Almond Butter Fruit Dip

We all have our bad habits. Some are vices, some are just little things that drive other people crazy. I definitely have some bad habits that drive Evan crazy. I leave dirty clothes on the bathroom floor, I hit snooze a million times every morning, I'm the worst back seat driver. But lately, the one thing he just can't stomach…is that I eat peanut butter (and Nutella, and almond butter, and spekuloos spread) straight out of the jar, on a spoon. He thinks its disgusting. I think….why consume extra calories via an edible spoon (cracker, bread, waffle, cookie, etc), when all I really want is the peanut butter? I think my logic makes perfect sense. 

My favorite afternoon snack the last couple of weeks is a spoonful of almond butter with a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of coconut, and a couple of blueberries. Delicious one bite snack, right!? 

But, since it bothers him so much, I tried putting it all in a little bowl: almond butter, honey, coconut, blueberries. Stir it together, insert spoon, eat. Delicious two bite snack! He didn't like that too much either. The guy isn't too particular about most things, but this one just really seems to bother him. So, to make my afternoon snack a bit more appealing to him (not that his opinion has stopped me from standing at the counter eating Nutella straight out of the jar, with a spoon), I decided to add yogurt and whip everything up into a dip for fruit. That's totally normal and acceptable, right? Way less crazy than drowning every single thing you consume in hot sauce. *Cough* Evan *Cough*. 

Almond Butter Fruit Dip

1 cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt

2 tablespoons salted almond butter

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup shredded coconut

pinch of cinnamon

sliced fruit or fruit skewers for serving

Whisk together yogurt, almond butter, and honey. Stir in cinnamon and coconut. Add more of anything, as desired. Serve with fruit. 

Fresh Take on Fruitcake

You voted, and because of you (or, more appropriately, thanks to you) fruitcake is gettin' a makeover. I don't mean thanks to you because fruitcake needs a makeover, I actually kinda like the stuff. I don't understand why it gets a bad rap. Maybe it's because of the bright neon candied fruits, or the fact that it weighs more than a bowling ball. But I mean, it's not all bad. It's boozy, fruity, spicy…hello, holiday classic! 

Some classics shouldn't be effed with. It's a Wonderful Life, candy canes, and the holly-jolly fat man himself…those are classics that should remain the same. Some classics, however, deserve a makeover. And what better way to freshen up fruitcake, than by turning it into…cookies? COOKIES! FRUITCAKE COOKIES! YES! 

Swap out those tooth-achingly sweet candied cherries with brandy soaked dried fruit, and then wrap it all up in a spicy shortbread-esque dough. Roll it, slice it, bake it, eat it… and then wonder why the hell you've never made fruitcake cookies before!

Fruitcake Cookies

Adapted from Ina Garten

• 1/2 cup of each of the following, coarsely chopped:
• dried cherries
• dried apricots
• dates
• dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• zest from one lemon and one orange
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 4 tablespoons brandy
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• pinch salt
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 large egg
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• raw sugar

Combine dried fruits, nuts, zest, brandy, honey, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Let sit overnight at room temperature.

Cream butter, cloves, superfine sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer on low, add the egg and mix until incorporated, then slowly add the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt just until combined. Add the fruits and nuts, and stir to combine. Divide the dough in half and place each half on the long edge of a 12 by 18-inch piece of parchment paper. Roll each half into a log, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inch thick, making an 18-inch-long roll. Refrigerate the dough for several hours, until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Before slicing, roll each log in raw sugar. Cut the logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices 1/2-inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Fruit of the (heir)Loom

I love tomatoes. This summer my love of tomatoes has turned into a near obsession (compared to last summer, when I had a weird acidic-mouth-burning-reaction every time I ate them, which severely limited my tomato intake). I can’t get enough of them. Sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Dolluped with mayo. Drizzled with olive oil and topped with fresh basil. Sandwiched and dripping between two chewy slices of rustic bread. On a bagel with cottage cheese. In a salad with chunks of mozzarella and cubes of garlicky French bread. If it has tomato in it, I want it in my mouth.

Unfortunately, delicious tomatoes in Seattle are hard to come by. I grew up eating fresh, juicy, flavorful, sun-soaked, homegrown tomatoes straight out of the garden. Store bought tomatoes are, by comparison, like eating cardboard. Of course I could go to the farmers’ market, but this summer has proven far too busy for leisurely Sunday strolls through the market. Yeah, I could join a CSA, but I was unemployed for 2 months right at the beginning of the summer share, and couldn’t fork out the necessary dough for a bounty of fresh summer produce. I mean, sure, I could buy sweet, hearty heirloom tomatoes, but at $7.99 a pound (no joke)… in Mel’s words, that’s highway robbery. So, aside from the garden tomatoes Mel and John have given me the few times I’ve seen them this summer, I’ve been reduced to eating vegetable flavored cardboard.

But wait…vegetable flavored? Aren’t tomatoes fruit!? Yes! They are! Store bought tomatoes in Seattle, however, are so flavorless that fruit is ashamed to claim them, making the tomato one very confused vine-dweller. It isn’t until you bite into a juicy, sweet, homegrown or heirloom tomato that you realize why they call it a fruit. Recently, I was having good-tomato withdrawal, and decided to take advantage of a “sale” on heirlooms ($4.99/lb), and put the tomato-as-a-fruit conundrum to the test.

Using heirloom tomatoes and that other fruit-that’s-confused-as-a-vegetable, avocados, I made a delicious summery fruit salad—one where tomatoes can truly call themselves fruit, without the ridicule and torment of their adversaries.


With the tart-sweet bite of the stone fruits, the acidic tang of the grapefruit and orange, the deep sugary richness of the cherries, and the sweet but not-too-sweet flavor of the tomatoes and avocados, fruits and vegetables-come-fruits melded together to create a perfect union. I ate this salad immediately after tossing, a few hours later, and the next day, and it was fantastic every time.



Tomato and Avocado Fruit Salad
(Serves 2 as a full meal, 4-6 as a side)

2 large nectarines
1 large pink grapefruit (remove peel and seeds)
2 large heirloom tomatoes, any variety
1 large avocado
1 ½ cup of pitted, halved cherries (use a dark, sweet variety, like bing)
1 large navel orange (remove peel and seeds)
1-2 plums

Cut fruit into large chunks, and toss together with their juices. Enjoy salad on its own, topped with yogurt (honey flavored Greek, if you can find it), or, as I did the next day, on a whole wheat bagel with a schmear of cream cheese and a drizzle honey.

Watch out apples… tomatoes might just be the new ‘it’ fruit!