Late summer stone fruit shenanigans

Can someone explain to me how it’s already the latter half of August? That went FAST, yeeshh.

At least I’m still getting my fill of stone fruit – pluots are amazing right now, I just found peaches on sale, and options are endless. AND it’s not so beastly hot right now, which means I can actually haul my loot home and bake with it and not give myself heat stroke in the process. I’m a happy girl!

A few other pictures of life lately…

I highly recommend this crisp, not only because it’s crisp which is basically the easiest thing ever but also because its insanely customizable. Can find pluots? No prob. Use peaches! Or nectarines. Or any other stone fruit that calls you. I’m loving the basil in here for some earthy freshness against the sweetness of the fruit, so I can’t in good conscience let you leave that out (also it’s summer, which means basil is going gangbusters. Get on that!)

Keeping it short and sweet today – Go hang out in  your kitchen for the approximately 10 minute it takes to throw this together (okay, maybe a bit more if we include slicing up fruit), round up a loved one and enjoy the late summer bounty. Your sense of general wellbeing will thank you!

Pluot, Apricot, Blackberry and Basil Crisp

Gluten free and whole grain, vegan, dairy free, and refined sugar free. Perfect for the late summer bounty of all the stone fruit – pluots, apricots and berries do the tango with a bit of basil thrown in for good measure. Peaches also work nicely here – I’ve also done a version with a few plums, peaches, and blackberries. Yield: 1 9″ crisp, serving sizes are up to your discretion ;)

• 3.5 c assorted pluots, sliced*
• 3 small apricots, sliced*
• 1 c blackberries
• juice of one meyer lemon
• zest of one meyer lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 heaping tbsp fresh basil, chopped

*a combination of peaches and pluots works nicely here too

For the filling, you basically need enough fruit to fill your pie plate of choice. My approximate measurements are listed – I usually just cut it directly into my pie plate and estimate from there.

For the crisp:

• 1 c rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
• 1/2 oat flour
• 1/2 c almond flour
• large pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 c raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/4 c coconut sugar
• 6 tbsp coconut oil, solid
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350, and select your 9″ pie plate or 9×9 pan.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, oat flour, almond flour, sea salt, almonds, and coconut sugar. Cut in the coconut oil, using a fork/your fingers/a pastry cutter if you’re feeling fancy — I used a fork and my fingers and it worked just fine (crisp is exceedingly forgiving). Stir in vanilla extract.

In a large bowl, toss together pluots, apricots, and blackberries. Add lemon juice and zest, maple, vanilla extract, and chopped basil, and toss to combine.

Add the pluot-berry mix into the prepared pie plate or baking pan, top evenly with the crisp. Pop the whole thing into the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the crisp is lightly browned and… crisp!

Serve with your fave vanilla ice cream/non dairy of choice (whipped coconut cream would also be good here), and store any leftovers covered in the fridge. Makes EXCELLENT breakfast the next day – the crisp solidifies a little in the fridge and omg it’s good. Besides, who is going to pass up crisp for breakfast?! Not this girl.