Another recipe, plus July 4th weekend.
Jul. 9th, 2008 02:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellymellSo, we had these 4 pounds of peaches and about 8 oz. of blueberries to use fairly quickly. The peaches weren't so great out of hand. They were a bit tart and clung to their pits, despite being a good dark rose color and soft on the outside. So, a cobbler it would be. But I didn't feel like making a cobbler dough. So, a crisp it would be. But I didn't want to do an oat crisp like I would for apples. I looked up the cobbler recipes from Alton Brown's "Cobbled Together" episode and combined his peach rhubarb cobbler recipe with his berry crisp recipe. Here's what I came up with:
Blueberry Peach Crisp Filling
4 lbs. peaches, sliced (peeling optional)
8 oz. of blueberries (I would imagine it would work just as well with frozen berries)
1.5 cups of sugar
1/4 cup of cornstarch
Blueberry Peach Crisp Topping
1.5 cups pecans, coarsely chopped (or stick them in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin)
ginger snaps coarsely chopped to match nuts (I wish I had quantified this when I did it, but I'd have to say it was about 15-20 1.5 inch round cookies, probably wound up about 2 cups or more crushed)
10 oz. of all-purpose flour (approx. 2 cups)
1 1/3 cup of sugar
8 oz. of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
Mix the filling together in a 9x13 baking dish.
Break up the cookies and nuts and toss them in a bowl with the flour and sugar and mix thoroughly. Then add the butter cubes and mix in with your fingers until mixture looks crumbly. Top fruit with an even layer of nut/cookie mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and topping is slightly browned.
Would also be awesome if you mixed some crystallized ginger in with the fruit. The topping almost tasted like granola. Chris had made some ginger peach ice cream on Sunday (the only peaches in it were some peach preserves, but it had lots of crystallized ginger and more ginger snap cookies broken up into it). We topped the warm cobbler with a scoop of the ginger ice cream. Winning combination!
We had a great Independence weekend. Friday we had some friends from the Nashville Smial,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
baka_san, and our neighbors, over for much feasting, a little swimming, more feasting and some music from Paul and Kim. We were a tiny bit disappointed that we didn't get to see the fireworks, but when the rains came, I was glad we were at home and not downtown. David and Doug hung out until after 1am having beers and chatting.
Saturday, we got up feeling inspired after selling our extra car last week and detailed the Forrester. We headed to Costco to get a couple of new tires for it, but found out we had to order them, so that'll happen next weekend when they come in. It sucks though. The tires on that car are still in good shape, but I hit a spike or something in the road a few months ago and blew an irreparable hole in the tire. Since it's an all wheel drive, we've got to get both tires on that axle replaced at the same time. We also need to get the front breaks done and at this point we've screwed up the rotors as well. Not to mention we've got an expired tag on that car. So a good chunk of the money we just made on the Maxima we sold will go into getting the Forrester back up to par. The rest will go to getting it paid off. In the next couple of months, we should be completely debt free, with the exception of our mortgage. YIPPEE!
While we were at Costco ordering tires, we spotted some 8 ft. or so Majesty Palms and White Bird of Paradise. I'm a sucker and wound up grabbing one of each. They were only $20 each, about $30 cheaper than I've seen them at Home Depot and Lowes. Knowing I'd still have to get pots for them that would cost at least $30 each, I'd still be coming out cheaper. As it was I was about to throw out our Majesty Palm because it was infested with scale that I couldn't seem to get rid of. After months of battling it, I started seeing it pop up on the orange Bird of Paradise and the Chinese Fan Palm and didn't want to loose more plants to it. So, now with these two huge trees in the den, it's a lot less bright. I almost feel like we don't need drapes in here anymore. It's a great way to take advantage of that huge, sunny window without it being glaring and bright in here. In a moment of impulse, Chris ran up to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought an ice cream maker. That night he made the ginger ice cream mix then got up and froze it on Sunday morning.
So, Sunday, we went to Home Depot to pick up pots for the new trees and get lumber for Chris to build a collar for his chest freezer in the garage so he can mount some taps on it. I also picked up a couple more bags of mulch to finish off the garden in the back yard (that makes 12 1.5 cf bags total for the two gardens I bothered mulching this year). We've also been slowly replacing doorknobs in the house. We're on a mission to rid the house of brass. Not to mention some of them have stopped turning and latching like they should. I mean, they're the cheapest doorknobs you can find (construction grade) and they're now about 17 years old. It's to be expected. So, we picked up three more of the ones we've been getting (an antique bronze finish) while we were at Home Depot. We now have all the interior doors downstairs done. We need to do the door into the garage and the front and back door and we'll be done downstairs. So exciting our lives are these days. "Oh, what did you do over the weekend?" "Oh, banner weekend at our place! We detailed the car, replaced some doorknobs and bought some houseplants." ;) Sunday evening David and Maitane invited us over for dinner at their place. They had another couple over who had a 7 month old boy. We took the ginger ice cream which was a huge hit.
I have yet to get the trees in their new pots or finish the mulching. I've got four new pots and new potting medium for the orchids as well to take care of. Yesterday I spent the time Jonah was at school cleaning like crazy. I'm finally feeling like I have a handle on the house again though. Having people over on the weekend helped too. I must just work better under pressure, because hosting a gathering always gets me to do all the deep cleaning I normally neglect. It's been a while since I've felt this organized (probably right after I finished reading the Renaissance Soul book and the House Works book back in March or so). Today, it's been raining since I finished the necessary daily cleaning. Not that I'm complaining. These plants will be fine and we desperately need the rain. If it comes down to it, I can pot them in the garage, since it looks like we might be getting rain the rest of the week. Yay! Rain!
Speaking of the Renaissance Soul stuff, I'm contemplating reworking my focal points. I'm feeling like my focus is changing a bit and some things have kind of been worked into my everyday activities instead of being an interest I have to focus on. I'll probably have more to say about that later, but for now, that's it. I'm kind of backing off at this point too, trying to get one thing integrated at a time. Once I can get my "job" hammered down (or hire a maid which ever winds up happening), I feel like I can more easily make time for the things I actually want to be doing.
Blueberry Peach Crisp Filling
4 lbs. peaches, sliced (peeling optional)
8 oz. of blueberries (I would imagine it would work just as well with frozen berries)
1.5 cups of sugar
1/4 cup of cornstarch
Blueberry Peach Crisp Topping
1.5 cups pecans, coarsely chopped (or stick them in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin)
ginger snaps coarsely chopped to match nuts (I wish I had quantified this when I did it, but I'd have to say it was about 15-20 1.5 inch round cookies, probably wound up about 2 cups or more crushed)
10 oz. of all-purpose flour (approx. 2 cups)
1 1/3 cup of sugar
8 oz. of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
Mix the filling together in a 9x13 baking dish.
Break up the cookies and nuts and toss them in a bowl with the flour and sugar and mix thoroughly. Then add the butter cubes and mix in with your fingers until mixture looks crumbly. Top fruit with an even layer of nut/cookie mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and topping is slightly browned.
Would also be awesome if you mixed some crystallized ginger in with the fruit. The topping almost tasted like granola. Chris had made some ginger peach ice cream on Sunday (the only peaches in it were some peach preserves, but it had lots of crystallized ginger and more ginger snap cookies broken up into it). We topped the warm cobbler with a scoop of the ginger ice cream. Winning combination!
We had a great Independence weekend. Friday we had some friends from the Nashville Smial,
baka_san, and our neighbors, over for much feasting, a little swimming, more feasting and some music from Paul and Kim. We were a tiny bit disappointed that we didn't get to see the fireworks, but when the rains came, I was glad we were at home and not downtown. David and Doug hung out until after 1am having beers and chatting.Saturday, we got up feeling inspired after selling our extra car last week and detailed the Forrester. We headed to Costco to get a couple of new tires for it, but found out we had to order them, so that'll happen next weekend when they come in. It sucks though. The tires on that car are still in good shape, but I hit a spike or something in the road a few months ago and blew an irreparable hole in the tire. Since it's an all wheel drive, we've got to get both tires on that axle replaced at the same time. We also need to get the front breaks done and at this point we've screwed up the rotors as well. Not to mention we've got an expired tag on that car. So a good chunk of the money we just made on the Maxima we sold will go into getting the Forrester back up to par. The rest will go to getting it paid off. In the next couple of months, we should be completely debt free, with the exception of our mortgage. YIPPEE!
While we were at Costco ordering tires, we spotted some 8 ft. or so Majesty Palms and White Bird of Paradise. I'm a sucker and wound up grabbing one of each. They were only $20 each, about $30 cheaper than I've seen them at Home Depot and Lowes. Knowing I'd still have to get pots for them that would cost at least $30 each, I'd still be coming out cheaper. As it was I was about to throw out our Majesty Palm because it was infested with scale that I couldn't seem to get rid of. After months of battling it, I started seeing it pop up on the orange Bird of Paradise and the Chinese Fan Palm and didn't want to loose more plants to it. So, now with these two huge trees in the den, it's a lot less bright. I almost feel like we don't need drapes in here anymore. It's a great way to take advantage of that huge, sunny window without it being glaring and bright in here. In a moment of impulse, Chris ran up to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought an ice cream maker. That night he made the ginger ice cream mix then got up and froze it on Sunday morning.
So, Sunday, we went to Home Depot to pick up pots for the new trees and get lumber for Chris to build a collar for his chest freezer in the garage so he can mount some taps on it. I also picked up a couple more bags of mulch to finish off the garden in the back yard (that makes 12 1.5 cf bags total for the two gardens I bothered mulching this year). We've also been slowly replacing doorknobs in the house. We're on a mission to rid the house of brass. Not to mention some of them have stopped turning and latching like they should. I mean, they're the cheapest doorknobs you can find (construction grade) and they're now about 17 years old. It's to be expected. So, we picked up three more of the ones we've been getting (an antique bronze finish) while we were at Home Depot. We now have all the interior doors downstairs done. We need to do the door into the garage and the front and back door and we'll be done downstairs. So exciting our lives are these days. "Oh, what did you do over the weekend?" "Oh, banner weekend at our place! We detailed the car, replaced some doorknobs and bought some houseplants." ;) Sunday evening David and Maitane invited us over for dinner at their place. They had another couple over who had a 7 month old boy. We took the ginger ice cream which was a huge hit.
I have yet to get the trees in their new pots or finish the mulching. I've got four new pots and new potting medium for the orchids as well to take care of. Yesterday I spent the time Jonah was at school cleaning like crazy. I'm finally feeling like I have a handle on the house again though. Having people over on the weekend helped too. I must just work better under pressure, because hosting a gathering always gets me to do all the deep cleaning I normally neglect. It's been a while since I've felt this organized (probably right after I finished reading the Renaissance Soul book and the House Works book back in March or so). Today, it's been raining since I finished the necessary daily cleaning. Not that I'm complaining. These plants will be fine and we desperately need the rain. If it comes down to it, I can pot them in the garage, since it looks like we might be getting rain the rest of the week. Yay! Rain!
Speaking of the Renaissance Soul stuff, I'm contemplating reworking my focal points. I'm feeling like my focus is changing a bit and some things have kind of been worked into my everyday activities instead of being an interest I have to focus on. I'll probably have more to say about that later, but for now, that's it. I'm kind of backing off at this point too, trying to get one thing integrated at a time. Once I can get my "job" hammered down (or hire a maid which ever winds up happening), I feel like I can more easily make time for the things I actually want to be doing.
