Peach Cobbler

I know that I have not been around for awhile. I have a good reason this time. I have had a rather serious computer issue that warranted my purchasing a new laptop.  Let me give you some advice. Do not drink coffee while using your laptop!  With that being said, I have a new laptop and I am back in business!

Last week my granddaughter and I went apple and peach picking. Today, I discovered that there were still quite a few peaches left in the fridge, and they were about to go bad, so I decided to make peach cobbler for dessert tonight.  I usually use Bisquick to make a cobbler, but tonight I tried a recipe using flour, sugar and butter to make the topping.  This was a big success!

Here is a hint for peeling your peaches.  Dip each peach into boiling water for a minute or so and they will peel easily. I changed the filling recipe quite a bit by adding more ingredients to build the flavor.
I actually peeled and sliced the peaches earlier in the day and made the cobbler later.  The peeling and slicing was the most time consuming part.  I served this with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and it was perfect!

Here is the recipe.

For the filling:
8 large peaches - peeled and sliced - about 10 cups
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I use whole nutmeg and grate it on a micro-plane grater, but already ground is fine.)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a two to three cup ovenproof casserole.  Combine sugars, cornstarch and spices and pour over peaches.  Add lemon juice.  Mix to combine all.  Pour into the casserole and bake for ten minutes.

While the peaches are in the oven, prepare the topping.
1 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons very cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water

Mix dry ingredients together.  I used the food processor and pulsed the dry ingredients a few times. Add the butter. Use the food processor, or a pastry blender and mix until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add the water and mix until combined.  Mixture will resemble soft dough.

Take the peaches out of the oven and drop spoonfuls of dough mixture on top.  You will probably not cover the whole surface, but don't worry about this, it will spread in the oven.  Sprinkle a mixture of 3 tablespoons white sugar mixed with one teaspoon cinnamon over the top of the dough.  Return to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden and peaches are bubbling. Spoon into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream, heavy cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Please let me know if you made this and how it turned out.  I welcome your questions and comments, just use the "comments" section at the bottom of this post!  Also please feel free to share this post or any other with your friends.  The more the merrier!

Happy Cooking!
Carol

a.k.a.
Nonnie

How about Hummus?

 

Hummus with fresh veggies

 

Some time ago, I came across a book titled Make the Bread, Not the Butter.  This book listed all kinds of foods, and which were cheaper and better to make, and which we should just purchase in our favorite supermarket.  One of the foods was hummus.  It's cheaper to make your own hummus instead of buying it.  I have tried many hummus recipes and just this past spring came across this one, which my family loves.  I now make it nearly every week.  It's a really healthy snack with cut up veggies or pretzels.

While I did say it's cheaper to make your own hummus, you have to factor in the price of sesame tahini.  Tahini is a paste kind of like peanut butter made from sesame seeds.  It's a little pricey, but you only use a quarter cup, so a jar lasts quite a while. The cheapest way to make this is to buy the beans dried and soak and cook them, but that is just too much trouble for the few pennies you save.  You can usually find chick peas (also called garbanzos) for less than a dollar a can. Look in the Spanish food section, since they are usually a little cheaper there. The hardest part of this recipe is peeling and slicing the garlic. I used to throw in the cloves whole and chop them with the chick peas, but this recipe has you slice and simmer the garlic in olive oil.  What a difference!  Raw garlic can have kind of a bite, simmering it just until it softens gives you a milder, gentler garlic flavor.  I do recommend using a food processor for this, because in a blender you have to blend the chick peas in small batches.

There are debates as to whether you should remove the thin skin from the chickpeas.  Don't waste your time!  One of my favorite most reliable sources tried it both ways and said there is no difference in taste as long as they are well blended. We want to make this easy not painful!!

When you serve this, it's best to take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.  You can also add a little drizzle of olive oil to the top along with some parsley and paprika.  Okay here we go!

2 cans of chickpeas
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sesame tahini
juice of 1 lemon
6 large garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt

Drain the beans, but reserve about 1 cup of the liquid.  Pour olive oil into a small pan, add the garlic and heat over medium heat.  Keep a close watch on the garlic!  You only want to soften it, not brown it.  Browned garlic is bitter and yucky. Add the chickpeas, tahini, salt, and lemon juice to the food processor and blend; the mixture will be VERY thick.  Remove the garlic from the oil using a slotted spoon, add to the food processor and continue to blend.  While the food processor is running, add the oil from the pan in a slow stream.  If the mixture still seems thick to you, add some of the reserved liquid a little at a time until you reach a desired consistency.  Taste and check for seasoning, sometimes if my lemons are a little small, I may add more lemon juice, but that is just personal preference. You can adapt this recipe by adding things like roasted red peppers from a jar, but just add a little at a time as you are mixing the chickpeas and taste as you go.  Enjoy!

Happy Cooking,
Carol

a.k.a. Nonnie