My Just Desserts
I am not a huge dessert person. We never really did dessert when I was a kid. For that I am thankful! Unlike many of my friends, as well as my husband, I don’t expect dessert at the end of a meal. But, I have grown to accept that dessert is a nice touch every once in awhile – and if it is a fruit-based dessert then at least it offers some redeeming qualities. I’ve also worked hard at improving my baking skills over the past two years so I am not as afraid of dessert as I used to be. I love to cook, but recipes have always been more of a suggestion or starting point than a rule book for me. With baking, the science involved is quite complex and recipes are usually best when followed exactly. I’ve learned to accept that as well.
So, today my husband and I headed to the farmers’ market in search of ripe peaches and the last of the summer’s blueberries or raspberries. I wanted to try a healthy cobbler recipe that combines peaches and berries. To truly earn this dessert, we should have ridden our bikes to the market, but it was drizzling when we left the house with more rain promised. I don’t like to ride in our hilly area in wet weather with a backpack weighted down with produce, so we opted for the car this time.
Unlike store-bought desserts or eating dessert in a restaurant, with this recipe, I control the sugar and butter amounts AND I get the benefit of burning some calories in the baking process. First, controlling the ingredients. The recipe I chose is from Eating Well Magazine so it is pretty healthy to start with, but I know I can usually do better. I’ve learned that I can reduce the sugar amounts in most baked goods with little to no impact on texture or flavor. So, I cut the brown sugar content by just under half and the white sugar sprinkled on the fruit to just a dusting. Second, the calorie burning. This isn’t the most effort-intense recipe I’ve ever prepared, but it does pretty well. First, I had to peel and slice the peaches. Next it was mixing the ingredients for the topping with my fingers. Every little bit of calorie burning makes a difference when added together! That’s the My Energy premise.
I wanted to prepare some homemade ice cream to go on top (with a nifty salt and plastic bag technique from our local paper’s Food section last week), but ran out of time. Instead, we walked about a mile (one-way) to the store to pick some up – at least we still burned some calories in the process!
The cobbler was delicious and refreshing – and I enjoyed it even more knowing that I made it myself.
