Weeknight Peach Crisp

Oh, I know. It's been so long. We're still here. It's been a very busy summer, and I'll catch you all up soon, but I just wanted to quickly share with you this crazy good recipe for one of the simplest peach crisps you will ever make. Forget the tedious task of peeling peaches and you mix it up right in the baking dish. I brought it to family the dinner last week and it was a big hit.

Weeknight Peach Crisp

For the Filling
2 1/2 lbs peaches, halved, pitted and cut into bite-size chunks (6 cups)
3 Tablespoons flour
1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of your peaches)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Position rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.


Mix the peaches with the flour, sugar, and cinnamon right in a 2 quart baking dish. Place the dish on the lined baking sheet, to catch any drips, and bake for 25-30 minutes.

While the peaches are baking, thoroughly mix all of the ingredients for the topping in a medium size bowl.

When the peaches are finished baking, carefully remove from the oven and sprinkle the topping evenly over the peaches. Increase the oven temp to 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 more minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the topping is nice and brown. This is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature.


recipe source: Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts by Alice Medrich

Pasta with Summer Veggies

I've spent a lot of time this year rethinking the way I feed my family. Mealtime can be hard. While Sam will eat absolutely anything I put in front of him, and at least pretend to enjoy it, Jack is a different story. We now have this little person with very big opinions joining us for dinner every night. And while sometimes this can be incredibly joyous, like the other night when he took a bite of chocolate pecan pie and said "ooo, that's good pie mama", other times...not so much. Finding healthy, family friendly dinner ideas has been my mission. In the past, I hated making the same thing twice since I have so many recipes to try and love discovering new things. This would drive Sam nuts. If he loved something he had no idea if and when he'd ever see it again, and now with Jack it's downright impossible. I'm finally succumbing to the rotation. Not necessarily a weekly rotation. Maybe a bi or tri-weekly set of recipes that can be changed up seasonally, with one night a week *or so* worked in to try something new. The recipe below for Pasta with Summer Veggies will definitely be added. I actually shocked Sam and made it more than once when we were living in New York. Now that we're home, and can pick most of the veggies and herbs from our garden out back it tastes even better.

Pasta with Summer Veggies

Ingredients

4 ounces uncooked ziti or other small pasta shape (I use large elbows or wagon wheels) 
1 tablespoon olive oil  
2 cups chopped yellow squash, diced small
1 cup chopped zucchini, diced small
1/2 cup chopped onion, diced small
2 cups chopped tomato, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced 
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano 
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided 
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup (2 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese 
1 large egg, lightly beaten  

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini, and onion and sauté  for 5 minutes. Add tomato and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, the herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

4. Combine ricotta, remaining salt, and the egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Coat an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray and dump in your pasta mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

small dice veggies

recipe source: Cooking Light

atlantic beach pie

I recently heard about this pie on NPR. It's from Crook's Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC, and it is awesome. Somewhere between lemon icebox and key lime. It may be one of the simplest pies I've ever made, making it my new go-to summer pie.

Atlantic Beach Pie

for the crust:
1 1/2 sleeves of saltine crackers
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar

for the filling:
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

for the topping:
freshly whipped cream (sweetened with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crush the crackers finely, but not to dust. I put them in a large ziploc and used my hands to crush them up. A good mix of small and fine crumbs makes the best crust. Add the sugar, then knead in the butter until the crumbs hold together like dough. Press into a 9 inch pie pan. Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust just begins to turn golden brown.
While the crust is cooling, beat the egg yolks into the milk, then beat in the citrus juice. Be sure to completely combine these ingredients. Pour into the shell (which doesn't have to be all the way cooled) and bake for 16 minutes until the filling has set. The pie needs to be completely cold to be sliced. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

the morning after, last lone sliver

Back to Work and Blueberry Pie

Last week we met with Sam's oncologist, and it's official- his last treatment is scheduled for August 9 and he's set to go back to work on August 15.  He has a CT scan slated for later this month, though his oncologist said he'd be shocked to find any remaining tumors (!!!).  Sam is definitely ready to get back to work- sitting around has never really been his thing.  And while we are aware that life will never quite be the same again, because how could it possibly, we are excited to return to a more normal daily rhythm.  Though, I do believe, Jack may have other plans.

If you have an abundance of blueberries and a little bit of free time you've got to try this pie.  A bit unconventional, with vodka in the crust and a grated apple in the filling, but trust me, it works.  Not too sweet and perfect with a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream.

• Pie Dough
• 2 1/2cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus more for rolling
• 1teaspoon table salt
• 2tablespoons sugar
• 12tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into slices
• 1/2cup vegetable shortening, cold, cut into 4 pieces
• 1/4cup vodka, cold
• 1/4cup cold water
• Blueberry Filling
• 6cups fresh blueberries
• 1Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
• 2teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
• 3/4cup sugar
  
• 2tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
  
• pinch table salt

              1     teaspoon vanilla

• 2tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

1. 1. For The Pie Dough: Process flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined. Add butter and shortening and process until dough just starts to come together in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. 2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. Fold in the liquid, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
3. 3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
4. 4. For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Don't skip this step or your bottom crust won't cook properly.  Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
5. 5. Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, vanilla and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.
6. 6. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured work surface. I chose to make a lattice top pie since the filling is such a pretty color, but you can certainly just transfer the top crust to the pie plate and cut a few slits on top.
7. 7. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush the top and edges of pie with the egg mixture. Chill in freezer for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. 8. Place pie on heated baking sheet, reduce the oven temp to 400 degrees and bake 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature again to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
   
   
   Recipe source:  Cooks Illustrated

Percocet and Watermelon Margaritas

Sam just finished up his 6th round of chemo last week.  His white blood cell count was low so they gave him a shot to boost his immune system and delayed his treatment for a few days.  Up until this point Sam had been dealing with some very painful mouth sores that made eating and drinking completely miserable.  You have to understand, Sam rarely takes anything stronger than extra strength Tylenol so when I came downstairs to find him rummaging through the cabinet for the Percocet I knew it must be bad.  Thankfully, his mouth started healing almost immediately after he received that shot, and he was ready for treatment two days later.  They administered all of the drugs on one day this time which was pretty hard on his body so he's been taking it easy for the past week.

Jack is doing fabulous.  Thank you so much for all of your teething suggestions.  He now has two (very sharp!) bottom teeth.  I started making him purees and so far he's loving bananas and sweet potatoes.  Peaches are up next.  We also tried to go swimming for the first time over the holiday weekend, but he was not very interested in that...at all.

I'm passing along one of my favorite summer recipes.  It doubles, triples, or quadruples well.

Watermelon Margaritas

3 1/2 cups cubes seeded watermelon
1/2 cup white tequila
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon Triple Sec

Combine everything in a blender and process until smooth.  Pour over crushed ice.

And here are a few pictures from bath time tonight :)