simple summer stone fruit cobbler

I love cherry season. As a family, we generally consume about 25 pounds in a span of two or three months. (I'm not telling how much of that I'm personally responsible for. Ahem.) This simple cobbler is one of my favorite ways to eat cherries. It's also a great way to use all of those other yummy summer stone fruits, like peaches, nectarines and plums. This recipe is kind of a cheater cobbler: still from scratch, just without all that dough making, rolling and cutting. Perfect for surprise guests or afternoon cravings. 

Summer Stone Fruit Cobbler

Batter: 
1/4 cup butter (That's right. Real butter. I said it was simple, not healthy)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Fruit: 
~ 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of the stone fruit of  your choice 
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar

Prep your fruit, first, by washing it really well. If you're using peaches, nectarines or plums, remove the stone and slice your fruit. (I don't peel my fruit for this recipe because I like it to be a bit more rustic. Plus it's prettier. Suit yourself on this.) If you're using cherries, spend the next hour laboriously cutting and pitting the little wretches OR you could do like I did and buy yourself one of these handy little kitchen wonders and be done with pitting in mere minutes: 

( I did the Snoopy Happy Dance when I first used this)

Okay, fruit cleaned, pitted and sliced (except for the cherries, which I leave whole), toss it into a bowl with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to mix well, coating each piece of fruit with the sugar mixture. (If I don't have time to let my fruit sit for a while, I massage it a bit, especially the cherries [really, I come pretty close to crushing these], to get the juices flowing really well. If you can let the peaches, nectarines and plums sit in the fridge for a couple of hours, they'll get juicy on their own.)

Preheat your oven to 375. I really like to use a well seasoned, cast iron skillet for this cobbler. The advantage is that it will give your cobbler a beautiful, crunchy, delicious crust. Totally worth the extra effort. 

Melt your butter on the stove top in the cast iron skillet while you mix the batter. You want the skillet hot and the butter melted and swirled around the edges of the pan to coat the bottom and prevent the batter from sticking. Be careful not to burn the butter - if you're nervous about the multitasking, just wait until your batter is mixed to heat your skillet and melt the butter. You could also let your skillet heat up in the oven as it preheats, then take it out to melt the butter once your batter is mixed. 

Now for the rest of the batter. This couldn't be easier. Blend the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk and vanilla well with a whisk and pour over the melted butter in the skillet or baking dish. Very important: do not stir. Distribute the prepared fruit gently over the batter, again without stirring. 

Bake for 40 minutes, until the batter is starting to turn golden brown and crisping around the edges. Serve your cobbler hot out of the oven with ice cream or freshly whipped cream, if you like. Or, just as good, straight out of the fridge the next morning for breakfast. 

jam and bread

My kids eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch almost every day. I had a pediatrician tell me several years back that daily PB&Js are just fine. At the time, I wasn't necessarily looking for affirmation, and I'm usually one to question any outside guidance regarding my kids, but considering how much easier this particular indulgence makes my life, I accepted the advice blindly and haven't looked back. So, that's how we've rolled for a while now but I have tried to keep our PB&Js a bit more on the healthy side, even more so lately with homemade bread and jam.

Enter Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. If you have any interest whatsoever in trying bread making, but are intimidated by the process, I highly suggest that you check it out. The basic idea is that you mix up the bread (no kneading!), let it rise, then stick it in the fridge until baking day. When it's time to bake, take a hunk off the dough, shape it into a loaf, let it rest, bake it. Hands on time is literally about 5 minutes for the mixing and 5 more on baking day. Depending on the recipe you choose, you'll get 2 to 4 loaves out of every batch. The recipe I use for sandwiches is the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, but I also like the whole wheat bread made with olive oil, both for loaves and for pizza dough. Seriously, folks, this is bread making at its simplest.

Then there's the jam. I have planned for years to learn canning so that I can line my pantry shelves with jars of homemade soup, homegrown (or at least locally grown) veggies and my own jams and jellies that actually taste like the fruit for which they are named. (The grandmothers were pro canners and food preservers.) This will be the summer. I am committing. 

My first attempt: Ponchatoula Strawberry freezer jam made from berries that we picked at a local organic farm. Freezer jam is the gateway to true canning and preserving. So easy, so delicious, so addictive. And so fun when you can pick the berries yourself! 

Here's the basic recipe, adapted from the one on the back of the Ball Freezer Jam Pectin box:

1 packet freezer jam pectin
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups crushed strawberries (I skipped the crushing and used my food processor)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
clean jars & lids

Mix the sugar and pectin thoroughly in a large bowl. Add your crushed or otherwise processed strawberries and lemon juice to the pectin mixture and stir for about 3 minutes. Pour the strawberry mixture into clean jars, leaving about 1/2 inch head space, and close the lids. Let the jars stand for 30 minutes or so until the jam thickens, then stick one in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. 

I love that this recipe only calls for 1 1/2 cups sugar. Most jam recipes that I found called for 3 cups per pint of strawberries!Yikes. And this stuff tastes so fresh and summery. You must try it. My favorite way to indulge: a slice of homemade bread spread with cream cheese and topped with strawberry jam. Like cheesecake for breakfast.

As far as the peanut butter goes, I just buy a ready made organic variety. I guess I should look into making my own...maybe next summer. So there you go - healthy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Really pretty easy and soooo good.

On a separate note, I have been crafting some over the past few months, little bits here and there. Getting around to blogging about my projects hasn't happened though, obviously. Living before blogging, right? I'll try to get a few things posted soon.

For now, I'll leave you with a gratuitous baby picture.

holding pattern...

I've been out of touch with the blog world for a couple of weeks, getting ready for baby, handstitching the binding on the quilt, hosting house guests (my good friend and doula, Laura, and her kids), spending time with my mom and as much one-on-one time with my kids as possible. And trying to keep myself from counting the minutes until I go into labor and move into the next phase of this crazy, blessed life we lead.

Oh - and I've been cooking. It's been fun finding new ways to use the CSA veggies that I might not have otherwise bought.


What we've gotten recently: summer, pattypan, cucumber and coccozele squash, lettuce, beets, green beans and new potatoes.

And the new recipes I've tried so far:

• Country Club Squash Casserole with the summer squash. I found this recipe on a random search for a casserole I had during my college years.


• Orangette's Squash and Pecorino Frittata with the coccozelle. This was really delicious, but I think I'll use the stovetop to broiler oven method next time. Flipping it was a little challenging. For me at least.


• Fresh corn saute with tomatoes, squash, and fried okra from Bon Appetit Fast, Easy, Fresh with the patty pan. We liked everything but the patty pan. If I try this again, I'll use a more flavorful squash, like zucchini, if I can't get more coccozelle. Any suggestions on what to do with patty pan squash in case we end up with more?


• This cucumber salad, which was just what I hoped it would be. A really light, fresh, summery side.


• Alton Brown's Pickled Beets. I'm not a huge pickled beet fan, but these were really easy and tasty. I plan to use the leftover roasted beets to make Orangette's Beet Feta Tart tomorrow after our farmer's market trip, if I'm still playing the baby waiting game.

Then there are the turnips from the past two bushels I've gotten. About 3 pounds of which are still sitting in my crisper while I wait for inspiration to strike.

Roasted Root Vegetables Recipe

Like I said, I want to share my recipe for Roasted Root Vegetables. Really, it's not so much a recipe, per se, as it is a loose formula, very open to the adjustments of individual taste and seasonal availability. Also, I have to say, for integrity's sake, that I read a lot of recipes in an effort to come up with what I like. So, I could have totally lifted this from some chef somewhere inadvertently. Okay, I feel better. Here you go.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

4 to 5 medium, red-skinned potatoes, washed and cut into bite-size pieces
3 to 4 medium turnips, washed, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
1 or 2 medium to large rutabagas, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
3 to 4 medium beets, washed, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
4 to 5 springs of fresh rosemary
4 to 5 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 to 3 large heads of garlic, tops trimmed off evenly

3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, more or less
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Like I said, this is really open to interpretation and is infinitely adjustable. If you can't stand turnips or are a little wary of the rutabaga, leave 'em out and add carrots. Or more potatoes. Whatever you like. Just keep in mind that you should have everything cut around the same size so that your vegetables cook fairly evenly.

Now, once your veggies of choice are all washed, trimmed and cut, toss them into a big bowl with the herbs and garlic. Season with the salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle with olive oil. Get your hands in there and give the mixture a good toss to make sure each piece is evenly coated. Once the veggies are seasoned and oiled, spread them evenly on a large baking sheet (or two, if necessary) or a baking dish, like so:


Bake for approximately 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 or so minutes and rotating the pans if you've got more than one. Your veggies should be tender and golden brown (the white ones, anyway) when they are nicely roasted. Note: Most of these root vegetables will cook at about the same rate, but keep an eye on each variety to make sure one isn't overcooking. The most likely culprit for overcooking - sweet potatoes. The turnips will probably take the longest to soften up and brown.

You can serve this dish as a side, but it's hardy enough for a vegetarian entree, I think, like I've got up top with a simple salad. And, yes, that is a paper plate. Photo stylist, I am not.

gone granola

A while back, I started researching homemade granola in an effort to get some morning nutrition into my always-in-a-rush, "Coffee is breakfast" husband. I did some looking online, played around with a few recipes, and finally landed on my own version below, which has since become a family staple. We eat it daily as cereal (no icky preservatives or dyes!), a handful at a time for a snack, over yogurt, with berries and cream... Yum.

What you need:

12 cups old fashioned oats (basically one large box of Quaker)
¾ cup wheat germ
1 ½ cups sesame seeds
3 cups slivered or sliced raw almonds
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Optional adaptations:

• Add 3 cups dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut. (Love the flavor. Not so much the fat.)


• Add ½ cup milled flax seed. (The only reason I leave this out is because my husband has convinced himself that he's allergic. Hmf.)


• Add chopped dried fruit. (Mix it in at the end, after baking.)


• Change up the nuts. (Pecans are DELICIOUS in this, but make sure you don't overbake them – bitter! I made this mistake early on and now they're outlawed. Unfairly.)

Okay, so here's how you make it:

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Separately, mix the spice and wet ingredients thoroughly, then pour them over the dry mixture and give it a good, thorough stir. (I like to get my hands in there to make sure it mixes well and every little oat is covered with spicy, sugary goodness. But I guess a large mixing spoon might also do the trick. Suit yourself.)

Spread an even layer on a nongreased baking sheet (I use three at a time for this size batch). Bake at 300 degrees for about an hour and a half, stirring every 15 minutes or so, or until the granola is consistently golden brown.

The process is a little labor intensive, but totally worth it. (Really perfect for a rainy afternoon when you're stuck inside. The entire house smells like oatmeal cookies. Mmmm.)

And with that much granola, it's not like you'll be doing it that often, right? If you're concerned about the amount, cut it down. Or freeze it in portions and use as needed. There's no science to making or eating granola, so consider these some loose, but proven (by me at least) guidelines and go make up a batch of your own!

Rice Pudding

The March issue of Bon Appetit showed up in my mailbox this week . Yay! This is the one magazine these days that I sit and read from cover to cover. One of my favorite bits is the Cooking Life article by Molly Wizenberg, my favorite food writer and author of the award-winning blog Orangette. In the March article, Sweet Memories, Molly writes about her dad's love affair with rice pudding and her own rice pudding coming-of-age, including a simple, definitive recipe.

So, ironically, I discovered this gem of an article when I sat down to dinner with my treasured magazine last night. On the menu? Rice pudding. The kids and I are nursing colds and the husband was out of town, so dinner had to be something simple and comforting that could be made quickly with on-hand ingredients.

Armed with some leftover basmati and the dregs of a carton of whipping cream, I decided to try my hand at making rice pudding for the first time. (Like Molly, I was slow to come to an appreciation of this simple comfort food. Even as an adult, I haven't eaten it often. So, I'm no expert, but I had an idea of what I wanted it to be like. If only I had squeezed in some time to read my Bon Appetit earlier!) After unsuccessfully Googling for recipes, here's what I came up with on my own:

Stir together the following ingredients in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil:

2 to 2 1/2 cups leftover basmati rice
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 2/3 cups skim milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of nutmeg
1 heavy pinch kosher salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup raisins

Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low-medium. In the meantime, beat 1 egg until slightly thickened and lemony in color; set aside. Stir the rice mixture off and on for about 20 minutes, until it takes on more of a loose, creamy, pudding-like consistency. (At this point, I stirred in 2 tablespoons of butter. Probably not completely necessary.)

When that's done, stir about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the hot rice pudding into the beaten egg. Then, slowly add the warmed egg mixture to the rice, stirring vigorously and constantly to prevent the egg from curdling in your pudding. That would be bad.

Continue to gently stir your pudding for about 5 minutes, giving the egg time to cook and finish the thickening process. Note: the egg bit could totally be skipped, if you wanted a little looser consistency.

And then you're done. Slap that creamy goodness into a bowl and indulge. I liked it warm. The kids approved. We'll see this morning how it holds up cold.