Just Peachy

In the last few years, my love of peaches, nectarines, plums, and other stone fruits has increased exponentially.  In terms of peaches, however, I never really paid attention to the different types.  I always bought yellow peaches because I had often heard people say white peaches tend to be watery and don't have as much flavor as yellow peaches.  Not true!  (Or shall I say, not always true.)  I saw some beautiful white peaches at the farmer's market recently and decided I had to try them.  It was love at first bite, slurp, savor.  These peaches were so juicy an so sweet.  Lots and lots of peachy flavor.  Why had I listened to people for so long and poo-poo-ed white peaches?  I think that as long as you get your white peaches locally and in the height of the season, you won't be disappointed.

This is such a summery ice cream (although I'm sure it would taste good in the dead of winter if peaches this good were available then).  The skin of my white peaches ended up giving the ice cream a gorgeous pink-purple color, and the vanilla been seeds added some cute polka-dot-pizzaz, not to mention tons of flavor and natural sweetness.  In a classic Fred-move, I added some cognac...(Is it sad that when I opened the bottle of cognac - to flambe chicken in coq au vin the other day - that I immediately thought: this smells like ice cream.  Is this backwards?  Perhaps.  I'm ok with it.)  Anyways, this is a recipe to hold onto!  I also recently discovered local white nectarines...dare I say maybe even more amazing than white peaches?  I definitely look forward to adapting this recipe to use white nectarines next summer!

White Peach Ice Cream
adapted from Daydreamer Desserts

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe white peaches
• half a vanilla bean
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 tbsp cognac

Directions:

1. Peel the peaches, reserving the skins.  Remove the pits, reserving the pits.  Place the skins and pits in a medium saucepan and set aside.
2. Chop the peaches into medium-sized chunks and place them in a medium pot.  Add the granulated sugar and the lemon juice.
3. Cut the half vanilla bean lengthwise to get to the seeds.  Now, cut the half bean in two so you'll have two fourths (both split lengthwise).  Take one fourth and scrape out the seeds.  Add these seeds and this fourth of a bean to the pot with the peaches.
4. Bring the peaches to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes until the peaches are super tender.  Let cool to room temperature and then put in the fridge for a few hours to chill completely.
5. Stir together the milk and cream (I do this directly in the measuring cup to save dishes!).  Add the milk and cream to the saucepan with the skins and pits.  Remove the seeds from the other fourth of a vanilla bean and add these along with the bean to the pan.  Heat over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer.  Remove from the heat and cover.  Let the mixture steep for at least an hour...or do what I did: let the mixture come to room temperature then place in the fridge overnight.
6. When ready to continue, strain the skins and pits from the milk and cream.  Press on the skins and pits to extract extra flavor.  In the medium saucepan again, reheat the milk and cream over medium heat until little bubbles form around the edges of the pan.  Don't simmer or boil the milk!  Stir often as it's heating so you don't get a skin.
7. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until they become thick and light yellow.
8. Slowly add the hot milk and cream mixture into the eggs to temper them.  Whisk constantly while you do this!  Be careful with this step - you don't want scrambled egg ice cream!  (Oh wait, potential new flavor?  Not sure how that one would go over...).
9. When all the hot liquid has been added to the eggs, return the whole mixture to the saucepan and cook over very low heat for several minutes until the custard is this enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Stir constantly with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you go!
10. When thick, pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.  The strainer will catch the vanilla bean and any undesirable cooked egg lumps.
11. Meanwhile, remove the cooked peaches from the fridge.  With an immersion blender or in a blender, puree the peaches to your desired smoothness.  I left mine perhaps half their original chunkiness.
12. Stir the peaches into the custard base.  Add the cognac and stir until well combined.
13. Place the mixture into the fridge for a few hours until very cold.
14. Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

It all starts with perfectly ripe local white peaches.

Peeling peaches is rather labor intensive, but do it outside on a nice sunny day, and you'll have a lovely time!

Looks like the peach is wearing a baseball cap!

Juicy juicy white peaches.

These peaches are already super sweet, but all ice creams need an extra sugar kick for smoothness.

Lemon and fruit: a match made in heaven.

Seeding your vanilla beans

Before cooking...

...after cooking.

In goes the creaminess.

Before cooking...

...after cooking. 

Strain all the pits and skins.  It's so purple!  Very unexpected.

Eggs and brown sugar get a good whisking.

Temper time.

Low and slow, stirring until slightly thickened.

Time to marry the cream and the pureed peaches.

Gorgeous pink with specks of vanilla bean seeds.

The start of the freeze.

The end of the freeze.  So creamy and dreamy!

Into a pre-chilled glass container...see you in a cone in a few hours.

A summery cone enjoyed on the deck for afternoon snack.  What could be better?

 Want some ice cream?  Come on over...the volume of peaches in this recipe made for a huge batch!  (And I even halved the original recipe!!)

Rainbow Chard with Extra Corn-elicious Polenta

We've been getting two huge, beautiful bunches of rainbow chard each week from our CSA.  These greens are gorgeous!!  I ooh and aah at them every time I go pick them up.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of chard...it's so versatile.  When I was a chard newbie, oh so many years ago, I would always sautee it with garlic and onion and eat it over pasta with parmesan cheese.  Simple and delicious every time.  However, I've since been branching out with my chard cuisine.  As you know, I avoid making the same thing twice (because why make the same thing twice when there are so many wonderful recipes to discover!?).  Therefore, each week, I try to find two new recipes for my two bunches of chard.  These include frittatas, quinoa salads, vegetarian shepherds pie (to come...), and this recipe: chard with polenta.  I took advantage of our CSA corn to add fresh corn kernels to the polenta for an extra flavor and crunch kick.  I love the tang the chard gets from the balsamic vinegar in this recipe.  Since making this, I've tried finishing my chard off with different vinegars.  Brown rice vinegar works very nicely, too, from my experience.

Rainbow Chard with Extra Corn-elicious Polenta
Adapted from Moosewood's Recipes for Health

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• one bunch rainbow chard, stems and leaves chopped in 1 inch (or 1 square inch) pieces
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp coarse ground cornmeal (polenta)
• 2 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob (compost the cob)
• 1 tbsp mascarpone
• 1/4 cup grated manchego (or parmesan would work nicely)
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

For the chard:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or pot on medium heat.  Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two, stirring often, until the garlic starts to get a little color.   Don't let it burn!  Just cook it enough so it's not raw.
2. Add in the chopped chard, salt, and red pepper flakes.  Cook until the chard is wilted to your liking and until the stems are tender.
3. Once the chard is cooked, lower the heat to low.  Stir in the balsamic vinegar and allow the chard to cook just a minute more.  Remove from the heat.  Check the seasonings.

For the polenta:

1. In a medium saucepan or pot, bring the water to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, add in the salt.
2. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal.  Once completely incorporated, reduce the heat to low, and continue to whisk for a minute to avoid lumps in your polenta.  
3. Cover the pot and cook on low, stirring every few minutes, until thick and creamy.  This will take 8-10 minutes.
4. Once the polenta is cooked, add in corn kernels, mascarpone, and manchego.  Stir until it is all melted and blended nicely together.  Add pepper (and maybe salt), to taste.

Assemble:

1. Spoon the polenta onto a plate/bowl/plate-bowl.  This recipe will feed 2 people well.  
2. Top the polenta with a big spoonful of rainbow chard.  You may have some chard leftover, depending on how big your bunch was - refrigerate the leftovers and eat them with a sunny-side-down egg in the morning!

There's a reason why chard is my all time favorite green...

This is a great summer-time meal.  Filling without being too heavy and with tons of fresh farm flavors!

The original recipe in the Moosewood cookbook calls for a sunny-side-up egg on top of the polenta and chard.  Without the egg, this meal was plenty filling for me, but if you're hungry hungry and want some extra protein, I imagine an egg would be lovely on this dish!

Creamy and Chocolaty Stuffed French Toast

This morning, I had to go to my yearly doctor's physical.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make breakfast before I left.   Needless to say, I was starving when I finally got home.  The whole drive back, I was imagining what fabulous breakfast I would make myself.  I was craving chocolate and bread.  Hmmm....but I've recently been eating eggs in the morning for an extra energy boost.  How would I combine the two?  Stuffed French toast!  I have never made my own stuffed French toast although I have had it for brunch at a cafe or two.  Why had I never done this before?  It's so simple yet so incredibly satisfying.  Definitely a new breakfast to keep in mind for the future!

The cream cheese warms up and the chocolate melts into it, creating the most unbelievable creamy center to this French toast.  With a slightly crispy exterior, this dish has great texture as well as great taste!  I'm going to keep experimenting with this stuffed French toast.  Perhaps different cheeses?  Fruit on the inside?  Nuts?  Seeds?  Almond butter?  The possibilities are endless!  I can't wait for tomorrow's breakfast...

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of your favorite bread (I used two-day-old pain meunier from Clear Flour)
• 1-2 tbsp cream cheese (I used whipped because I love the lightness and fluffiness)
• 1 tbsp mini chocolate chips (or any chocolate will do)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp whole milk
• pinch of cinnamon
• tiny pinch of salt
• butter for greasing the pan

Directions:

1. Spread your cream cheese on both slices of bread.  You just need a thin coat on each slice; don't overdo it or you'll have a mess! 
2. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cream cheese on one slice, and then close the "sandwich" with the other slice.
3. With a fork, beat your egg, milk, cinnamon, and salt together in a shallow bowl (or plate-bowl) about the size of your bread if possible.
4. Put the bread-cream cheese-chocolate chip sandwich in the egg mixture and let it sit for a minute.  Turn the sandwich over and let it sit for another minute until all the egg has been absorbed into the bread.
5. Heat your pan to medium heat.  When the pan is hot, butter it and immediately put down your egg-soaked sandwich.  Let it cook on each side for about 2 minutes until golden brown on both sides.  Make sure the egg in the bread has cooked through and that the chocolate is all nice and melty.  Remove from the heat.
6. Cut in half to admire the ooey-gooeyness.  Then, devour.

Mmm pretty golden brown.

So excited to cut it open and look inside...

It did not disappoint.  Perfectly creamy and gooey and chocolaty inside.

First bite...

Still admiring the gooey center and crispy exterior.

And then the rest is history...in my belly.

Rhu-Barbie Sherbet

What is the only plant that grows in our backyard?  Rhubarb.  This plant never disappoints, shooting stalks and stalks of red-green rhubarb.  Unfortunately, the leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous...imagine how sad I am that I can't use those beautiful greens!  So with all this rhubarb at my disposal, I am constantly trying to figure out ways to use it.  I think the most common way to see rhubarb is with its classical partner - strawberry - in a pie form.  If strawberries were still in season here, I'd probably make a strawberry rhubarb pie.  There is a reason why it's a classic: it's delicious.

Anyways, I have made rhubarb compotes, both sweet and savory ones.  Roasting rhubarb in honey, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla bean makes the perfect Greek yogurt topper.  Earlier this summer, I made a light snack cake studded with rhubarb.  Last summer I made a rhubarb gelato, and it was fabulous.  Sweet and creamy yet with a tart kick from the rhubarb.  I was tempted to make this gelato again this summer, but I decided I needed to try out a slightly different recipe.  I chose to make a sherbet (in fact, my version is somewhat more luxurious than a normal sherbet as I used some extra creme fraiche I had, too).  The result: the perfect, tangy, refreshing mid-afternoon snack!  Perfect to beat the heat of these summer days without weighing you down.

Rhubarb Lime Sherbet
adapted from Scoop Adventures

Ingredients:

• 260 grams rhubarb, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 130 grams sugar (2/3 cup)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (I got this from one very juicy lime)
• 2 tbsp creme fraiche
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp Cognac (can you believe the original recipe only called for 2 tsp?)

Directions:

1. Combine the rhubarb, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Allow the rhubarb to cook for 5-10 minutes or until very soft.  Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Once the rhubarb has cooled, add in the milk, lime juice, creme fraiche, and salt.  Use an immersion blender, blender, or food processor to blend the rhubarb and other ingredients together. 
3. Stir in the Cognac.
4. Chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
5. Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Rhubarbie.

Rhubarbie mush.

Additional ingredients.

Milk for some creaminess. 

Lime juice for some zesty acidity.

Creme fraiche for velvety-ness.

I love the immersion blender.  One of the best kitchen tools hands down.

Cognac galore. 

Ready for the fridge....and then it went through the ice cream machine and the freezer...to give the result:

Summer refreshment in a bowl!

Another rhubarb success.  Rhubarb is such a lovely, undervalued ingredient.  I encourage you to experiment with it.  I know I will continue to do such...