 Volume 1 Issue 23 July 15 , 2009
A Home Recipe from North Bay Patricia
 Early peaches aren't good for eating out of hand. They just don't have the taste one gets from the varieties that show up in August. But that doesn't mean we ignore them. A little enhancement and they are at the least a prelude of what will come later.
This is a recipe I adapted from one I saw in Gourmet some time ago. We added a little lavender which I love because it seems to mellow everything. It is in my garden and is showing up in CSA boxes and Farmers' Markets. If you can't find any try substituting a little cinnamon and make the cobbler anyway.
Peach Lavender Cobbler
Serves about 4
Filling
| 6 |
cups ripe, freestone peaches, peeled* cut in quarter inch slices, then halved. |
| 1/4 |
teaspoon minced lavender blossoms |
1/3 |
cup sugar (more if the peaches are not really ripe) |
| 1 |
tablespoon fresh lemon juice |
|
Pinch of salt |
| 1 |
tablespoon cornstarch |
Topping
| 1 |
cup all-purpose flour |
| 1/2 |
cup sugar |
1 1/4 |
teaspoon baking powder |
| 1/2 |
teaspoon salt |
| 3/4 |
stick cold butter, cut into small pieces |
| 1/4 |
teaspoon vanilla |
| 1/4 |
cup boiling water |
Preheat oven to 450°.
Put all the filling ingredients into a bowl, gently stir together and then place in a non-reactive, 2 quart baking dish. Place in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes.
In the meantime:
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend in the butter with pastry blender or (preferably) with your finger tips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle vanilla over and then stir in the boiling water until just combined.
Remove the peaches from the oven and drop spoonfuls of the topping over them. Don't worry about filling in all the holes. Bake in the middle of oven until topping is golden, about 25 minutes.
To gild the lily you can serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
* To peel the peaches:
If they are really ripe you will be able to pull the skin off with no trouble. If they are not, drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then peel them.
For more recipes and a glimpse of my garden, visit my
Web site.
A Home Recipe from GraceAnn Walden
 People make and eat cold soups in the summer: gazpacho, vichyssoise and even fruit soup. But let’s face it, this year the weather has been wacky; it’s running hot and cold.
So at night or in the early morning, when it’s cool, I sometimes make beet borscht. As the day heats up, it is a welcome cooling soup for dinner.
Beet Borscht
| 3 |
pounds of beets, washed, peeled and quartered |
| 1 |
onion, coarsely chopped |
3 |
quarts water |
1/2 |
cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed) |
1 |
tablespoon salt |
| 3 |
tablespoons sugar |
| |
sour cream |
In a large pot, bring beets, onion, water, and salt to a boil.
Cook about an hour, until beets are very tender.
Remove the beets, cool and then cut into julienne.
Strain out the cooked onion. Return beets, lemon juice and sugar to the pot.
Cook on low for 30 minutes.
Refrigerate.
Serve in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle sour cream with chopped chives.
Cookbook Review
 Almost Meatless
Recipes that are better for your health and the planet
Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond
Ten Speed press
ISBN 978-1-58008-961-6
$22.50
I wonder what the impact on the economy and the environment would be if once a week all carnivores went meatless.
Vegetarians aside, growing up, my family was Catholic and didn’t eat meat on Fridays. Mostly we ate fish, but sometimes dinner was just vegetables, like fresh corn and tomatoes.
 Surveys show that for health reasons, a third of Americans say they want to reduce meat in their diets.
In other cultures, Asian for example, meat is not the center of the meal as it often is in ours.
I like this book, because for me, it puts forward a goal to go meatless more often using the delicious recipes within its pages.
So far, I’ve cooked from it three times: one meat dish and two vegetable ones.
What’s ironic and fun is that one of the authors, Manning is a former vegan, while Desmond is an unabashed meat eater. Their experience made for a great collaboration.
The book says that the beans add 5 grams of fiber, but unfortunately doesn’t list the cholesterol or calories count.
Photos by Leo Gong
The B4 (Beef Bulgur Bean Burger)
Serves 4 – 6
| 1 |
cup cooked black beans or 1 (15-ounce) can, drained and rinsed |
| 1 |
clove garlic, minced, and mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt |
3 |
scallions, white and green parts, minced |
1 |
tablespoon whole-grain mustard |
| 1 |
cup water or chicken stock (canned okay) |
| 1/2 |
cup coarse or medium-grind bulgur |
| 1/4 |
teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/4 |
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 |
egg, lightly beaten |
| 8 |
ounces ground beef |
| 6 |
hamburger buns (preferably whole grain) |
| |
Fixings of your choice (lettuce, tomato, avocado and onion) |
| |
Preheat the grill to medium high. Lightly oil the grill rack. |
Pulse the beans in the bowl of a food processor with mashed garlic, scallions and mustard. Pulse several times until a chunky paste forms. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and set aside. (The alternative is to mash the beans with a potato masher or fork; add ingredients.)
Bring the stock or water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the bulgur, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and fluff with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, and let cool slightly.
Add the egg, cooked bulgur and beef to the bean mixture, and stir to combine. Form into six equal (4-ounce) patties, each about 1/2-inch thick. You can also make four larger burgers (6 ounces each) or 10 sliders (21/2 ounces each).
Grill the burgers for 5 to 7 minutes per side. Alternatively, the burgers can be pan-fried over medium-high heat in a lightly oiled nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet.
Transfer the burgers to the buns, and top with your favorite fixings.
Yummy Seal of Approval: Buffalo Sausages
I am not a big fan of exotic meats. Oh, there is the occasional rabbit from Little City Meats, and I have been to at least three of Chef Gloria Ciccarone-Nehls Wild Game Weeks at the Big 4 restaurant in the Huntington Hotel.
At those, I have chowed down on elk, wild boar, antelope, yak, and Rocky Mountain wapiti over the years. I refused llama even though one did spit on me once. I guess I don’t want to eat something that I have petted.
Lion was also one of the choices one time, but I just couldn’t bear to eat it. Too many “Born Free” movies, I guess.
The bottom line is that I wouldn’t go out of my way to dine on any of those exotic meats.
 When I received some samples from The Buffalo Guys I stifled a yawn.
Quel surprise!
At various times over three weeks, I tried their sausages: Polish, Bratwurst and Andouille.
The Bratwurst I grilled and ate on a bun with mustard and sautéed onion; another time I sautéed them and then cooked them with rinsed sauerkraut and juniper berries.
I went all out with the Andouille and made a gumbo for a dinner party with all 12 ounces of the package.
The Polish got an Italian treatment. In Jersey, where I’m from, we cook up a bunch of sliced onion, sliced red and green sweet pepper, throw in a couple of garlic cloves cut in half, and stuff all this in half a pita with the grilled sausage that has been split in half and griddled. Before loading the bread, we squirt in some ketchup and mustard.
Heaven!
All three of the Buffalo Guys sausages are hereby awarded the Yummy Seal of Approval.
The buffalo sausages are available online, by calling 888-330-8686, or by faxing your order to 785-890-8417.
Check to see if their products are available in stores near you.
Four 12-ounce packs of each of the three different kinds of sausages are $29.95 plus shipping. They are shipped frozen Monday through Wednesday.
- GraceAnn
Tools, Toys & Tips: EZ Grill
 Did you know July is National Grilling Month? The EZ Grill was just released - it's a portable, disposable all-in-one bbq that's 100% recyclable. Plus, the charcoal is 100% natural -- no chemicals, fillers or additives. So it's healthy for the environment and for the family. (Each grill is approximately 18.9" x 12.2")
Two deluxe grills, $19.99
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