Blueberry Peach Cobbler

We went a little overboard on fruit from the farmer's market, just could not help it...everything is in season! So I found a nice little recipe using two fruits. I must admit, I had a bit of trouble making this pastry dough. Next time I'm just going to use the cream cheese pastry dough recipe. When I finally got the dough to the right consistency, it turned out flakey, but a little dense. (That could describe a lot of people!) I still really liked this dessert and it's even better a la mode. But isn't everything?

Ingredients:

Cobbler Filling

• 4 peaches, pitted and cut into eighths
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp corn starch

Put peaches and blueberries in a bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, ginger and corn starch. Combine sugar mixture and fruit. Set aside fruit filling.

Pastry

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbs heavy cream
• 2 tbs melted and cooled butter
• 1 large egg

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. In separate bowl, whisk egg, cream and melted cooled butter. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Fill 4 ramekins with filling and place a disk of dough on top. Brush top with egg or butter.

Place ramekins on baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes in 350 degree oven. Broil the top for 1 -2 minutes until golden brown.

I garnished with a scoop of ice cream and glazed walnuts. Yum yum.

Chicken Pot Pie Pocket

These are the best things ever. The whole house smells like chicken pot pie, image how wonderful that is. It is almost as good as it tastes! Yummy and portable! Perfect.

Ingredients for amazing pastry dough:

• 8 tbs or 1 stick butter at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 large egg + 1 tbs water for egg wash

Combine butter, cream cheese and heavy cream in stand mixer. Add salt and flour, mix until combined.

Form into two balls and wrap each with plastic film.

Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out each ball of dough to about 12" diameter. Find a bowl about 6" diameter to use as cookie-cutter. Make about three circles from each ball of dough and use remaining dough from both to make two more circles, for eight total.

Chicken Pot Pie Filling:

• 2 tbs butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup celery
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1 tbs fresh minced oregano
• 1 tbs fresh minced sage
• 1 heaping cup shredded chicken cooked
• 2 tbs flour
• 1/2 coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tbs corn starch

Heat the butter and saute the onion, celery and carrot for about 2-3 minutes.

Add salt and flour and cook one more minute to thicken.

Add stock, peas, chicken, oregano, sage, cheese, corn starch and cream and heat for about 1-2 minutes.

Cool in fridge.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Fill each circle with about 1/4 cup filling.

Wet edge of pocket, close and secure edge with fork.

Poke pocket with fork twice and brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbs water whisked together).

Cook in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Juice and more juice

I got a juicer! I love that this house has so much counter space. Now I will fill it with random kitchen appliances! I actually really like the juicer, Breville Compact Fountain Juicer, and I have made some pretty tasty juices. The boys are my guinea pigs, but Beck is not too happy with that since I started making vegetable juices. I have been disguising the veggies with fruit juice. This is fresh orange juice. I had to make it out of satsumas because that's all I had. So it took about a dozen and a half of those little oranges to make this glass of orange juice, but it is super concentrated, so a little goes a long way.
This is oranges, strawberries, lemons, apples, celery, carrots and parsley. I poured in a little sparkling water and made one refreshing juice spritzer!

Apple Cinnamon Granola Muffins

I really like muffins as a good "on the go" breakfast for weekday mornings. These muffins are really light on fat and taste very much like a handful of granola...you take that to mean what you want. I happen to like the granola I used, it is Cinnamon Apple Granola from Bear Naked so I find these muffins tasty. As Beck commented "these are good, but they are not donuts."

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup granola ground up in food processor (roughly about 1/2 cup whole granola)

3/4 cup whole granola

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp ground fennel

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tbs almond oil (sub veg oil)

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup fresh or canned pears pureed

1/4 cup applesauce

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and spray liners with cooking spray.
• Puree 1/2 can pears or 1 small pear to yield 1/4 cup pear puree. Add pear puree and applesauce and mix in 3/4 cup whole granola. Allow granola to soak for 20 minutes.
• In food processor, grind about 1/2 cup granola to equal about 1/4 cup finely chopped granola. Should have a slightly chunky, flour like consistency. Whisk together ground granola, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and fennel.
• In a stand mixer, whisk together eggs and sugar to a creamy, thick paste. Add oil and yogurt and mix on high for about 1 minute.
• Pour liquid into dry ingredients and add pear, applesauce and granola mixture. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
• Fill muffin tin 3/4 full and sprinkle some granola on top of batter.
• Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Ginger Blondies

The full name for these cookies is Browned Butter, Pear, Pistachio, and Ginger Blondies. I've long been a fan of the brownie, but I had no idea that there was such a thing as a "blondie!" I have to say that these are nothing short of fantastical. Believe me, I only make words up when I really like something. These cookies have the wonderful flavor of biscotti, but are soft and chewy like a brownie.

Ingredients (makes about a dozen):

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup canned pears (pulsed 3-4 x in processor and moisture removed by pressing in fine mesh strainer)
• 1/2 cup shelled salted pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 coarsely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:

1. Brown the butter in s sauce pan and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 325. Prepare a 9" springform pan with parchment paper and cooking spray.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In food processor with paddle attachment, cream the cooled browned butter and sugar on medium speed. Mix until paste forms, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, and pears and continue to mix on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and in two additions, add flour mixture until combined. Mix in pistachios and ginger.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes, rotate pan halfway through baking.
6. Let pan cool for 10 minutes and then release pan and paper from blondies. Let cool completely on wire rack and slice into squares to serve.

Grilled Zucchini and Yellow Squash

This is a really easy way to make a side dish. Chop, marinate and grill. I prefer grilled veggies to steamed stuff. The squash stays much crisper and tastes like summer! It was absolutely beautiful today and I heard the barbeque a'calling. We had the grilled veggies with carmelized carrots and brown rice, served along side blackened halibut. I'm always happy when a recipe is healthy and tastes good too.

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini

2 small yellow squash

1/2 cup white wine

1 tbs grape seed oil

1 tbs almond oil (sub. both oils for 2 tbs olive oil)

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tsp mix garlic and ginger

1 tsp savory seasonings

1 tsp herb de provence

2 tsp "Roast Vegetable and Fries Seasonings" (basically season salt with a pinch of cayenne)

Recipe:

• Cut veggies into 1/2 inch rounds
• Place veggies in bag and add above marinade. Marinate for at least 1 hours, more is better.
• Roast veggies on hot grill. Flip when there are grill marks, about 3 minutes on each side.

Saute some shredded carrots until crispy and mix with grilled veggies. Pretty and yummy!