A Farmers Market and Strawberries on Sale!

        A fresh strawberry pie in Summer; can't get much prettier and tastier!  My friend Patricia and I recently went to one of our favorite places, Buford Highway Farmers Market in Doraville, Georgia in the Atlanta area.  One of the first things we saw was fresh strawberries on sale.  They brought back many memories, like strawberry daiquiris my friends and I used to make on a hot, Summer day by the pool, and Shoney's Strawberry Pie.  We don't have a Shoney's in Rome anymore, which is sad.  They have the best breakfast and the best strawberry pie!

          For all this deliciousness, this is probably the easiest pie ever to make.  I made one for us and one for my next door neighbors, who are the most neighborly neighbors!  I was pressed for time, so I did use store bought pie crusts.  Don't let me mislead you, I haven't made a pie crust since culinary school!  So this is a six ingredient pie, and that includes the whipped cream!  If you're feeling really productive you can make your own, but I just gave my neighbors a can of whipping cream. How's that for a trained cook?  Convenience cannot be over-rated!

        This is so beautiful I think I'll make another one!  You can, too, just click on the picture of the pie for the easy recipe!
           

Shoney's Strawberry Pie-Copycat!

            Here is some more fresh produce we picked up at the farmer's market: peppers, zucchinis, beets, apples, onions and garlic.  It's just a heavenly garden smorgasbord!  The market is an almost two hour drive for us, but the trip is well worth it!   It is an international market with about every ingredient you've ever heard of if you're into cooking different cuisines, and much more than just fresh produce!  I have bought hard sought out spices and ingredients there for Korean, Chinese, and Mexican dishes! 

Inside the Buford Highway Farmer's Market!

        Are you ready for some more healthy protein muffins?  My next recipe isApple Cinnamon Protein Muffins.  These are made with a combination of Granny Smith and McIntosh apples from the farmer's market!  These turned out really moist and scrumptious! (I'm using other words besides delicious.)  I might be getting the hang of this!

Apple Cinnamon Protein Muffins!

Apple-Cinnamon Protein Muffins

Ingredients (separated by dry and wet):

• 75 grams protein from Whey Protein Isolate (vanilla flavor)
• 2.00 cups dry Oatmeal Flour (Old-Fashioned Oats crushed in a blender or food processor)
• .25 cup finely ground almond flour
• .25 cup Stevia
• 1.50 tsp Baking Powder
• .50 tsp Baking Soda


• 2 Egg Whites plus 1 Whole Egg, beaten*
• 4.00 ounces Nonfat Greek Yogurt
• 1 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
• 2 tbsp Honey (I use low glycemic Tupelo Honey)

• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 8 tbsp. Peanut Butter Powder, Prepared (a wet ingredient)
• .50 tsp Lemon Juice, fresh
• 1.50 cup peeled, medium diced apples


•  Directions:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. 
• Sift the dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl
• Combine wet ingredients in another bowl, and then add the dry to the wet! Never over-mix, but mix thoroughly just until the ingredients are combined or you'll have another "drying" problem!  I mix muffins with a silicone spatula. If the batter is a little thick, feel free to add a little more yogurt or applesauce.
• Take your blueberries from the freezer and gently fold them into the batter.  
• Taste the batter. If it tastes good, the muffins are going to taste good.  If you like it sweeter, add a little more sweetener.  Be careful you're not doing too much stirring!
• Scoop the batter into the muffin tins, a little over 3/4 full, and bake!  An ice cream scoop works great here!
• ​Begin baking for 15 - 17 minutes, then check at two minute intervals. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean.  Take into account any wet blueberries or melted chocolates, and just check the crumbs from the baked batter. A lot of recipes call for 20 - 25 minutes but I've never had to leave them in the oven that long.  When I did, they were really, really dry. 

          And now for your viewing pleasure, here are some of my pet friends I have been keeping while their owners are on vacation this Summer!  I have had many jobs since May and few more lined up through September!  This is part of the reason you haven't heard from me much in the last few weeks, but I'm trying to keep up some, in addition to having Sawyer two or three days a week.  It has been a wonderful, busy Summer!

​            I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Summer!  Dishing With Love,  Denise!