Millions of Peaches. . .

This is a short post, but many, many more to follow in the coming days.  Justin & I have been given dozens of peaches the past 2 weeks. (like 4 dozen on the 1st, and another 4 dozen on the 9th) Justin could eat them all day.... whereas I do not like "raw" peaches. Too sweet for me. I like 'em warm & in something.

This is the first time in awhile that I found a fantastic recipe that I didn't need to tweak. I could tweak it to make it less fattening... but whatever. I don't have to fit into a wedding dress anymore. :) (Let's see how long it takes Justin to read that...)

But alas, I got this recipe from About.com in the section Southern Foods. Super easy. Super good. Stay tuned for more postings.... including  Justin's tomato sauce (we also got dozens and dozens of tomatoes), focaccia bread, peach hot sauce, peach cake, peach salsa, and maybe a pie, cobbler, and/or crisp.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 medium peaches peeled, diced (about 1 cup diced - can use frozen thawed or canned)
• Topping:
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease and flour 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. Combine topping ingredients until mixture is crumbly; set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together butter, milk, and egg in a separate bowl. Stir milk/egg mixture into the flour mixture and blend just until moistened. Fold in diced peaches. Spoon into muffin cups; sprinkle evenly with topping mixture.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan.

Makes 12 muffins.

Chili Honeymoon Style

Our meal, featuring the Tillerman Red Table Wine from Hook & Ladder Winery

This evening we are blogging from beautiful Cannon Beach, Oregon. We've been told Oregon is a really pretty state... and it has yet to let us down.  We both agree that the views and vistas along US 101 in OR are gorgeous and ever-changing. Sorry California, but Oregon is in the lead.... and we are only half way through the state.

Last night we stayed at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park near Winchester Bay.  We got there around 5:15  PST and began cooking dinner. It was really good, but today we heated up for lunch and it was FANTASTIC. Chili is always best when it soaks overnight.

Chili:

1lb ground turkey
1 small onion
1 red bell pepper
McCormick's Quesadilla Casserole Spice Packet (so we didn't have to actually purchase)
Garlic & Bell Pepper Seasoning (used also with our mussels pasta.)
Some good beer
Tomato sauce (5 oz or so...)
Fire Roasted tomatoes with garlic (small can)

We had a small pot and actually had to scoop some out.
Season turkey with the garlic & bell pepper seasoning. Diced and add the vegetables. Add everything else and simmer. The longer the better.

Justin, giving the go ahead to serve. 

Simmering.

Now we are off to EVOO to a cooking show in Cannon Beach. Enjoy!

Honey Moon

As most of you know, the JG and I got married last Saturday. We are currently on our honeymoon ...road tripping up from San Diego to Seattle, then Vancouver by train.  Hotels, B&Bs, and camping. . .

Last night we camped just south of Santa Barbara in Carpinteria State Beach. Not rural...but we got to use our new stove & camping gear. (Thanks everyone!!)

Last night we made a 1 pot meal- spaghetti & mussels over our stove.

Need:

whole wheat pasta
1lb mussels
seasonings with garlic in it
evoo
white wine
parmesean cheese

Steamed the mussels until they opened with the seasons & wine. The amount? Until it reached a good level in the pot.
Remove mussels & store in sand/dirt free locations. add water to the wine mixture & boil. Add pasta. Drain pasta. Add mussels (we shelled them so we had room in the pot). Add evoo to pot & parmesan cheese. (to your own liking)

This was fantastic & easy.

stay tuned for more adventures. Big Sur tonight. :)

Easy Pasta Salad

I could probably eat pasta every day of my life. Summer time means cold pasta salads.  I figured today I would make a salad along with our fantastic turkey burgers. (I'll probably blog about those at a later date. )

I'm not going to put any measurements down because it's really to taste.

Tricolor rotini (though I was hoping I had whole wheat rigatoni in the pantry)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese (the kind in the green can is just fine)

Italian seasoning

Fresh Garlic, minced

Fresh Basil 

Mix all together. Serve chilled. I could have kept eating this. 

Georgia Peach Upside Down Cake

Justin's Mother just came back from Georgia with barbeque sauce from the awesome Wiley's Barbeque in Savannah, vidalia onions, tomatoes, and of course, peaches. Did we actually eat the peaches? Of course not. We made ice cream & cake.

Justin's Mom also gave me a journal so I can write out & figure out recipes.

 

           Crossing out as I go: 

If you can't read my handwriting:

1/2 c soften butter

3/4 c sugar

1/4 c brown sugar

3 large eggs 

2/3 c milk

2 c flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 fresh peaches, peeled & dices

1/2 c yogurt

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

topping: 1/2 c brown sugar, 3 tbsp of melted butter, 1.5 tsp cinnamon with the peaches

Dry ingredients together. Milk. Add 1 egg at a time, using a hand mixer. Butter. Any other wet ingredient. (I usually do it in steps so I can taste the batter a few times so I get the taste I want) Pam a 9" circular pan. Put the topping on the bottom. Pour the batter on top. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. 


Final Product:

The circular shape in the middle was accidental. The batter pushed the peaches, so looks fancier, I think. I wish I had fat free cool whip to put in the center!

Why it's a work in progress: The taste is great, but I'm not thrilled with the consistency.  Almost too cakey or dense. I wanted a more light & fluffy cake. I need to start doing research on the chemistry of baking. Any suggestions? 

We are pairing this with the peach ice cream Justin made, which is excellent. Justin experimented with not adding any sugar so that diabetics in our life could enjoy a little ice cream live as well. 

Fresh is Best

Obviously. Many places, like grocery stores and restaurants advertise that they have the freshest ingredients. One unnamed sub shop urges everyone to eat fresh...but then the lettuce comes from a vacuum- sealed bag. Yum. When Justin and I started our herb garden last year, our dinners were tasty. My only complaint was that we did not use our herbs enough! There's one thing to put lettuce on your sandwich. There's another thing to put fresh cilantro or basil on your sandwich. Adding fresh herbs to your favorite recipes will really enhance your cooking without too much more work.


Our newest addition to our herb garden are our topsy turvy planters. We have 1 for tomatoes and 1 for red peppers. I also just planted dill in the flower box so when I do my tzatziki sauce, I won't have to keep buying fresh dill.

So at first when we bought these as-seen-on-tv products, Justin had the great idea of getting a cast-iron stand that had 2 hooks that is put into the ground. We grossly underestimated the weight of these things and we were playing a balance game. We lost.


Justin made this stand for our topsy turvy plants. It is much sturdier. He will actually be making it even more sturdier, on the advice given from his father. I stained/waterproofed it today. (Picture does not reflect that)

Underneath our topsy turvy are our herb garden boxes. We have chives, dill, mint, and basil.  I also planted green onions that I bought from Wegmans about a month ago in the actual ground to the right of the picture. They are still alive, although Tiller keeps walking over them. 

I am realizing that although this is a cooking blog, this is the first time I mentioned Tiller, our furry son. This is a picture of us taken by my wedding photographer and friend, Molly Bergeron during our engagement photo session at Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island.  Tiller LOVES our cooking. If you have a dog, something to consider: Grapes, onions, avocados, as well as chocolate (the higher the % of cacao, the more potent it is) are extremely toxic for dogs. Grapes?  Yes. Tiller ate a bunch and we had to take him to the Pet ER. Some dogs, grapes are no problem. Some dogs, they've eaten as few as 7 grapes and had kidney failure and died. Rancid meat- not a good time.  No cooked bones.  (They splinter and could puncture the digestive tract)

All in all, Tiller is awesome and is the one that always watches us cook and bake. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I tend to buy enough bananas to last about 4 days if both Justin and I ate one per day.  However, I never pull my weight in the banana eating department. It's only when I have the occasional charlie horse in my right calf muscle that I'm reminded that I should eat some potassium. Needless to say, bananas have a tendency to become extremely ripe before I get a chance to eat one. How do I solve this problem? Banana bread. So easy. So fast. And hey, it makes 2 5x7 loaves. 1 for you and 1 for your neighbor, grandma, mother, mother-in-law or whomever.


Chocolate Chip Banana Bread


1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


Sift the above ingredients together. Mix that with:
 1 cup sugar


In separate bowl:
2 eggs
3 large ripe bananas (I used 2 this time around because Justin was pulling his weight + my own)
6 tbsp butter, melted


Mash 'em all up together. Add the dry stuff to the wet stuff. I then added about 1/2 cup of my "secret ingredient," Stoneyfield's fat-free french vanilla yogurt. I SWEAR by it. I really do.


Add about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. (Or as I like to say, add chocolate chips, to taste)


Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes. I've told you before on when you should take a baked good out of the oven. (see 5/17's Blog about my mini muffins.) Cool 5 minutes & then take them out of the pan, if you'd like. 

If I were to change something, I'd. . . add some chopped pecans. This is a great recipe to play around with. I suggest you do! Enjoy!