Strawberry, Basil + Mascarpone Hand Pies

I'm in Chicago this week apartment hunting. We've got five days to find a live-able apartment in a safe neighborhood with the best kitchen a student's budget can buy. I'm praying for a gas range and natural light. No big deal. 

On a more exciting note, I made hand pies! I love hand pies. They are cute, portable, and infinitely less fussy than regular pies. And these hand pies are no exception. They beg to be taken on a picnic somewhere sunny and cool and savored down to the last buttery bite. The flavors epitomize Spring meeting Summer with fresh juicy strawberries, bright green basil, and creamy mascarpone cheese. If you're unfamiliar with mascarpone it's like cream cheese's savory, more sophisticated Italian cousin. The three blend together beautifully in a flakey all-butter crust (my favorite part), providing a bite-sized, adult-version of the strawberry cream cheese pies you probably ate as a kid.

Did I mention they are also super fun to make? They have that charming hand-made, perfectly imperfect look with oozy strawberry juices coming out the sides and fork-crimped natural edges. It's been scientifically proven that it's impossible to be in a bad mood while making and eating hand pies. Don't believe me? Try it. 

Strawberry, Basil + Mascarpone Hand Pies 
adapted from Joy the Baker 
Makes about 13 3.5-inch pies 

For the crust: 
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 
2 tablespoons sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk (see notes) 

For the mascarpone filling: 
8 oz mascarpone, softened slightly 
1 large egg yolk 
2 tablespoons agave (or sweetener of your choice) 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

For the strawberries: 
1 pound strawberries 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
1 teaspoon lemon zest 
1 tablespoon agave (or sweetener of your choice)
6-8 medium basil leaves, thinly sliced (optional)
a pinch of salt 

1 egg, for egg wash
turbinado sugar, for topping 

Make the dough. Cube the butter into 1/2 inch chunks then pop it in the freezer for 5 minutes. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cold butter chunks, and using your hands integrate the butter into the flour until the butter chunks are roughly the size of peas - some larger some smaller. Form a "well" in the middle of the flour/butter mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Using a fork, mix the edges of the flour mixture into the buttermilk. Keep going until everything is wet and just combine. Keep those butter chunks intact. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough into two disks, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days. 

Prep the mascarpone mixture. With a rubber spatula combine all the ingredients until smooth. 

Prep the strawberries. Dice the strawberries, discarding the stem and white insides. In a medium bowl toss the strawberries with lemon juice, zest, agave, basil leaves and salt. 

Assemble the pies. In a small prep bowl whisk the egg. Working with 1 disc of dough at a time, on a floured work surface, roll out the pie crust until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Using a biscuit or pastry cutter, cut out circular disks (I used a 3.5 inch biscuit cutter).

Using a pastry brush, paint a 1-inch border around the edges of the disk with the egg wash. Scoop roughly 1 heaping tablespoon of the mascarpone mixture into the center of the disc followed by roughly the same amount of strawberry mixture. Lightly stretch a second disk then drape it over the strawberries and mascarpone. Using a fork, crimp the edges by pressing the top dough layer into the bottom. It's okay if the strawberry juices and mascarpone seep out the sides a little. Repeat with remaining pies.

Using a knife, cut small holes into the top of each pie for steam to release. Transfer prepared pies to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and pop the pies in the fridge to cool as the oven heats. Just before putting the pies in the oven, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Cook for 20-22 minutes until golden brown. 

Repeat with the second batch of dough. You can re-use the scraps, just pop them in the refrigerator for a couple minutes to harden up. You can also brush scraps with egg wash, top with sugar, and bake as pie crust "cookies". 

Notes: 

• About the buttermilk. If you're like me and don't keep buttermilk around you can make your own by mixing 1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon milk (of any kind, I actually used almond) then adding 1/2 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes. It will curdle slightly. Then you're good to go. 
  
  
• The basil is totally optional and you might want to omit it if you have, say, picky kids. But in my humble opinion the basil is what makes these pies. It gives them a bright almost peppery surprise that pairs so well with the fresh strawberries.
  
  
• About re-using dough scrapes - know that the more you work the dough the tougher it will become.  

Eating Portland: A Food Guide

I recently spent five days in Portland with Nate. He consistently travels there for work and has completely falling in love with the city. It’s a bit of a foodie/mountain biking/hipster/yoga/healing/nature mecca and he’s convinced it’s the perfect city for us. It’s large enough that it offers everything we’d want from a city – arts, culture, public parks and events, walkability, lots of good food, great farmer’s markets, job opportunities, and accessibility to a somewhat major airport (because of course in our dream life we frequent Europe yearly).The culture of the city seems to really fit in line with our values, something we’ve found quite counter to living in LA land. Until last week I had only been to Portland once and though it seemed pretty cool, I wasn’t convinced it quite lived up to Nate’s rave reviews. I worried I was a bit too type A to live in such a bohemian, free-spirited city. But I over those five days I was proven oh so wrong, and now I’m completely smitten with everything about #PDX.

This trip we came prepared, with nearly fifty bookmarked places to check out from local recommendations, articles, food blogger recommendations, yelp reviews and places Nate has discovered in the weeks he’s spent there. We were thoroughly prepared and feel seriously proud for getting to experience nearly 20 different restaurants and food trucks in the span of five days. We treated the city of Portland like one big tapas bar, usually splitting just a single item, appetizer, drink, or dessert at each place we went. That way we basically got to try three times as many places because let's face it, when we're talking Portland, stomach space is a previous commodity! This worked particularly well because so much of Portland's food scene is casual/food truck oriented so we didn't have to feel guilty about taking up a table and ordering so little. 

Lets start by saying, despite the fact that Portland loves in bacon (maple bacon doughnuts everywhere. Sorry bacon lovers, I just don’t get it.) its one of the most vegan/vegetarian friendly cities I’ve ever been to. We’re talking quinoa risotto, vegetarian bowl, chickpea burger, mushroom gravy biscuits, tempeh bacon. Yeah, I ate it all and it was super exciting. There are also approximately 239423042 juice bars/trucks. So somehow I managed to get my hands on quinoa and a green juice/smoothie five times during my trip! Go veg protein!

Because former me would have totally appreciated the recommendation of a fellow foodie, here is a nowhere near comprehensive, but personally tested and kneading home approved guide to Portland. Enjoy!

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Salt & Straw. If you go to one place in Portland, go to Salt and Straw. Last year before Nate spent a month in Portland I read about this place on buzzfeed, saveur, and bon appetite all within the span of 3 days. I told Nate, you have to go to this place!!!. He went and then proceeded to return almost everyday of his trip. My husband is a bit of an ice cream connoisseur and this is the best he’s ever had. Lucky for fellow Los Angelenos they recently opened up a shop in Larchmont, but we like the Portland original shops the best. 1. Because they have a coconut milk flavor (yay dairy-free!) 2. We swear the scoops are bigger. Damn. You dieting Los Angelenos. And 3. the Portland scoops cost less. Though what do you expect living in LA… They offer a handful of regular flavors but update a second handful of seasonal flavors each month. It's all locally sourced and the flavors are the most complex and interesting flavors I have ever seen. If you’re not going for the Coconut with Salted Caramel Bars, my favorite flavor is the Cinnamon Snickerdoodle – richly flavored cinnamon ice cream swirled with giant chunks of soft gooey snickerdoodle cookies. You’re welcome. 

Pip’s Original Doughnuts. Only the best doughnuts I’ve ever had. Sorry, Chicago. These little poppers are tiny sized, so be sure to order a bunch. Best of all they are made to order which means you’ll bite into them while they are piping hot and literally still dripping with a bit of grease – don’t worry, you can drink a green juice afterwards. They have 6 simple flavors; we tried all but the maple bacon, and can attest they are all delicious. But it’s really about the freshness and the crunchy just-fried texture of these beauties. Simplicity is perfection with this place. I also had a "smokey robinson" chai tea which was super interesting and I'm pretty sure infused with liquid smoke- like nothing I have ever tasted. They are famous for their chai and have tons of flavors- you can even do a chai flight! How cozy! 

Prasad – I went to yoga Friday morning while Nate worked and discovered this not-so-secret-don’t-believe-me-check-out-their-yelp-reviews café, which shares a space with the yoga studio. I went three times in the four and a half days I was there, and am convinced if I lived in Portland I’d visit at least once a week. They serve made to order fresh juices, smoothies, breakfast, and vegetarian bowls – basically all the things I eat while I’m at home, but better. They are completely vegan and gluten-free. Their Chili Bowl was divine with spicy house-made black bean chili, quinoa, sautéed kale, flavorful cashew dressing, and a giant serving of avocado. Definitely one of the best meals I had on the trip. Sharing a space with the yoga studio, this place has a quiet relaxed vibe. 

Andina  This was one of the only two full-service restaurants we ate all. Hello food trucks and fast casual dining. And it was one of the best, most interesting, completely re-defines my ideas of food, meal I’ve had in a long time. Get a reservation or be prepared to wait a while because this place has a bold reputation, and rightfully so. We started out with bread served with three traditional Peruvian sauces – a peanut based sauce, a spicy passion fruit sauce, and a bright fresh chimichurri type sauce with tons of kick. Let me be clear, this was just the free bread that came with the table. Yeah. Awesome. We then had a potato small plate smothered in three more completely unlike anything I’d ever tasted sauces and roasted caramelized peanuts. So good. They had an entire vegetarian menu. Not kidding, which is flipping amazing. I ordered quinoa risotto “Quinotto” with fresh market vegetables, laced with truffle oil, and decorated with a plate full of colourful sauces. It came out looking like plain old quinoa until I took a bit and my mind was blown. Seriously. Go here. It's a bit on the fancier side with copper tables and dark, cozy atmosphere. Definitely a special place. 

Hot Lips Pizza  They have vegan pizza. Woah. It looked fantastic, but I splurged on some roasted vegetable with feta. It was even more delicious with a giant glass of red wine. Great lunch place. Top-notch casual pizza. 

Blue Star Donuts Donuts for Grown-ups - one of their slogans, pretty perfectly sums up this place. Delicious donuts with super creative, interesting and complex flavors, made fresh with high quality real ingredients. When we got there at 3:00pm on a Saturday afternoon there was a 20+ minute line out the door and a lot of the most popular flavors had already sold out. We had the blueberry bourbon basil which was super basil-y and really interesting with flavors that grew on you the more bites you took. We also had the buttermilk lemon poppyseed which was insane - perfect balance of sweet and tart real lemon flavor a-top a perfectly crispy old-fashioned cake style donut. Definitely worthy of the hype.

Potato Champion This was the first thing I ate after touching down in Portland. It's part of an open park of food trucks encircling a quaint picnic area. Super cute. Super Portland. Fantastic food truck in part of a little square of food trucks.  We had the palak paneer fries - the perfect fusion of Indian sag paneer with thick cut Belgian frites topped with a sweet cilantro chutney. So good. So interesting. I've never had anything like it.

Por Que No This place was packed when we walked by on a Thursday night. Loved the casual atmosphere of ordering at the bar then seating yourself. We ordered guac with freshly made grease-still-on-them (in a good way) chips, the pomegranate margarita (super strong, super delish), house-made horchata, and a veggie taco. The tacos were small, but super cheap, and meant to be ordered in large batches. Everything was delicious and the restaurant had a fun, eclectic, yet relaxed atmosphere.

Portland State Farmer’s Market Hands down the BEST and biggest farmer's market I have ever been to. The selection of fresh produce and artisan foods make this place a foodie heaven. They have everything from vegan cheese spreads, homemade kombucha, french bakeries, local jams, breakfast burritos stands and tons of food carts. The vendors are friendly, knowledgable and give lots of free samples. This is the first farmer's market I've ever seen with re-usable dishes/utensils and labeled bins for returning them. If only all farmer's markets could be this progressive. This was one of the highlights of my entire trip. 

Whole Wheat Strawberry Banana Bread {vegan}

Operation put strawberries in as many things as humanly possible before summer gets here continues today. I've long been a fan of the marriage of strawberries and banana. They made a dynamic duo, and feel tropical and springy. So I decided to adapt my Aunt's banana bread recipe, which I pretty much grew up on and have been making forever, to include strawberries! Yipee! 

I wanted to make it somewhat less of a treat and somewhat more of a dare I say, healthy, snack. Something that would be appropriate with your morning coffee. So I omitted the sugar and replaced it with half the amount of maple syrup. All hail maple syrup! I swear I should have been born Canadian. With the help of a little coconut oil, I also made it vegan. I used a combination of whole wheat pastry flour, which makes this bread surprisingly light, and good old fashioned oats. And despite the fact that it tastes just as good if not better than the banana bread I grew up eating, it's packed with protein, whole grains, and fiber, so there is no guilt in eating the entire loaf. The result is an incredibly moist loaf of classic banana bread with the perfect tang from bursting ripe strawberries. I think banana bread is the ultimate homemade food. It smells and tastes like home.

Whole Wheat Strawberry Banana Bread {Vegan} 
Makes 1 large loaf

1 flax eggs (1 tbsp flax seed meal + 2.5 tbsp water + pinch of baking powder) or 1 chicken egg
1 cup mashed ripe banana (~2 medium bananas)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats (not quick-cooking)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scant cup finely diced strawberries + 1-2 strawberries for topping

Prepare the flax egg, if using. Combine flax and water in a small prep bowl, stir to combine and let sit at least 20 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a medium loaf pan (I used coconut oil spray) .

Process the oats in the bowl of a food processor for about 1 minute until finely ground. Combine oat “flour” with whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and whisk to combine.

Toss baking powder into the flax seed mixture (skip this step if you are using a regular egg) and stir, it should be thickened to the consistency of an egg by now. In a large bowl (or stand mixture) mix together flax egg, bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla until fully incorporated.

Slowly integrate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Gently stir in the diced strawberries and pour the batter into your loaf pan. Thinly slice remaining 1-2 strawberries and drape them on top of your loaf. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown on the top and a skewer comes out completely clean.

Notes:

The fresh strawberries give this bread a lot of moisture. Moisture leads to a longer cooking time. The top of your loaf will likely be darker than the loaf in the photos (which would have used a longer cook time).
As tempting as it is to toss in 2-3 ripe bananas and call it good, you need to measure out exactly a cup. Too much banana and the loaf won’t cook through. Trust me and my 6 loaves of under-cooked bread.