Peach Cobbler

A large part of my enjoyment at the end of summer is indulging in fruity desserts. Like peach cobbler, for instance.



First I cut up the peaches. Normally I think you're supposed to blanch them to remove the skins, but I like those fuzzy covers, so I keep them on. They're so pretty, and they add extra fiber (ahem...not that I'm selling this as a "healthy" dish...).



Then add the filling ingredients. There's four: flour, sugar, cornstarch and water. Simple and easy--plus don't you love easily distinguishable ingredients? They're much more comforting than "high fructose corn syrup" and "malodextrin." Or at least I think so.



Then I whipped up the cobbler topping. Again, it is flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, egg and milk. It's not rocket science, folks.



Then you cook the peaches until they are bubbling and thick. It smells divine. I then dumped mine into a ceramic casserole dish and...



...spooned the doughy cobbler on top. Then bake for 20 minutes or so at 400 degrees, and Voila! Dessert for a whole weekend!



Doesn't it look pretty, all peachy and warm?



Next comes the ice cream. I'm crazy for the homemade stuff, so I made a batch earlier in the afternoon, and it was nice and frozen by the time the cobbler came out of the oven.

Yet again, the ice cream had four simple ingredients: sugar, whole milk, cream and vanilla. And it's soooo good!



I had a little help with the ice cream.


The final result: warm, sweet cobbler mixed with light (not "light" as in healthy, mind you) ice cream. I think the combination of warm and cold together in one bowl is my all-time favorite.

Needless to say, I've already eaten half the cobbler...

Hope you are enjoying some fruity desserts yourself!

Previous Related Posts:
Crave
How to Eat Your Garden Peas (aka last night's dinner)
Three-Day-Weekend Scones

Weekend Plans...sans internet

I'm hanging out here in the local bookstore, soaking up their free wi-fi since my modem decided to officially crash this morning. Not that I'm complaining--now I have a chance to snatch up my copies of Julie & Julia literature for weekend reading!

And since it looks like I'll be spending the whole weekend sans internet, here are a few other things I'm planning to do:

Admire this week's raffle gift--this summer-time patchwork pillow--before I hand it off to the lucky winner! (you, too, can enter to win by signing up for my newsletter!)


Play fetch with the die-hards....



Admire the flowers before they fade for good...

Eat ice cream. Lots of it. And maybe some peach cobbler...but more on that next week!


And perhaps dig into this stash of thrift store fabrics I've had laying around. I'm envisioning some cozy throws and pillows for the Fall....

Hope your weekend plans are as fun--if not, perhaps, modem-free--like mine!

Previously Related Posts:
Soaking up to the End
My End of Summer Reading Hit List

Sundae Social

Okay--so I know that technically serving ice cream sundaes isn't the same as growing and eating your own food (unless you happen to have a dairy cow, peanut plants and a reliable backyard source of cocoa), but I had such a fun time this past weekend hosting a sundae party that I thought I'd add it to the list of summer-eating posts anyway!


Fortunately throwing a sundae social is significantly easier than gardening. Here's what I did:

step one: buy the sundae supplies.


step two: lay them out on the table for buffet-style serving. Of course I had to be cutesy, so I put my toppings in little porcelain ramekins, and my fruit in colored bowls. I also felt compelled to pull out my summer table runner and line everything in a row on top of it, mainly because I'm a shameless overachiever.


step three: add drinks. Lemonade and ice tea were my two choices because I've been obsessed with Arnold Palmers this year. Besides--they look so refreshing in the mason jars I set out as glasses.


step four: top it off with fresh flowers. This adds absolutely nothing to the flavor of the sundaes, of course, but it sure looks pretty. And heaven forbid I would pass up an opportunity to make things--especially food!--look pretty. I hit my garden with a pair of pliers and happily snipped four vibrant gaillardia blossoms and several rose clusters. I stuck the individual blossoms into bud vases (cleverly converted from old fragrance decanters) and the roses in an old toothbrush holder (seriously--I'm moderately obsessed with small containers that may or may not someday come in handy for holding flowers...), and Voila!

step five: eat the sundaes, of course.

note: you can certainly omit steps two-four and still have a perfectly enjoyable sundae social. Don't let my gratuitous compulsion for being cutesy deter you from the simplicity of eating ice cream on a hot day with friends!

Previous Related Posts:
Three Day Weekend Scones
How to Eat Your Garden Peas (aka last night's dinner)
Feeding the Naysayers