Peach Cobbler with a Scone Mix?

 

PEACHES, PEACHES, PEACHES

What to do with the last of the summer peaches??

As much as I hate to admit it; I have seen some trees with the leaves changing to their autumn glory and slowly drifting to the ground.  I do love all the seasons but have a really hard time giving up on summer.  What with back to school and strict morning schedules and the ever advancing holiday season.  Seriously, I saw a Thanksgiving display in a local store in July.  Just a little advice to marketers "this does not make me buy any sooner, it only pisses me off".  

 



 



I have been enjoying, selling, and introducing Sticky Fingers Scone Mixes to family and friends since 1999.  Whenever Aiden has friends over for a sleepover they get to pick their favorite flavor for their morning treat.  It is really cool to see tween age boys get so excited over eating and baking scone mixes.  They are so simple I let them do it themselves so Steve and I can sleep in.  

With the hope of keeping summer alive as long as I can here is a Peach Cobbler recipe for you using the Original Flavor Sticky Fingers Scone Mix.
 

Easy Peach Cobbler! 

Try this classic summer dessert using SFB Original scones for the cobbler topping! You'll need about 6 peaches, some sugar, cinnamon, flour, a little bit of butter and some SFB Original Scone Mix.

Slice up your peaches

s and toss with some flour, sugar and cinnamon. Put on the bottom of a square dish. Then take your mix and only add 1/2 of a cup of water so the mix is still crumbly. Put the mix on top of the peaches and then drizzle some melted butter mixed with a little sugar and cinnamon. Pop it into a 375 degree oven and wait for the top to brown and the peaches to bubble! Serve with ice cream.

If you would like to have more fruit with your peaches you could also try the Wild Blueberry or Strawberry scone mixes.

Roasted Mushrooms and Farfalle Anyone?

Well, I have been working on this post for awhile now adapting this recipe from Restaurant Lulu's cookbook.  Restaurant Lulu has a Provencal menu/recipe but I just had to add my Italian twist.  I thought I made minimal changes and it would be ready to post but "oh no".  The problem was I don't usually make minimal changes to any recipe. 

Monday was recipe testing day and wouldn't you know I of course made more changes.  Hence having to update the blog again.  I have to admit that I did not take the pictures I would have liked.   I had it in my head that I hadn't really changed anything so I could use the pics I had.  "Yeah Right".  This is also the first full week back to school for my son Aiden and that grueling "dinner must be on time" regimen is back into play.   The regimen does not coexist well with recipe creativity.  

What I can tell you is the picture of the roasted mushrooms is a great representation of how the mushrooms will look even with my changes.  What you won't see is the roasted mushrooms topping the Farfalle pasta and the sliced heirloom tomatoes and asiago cheese topping the mushrooms.  Can you imagine that?  Does it sound good?  I can assure you that I will be able to add pictures of the final product in a week or two.  My boys( husband Steve and son Aiden) have  already asked "when are you making this again".  I'll keep you posted.

Morel

 

2 lbs mixed fresh specialty mushrooms

 

Portobello

Shitake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 4 bay leaves

 

 

 

Half of a torpedo onion

  3Tbls Ultra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3Tbls Mustard and Herbes de Provence Grilling Sauce

 

 

1/2 tsp chopped garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

  1/2 cup fineley chopped fresh Basil

  2 Tbls Ultra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

1lb Farfalle pasta

grated Asiago to taste

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

 

Clean mushrooms, remove any hard stems, and keep small mushrooms whole; halve or quarter any that are large.

 

In a medium bowl, toss mushrooms, bay leaves, 3 Tbls olive oil, Mustard and Herbes de Provence grilling sauce, garlic, torpedo onion, and salt and pepper to taste.  Place mushrooms on a baking sheet and roast for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and place mushrooms in a clean bowl.

 

While mushrooms are still hot, stir in basil and remaining olive oil.   Stir into farfalle and top with sliced tomatoes and cheese. "Mangiare" 

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Meyer Lemon Prawns with Fresh Salad Greens

Who wants to cook inside when the weather person tells you it is going to be 104 degrees?

Current Weather    


Certainly not me and I'm sure not many of you want to either.  When the temperature is that high do you feel like eating at all?  Knowing my family and I will eventually get hungry I look to recipes that can be cooked on the grill that are light and refreshing. 

On days like today citrus is what I look to as my flavor profile.  It can be in my cocktail, meal, or dessert.  Maybe we'll have and all out Citrus Fest of refreshment and appetite fulfillment?

For today, I will share with you a recipe for Grilled Meyer Lemon Prawns.  It fills the light requirement with salad greens as opposed to rice, is cooked on the grill and is filled with refreshing citrus satisfaction.   Enjoy and keep cool!

GRILLED MEYER LEMON PRAWNS

6 cups mixed salad greens

1/3 cup Preserved Meyer Lemon and Artichoke Vinaigrette

 In a large bowl toss salad greens with 1/3 cup Preserved Meyer Lemon and Artichoke Vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

4 Tbl Preserved Meyer Lemon and Artichoke Vinaigrette
5 Tbl Meyer Lemon Olive Oil




24 large prawns, peeled, and deveined, tails left on
zest of one Meyer Lemon

Preheat grill to medium high heat

In a large bowl toss salad greens with 1/3 cup Preserved Meyer lemon and Artichoke Vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

In a medium bowl combine remaining ingredients except for the lemon zest.  Thoroughly cote prawns.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and grill for 2 minutes on each side.

Mound  salad greens on a platter and arrange prawns alongside the greens.  Finish with zest of one lemon across entire platter.  Serve immediately

Recipe adapted from Flavors of Restaurant Lulu

Warm Mushroom Salad with Sherry Vinegar

This recipe gives everyday mushrooms an elegant edge of texture and flavor by their quick sautéing, and the hot dressing slightly wilts the salad greens.  This recipe is also very versatile in the way you can change it up with different lettuces, mushrooms, and adding or substituting onions or garlic for the shallots.  My rule of thumb is to make a recipe as is directed the first time. After that get crazy and have fun with it.  Don't forget to make notes as you go.

2 cups coarsely torn radicchio

I am not a big fan of radicchio but it definitely has it's place in salads.   Not only does it add color and flavor but it also add a nice crunch.

 

 

2 cups coarsely torn red leaf lettuce

 

 

 

2 cups coarsely torn regular or red butter lettuce

Butter lettuce is my favorite and when it's red that's even better.

This salad is so colorful and delicate!

2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbls Walnut Oil

 I do not like walnuts so, if you are not a fan either you can use any nut oil you like or try Tahitian Lime Olive oil.

1 pound large mushrooms sliced thick

Pick your favorite mushroom or try something new and go crazy.  Just remember that you might want to adjust your cooking times and amount of mushrooms because of flavor.

1 shallot finely chopped

I love shallots!!!  With that said; have you tried torpedo or walla walla onions?  Yum!

 




2 Tbls Sherry vinegar

2 Tbls finely chopped chives

If you don't have chives the greens from green onions will work.  Just remember to chop very fine and you may not want to use as much.

2 Tbls finely chopped parsley

I'm Italian so I always use Italian/Flat leaf parsley.
 

¼ Tsp salt

Fresh ground Pepper

Toss the salad leaves together and arrange them in beds on individual serving plates.

In a large skillet, heat the olive and preferred nut or Tahitian Lime olive oil over high heat.  Add the mushroom and shallot and sauté until they begin to turn golden, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the Sherry vinegar, chives, parsley, and salt: season to taste with black pepper.

Spoon the mushrooms and pan juices over the salad leaves and serve immediately. 

Cucumber Salad with Yuzu Rice Vinegar

Cucumbers can vary in their level of bitterness. Usually the older the more bitter, and the seeds are often more bitter than the flesh. Once you cut into a cucumber, taste it. If bitter, scrape or cut away the seeds. You might also want to soak the chopped cucumber in salt water to help offset the bitterness. The cucumbers we get are usually fine as is, but I have had some bitter ones. With regards to peeling, we almost always peel our cucumbers, but there are some varieties with thin, mild peels that you don't need to peel. Taste first if there is a question.

Ingredients

• 1-2 large cucumbers (or 4-5 lemon cucumbers), peeled, quartered lengthwise, then sliced crosswise
• 1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill, basil, or Thai basil*
• 2-3 Tbsp Yuzu Rice Vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

*To chop the basil, chiffonade it by stacking the leaves on top of each other, rolling them up like a cigar, and taking thin slices from one end to the other.

 

Method

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, toss to coat. Serve immediately, or make ahead (up to a couple of hours) and chill.

Serves 2-4

                                                        adapted from

Lavender and Blood Orange Shortbreads

The month of June started with me having a weekend home alone.  The boys were off to upstate New York to visit family and I stayed home and "held down the fort" as some would say.  I had a really hard time deciding if it was going to be a pure all me and know one else but me weekend or to have a gals weekend.  Well, I decided I wasn't ready for a pure all me and know one else weekend so a gals weekend it was.

The "gals" consisted of mom and I.  The theme was drinking, cooking, and baking but luckily we did the cooking and baking first and the drinking second.  I thought that would be a good idea considering we were trying recipes with my products to blog about and capture all our doings digitally. 

We tried 7 recipes that weekend.  This one came out perfectly but not so many pictures.  It seemed that if we took all kinds of pictures the recipes still needs work but if we only have two like for the shortbread's it turned out awesome on the first try.  Go Figure?

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons, 1/2 teaspoon Blood Orange-Olive Oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons dried lavender flowers

zest of 1 blood orange(seasonal Nov to May) or regular orangeIn a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter until creamy. 

While continuing to mix, slowly pour olive oil into butter until fully incorporated.

Stir in sugar, vanilla extract, lavender, and zest to butter mixture. 

 

Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring together until just blended.

 

Form dough into a ball and divide in half. Roll each half into a 6'' log, wrap logs in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 325. Unwrap dough logs and cut each log into 1/3''-inch thick rounds. Place rounds about 1/2'' apart on baking sheets. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire sheets and allow to cool.

This dough can be very crumbly so I would suggest making sure the dough is really cold.

 

Store the cookies in an airtight container and the flavor of the Lavender and Blood Orange will meld together into a wonderful citrus and floral sensation!

This recipe was adapted from A Couple in the Kitchen

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Verbena

I found this recipe for olive oil cake and  I was intrigued.  I love olive oil and have many options and flavors to choose from.  The first question that came to mind when reviewing the recipe was how am I going to get my hands on Lemon Verbena?  

I figured I really had only one local option so I added it to my list of  stops and headed out the door.  Thank you to Briar Patch Coop in Grass Valley CA, you never disappoint.  I had hoped to possibly get some leaves fresh or dry but as I walked up to the door and saw all the herb and vegi plants I stopped to see if I could get lucky.  Well, it was my lucky day and I am now the owner of a beautiful Lemon Verbena Plant.   

•  3/4 cup O Meyer Lemon Olive Oil 
•  1/4 cup Meyer Lemon Syrup
• 2 Tbls  butter
• juice of 1 1/2 large lemons (just under 1/4 cup juice)
• zest of 2 lemons
• 7 leaves lemon verbena, minced 
• 5 egg yolks
• heavy pinch of salt
• 4 egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour (the original recipe called for cake flour and to sift it but that was not a step I was going to take)

Combine the olive oil and the lemon juice and set aside in a liquid measure.

With the whip attachment, whip yolks, salt and 1/2 sugar until very light, thick and billowy.

Still whisking on medium speed, slowly stream in the oil/juice mixture.  Whisk in the zest and lemon verbena leaves.  I adjusted the amount of lemon verbena leaves from 15 to 7 because my version of this recipe uses the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil.

Whisk the whites with the other half of the sugar to medium peaks.

Fold the whites and the sifted flour together gently but thoroughly.  The batter should be very light and poufy.

Spoon into a greased 8″ cake pan and smooth the top a little.  Sprinkle with some sugar–white or demerara, whatever you have–bake at 350 degrees until light golden brown on top and well risen.  

Depending on your oven, this could take between 20-35 minutes.  Keep an eye on it, but don’t open the oven or your lovely cake won’t rise as high as it could.  

Serve warm or at room temperature.  I made this cake for dessert and felt it had to have more than just sugar sprinkled on the top.  So, staying with the lemon theme I drizzled it with this quick and easy syrup recipe.  

For the syrup; combine the Meyer Lemon Syrup and butter in a measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds.  Whisk the syrup and drizzle over the top of each piece before serving and a hint of powdered sugar. 

The cake will hold a day or two at room temperature. 

This recipe doubles very easily, so if you want to make a larger cake, feel free to double up.  

This recipe was adapted from Online Pastry Chef