home-grown

Dear Mom,

Oh that tomato relish...  I will be extremely upset if you don't save a jar for me and John.  I have been telling him about that stuff since I've known him, and this is the first time in those eight years that you've made it!  It is a hard thing to describe, its definitely not something you can buy off the shelf.  I think if I had a dishwasher I would have made the stuff myself by now, but with out a dishwasher the idea of sanitizing everything just frightens me.  I know you can boil the jars and what not, but I'm still terrified of botulism!  I know that this is kind of ridiculous, but considering how much I love food (and how much I eat) I have this terrible feeling that it will be my demise some day!  (I also have fears of becoming lactose intolerant or allergic to gluten, in which case I might as well be dead.)

So making tomato relish is kind of out of the question.  Unless of course we wanted to eat the whole batch in one sitting, which it sounds like if we were Dad that would be an option.  Not only is it really not feasible from a kitchen engineering perspective, it is also not economically feasible.  Tomatoes are pricey!  When we moved to Chicago we fell in love with our apartment because of the great little third floor wood deck out back that gets the morning sunshine which streams between the leaves and branches of a beautiful old tree in our back yard.

 
I was so excited to try to grow potted tomatoes, peppers and herbs.  The herbs did great!  And that's about it.  The foodie in me though, has still not let the dream of home-grown peppers and tomatoes die.  I'm still trying.  Every year I buy a tomato or pepper plant and give it the old college try, but every year this happens:

With the tomatoes its worse.  The good thing is we have an abundance of great farmers markets in the city of Chicago, and we also subscribe to that wonderful consumer-supported-agriculture box that arrives at our doorstep every other week.  So when I spied some beautiful peaches at the farmers market, I held back the urge to devour them immediately after purchase and decided to make a cobbler.

This recipe comes from Cooking Light, and can be made with any type of stone fruit.  Apples or cherries would also be great, you could probably even mix and match different types of fruit. 

peach cobbler

for the peach filling:
5 good-sized peaches, chopped into quarters
(that sounds like Grandma-speak - how about large peaches)
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. salt

for the dough:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
6 oz. chilled 1/3 fat cream cheese, cut into pieces
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
2 tbsp. turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly coat 6 ramekins with cooking spray and cover a small baking sheet with foil.  Place the ramekins on the baking sheet.

Combine all filling ingredients and divide among the 6 ramekins.

For the dough, in the bowl of a food processor place flour, sugar, salt and baking powder and pulse 3 or 4 times.  Add the butter, lemon rind and cream cheese, pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Add the buttermilk and pulse until blended.

Drop the dough by spoonfuls over the peaches, dividing evenly.  Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar and bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until the dough is golden.

Easy as (peach) pie

Dear Krisitn,

Ah, the lazy, hazy days of summer. I wish.

I can usually gauge my stress levels by the amount of chocolate consumed. One or two Hershey's miniatures a day means life is wonderful, the birds are singing, and I'm feeling carefree. Five or six in a day means I'm a little busy but still sane, the birds have begun to squawk, and while life is not carefree, at least I can still take time to smell the proverbial roses.

Let's just say that I bought a four pound bag of miniatures last week and half of them are gone. Life has gone from carefree to chaotic, the birds are screeching, and I can't even find those darn proverbial roses let alone smell them.

So, I need a break from chocolate. Still craving something sweet, I decided to grab some peaches from the produce section and whip up a peachy summer dessert. This pie is super simple and quick, getting you in and out of a hot summer kitchen in no time. And, unfortunately, that is exactly what I have this week - no time!

So until next week, here's a little something to enjoy.

Peachy Custard Pie

1 9" pie shell
3 T. flour
3 T. brown sugar
2 1/2 lb. peaches (about 5 or 6), peeled and sliced
1 T. lemon juice
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1 egg
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. flour

Preheat oven to 425F.
Mix 3 T. flour and brown sugar in a small bowl. Spread over bottom of pie shell.
Toss peaches with lemon juice.
Arrange peaches on top of flour/brown sugar mixture.
Whisk evaporated milk and egg together. Pour this mixture over peaches.
Mix remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Sprinkle this mixture over peaches.
Bake at 425F. for 30 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted 1/2 way between edge and center of pie comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack, then refrigerate.

Cook's tip: To easily peel peaches, cover them with boiling water for about a minute. Drain. Peels will now slip off easily. (This tip only works if you have ripe peaches.)