Life is Peachy!

For Father's Day, the plan was to grill peaches to go with the rest of the lunch my sisters and I had prepared. There was one problem that stood in our way. The peaches I had bought the day before were just not quite ripe enough that they pulled away from their pits as easily as we had hoped. So at my house this past week, we had more peaches than we knew what to do with. Luckily Martha Stewart helped me out. The latest issue (July 2010) of Martha Stewart Living had a few peach recipes in it and while I was home with my son on Thursday, I decided to attempt one while he was napping.

Since the temps have been in the 90's lately, my choice was a no brainer. Peach Granita. (Basically a peach icee.) What could be better on a hot summer day?

Peach Granita

1 ½ lbs ripe peaches (peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped)
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar (more may be needed if your peaches aren’t very sweet)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon course salt
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil (optional)

Purée peaches, water, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a blender; add more sugar to taste. Transfer to an 8 inch square baking dish. Freeze for 2 ½ hours, scraping with a fork every hour (mixture should be icy and fluffy) Stir in basil.

Farm Fresh Salsa

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 bell pepper (mine was purple, but choose what you like)

2 ears of corn

cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

-- --- -- --- --

Dice the zucchini, yellow squash and bell pepper and then saute in a pan with the olive oil until they just begin to get tender. Remove from heat and store in the fridge until chilled. Remove the corn kernels from the cob and halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes. When the sauteed mixture is chilled remove from the fridge and add the tomatoes and corn. Toss with red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Let it hang out and the flavors combine for at least 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite tortilla chip.

Sheldon's Lunch

I have just recently come to the realization that my love for cookbooks started a young age. One of my favorite books as a child was Sheldon's Lunch by Bruce Lemerise. One of the reasons I loved this book so was because at the back there was a recipe for blueberry pancakes. I must have thought this was an oddity or something spectacular and difficult to make because I do remember showing it to my mom and asking if we could make them. She made pancakes a lot for us when I was growing up. We would even get the occasional "Mickey Mouse" pancake. (Mine always had raisins for the eyes and mouth. Yes, I love raisins in my pancake.) Knowing what I know now blueberries wasn't really mixing it up any.




Now as a parent I find myself very busy and rarely have time to read anything other than the books my son brings to me when he wants to crawl on my lap and listen to me read. It takes a lot to keep my attention these days too, so that could be part of the reason I seldom make time. I tend to start novel and get 3/4's of the way thru them and I just put the book down, never to be touched again. This is not the case with a cookbook though. I rarely find a cookbook I don't like. I have tons of them and some I have never cooked from. But I love thumbing thru them and reading the recipes and imagining the possibilities. Currently I am reading Jamie's Food Revoloution. I love his show on the Food Network and I caught a few of the episodes from his show here in the U.S. I recommend you pick up the book. The recipes are great and there are lots that I intend to make. I love what he's trying to do with this book. We should all take heed and follow his words.


Now for the quick and easy cherry tomato salad that I had for supper tonight. I visited my sister in Raleigh this past weekend and she took me to the farmer's market there where we had breakfast and then browsed while sipping a muscadine slushy. I picked up these orange and red tomatoes there. The basil is from my herb garden. I love finding different things to put my herbs in.

Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

Olive Oil

Red Wine vinegar

basil chiffonade

salt and pepper

I didn't measure. Just put everything in a bowl mixing to your tastes and then enjoy.

Chorizo and Herbs

My dinner tonight is brought to you in part by Grateful Growers Farm. I picked up some of their chorizo at our local farmers market the other weekend and decided to make breakfast burritos for supper tonight. I must say, that while I was browning the chorizo, it too all my restraint to not eat it straight from the pan. After it was browned I drained it and scrambled some eggs and added some green chilis to them. Served on a tortilla and sprinkle with a little cheese and you have a mighty tasty meal.

After dinner I worked in the yard a little around the house and noticed my herbs needed to be trimmed so I decided to make another batch of pesto. This time I just used a little bit of all the herbs I have growing. Rosemary, sweet basil, boxwood basil, greek oregano, lemon thyme and dill. I added lime juice and zest, walnuts, grated parmesan, olive oil and a little salt. Now I have a great spread for sandwiches or topping for pasta.