Triple Berry Orange Scented Crisp

I am summer deprived.  But aren't we all?  It is getting to that time of the winter where I am really missing vitamin d of the sunshine, and all if the summer produce.  Especially berries.  Being that it is pretty chilly however I enjoy warm desserts like crisps!  I have been making apple and pear crisp up to wazzu, and though I love both of those fruits, I am feeling berry crisp deprived.  Berries here are not so good this time of year though, as they have been shipped a long ways and they are very spendy.  I came up with a solution that eliminated both of those problems and opted for the frozen berry option!  I still had a bunch of bags of berries left over in my fridge from summer when I was making many smoothies.  So I combined a bag of boysenberries, blackberries and raspberries to make a delicious crisp!  I wanted to incorporate a little bit of winter produce however, so I used the juice and zest of a blood orange as well and it gave a wonderful orange scent and flavor to the berries!  I suppose I could have just topped my crisp off with oats, but I decided to include coconut and cardamom, since they would play well off the orange in the berry filling.  It was so delicious as I enjoyed it warm from the oven, the gooey sweet tart berries, and the crunchy coconut scented oaty topping and the vanilla bean ice cream I scooped onto it melting slowly... just as a crisp should be in my opinion!  Try some for yourself if you wish...

Triple Berry Orange Scented Crisp with Oatmeal Coconut Cardamom Topping

Serves 4

Fruit:

1 12 oz bag frozen blackberries

1 12 oz bag frozen raspberries
1 12 oz bag frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp agave nectar

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp orange zest
juice of one small blood orange
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

Topping:

6 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour

3 Tbsp maple or brown sugar

3/4 tsp ground cardamom

4 Tbsp cold Earth Balance vegan butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup large flake coconut

Two 5 or 6 inch wide ovenproof bowls or pie plates

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack at the center position. Place a baking sheet lined with foil on the rack. Spray two 5 or 6 inch wide pie plates or bowls with cooking spray. In a large bowl, toss together the berries, agave nectar, orange juice and zest, vanilla, flour. Spoon into prepared bowls or pie plates, and cover with foil. Place plates on baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes until fruit is cooked through and bubbling. Meanwhile, to make the topping, combine the flour, sugar, cardamom, butter and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender, or 2 knives, cut butter into the flour until it is in pea sized chunks and clumping together. Add oats coconut, and with hands, squeeze the mixture together forming larger chunks as well as incorporating the oats and coconut until it is evenly distributed as you go. Place in the fridge until the crisps are ready to top. When the fruit has baked for 45 minutes, and is bubbling, remove from the oven and top with the crisp mixture. Place back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown and toasted (keep a close eye on it as coconut burns very quickly). Remove from oven and let cool until warm...enjoy!