July 29, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Summer Fridays! Almond-Blueberry Pie Bars | dolly and oatmeal #glutenfree #vegan

happy summer friday! this week has been a little crazy in our family. frank and i have been upstate at my parents' house while they're out in LA for the birth of my nephew! i can't even think about how sad i am not to be there for his birth, so i'm not going to go into it for fear of dissolving into a pile of sobbing tears. i had every intention of feeling well enough to fly out there, but being so pregnant and achy and swollen i decided to sit this one out, sadly. plus, we just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and i didn't really want to be 3,000 miles away from frank on that day.

we rang in 3 years of marriage the other day by having a marathon meal of a brunch at blue hill at stone barns. it was super. we feasted on some amazing dishes that were so creative and out-of-this world delicious that we're still talking about how we would ever re-create a gluten-free whole grain pasta dish with a hard boiled egg, charred beans with a silky almond sauce, and these wedges of summer squash with brown sugar, honey, and flaky salt - those were so good! i'm sure i'm missing a few meals, but it was definitely a special day. and to top it all off, the next night there were insane, tsunami-like thunderstorms that ushered in pink skies and this massive and beautiful rainbow! all-in-all country life has shown us a good time so far, and we're super happy to be breathing in all this fresh summer air!

but let's change gears a bit and talk about these pie bars! i packed some up and sent my parents off with a bunch as an airplane snack. when i spoke to my mom the next morning, she was eating one and telling me how well they held up for hours of being clunked around, and then kept out overnight. so, i'm happy to report that these babes are super resilient, and not as dainty and delicate as i thought they would be for travel. they're all that pie is: flaky, a bit salty, and gooey and slightly broken fruit. but this version is so much easier on prep. instead of making myself (and you) insane and preparing a pie crust in this humidity, i made a heartier, but still flaky, shortbread-like crust that's pressed into the baking pan. once the crust is par-baked, in goes the fruit, then it's topped off with a simple, but crumbly, crumble topping! these bars are ideal for any dessert situation, to take to a picnic, or, as it happens, on a long flight!

all the lovin' summer vibes! xo

Summer Fridays! Almond-Blueberry Pie Bars | dolly and oatmeal #vegan #glutenfree

almond-blueberry pie bars | v & gf

i haven't given it a go, but i suppose these could made with frozen blueberries as well. i call for fine brown rice flour here just to eliminate any course texture that regular brown rice flour can sometimes have. but if all you have on hand is regular brown rice that will work just as well.

| makes 16 bars |

topping

3/4 cup fine brown rice flour
1/2 cup (gluten-free) old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
5-6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

crust

1 cup (gluten-free) old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup fine brown rice flour
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons good maple syrup

filling

4 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of fine sea salt

Summer Fridays! Almond-Blueberry Pie Bars

method

preheat oven to 350°F. grease an 8x8 square baking pan, then line it with parchment paper allowing enough excess over the sides (this makes it easier to remove the bars later on). set aside.
make the topping. with a fork, whisk together all of the ingredients except for the oil. a few tablespoons at a time, add the coconut oil until the mixture has some small and large crumbs (depending on if it's humid or dry, this takes anywhere from 5-6 tablespoons of oil). cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
make the crust. to an upright blender, or food processor fitted with a metal "s" blade, pulse the oats, flour, almonds, and salt. blend until the almonds are broken down into a "meal". transfer to a mixing bowl, add the coconut oil, and the maple syrup, squeeze the dough between your fingers, it should stick together, if it is too crumbly, add more oil, 1 teaspoon at a time, until dough comes together. spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan and press firmly into the bottom, sides, and corners. bake for 6-8 minutes, until lightly golden.
while the crust is baking, prepare the filling. gently toss together the berries, sugar, arrowroot, lemon juice, and salt, set aside.
when the crust is finished par-baking, remove it from the oven and spread the filling evenly over the top. use your fingers to break up the topping and spread it evenly over the filling.
bake for 35-40 minutes, until top is golden brown and filling is bubbling (if you can't see the filling, inset a sharp knife into the center, if it comes out with what looks like jam on it, then you know your filling it cooked!).
place pie bars on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before slicing into 16 squares. serve with your choice of vanilla ice cream (totally optional, but totally awesome!)
since it's just the 2 of us, i like to store these in a lidded container in the fridge so they don't go bad in the summer heat. they can be reheated or eaten at room temp.

enjoy!

similar recipes:

peach, hazelnut & shiso crumble w/ ginger ice cream

summer squash, banana-oat loaf w/ almond streusel

Summer Fridays! Cilantro & Hemp Salad On Tahini-Yogurt Toast / July 22, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

happy summer friday, y'all! i hope you've had a good week, and that you have some awesome things planned for this weekend. or maybe your plans are to just chill, which is something i've been super into lately :)

today's recipe (or lack there of) is really just an idea of things i love, coming together in one place. last year i discovered salad toast somewhat on accident. the one ripe avocado i had in the house was super funky, so i had to adapt. i had already made a little salad that i had wanted to top my avo toast with, so i decided to throw some leftover tahini-yogurt over top of my toast. it turned out to be one of those simple, accidental, meant-to-be moments, and i've been excited to share it here ever since. each time i make this the salad is different according to what season it is, or what's in my fridge on a given day.

today, i made a hemp-y cilantro salad because my little baby cilantro plants (that i sprouted from seed!) are mature enough to be eaten, and there's nothing my husband and i love more than cilantro's just-picked fragrance - so in it went! hemp seeds just add a bit of texture, and tomatoes and cucumber slices (also from my garden!) because they were what was hanging around and most fresh on my counter. i personally like using a hearty piece of bread, like a focaccia here (i linked to the gf brand i love below in the ingredients), but a slice of toast should work just fine in a pinch. and you may recognize the tahini-yogurt from a bunch of recipes on my site. sorry it's so ubiquitous, but it's soooo good, you guys.

anywho, here's my personal serving of summer on a plate. i hope you enjoy or at least find some inspiration in this teeny recipe!

xo's!

cilantro hemp salad on tahini-yogurt toast | v/gf

| serves 2 as a snack |

tahini-yogurt sauce (makes extra)

1/2 cup unsweetened cultured coconut yogurt (or yogurt of choice)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini paste
1 small clove garlic, minced
2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
fine sea salt & fresh pepper, to taste

salad

1 1/2 cups baby greens
1/4 cup sliced baby tomatoes
half a small cucumber, sliced thin
2-3 sprigs cilantro, minced
2 teaspoons hemp seeds, more for topping
extra virgin olive oil
fresh lemon juice
fine sea salt & fresh pepper
4 small toasted slices hearty bread or focaccia (i used my favorite gluten-free focaccia), cooled
cilantro blossoms, for topping (optional)

method

whisk together the tahini sauce transfer to a lidded jar and place in the fridge until ready to use. leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.
toss together the greens, tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, and hemp seeds. drizzle in a bit of olive oil (about 1-2 teaspoons), a spritz of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. toss everything together once more. taste and adjust if necessary.
spoon a good amount of the tahini-yogurt sauce onto each piece of the cooled bread. divide the salad between each piece of toast and top with more hemp seeds and cilantro blossoms if using.

enjoy!

similar recipes:

tomato toast w/ macadamia ricotta & shiso

summer socca salad w/ burst tomatoes & roasted zucchini

miso-tahini avocado toast w/ black sesame gomasio

Grilled Summer Pizza w/ Garden Pesto & Caramelized Balsamic Shallots (GF/V) / July 20, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Grilled Summer Pizza w/ Garden Pesto & Caramelized Balsamic Shallots (GF) | dolly and oatmeal

when i was working on my book last year and developing the recipe for this pizza dough, i thought waaaay in the back of my head that perhaps it would hold up as grilled pizza dough, but was too afraid to give it a whirl without my grilling-husband to help me out. late last summer i finally convinced him that we should try grilling our weekly friday night pizza. frank was all, what if it doesn't work!? then what will we eat? to which i replied something like, i don't know we'll figure it out! so with a little research and a lot of coals we grilled our first (gluten-free) pizza! we knew we needed a really hot grill, so we threw a few too many coals in - by the time it was preheated it was basically an inferno. nevertheless, we threw the dough on the hot baking stone and let it par-bake. by the time we checked on it a few minutes later the bottom had scorched. frank tried lowering the coals and moving the stone to the other side, but the grill was too hot, and our crust was basically ruined. we continued with our toppings but ended up with a black-bottomed (possibly carcinogenic) pizza crust that we tried to eat around.

since then, i'm happy to report that we've become much more capable in the grilled pizza department and it's something we do every friday night. we love it so much, that i wanted to share our little journey and this recipe here with you here today :)

as i've mentioned before, our garden is producing crazy amounts of kale and arugula that i planted back in april, and if you follow me over on snapchat (handle: dollyoatmeal), then you've seen a couple snaps of what's going on back there. so, summer garden pesto is always a go-to when summer rolls around because honestly, i can't really keep up with all the growth! i've been throwing together a kale, basil, shiso,, and arugula pesto and really loving the flavor of all of them combined, so that's what makes up the base of this pizza. the caramelized balsamic shallots are another thing i pulled from my book. in it, i make balsamic onions in a chickpea flour spaetzle which is still one of my favorite recipes. and lastly, roasted tomatoes! because it's summer and they're just too good this time of year. they're roasted with a few sprigs of thyme just for that extra summer flavor :) this is one of our household staples, so i hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

love & all the pizza! xo

grilled summer pizza w/ garden pesto & caramelized balsamic shallots | gf

we topped our pizza with a bit of fresh mozzarella, arugula, a few drizzles of olive oil, and a couple pinches of salt, just because we were wanting a heavier pizza (and this babe really wanted some cheese!). but the pizza topped with pesto, roasted tomatoes, and balsamic shallots is just as good - and totally vegan ;)

dough (v)

| makes 2 pizza doughs |

1 1/4 cup filtered warm water (105°-115°F)
1 teaspoon cane sugar
1 packet instant yeast (approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
2 teaspoons psyllium husk powder
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing

pesto (V)

1 bunch basil (about 2 cups)
5-7 kale leaves (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup shiso (or basil)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
handful of arugula
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

tomatoes

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt & fresh pepper

caramelized balsamic shallots

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2-3 shallots, sliced thin
fine sea salt
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

additional toppings

cheese of choice
handful of greens
olive oil drizzles
flaky sea salt

method

make the dough. in a bowl, whisk together the water and sugar until it is dissolved. sprinkle in the yeast and let it proof until the surface it foamy, about 10 minutes.
in a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients except the oil. use a wooden spoon to make a well in the center of the flour, then add the yeast mixture and olive oil. stir until dough is mixed. cover the bowl loosely with cling wrap and allow to dough to rise in a warm place (i preheat my oven to warm - about 150°F - and shut it off about 10 minutes before placing the dough inside) until the dough doubles in size, about 30-45 minutes.
line a cookie sheet with parchment, set aside. divide the dough in half and wrap one half in cling wrap, place in the freezer for another time. place the other half of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and dust with more brown rice flour. use your fingers to press the dough out, using more flour if needed to prevent sticking, until you have an 11-12-inch round. cut any parchment hanging over (this helps later on when grilling the pizza.) cover the dough with a clean dishcloth to puff up slightly, about 15-20 minutes.
make the pesto. while the dough is resting, place all the pesto ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal "s" blade, blend until broken down. taste and adjust, adding more salt or lemon juice if need be. place in a lidded container and refrigerate until ready to use.
make the tomatoes. preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. toss the tomatoes with the thyme, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. bake for 10-12 minutes until soft and slightly burst. set aside.
make the caramelized balsamic shallots. heat a sauté pan over medium heat. once the pan is hot, add the oil, shallots, and a good pinch of salt. stir every few minutes until the shallots are soft, about 7-9 minutes. turn the heat down to medium-low and add the balsamic. stir and let it all cook down for another 5 minutes. remove frorm heat and set aside.

assemble the pizza

place a pizza stone on the grates of your grill, and preheat to 500°F. brush the surface of the dough with a bit of olive oil. once the grill has come to temperature, slide the dough onto the baking stone. cook until large bubbles have formed on the surface, about 1-2 minutes. using a pizza peel (or, if you threw your pizza peel in the garbage because you became gluten-free and never thought you would make pizza again, you can easily use a cookie sheet like i do) carefully remove the pizza crust from the stone - at this point throw away the parchment paper that was below the dough. top the pizza with the pesto, cheese (if using), then the shallots, and roasted tomatoes.
carefully place the pizza back onto the stone and cook for another 7-8 minutes, until the edges of the crust are golden and any toppings are melted. top with greens, olive oil, and a sprinkle of flaky salt.

enjoy!