A Classic // Homemade Cherry Pie With Vegan Crust

This pie just happened. It wasn't planned. It wasn't thought out. It really seemed as if it had just appeared like a miracle baby.
This is how it happened:

Our cherry tree was dripping with small, red fruit just waiting to be picked. So, naturally, I was inspired.

I started to pick as many little fruits as I could. It was actually quite therapeutic ;)

I ended up with a pretty good amount! And there were still some little guys left on the tree.
Then came the fun part....pitting the cherries.
Once I got the hang of it it wasn't too bad. I just looked up "how to pit cherries" on google and really nice article on about.com came up! Very helpful.

This crust was heavenly. Oh wow was it amazing because of its secret ingredient :) And the best part is that its totally vegan! It was a bit hard to get into the dish but with a little love and kneeding it was fine. I really liked how it looked so homey with my finger marks.

The filling was so very easy to make and it turned out so well.

The finished product had a few over-carmalized pieces but it really added nice depth of flavor.

What You'll Need For the Crust: 

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut 
• 1/2 cup coconut oil 
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbls. sugar
• 1/3 cup water (may need more depending on your dough)

To prepare:  
Add oats and coconut to the food processor and pulse until blended into a flour-like consistency. Next add the sugar and salt and pulse again. Then add the coconut oil and pulse until the ingredients start to come together. Lastly, add the water until the dough really starts to form and take shape. Adding more if needed. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

What You'll Need For the Filling: 

• 4 cups of fresh pitted cherries (tart is best)
• 2/3 cup sugar 
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbls. lemon juice 

To prepare: 
Add the cherries and water into a saucepan over medium heat. Then add the sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine. Add the salt and cornstarch and stir. Bring mixture to a boil and allow it to thicken.

For the Pie: 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough out as best you can and lay it into a 9 inch pie plate. You're going to want to kneed it out once in the pan to smooth it over. Next, add the cherry mixture to the crust. Place in the oven a let cook for 20 minutes with the edges covered over with foil. Then bake for another 15 minutes after removing the foil.

After baking the pie, the whole house smelled like fruity coconut. The crust tasted like a perfectly balanced cookie and no one in my family could tell that it was vegan.

 Are you a pie person or a cake person?

For the Love of Pickles // Homemade Baby Garlic Dills

CALLING ALL PICKLE LOVERS! 

If you are like me, you could go for a nice and juicy, crunchy dill spear at pretty much anytime of the day. (Yes, I said anytime)

I absolutely love any and all type of pickles.  I discovered my immense love for the sweet and tangy morsels when I was a small child and I have since tried to master the art of making them myself.

I found these cute little guys at the store yesterday and in that moment I knew that I had to try my luck at another batch. Just look at them, how adorable! And perfect for pickling.

This was one of the simplest procedures. Just these ingredients and a canning jar and you're all set!

What You'll Need:*

• 1 pound of cucumbers (in the form that you prefer; sliced, whole, ect)
• 3 whole cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper or 1/2 whole black pepper corns
• 1 tsp. whole mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp. pickling spice (optional) 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 tsp. dill weed (I used dried, but fresh would be even better!)
• 1/3-2/3 cups sweetener (I used honey, but brown sugar works as well)
• 6 tbls. white wine vinegar
• 6 tbls. white distilled vinegar

The Process: 
Add the first 6 ingredients to a 2 quart jar.
Mix the honey/sugar and vinegars in a separate bowl to combine.
Add the liquid to the jar and shake well.
Place in the fridge for at least 24 hours, but they will become better in time!

*recipe inspiration from http://www.pioneerwomanatheart.blogspot.com/2012/07/from-homesteading-journal.html
 

These little guys would make the perfect side for a nice sandwich at lunch time! Enjoy! 

Zoe

Life Lately // Special Edition!

Hi everyone! I hope you all are enjoying your summer; the weather, endless nights and good food. The lack of posting is credited by the end of year (finals) and my trip to Italy. I wanted to share some photos from my 3 week long adventure!


To say the least, the food that I had in restaurants was absolutely amazing. 

Being able to find fresh fruit while walking in Rome was a highlight for me ;) 

For some of the trip we rented cottages or apartments that had a small kitchen and allowed for me to do some cooking. Our average dinner looked like this:

A couple of salads, (lettuce mix and then tomato, cucumber, feta) some sort of pasta (tortellini pictured here), some protein (chicken mixed with the pasta) and a cooked vegetable (green beans) was the normal spread. 

We explored Venice, the east coast, the Amalfi Coast, Rome and the Cinque Terre.

xoxo
Zoe

Life Lately // From my iPhone

My life in pictures from the last two weeks.

I found this quote and I instantly loved it. Now I'm just tryna' practice what they're preachin'.

I tried overnight oats in a nut butter jar (inspiration from KathEats)....and they were AMAZING. I  am now obsessed.

The view as I flew to DC.

My first dinner at the hotel was room service! But this salad was pretty awesome for being hotel food.

 Breakfast. I thought it was pretty perfect.

The roof top pool at the hotel was lovely. And the best part was that the fitness center overlooked it. I had a wonderful workout that day, obviously.

I'm currently drinking: water in a large mason jar with half and lemon squeezed and a mini cucumber.

How has your life been going lately? Any new obsessions/current favorites?

Zoe