Blue Isle’s Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads

I was lucky to receive an email from the manufacturers of Blue Isle's Yogurt Spreads offering to send me some samples.  I love a Bagel and Cream Cheese for breakfast, so this seemed like a great alternative to cream cheese, plus it has the addition of probiotics which I like ALOT!

You can use it in place of cream cheese for just about anything.

They currently have six varieties and they are all delicious!  I especially like the Spicy Vegetables, I love to dip Sugar Snap Peas into it.  The Blueberry is my new favorite for Plain Bagels and the French Onion is great on a Sesame Bagel.

I even stirred some of the plain variety into a Fettuchini Sauce and it was delicious.

Blue Isle Mediterranean yogurt spread are made from the healthy goodness of yogurt including live cultures, probiotics and calcium but with no added sugar.  With only 60 calories and 6 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons it is 40% less fat and calories than the leading cream cheese, and it is good for you!

The flavors are:

• Blue Original
• Honey
• Blueberry
• French Onion
• Spicy Vegetables

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp

I was busy making a Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette for hubby, and I and had a bunch of leftover filling so I decided I would make a Crisp for some of my Husband's friends at work.

I have these sweet mini Emil Henry ceramic pie dishes a dear friend gave me years ago so I used them.   The filling is easy to make and the crisp part is only three ingredients.  This will easily make 6 Crisps if you use Ramekins.  Alternately you can use one of the smaller sized square casseroles.

1 cup of strawberries, stem removed sliced in half
1 cup or about 3 stalks of Rhubarb sliced (when cutting the ends off, it may act like it wants you to peel the skin off, go ahead but don't obsess on it)
1/4 cup of Sugar (I have Vanilla Sugar so I used that)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Orange Zest
2 TBL AP flour
Pinch of Salt

Place all the above ingredients in a bowl and stir well, set aside and let macerate for a few minutes while you make the topping.

Topping
2 cups of Rolled Oats, I used Rudi's Gluten Free Granola
4 Tablespoons of butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Mix well, set aside

1.  Place your fruit mixture in the Ramekin or whatever you want to use
2.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes
3.  Mixture should be bubbly and the topping crisp

4.  Remove from oven, let cool and top with whipped cream or ice cream

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette

We visited our favorite local Farm Store, Unger Farms and picked up 12 pints of our local Hood Strawberries, they are a bit smaller but super sweet.  I also got some fresh Rhubarb which I think I have only used once in my life.  My Sister In Law, Mary said she was going to make a Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp or Cobbler I cannot remember which one.

Anyway it gave me an idea, I thought I would make a Galette which I love to do when fresh fruit is in season. I looked about the inter webs and used this recipe as my start, I of course had to change it and add ingredients to make it my own.

I only had a Deep Dish Pie crust already in the pan, so I flipped it over and let it thaw, then tried to roll it. It was a bit of a disaster so I apologize for how terrible it looks.  Next time I will either make my own pie crust or get a frozen rolled one.

1 Pie Crust Round, either make or buy one
1 cup of strawberries, stem removed sliced in half
1 cup or about 3 stalks of Rhubarb sliced (when cutting the ends off, it may act like it wants you to peel the skin off, go ahead but don't obsess on it)
1/4 cup of Sugar (I have Vanilla Sugar so I used that)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Orange Zest
2 TBL AP flour
Pinch of Salt
1 Egg, lightly beaten
3 TBL of Sugar In the Raw

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Place thawed pie crust on your counter with a little flour and roll out to a 10 inch round

Place the round carefully on a greased baking sheet (I used a Silpat)

Blot Strawberries and Rhubarb with paper towels to remove excess moisture, place the fruit and the flour, spices, sugar, salt and orange zest.  Let rest for 10 minutes or so and mix well

Using a slotted spoon, place the fruit in the middle of the pastry, leaving a 3 inch pastry edge.  Fold pastry edge up and over the fruit mixture, overlapping the edges as required, leaving the center of the pie uncovered

Place small dots of butter on the exposed fruit, 2 total tablespoons

Brush pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle the pastry and filling with the Sugar In the Raw

Bake on lower shelf of pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown

Let sit for 5 minutes and serve with whipped cream or ice cream