millions of peaches

I just finished making the following recipe, courtesy of Deborah Flateman...former CEO of the Vermont Foodbank and the woman who hired me for my first real job.  i remember the first time Deb cooked for me...it was a staff meeting. i can still taste that risotto pie. she is an amazing cook and this recipe will not disappoint. ENJOY every bite--and follow to the letter!

By Deborah Flateman

What can you say about peaches? When they’re good, they’re really, really good. And when they’re not, well, the disappointment one can feel is beyond description. You know, when they’re dry, mealy, tough- skinned. Not juicy and tender and sweet perhaps like the ones I remember picking from my grandfather’s tree that, despite his gross lack of attention, still managed to produce small, sugar-sweet  orbs of summer delight.  Juice running down the chin with every bite.  Heaven.

My former husband is a guy who, within ten minutes of talking with him, was able to take you into a zillion directional paths. One day at work where he came in contact with lots of folks from all over the country, he struck up a conversation with a real, honest-to-goodness Georgia peach (a really nice lady from Macon) who promised to send her recipe for peach custard pie. And true to her ‘peachiness’ form, she sent this recipe that has become my absolute favorite in the celebration of our fuzzy, pulpy passion. I also include my mom’s tried and true recipe for flaky pie crust. Give this one a try! The process is easier than you think, and the outcome is absolutely outstanding.

Mom’s Pie Crust

2/3 C (heaping) Crisco

2 C Flour

Salt

6 T Cold Water

Cut the flour and salt into the Crisco until it resembles coarse meal. Add the water and mix in. Don’t work the dough too hard or it will be tough. This is enough dough for a double crust 10-inch pie.

Peach Custard Pie (preheat oven to 375 degrees)

1.       Line a 10-inch pie plate with Mom’s pie crust (use store bought if you must!).

2.       In a large bowl, beat 3 eggs, 1 C sugar, 3 T flour, 1 t vanilla, and ½ C of melted, unsalted butter (in that order). Set aside.

3.       Peel and slice peaches (about 6 large) into the lined pie plate (peaches should fill the pie plate by about two thirds).

4.       Pour custard mixture over the peaches.

5.       Apply a lattice top over the batter and crimp edges (only a lattice top will work here).

6.       Brush with egg wash and sprinkle sparsely with sugar.

Bake for one hour. Serves 6-8 happy people. This recipe also works with frozen peaches if you have a hankering when fresh ones aren’t around.

celebrating the sun, season

yesterday we had a wonderful solstice celebration. good food and drink, great company, perfect weather and a few heart felt games of cornhole.

the menu included roasted dill potatoes with garlic mayo, cold soba noodle salad, caprese salad, mango shrimp, grilled veggie/chicken kabobs (no recipe here--be creative: lots of veggies. marinate everything overnight with your favorite spices and quality olive oil and vinegar), veggie pot stickers with spicy soy dipping sauce, quinoa salad with mint, feta and cucumbers, build your own berry shortcakes, and pimm's cup.

DILL POTATOES
1 pound new red potatoes, bite size dicing
1/3 cup fresh dill
quality olive oil
salt, pepper, cayenne---to taste

Dice potatoes toss with dill, oil, and spices.  Roast at 400 until tender. About 20 minutes. Serve with garlic mayo (made with 1 clove garlic, diced and 1/3 cup mayo).






SOBA NOODLE SALAD
15 ounces soba noodles
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 carrots, grated
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup smoked tofu, diced



Cook soba noodles--add to boiling water and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). While noodles are cooking, mix all other ingredients together. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water. Toss noodles in with veggie/sauce mixture. Refrigerate minimum of 1 hour--I made the salad the night before. Serve cold.

CAPRESE SALAD
1 cup baby mozzarella balls, drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

mix ingredients, drizzle with oil and vinegar and season to taste. so fresh, so simple, so good.

MANGO SHRIMP
1 ripe mango
8 ounces fully-cooked shrimp, i used salad shrimp
1/4 cup finely-diced red onion
1 large avocado, diced
1/4 cup finely-chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper to taste



Peel and dice the mango. Mix the mango and the shrimp together in a bowl. Add the avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cover and chill until time to serve.

VEGGIE POT STICKERS

1 red onion, diced

2 tablespoon minced ginger

1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

1 cup white cabbage, shredded

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 cup chopped chives

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 package wanton wrappers

Canola oil

In a wok, add a little oil and saute onions and ginger. Add the mushrooms and stir. Add the cabbage, carrots and chives. Season. Cook until mixture is soft. Add the sesame oil and cilantro when mixture is cooled. Check for seasoning. Assemble wanton wrappers with mixture. In a hot non-stick pan, coat with oil and place dumplings. When bottom gets brown, add 1/4 cup of water and immediately cover. This will steam the dumplings. Carefully watch the dumplings and completely evaporate the water so that the bottom gets crispy again and sticks to the pot. Makes about 25.

SPICY SOY DIPPING SAUCE

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup sliced scallions

1 teaspoon sesame oil

QUINOA SALAD

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 cucumber

4 oz feta

juice of one lemon

1/3 cup fresh mint

1 tomato, diced

2 cloves garlic

quality olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa and let cool (one cup quinoa, two cups water--takes about 20 minutes to cook). Let cool.  Add diced cucumber, mint, feta and tomato to quinoa and mix. dress with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  

BERRY SHORTBREAD STATION

1 pint blueberries

1 carton strawberries

1/2 pint blackberries

Country Style biscuits

whipped cream

homemade strawberry rhubarb compote (my first attempt at cooking with rhubarb--rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, lemon, cooked until tender and delicious!)

Bake biscuits, wash and mix berries together.  assemble as you please, top with plenty of whipped cream....YUM!

PIMM'S CUP

1 part Pimm's No. 1 (gin based liqueur)

1 part lemonade

1 part cucumber water

spash of ginger beer (reed's is a great option)

dress class with lemon wedge and cucumber slice

We had this version while on vacation in Asheville.  The cucumber water (64 oz warm water, 1 cucumber, juice of 1 lemon--mix and refrigerate) gives this drink a refreshing, clean taste.

Happy summertime!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr0tTbTbmVA&feature=related 

lemon makes my world swirl

lemons are these amazing little bursts of sunshine and when i have them in the house, I feel like summer all over. sometimes I dream about living in a place where I can grow my own. maybe in my next life.

a few weeks ago, i attempted my first ever lemon curd recipe.  it was for these little lemon meringue tarts i was making. something so delicious should be really difficult to make, right? WRONG.  Lemon curd is super easy and the little lemon meringue tarts were even easier.

start with 8 egg yokes. 

squeeze enough lemons to garner a cup of juice.  my lemons were pretty juicy so i only needed four.  before you juice them, remove the zest.  you will need two tablespoons for this recipe.  

Add 2/3 cups sugar and 2 tablespoon cornstarch to the yokes. Cook medium low heat, until combined, about 1 minute--whisking constantly. Add lemon juice and zest and cook till as thick as sour cream--about 4 minutes, again whisking constantly. Strain and add butter, stir...

and that's it!

lemon curd is like cheese, bacon and avacados--it makes everything better. use it soon and often!