Cherry Almond Crisp

Yesterday while out grocery shopping I came across cherries for the practically unheard of price of $.99/lb!  I didn't have a plan in mind for what to do with them but figured I'd be able to whip up something with the basics in my pantry.  A simple crisp or cobbler crossed my mind and then I remembered making a Cherry Crisp from Iowa Girl Eats a couple years back, so I decided to go that route again!

The ingredients:

First things first - pit the cherries.  If you don't have a cherry pitter an empty beer or soda bottle and plastic straw works wonderfully!  Next, slice them in half and toss them with some sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Then, mix up the topping ingredients using a fork and knife or your fingers until it's all nice and crumbly, and pour it over the fruit.

Bake until golden brown and crispy! Allow to cool a little bit and serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Almond Crisp

1 to 1 1/2lbs cherries, pitted and halved
1T sugar
2t flour
1t vanilla extract
1/4t cinnamon

Crisp Topping
1/2c old-fashioned oats
1/2c brown sugar
1/4c flour
1/4c cold butter, cubed
1/4c sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine cherries, sugar, flour, vanilla, and cinnamon and spread into greased baking dish or pie pan.

Recipe lightly adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

July Allure Beauty Box and Gift

This month the editors at Allure put together the summer essentials they use to look amazing despite the heat and humidity.  With it being 95 outside today the timing on this couldn’t be more perfect!  And…  I received an amazing surprise in the mail!

What I got:

Briogeo Rosarco Blow Dry Perfection & Heat Protectant Crème

Feel Brilliant Bamboo Charcoal Facial Sheet Mask

Redken Fashion Waves 07 Sea Salt Spray

Burt’s Bees Complete Nourishment Facial Oil

Wander Beauty Lipstick in “Barely There”

Cargo Swimmables Water Resistant Blush in “Bali”

Beauty for Real Lip Revival Exfoliating + Hydrating Lip Scrub

All products I haven’t tried previously and I’m not even sure which one I’m most excited to test first.  Maybe the facial oil.  I love argan oil and am interested to see if Burt’s Bee’s blend of rose hip and primrose oils is even better!  (Or if it will make me break out.)

And the surprise?  Two full-size Marc Jacobs lip glosses that I received for being a long-standing subscriber!  The colors they sent me are “Hey You” which is a bright pink/cherry shade, and “Moonglow” which is a pale pink/nude.

I’ve said many times that Allure’s Beauty Box is my favorite out of all the boxes I’ve subscribed to (both past and present).  It’s good to know they love me back!

Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Vanilla Sauce

The rhubarb abundance continues and therefore so do the rhubarb recipes!  This is actually the third rhubarb recipe I've made in the last couple of weeks but only the second I'm posting about.  (The other recipe was a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, which while delicious, was not very pretty.  I'll try again on that one!)

This is one of those recipes that sounds kind of fancy but is actually fairly simple to throw together! First, fold 3 cups of chopped rhubarb into a buttermilk batter.

Next, spread the batter into a greased pan and sprinkle a simple streusel topping over the top.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes and until the top is golden brown.  (Mental note to self:  use Windex on glass cooktop prior to taking and uploading photos for blog post.)

It will look golden and beautiful and you will want to dig right in, but for the love of baking powder, please allow it to cool a bit!  Make the vanilla sauce while you wait.

Once the cake (and sauce) have cooled to a not mouth-scorching temperature, pour over a generous amount of the vanilla sauce and serve!

Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Vanilla Sauce

Batter
2T salted butter, softened
1c sugar
1 egg
2c all-purpose flour
1t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1c buttermilk
3c fresh rhubarb, chopped

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat in egg.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk.  Beat just until moistened - do not overmix.  Fold in the rhubarb and pour into a greased 9" square baking dish.

Streusel Topping
1/4c all-purpose flour
1/4c sugar
2T butter, melted
Combine all ingredients.  Sprinkle over prepared rhubarb batter.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool.  Top with Vanilla Sauce and serve.

Vanilla Sauce
1/2c salted butter
3/4c sugar
1/2 evaporate milk
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add sugar, evaporated milk, and scraped vanilla bean.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a storage container.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Lightly adapted from My Baking Addiction