blueberry & peach crisp

As we prepare to bid farewell to the Summertime, we need not cry tears of sadness. It's not all bad. Even though we're just leaving peach season, and nearing the end of blueberry season, now is the perfect time for this dessert. It's a quick and easy pick-me-up, so no excuses.

Fruit
6 peaches, peeled and sliced
1 cup blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Topping
1/4 cup (seperate) all-purpose flour
1 cup golden yellow sugar
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup unsalted butter, soft
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Arrange peaches and blueberries in a greased baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss with four (1 tbsp).

3. In a large bowl, combine flour (1/4 cup), sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oats. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

4. Sprinkle oat mixture over peaches and blueberries.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Best served with real vanilla ice cream. Feeds about 6. NOM

tomato basil parmigiano focaccia

A fun twist on pizza. And guess what? You're making the focaccia from scratch.


For the focaccia dough:
1 tsp white sugar
1 (0.25oz or 8g) package active dry yeast
1/3 cup and 5ish tbsp warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. In a small bowl, combine sugar, yeast and 1/3 cup warm water. Mix with a fork or small whisk until ingredients are dissolved. Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, until it's creamy and stinky.

2. In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture and flour and stir well. Mix in the additional water, 1 tbsp at a time until all flour has been incorporated.

3. Once the dough has come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for < 1 minute.

4. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside. Roll dough around bowl to coat in oil completely. Cover with dampened tea towel. Let rest in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.

5. Deflate and knead briefly. Roll or press dough onto a large, lightly greased cookie sheet to look like a pizza crust (not so thin, though. Also, if you're using a rolling pin, be sure not to roll over the edges. This makes it easier for it to bake evenly. It gives it a rustic look, too. Yay.)

For the topping:
2 medium-large tomatoes, sliced
fresh, whole basil leaves
parmigiano-reggiano
1 clove garlic
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Mince the garlic, and then combine with olive oil and let it sit for a couple of hours (or a whole day -- the longer, the better, really). After the oil has sat for however long you want it to, you can either strain the garlic out or just dump it all on top of the bread dough.

Spread oil evenly atop the dough. Season with black pepper and sea salt. Arrange basil leaves (as many or as little as you want). Place tomato slices on top of basil. Next, shave as much or as little parmigiano on top as you prefer. Note: try not to die from delicious fragrance wafting from your creation.

At this point, you can let it sit on the counter for another hour or so. It's not necessary, but I'd recommend it. Give those ingredients some time alone to get to know each other and make delicious flavours together.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on your desired level of crispiness.

Cut like a pizza, and omnomnomnom away.

Buon appetito!