Just look at this thing.

Can it even be called a pie though if it lacks that fundamental flaky element? Semantics. If it looks like a pie and it feels like a pie, it’s a pie! No crust means less fuss and a whole lot healthier pie (in most cases), so lets just go with it.

For me, the only issue going crustless presents is a structural one. How can you get the whole thing to stay together without first laying that crusty foundation? I’ll tell you: It’s all in the fruit you use and how you slice it. Here, we went with apples – the most structurally sound of fruits. First, you’ll want to peel the apples and then use a mandolin or sharp knife to slice the fruit into 1/8-inch rounds. Don’t cut the fruit into wedges before doing this because you want your slices of fruit to be as large as possible. They should be like sheets. So just work away at one side of the apple until almost reaching the core and then flip it over and do the other side. Then you can slice the excess pieces off the core and reserve them for the binding sauce we’re going to make.

Binding sauce? I don’t know, that’s just what I’m calling it. The binding sauce is basically an apple sauce made by cooking down the excess apple pieces with some water, sugar and a thickening agent like cornstarch or arrowroot. Then you blend it up to make the silky sauce that’s brushed between each layer of apples as you build your pie. It holds all the layers together, like cement, so it’s not a step you can skip!

Assemblage of the pie is pretty simple. You start by lightly greasing the bottom of the pie pan, and then sprinkling with some cinnamon and sugar. Then you do a neat installation of apple rounds, followed by the binding sauce. And so on, until you get to the top of your pie dish. Like so…

And stacking it all up this way will ensure that you get a nice and neat cross section. Like so…

The blueberry sauce is cooked in the same exact way. It’s totally optional, but I recommend it for a little extra flair (the color bleeds through and is so pretty). Spread it on top of the pie just before baking.

I didn’t add the walnuts until the end so they wouldn’t burn. Another option is to sprinkle on some granola if you for that crunch you might miss without the crust.

It’s been a hectic, hectic couple of months. The food truck is keeping us busier than either of us could have imagined. Here’s a super quick rundown of the last couple days just to give you an idea. I’ll spare you all the messy details…
Yesterday: Up at 8am to shop for produce. Stop at mechanic to see if he can fix the tail lights this week. Then straight to the kitchen to cook from 11-6:30 with a 30 min break for lunch (kind of). Load up and drive to location. Set up and sell food until midnight. Yes, midnight. Drive back to the kitchen to unload and clean up. Get home at 12:45. Asleep at 2 a.m.
Today: Wake up at 8:30. Skip breakfast to get to kitchen on time. Clean the truck until it shines because we have the health inspection today. Make some empanadas. Load up and drive to location by 11 a.m. Set up for lunch shift while nervously awaiting inspector. We pass, of course. Head back to the kitchen at 2:30 to grab our cars and go our separate ways for a quick 2-hour break (during which I can hopefully finish this blog post and put on some makeup). Head back to truck at 5 where we’ll be until 10 tonight.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

So yea, it’s a lot. Sometimes we want to drop to the floor and cry. And sometimes we do. But we always remind each other that we wouldn’t want it to be going any other way. We’re SO thankful to be making this actually happen and that the customers keep coming back! (Even if it is killing us.)

Right now we’ve got one employee helping us in the kitchen so we just need to find someone who can be on the truck a couple nights a week so we actually alternate some nights off! The ‘help wanted’ sign is going up next week so let’s keep our fingers crossed. Hiring someone to work on the truck was a tough call to make from a financial standpoint, but the idea is that if we can get some rest we can apply ourselves to growing the business in other ways. And enjoying life a little more.

It’s our first time at all this so it’s all trial and error. Any suggestions? Anyone looking for a job? Ha. Anyone else working their fingers to the bone in the food industry? Anyone else wake up with sore feet? That’s the worst part I think.

Everyone likes to ask us if we ever take days off. Those will come, I’m sure. But for now, we don’t generally work Friday or Saturday nights unless it’s a special event and we aim for either Sundays or Mondays off. Sometimes we get at least one day. And it ends up being laundry day. But hey, in the midst of all the food truck madness, we’ve managed to sneak off for both Thanksgiving and Christmas to spend some days with family – that’s one perk of being your own boss!

So there you have it. That’s why I’ve been somewhat absent from the blog the last few weeks. This blog has always been my happy place and I intend to keep it that way, which is exactly why I haven’t been too hard on myself when I can’t find the time to post a new recipe for a couple (or a few) weeks. I’m trying to remind myself that that’s okay to focus on the business right now, and that it’s better to update the blog when my mind is clear and free so that I can enjoy the process of sharing something with you all. So that’s what I’m doing! And thanks to a little break over Christmas, I was able to dedicate some time to a few recipes that I can’t wait to share in the coming weeks! Here’s the first of them…

This slaw is for all of you that like crunch. Cabbage, fennel and almonds. Crunch, crunch and crunch. It’s light and refreshing and healthy cause we use yogurt instead of mayo or cream! We’ve been serving this on the truck for a few weeks and people have been loving it. Even had a few customers say it’s the best slaw they’ve ever had. And why would they lie? Makes the 60-hour workweek worth it.

I use a handheld mandolin to shave the fennel and cabbage nice and thin. The almonds give it the just the right amount of healthy fat (instead of the fat you’d get from the mayo), which also balances the tanginess of the lemon yogurt dressing. I sweeten with honey or agave, but that’s up to you. The poppy seeds don’t add too, too much flavor wise to the slaw, but they’re a nice touch and so pretty!

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to be able to complete this post for you! Absence does make the heart grow fonder. But seriously, as we get into a groove with the truck and get our employee thing figured out, it’ll be back to regular programming here on Honest Fare. Promise.

Thanks for sticking around. xoxo, gabi

I think the temp ended up getting down to the low 50s so hot soup was perfect for all our truck-side diners. Floridians are so funny about cold weather. It’s like we want to fully embrace it when it comes around, but we’re simply not capable. We’re either not properly prepared or we’re simply in denial about it. Perfect example: the customer that came up to the window that night wearing a fur coat to her ankles and flip-flops on her feet. What? Only in Florida. We just don’t know what we’re doing. Anyway, the soup…the soup takes the place of boots, apparently.

I love parsnips. (see: Parsnip Potato Purée and Parsnip Carrot Pasta). They’re so magnificently aromatic, and unexpected. People are always pleasantly surprised by parsnips because they’re not all that common, which is another reason I love using them. The parsnips definitely set the tone in this soup, adding an element of sophistication to the sweet and earthiness of the carrots.

After a quick sauté, everything is boiled in some milk and water or veg stock until soft. You can blend it up using whatever device you like, but I definitely recommend an immersion blender when it comes to soups. I blended this one until really silky, but feel free to do less if you like it chunkier.

This soup is seriously fantastic. Velvety and comforting. And what makes it even better is that it’s the kind of thing that can go nicely as an accompaniment to a variety of meats or fish or pasta or whatever!

It’s essentially just some egg and flour, milk and butter on a pan. No big deal. But once in the oven, they start to puff up, and up and up, right before your eyes, until they’re peaking and spilling out of your pan. It’s insane. And so pretty!

I used a miniature cast iron pan so the ones you see here didn’t puff up as much as ones made in larger dishes can.
Exhibit A: this guy.

Don’t worry, they do actually deflate and settle once removed from the oven, which is kind of fun to watch too.

To help with rising:
1. Use room temp/warm eggs and milk.
2. Beat the eggs a lot before adding the rest of the components.
3. Get the pan immediately back into the oven once you pour the batter in.

Flavor wise, they’re kind of like a pancake, but not as cakey. Lighter and spongier. So maybe more like a soufflé. But…less delicate and eggy. In a way, they also kind of remind me of a crepe. Okay, forget it. You get the point. They are delicious.

The question is, where have these babies been hiding all my life? I’ve never seen them on a menu. Never heard any talk of them. Never even seen photos of such a thing. My mom recently introduced me to Dutch babies, sometimes referred to as German pancakes, after she had them at a bed and breakfast somewhere in Oregon. (Oops, can’t remember where right now.) She’s been all about them ever since, topping them with fruit and yogurt and syrup. I’ve made them several times now and see exactly why she’s so into them.

Traditionally, Dutch babies are finished off with a little lemon juice (which sounds weird) and powdered sugar. I’m not crazy about powered sugar so I messed around with a few other toppings. I did one with pumpkin puree, cinnamon and maple syrup. That was awesome. But, even better was the simple pairing of raspberries, sliced almonds and maple syrup.

Not sure what it was about this mix, but it was fantastic.

I was also really pleased with this savory one of sautéed mushrooms, tomatoes and arugula, topped with Romano cheese. Looks like a cute little deep-dish pizza!

They cool thing about Dutch babies is that you can play around with them. Just serve them up and let people have fun with the toppings. You can make large ones for people to share, or smaller individually sized ones like the ones I made here. They’re usually eaten for breakfast, but I think they’re good any time of the day depending on what you top them with.

And unlike most salads, this one gets better as the dressing soaks in, which is definitely a plus when you’re pre dressing a salad to be served later. The dressing is simple to whip up. Just olive oil, lemon juice, curry powder, paprika, maple syrup, salt, cayenne pepper, fresh parsley and a spoon of mayo. Mayo??? Yea, trust me. So good you can drink it….and I kinda did.

I used a veggie peeler to make the long slices of carrot. The fatter the carrot you use the better. I find that rotating the carrot as you go works best to keep the strips consistent. It doesn’t actually take that long to do and it’s worth it!

Graceful carrot ribbons with pear wedges and shaved almonds, tossed in a well-balanced curry vinaigrette. Oh yes. Crunchy carrots with the suppleness of ripe pears is divine. And those carrot ribbons are so much fun to spin around your fork like spaghetti!

Table linen and tray by: Fog Linen Work. Fog Linen produces a line of daily use linen products for home and clothing. Beautiful stuff, and I’m thrilled to have them as a new partner here on Honest Fare.

Peruse the Fog Linen Work online store and see what I mean…

I cant get enough of the apple/avocado combo lately so it’s what I decided to share when recently asked by Joy over at OhJoy! (one of my favorite blogs!) to be part to be part of their Oh Joy Eats Lunch With series. So awesome and more than happy to do it!

P.S. Definitely check out OhJoy! if you haven’t been before! And have a look at the little Honest Fare feature too!

I like my watermelon best with a squirt of lemon to add another layer of refreshing flavor. Or sometimes I go chili powder, salt and lime. Sounds funny, but try it. The last couple years I’ve been pairing watermelon with a lot more savory elements and proteins. (See last year’s Watermelon Ceviche. And this summer we have a refreshing gazpacho.

Now, I have to admit, I don’t generally go for gazpacho. So if you don’t either, maybe just hear me out on this one. It’s not so much the cold soup thing that I have an issue with – it’s the tomato thing. Most gazpachos just taste like watery salsa, and as much as I love salsa, I don’t necessarily want to eat it with a spoon. Just doesn’t settle well. Traditionally gazpacho is tomato-based, but I see no reason to stick to tradition if it makes your stomach feel like a balloon filled with soda water. Anyway, I don’t order gazpacho when I’m out, but I do like to make it at home. And when I do, I go easy on the tomato.

Watermelon gazpacho is pretty awesome. I didn’t invent it or anything so I can say that. There are actually tomatoes in it, but the sweetness of the watermelon juice curbs the acid from the tomato, and then I blend avocado in there too, which smoothes it all out. Gives it a nice velvety texture.

Aside from that, there’s lemon juice, garlic, shallots, cucumber and a good amount of fresh box basil (like basil, but smaller and more delicate in texture and flavor) and a nip off of one of these mature jalapeño peppers that turned red because I neglected to pick them for so long (super spicy though).

It’s totally raw and only takes a few minutes to whip up. I do put it in the fridge or about an hour though to get it really cold and allow the flavors to set.

So good with some sourdough bread!

P.S. Lasts four days in the fridge.

Honeydew melon is perfect for cutting the bitterness raw kale can have, and it’s so refreshing during these hot summer days!

I like to chop the kale into pretty small pieces to make it easier to handle and so it gets as coated as possible in dressing. The dressing is just a simple combo of lemon juice, avocado oil (you can use olive oil instead), salt, pepper and agave. You’ve got to toss it all up nice and good so that the melon juices and Romano cheese complete the dressing. It’s pretty awesome!

This is a super easy one to throw together, and it’s pretty filling from the almonds and cheese. Stores well over night too!

Tangy, crunchy, earthy…oh man, I love it!

P.S. Here’s another favorite kale salad recipe.
Kale Avocado Salad.