delicious desserts: summer peach cobbler

Quick confession: I've had this post queued up, half-written for months now...

I'll never forget taking a trip one summer to pick peaches when I was a kid. It might sound like a lot to have to "take a trip" to pick peaches, but when you grow up on an island, almost everything other than the grocery store and the post office require a little adventure. We traveled by ferry to Knott's Island and picked the biggest, ripest, juiciest peaches. My cousin and I spent a good part of the afternoon in trees, each trying to pick the best peaches. At the end of the day, when peaches were picked and paid for, we were allowed to eat one. One bite and I remember the peach juice running down my arm and dripping off my elbow. It was a sweet mess.

Peach season is my favorite part of summertime. I love to bake peach pies with graham cracker crusts and crumb toppings. In fact, I already made a big batch of miniature ones for a bake sale earlier this summer. But lately I've been wanting to try something new to me, and that's a peach cobbler. Also super simple, transportable for summer get-togethers and not much prep or baking time. I found a great recipe via Gonna Want Seconds; the recipe below is based on it with my changes.

Summer Peach Cobbler

what you need (fruit):
approx. 6 cups of fresh peaches - peeled and sliced in preferred thickness
2-3 tbs sugar (I used evaporated cane sugar)
2-3 tbs brown sugar (I used light) 
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (or just grate some fresh nutmeg over peach slices)
dash of ginger powder
squirt of lemon juice
1 tsp corn starch (to help thicken fruit mixture - can omit)

what you do:
-peel and slice peaches (thick slices or chunks) into a large mixing bowl 
-add all other ingredients, stirring until peach slices are coated with spices and sugar
-pour into glass or ceramic baking dish (8x8 or slightly larger)
-bake the dish of peaches for 10-15 minutes at 375 while preparing cobbler topping (may want to place dish on a foil-lined baking sheet in case of boiling over peach juice)

what you need (topping):
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar (I used evaporated cane sugar)
1/4 cup brown sugar (I used light)  
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 tbs cold, unsalted butter - cut into small pieces
1/2 cup boiling water
2-3 pinches white sugar - additional to above; set aside to sprinkle on top

what you do:
-in a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all topping ingredients except boiling water 
-cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter or blend with fingers until combined and crumbly texture
-pour in the boiling water and stir just until ingredients come together
-take dish of pre-baked peaches out of the oven and top with the dough (spoon on and gently spread out with fingers or spoon; don't aim for smoothed perfection - leave it a little lumpy)
-sprinkle top of dough with sugar
-place dish back on foil-lined pan into the 375 degree oven for another 30-40 minutes, until the top gets a light golden color
-remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving; great alone or with ice cream!

hunters and gatherers

The summer season is winding down and so is this season of gardening. This week's temperatures are below what we're used to seeing this time of year, so we're already dipping into the 50s overnight with daily highs just above 70.

I'd rate the summer garden as semi-successful. Certainly more successful than last year, but crops that have done really well in years past didn't produce much this year. Maybe it's time to test the soil and see if it's too depleted of certain nutrients. The big winners this year were the green beans and tomatoes, and the zucchini did okay. Bell peppers were much more successful this year than any other year, and the pumpkins and gourds have been as well. Oh and the hops have gone crazy. There are at least four full 1-gallon bags. Just like last year, the cucumbers had another bad year, when two years ago we couldn't even give away all the extra.

A new challenge this year was a team of groundhogs making an appearance any time the cruciferous veggies or potatoes had leaves. I trapped and relocated two groundhogs, and later spotted the biggest (and still at large - har har) groundhog. Broccoli had never been successful before, but this year looked like it might actually grow. The groundhogs ate the leaves off the broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage. I tried a number of repellents - dog hair, peppermint Dr. Bronner's, fox urine. The leaves grew back once, but then were all eaten again and the plants were eaten down to little green nubs. It was time to wave the white flag and forget about enjoying any of those homegrown veggies.

Before the weather gets too cold and stays that way, I think one more shot at some fall crops might be worth it. Maybe some lettuce and spinach at least. Maybe the groundhog will go into hibernation early, and if not, I have a live trap ready and waiting.

Speaking of trapping, I completed a hunter/trapper safety course a couple weekends ago and am now able to get a hunting license. And I have a deposit on a new bolt action rifle that I'll be getting in the next week or so. I never really imagined myself a hunter, but we all know how I feel about sustainability. As it is, I purchase the vast majority of any meat or fish that I eat from the co-op, which does a pretty good job of selecting farmers who raise their livestock in a respectable manner. I want to be able to do more though, to provide for myself. I worry that we have lost a lot of skills older generations knew so well, and I'd rather not trot off ignorantly into the future. One of the instructors of the course mentioned some numbers that were pretty amazing. He mentioned the cost of having a deer butchered along with the pork he paid for to blend with the venison was around $80. What it yielded though, was the really amazing part - over $400 worth of meat. So whether or not I'll have a place to hunt or go hunting is still up in the air, but I like knowing it's a possibility. And in the meantime, there are places where I can go practice with my gun and gain the skills I need to be a good hunter when the time comes.      

Sunday Funday...a day early

A couple Saturdays ago, Ash and I made the three-hour drive from Philly to the Hudson Valley area of New York for a family reunion - where relatives of my great grandmother's family (she lived from 1911-2003) gathered to share stories, reminisce, or in my case, meet each other for the very first time. Our family has deep roots in that area of New York - the original farm house still stands amid rolling hills on Cottekill Road just west of the Hudson.

I've visited the area many times, one being several years ago to interview for a job and scope out potential places to live. Truth be told, my heart was set on settling there over Philadelphia. There's something about places you belong, whether you consciously know you belong in them or not, taking you in and making you aware of something you haven't known before. My moment happened on a late night drive down a dark, wooded road during the summer of 2007. I was on my way to an old mansion on the grounds of Bard College, where I would stay the night before my interview. The song I listened to over and over around the time my great grandmother passed had, almost by some play of the universe, come on. It was blasting through my speakers, and as I made my way down this road I'd never driven before, I suddenly felt at home.

As things go, I didn't end up moving to Kingston or Rhinebeck or any of those other beautiful little towns on the Hudson, but I relish every moment I get to spend there because to me, it still feels like home.

After the reunion, we drove across the river to Poets' Walk Park (free!). A couple of years ago I read about the park and have wanted to visit ever since. It's a place that's rumored to have inspired Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle and to have been a haunt of many other well known authors. Naturally built structures across the landscape invoke feelings of the Transcendentalists, and taking in the majestic views, it's almost impossible to deny nature of the glory she deserves.

We hiked through meadows, through woods, over creeks and to look-outs above the mighty Hudson River. We saw the remnants of the 17 year locust brood emergence. I saw my first bald eagle ever in the wild and coolest of all, it had a fish in its talons and was flying back to the treetops from the river. So cool! And then we saw another, sans fish.      

It was a pretty great day. The bugs were crazy in the woods, but the meadows were gorgeous and the views couldn't be beat. I can't wait to go back for a visit again soon.

Photo by Ash at Poets' Walk Park

a sign of the season

It's true, summer hasn't official begun, but it's been a beautiful pre-summer season so far here in the southeastern Pennsylvania. With only about a week of somewhat unpleasant temperatures and more rain than the ground can drink, the backyard garden has been happy, happy, happy.

Peppers growing from seed.

We started our seeds indoors sometime around late March/early April. These included peppers, tomatoes, herbs, broccoli, corn and a few flowers. While the spring weather was still a bit crisp, we planted our pea, bean, lettuce, cabbage, carrot and swiss chard seeds directly into our freshly tilled and compost-rich garden soil. We also planted potatoes and onions, and the garlic from last year was still growing strong. Once the ground was free from the risk of frost, we planted squash, cucumber, sunflower, marigold and other assorted flower seeds, and transplanted a few strawberry plants. The variety of plants growing in the garden this year is unbelievable. I'm certain it's the best year yet. 

We spent a considerable amount of time constructing a taller, sturdier, and dare I say, more visually appealing garden fence this year. So far it's proven a trusty barrier to most of the critters who venture through the backyard. There's an occasional turf war with one very fat groundhog, but overall we seem to be prevailing.  

Our garden, late spring 2013.

I really can't wait until we start collecting the fruits and veggies the garden will be producing this year. And we have big plans for it all, too. There's always an overabundance of produce to share, and while we look forward to continuing to share the products of a season's work with our friends and neighbors, we also are hopefully to save quite a bit. We've never done any preserving or canning, although we have dried some hot peppers and saved them with a vacuum sealer. This year, Ashley is looking forward to making his own tomato sauce. With all of the basil, oregano, garlic, onions and tomatoes sure to come up, that should be a successful project, even if it's done in small batches. I've found a pretty good resource for preserving garlic and I'm excited to try it. And I also want to make my own mozzarella so I can enjoy 100% homegrown and homemade caprese salad - what a perfect summer treat.

Sunday morning reading.

Recently, I've been really interested in brushing up on my homesteading skills. It's my dream to one day have my own small farm - the ideas are varied and who knows, maybe someday a combination of them will become a reality. I have a number of books I flip through from time-to-time to get some tips, and a whole slew more on my Amazon wishlist. If I can manage to read through even half of them, I think I'll have more knowledge and background information than I'll know what to do with.

And as I've found out over the years, and I'm sure many of you have as well, having big ideas is the easy part. Getting excited about them is pretty effortless, too. It's all the hard work and motivation that goes into making them a reality that's sometimes tough. A little self discipline and diligence will hopefully go a long way, and by the end of the season I hope there are plenty of recipes and tips to share!

  

Blueberries!

Growing up on the Outer Banks, one of my favorite summer activities (well, besides going to the beach...duh) was picking blueberries. If I remember correctly, the blueberry farm was on Waterlily Road. We went several times during the summer and every time would leave with loads of blueberries. As a kid, it was super exciting to stop at Joe's "Tarheel Produce," where he'd pay you a couple bucks a quart for your extra blueberries. Cash-money, baby!

So, needless to say, I still love picking blueberries. A few weekends ago, right at the beginning of blueberry season up here in PA, Ashley and I went to Solebury Orchards in New Hope, PA for some fresh berries (they also have the best apple cider donuts I've ever had...like, to die for...but shhhh, don't tell anyone!).

Picking was decent. We both ended up with a lot of those not-quite-ripe-but-who-cares-because-they're-the-best-ones-anyway berries in our quart-sized containers. I ate all of mine by Thursday (we picked on a Sunday), and Ashley froze his (I know, kind of a sin, right?). He has good reason though! He recently bought an at-home beer brewing kit and as a substitute for some of the sugar, he's going to add the quart of blueberries he picked. We've had some good fruit-infused beers, and I think it'll turn out really well! His kit is for a Belgian Triple, so if he does it well, the end result might be a little something like the Three Philosophers beer that he loves, just with blueberries instead of cherries.