The Jolly Fox
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Blood Orange & Strawberry Fry Pies w/ Rosemary Crust.
Hello glorious blog reading and blog writing friends!
I probably shouldn’t post when I’ve had so much beer and wine (yes, both) and by “so much” I naturally mean one beer and one glass of wine. BUT….I plan to have more! Maybe one more. I don’t know. So, basically I’m finally (at 27) understanding why people need to either come home and have a drink after work or, drink on the weekends….or weekdays, whatev, I don’t judge. Although I love beer and consider myself an amateur connoisseur of such things, in actuality, I don’t really drink very much….especially with the idea of being drunk.
I don’t want to talk too much about my job, but for those who may not know, I am a self-employed dogwalker & petsitter (and very occasional babysitter). You may be thinking, oh snap!!! That’s the best job ever! And… it is in so many ways. But sometimes it’s a lot of pressure. It’s always a lot of responsibility. It’s sometimes stress….so much stress. When you care about people and animals as much as I do….sometimes it can be hard. I don’t know how many people out there are reading my blog, but I bet some of you are are thinking, that’s my job too!! Alas! Such is working….I have my ups and downs, like everyone. I am in need of a vacation, but in reality, I will probably not take a real one until Summer or Fall.
Okay enough about that shit. Oh snap, I cursed, but seriously, onto a post with a recipe!!!
My latest veganization. I saw these fry pies on Eat the Love and instantly fell in love. Lucky for me I had just enough blood oranges left over from my Ojai trip and had coincidentally gotten some fresh organic strawberries. I love when desserts just fall into place. And into your mouth. I can always manage to cut some fresh rosemary from the garden (so easy to grow), so these came right together for me. I was never about frying them; first, I am nervous to fry in general because I know how unhealthy it is and also has the potential to drench me in a warm yucky nausea….ugh. Since I fry things so rarely, I’m no expert. Needless to say I did the best that I could and they were a success. My testers enjoyed them and so did I.
Blood Orange & Strawberry Fry Pies w/ Rosemary Crust
Adapted from Eat the Love
Recipe requires ADVANCED PREPARTION
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 c flour
½ c non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
½ tsp sea salt
½ c non dairy milk mixed with:
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Filling:
2 blood oranges, as much skin and pith removed as possible, sliced into thin segments
1 c unbleached cane sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
about ½ lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
¼ c plus 2 tbsp arrowroot
A few cups of safflower oil to fry-
Method:
Take your blood orange slices and place them in a bowl with the sugar. Mix it around and refrigerate overnight/8 hours.
After the oranges have sat overnight, add the arrowroot, vanilla and salt. Mix until arrowroot dissolves. Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium high heat. Be careful not to burn the mixture or overcook. Cook until it starts to look translucent. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the strawberries.
To make the dough, combine flour, rosemary, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter until the mixture starts to form crumbs. Start adding your vegan buttermilk mixture (non-dairy milk plus apple cider vinegar). Add a few tbsp at a time until the dough comes together.
To assemble, divide the dough into about 6 pieces. Flatten out dough into 4-5 inch disks and place a tbsp of filling inside. Add more if you think it needs more, but be careful not to overfill. Fold your dough over and use a fork to seal the edges closed. If your edges are not sealing, add just a touch of liquid.
Pour oil into medium sauté pan. Heat oil to about 350°F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test your oil by sticking the bottom of a wooden spoon into the hot oil (tip courtesy of the Spork Sisters). If bubbles start to form around the base of the tool, the oil is ready for frying. Alternatively, you can reserve a small scrap of dough and do a test fry as well. Never let the oil smoke. If your oil smokes, remove your pan from the heat, wipe out the burnt oil and start again.
When the oil is ready, use tongs and a spatula to place the first pie into the oil. You can use your spatula to help some oil onto the side facing upward, so that it cooks a bit while the other side is cooking. After a minute or two, flip your pie over and fry the other side. This should only take a few minutes per pie. They will turn golden brown and crispy when they’re done—Fry one pie at a time and place cooked pies on a plate lined with paper towels. Safflower oil tends to lend a less greasy quality to fried foods, so I like it for that reason.
Irvin added a glaze to these once cooked, but I thought they were sinful enough as is. 😉
The Jolly Fox 
You’ve really got me craving blood oranges lately. How did you find the fruit/rosemary combination?
I’m not a big drinker either, but some days I feel like drowning myself in a bucket of red wine after work. It doesn’t take much for stress to start eating away at you. I found that if I don’t exercise during a work day I turn into a cranky stress ball.
Ooo, I love a fruit and herbs combination. I thought the flavors worked well. I love strawberry basil, strawberry mint, lemon thyme, peach basil, apple rosemary and so many more! I will be posting a recipe for a Rhubarb-Apple-Lavender Crisp soon.
I have been trying to track down some end-of-season blood oranges here in California–I have 10 waiting for me tomorrow and I’m already planning something delicious (hopefully delicious).
My body doesn’t really tolerate alcohol that well. It doesn’t make me sick with headaches and nausea so much, but more like everything just hurts and feels off….so dehydrating. At the same time, I needed that drank the other night for sure! 🙂