I've had few really fat, luscious, juicy peaches in my life. Today, watching the drizzle, I was imagining that I was back in rural Georgia, sampling my umpteenth peach cobbler at yet another wonderful roadside joint, where the fried chicken is crispy and all the vegetables have some kind of meat in them. Since all I can get here is tennis ball peaches, I rely on the frozen organic variety available at the local health food store. Cascadian farms fruit works great for cobbler; in the middle of the winter or on days like this and it's a little bite of the deep south.
Peach Cobbler
Taken from
The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, Thirteenth Edition, page 712-713
1 3/4 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
6 T butter, chilled pieces
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup cream (I've used yogurt in a pinch)
6 cups peaches (thaw if frozen)
sugar for sweetening fruit (I've used maple syrup, or some tasty liquor)
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir with a fork to blend. Put the pieces of chilled butter into the flour mixture and rub quickly with your fingertips until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the sugar and lightly blend. Using a fork, slowly stir in the cream, until roughly mixed. Gather the dough into a shaggy mass [I love that, "shaggy mass," HA!] and knead 5-6 times. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a rectangular or oval baking dish (a 9 x 13-inch or 13-inch oval of at least 3-quart capacity). Sweeten fruit to taste and put in the prepared pan. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, to the size of the top of the baking dish. Place on top of the fruit mixture. Bake for about 40-50 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the crust comes out clean.
I must confess that I don't roll out the dough, I just plop globs of it on top of the fruit and it all melds together while baking. It would probably be much tidier if I rolled it out.
a surfeit of lampreys
I'm so lazy I need a machine to make my sushi (hmmm, versus the people who usually make it?)
I'm so lazy, I need to use this ice cream turner because I can't handle eating ice cream all by myself.
Ok, it's not food but I know how Evelyn loves sushi, and after posting the steak soap and getting some feedback, it's time to try again, this time with Sushi Soap.
I went to "The Triple B" (Bed Bath and Beyond) and picked up a Kapoosh Universal Cutlery Block. This thing is awesome. It's got bamboo sticks (or something) packed in tight in a knife block, so you can put a knife in any which way. No more slicing the edges of the knife block, or putting the wrong sized knife into the wrong hole. And no more funk growing inside it! You can take out the insert and put it in the dishwasher. I love it!
