust on top, balling bits of it into clumps for an extra texture sensation later. Bake until fruit bubbles and top is golden brown, about 15 minutes.
The whole process was super quick, and now it smells heavenly in here and there’s a gorgeous crisp on my stove-top for when the no-longer-sick kiddos return from school. Sure, today I’m the reason why Elon Musk is right* and working from home means you’re a slacking drain on your employer.
But I’d reframe this and say: we are all busy people with demanding lives and jobs, and sometimes we have moments during our jobs when we’re more productive with our lives, and vice versa.
Cooking and baking are my happy place; dicing produce is my zen.
I’ve created something delicious for my family (okay, for me too!), kept some produce out of the compost bin — and now, my brain feels ready to tackle this strategy doc. Wish me luck!
(I’ll report back how it tastes later today…
UPDATE: they all demolished it, even my super-taster 14yo who usually can smell when food is vegan (and will refuse it). This recipe is a keeper!!
*Note, Elon Musk is not right.
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