Just Peachy

I ADORE peaches and am so lucky to live in the state that produces the most peaches in the nation. Go South Carolina!

The local farmer's market is so lovely and its great to get out on a Saturday morning and spend some time getting inspired by the fresh fruits and vegetables; I just had to pick up a basket of the peaches- they were staring me straight in the face and making my mouth water!

I got a little big for my britches and ended up going home with 16 of those lovely peaches. The only problem is that my hubby doesn't really care for peaches (crazy, I know) so I had to think of a way to eat them other than straight or in a this basil, peach and red onion salad.

So I started thinking. I saw a recipe on A Cozy Kitchen for strawberries and cream scones. Why couldn't I redo the recipe for peaches? My stomach growled, making it clear that the direction was indeed good. So I started playing with it and cut up about 2 peaches and made this recipe:

Peaches and Cream Scones
Inspired by A Cozy Kitchen

1 cup diced peaches (2-3 medium peaches) peeled works best
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons white granulated sugar (this amount was perfect for me, not too sweet, but add more if you want your scone on the sweeter side)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place peaches on a lined baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, until the peaches are dehydrated. This will keep them from "leaking" in the scones and making it soggy.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and turn oven up to 425 degrees F.

3. Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Whisk together until thoroughly combined.

4. Cut the cold butter into small chunks. Mix hte butter into the flour mixture until it looks like a coarse meal. I like to get a little messy and work the butter into the flour by hand, but a pastry cutter will work as well. Gently stir in peaches. Pour in the heavy cream and mix until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

6. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to a slightly floured counter and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Pat the dough into a flat circle about 1 inch thick and cut the scones into 8 wedges. Separate and place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Beat an egg with a tablespoon of water together and brush the tops’ of the scones with the egg wash.

7. Transfer the baking sheet to the hot oven and bake until scones are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm with butter or jelly, preferably on a porch with a mug of coffee!

Banana Bread and Getting Back into the Kitchen

Have you ever felt like the kitchen is calling to you but you just don't have the time to make anything? That's how the last few weeks have been because school has gone into crazy-mode, but I took some time to make some banana bread from the bananas that I forgot about saved for banana bread.

I tried to find a good, basic banana bread to add to my repertoire, and this one from Cooking Light actually tasted delicious, was simple and didn't call for any non-pantry items besides plain yogurt. Score!

Well, it made an excellent dessert last night at my Bible study and of course was delicious this morning. Moist and banana-y.  Here's the recipe. Also, they did a bunch of variations on the recipe in the magazine in October 2010:  peanut butter, bananas foster, and banana chocolate walnut.

Also, happy Leap Day! I hope you do something wonderful with your extra 24 hours this year! I haven't decided what my extra will be, but I'll let you know! Have a great day!

Yummy in my Tummy Cookies

I currently love working in an office because I have gotten to try some new recipes and feed them to my coworkers. These cookies turned out especially well and I hope you'll be tempted to whip some up this weekend.

I was inspired to make the original batch of these cookies after getting some unsweetened coconut from the store and forgetting why I bought it in the first place... have you ever done that with a specialty ingredient? Well, I had the unsweetened coconut and some dark chocolate bars, so I decided to chop up the chocolate and whip up a variation on a recipe I found at 101 Cookbooks.

But the next time I made it, I was inspired by these adorable teeeeeny marshmallows from the bulk store! Considering my love for smore's, it only seemed appropriate to mix it into the dough  with chocolate chips (which kind of reminds me a little of graham crackers, but fluffier).  These definitely pack a sweet punch, because the marshmallows melt into the cookie and ooze out. Delicious!

Smores Cookies
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour 
1/2 cup (toasted) wheat germ (I toasted mine quickly in a frying pan before mixing the dough together)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup tiiiiny marshmallows (or chopped up mini marshmallows)
1 cup chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper

• Toast the wheat germ in a frying pan if you bought raw wheat germ (like Bob's Red Mill, like I have). 
• Whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

• Beat the butter in a large bowl until fluffy.  Add the sugar until it has an frosting-like consistency. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add flour in two increments and mix well.

• Mix in the marshmallows and chocolate chips by hand.

• Drop dough onto the pan in 1 tablespoon increments.

• Bake for 8-10 minutes.

• These also freeze well and take only a few minutes more when frozen to bake.

I really liked the texture of these- pillowy and soft. Plus, I felt a little healthier with the wheat germ and whole wheat flour. Its not a super sweet cookie, so you may want to add more chocolate chips if you crave a sweeter cookie.


The other variation I really loved used unsweetened coconut (although I'm sure using sweetened coconut and slightly less sugar would work as well) and dark chocolate chunks. Kind of like a Mounds candy bar!

Yumm..... I love cookies, especially when the batter makes a ton so you can freeze some for cookie satisfaction in minutes!

Cake: Or How I Impressed Everyone I Work With

I am so excited that one of my friends from my church at school is getting married this weekend and I was so thrilled when she asked me to make a regular sized cake to help out with their reception. The biggest problem I had with that was deciding which cake recipe to try! 

And it didn't take me long to decide on this Chocolate Blackberry Cake from Always with Butter. 

This cake was AMAZING. The chocolatey cake part was moist, the filling was rich and delicious, and the chocolate marshmallow frosting was unexpected and perfect for the cake. Although I'm not sure why it looks like there was no center and the filling isn't showing up, but it was there and it was fantastic.

And, like a good cook, I just couldn't serve anything that I hadn't made before, so I used it as an excuse to bake up a tester for my co-workers. 

Everyone raved about it and I've been getting compliments all week on it. Yay! I have a place to take all of my baking now- living alone is so difficult when you want to bake up something yummy and not eating all of it!

But other than my baking a cake (and checking off one of my to-do's for the year: bake and decorate a cake- frosting is more difficult than I really want to deal with on a regular basis), I've been doing a lot of the same thing for dinner:

Start: Rice

Then, add veggies

Then, add protein.

Eat and repeat! I really love eating my meals in bowls- I'm not sure why, but it just makes some elements feel more cohesive. 

How has your summer routine shaped up? Mine's still crazy, but I've at least got dinner basics handled! Have a great weekend! 

201st Post: My Own Smores

So Monday's post was my 200th post... oops! I forgot to mark it as something special!

So I've got something better: personal smores under the broiler. And it was sooooo delicious.

First: gather 1 dark chocolate candy bar (will make 2 smores), 1 graham cracker (or 2 squares) per serving and a bag of mini marshmallows. Also grab an individual baking dish. I used my mini gratin dish from Le Creuset. 

Crumble the graham crackers and put in the bottom of the buttered dish.  Then add the chocolate and place your preferred number of marshmallows on top.

Then, broil for 5-8 minutes on high, with the door slightly opened and watch for the marshmallows to brown on top.

When the marshmallows are browned, pull the dish out.  While still warm, smash the marshmallow into the graham crackers and chocolate and enjoy!

It really satisfied my craving for smores and had very few calories to boot! 80 for the chocolate (half the bar), 65 for the graham crackers and 50 calories the marshmallows. Extra delicious.

Yum.... I'm craving another one right now! I hope you try this- maybe after your dinner is done in the oven, you should stick it in and take advantage of the leftover heat. Just broil a little to brown the tops and it'll also be delicious.

Well, I think that'll satisfy my smores craving (for now). Have a wonderful day!

What I've Been Up to in the Kitchen

I'm SO excited to finally have a kitchen of my own, and I've been using it to its full potential lately. I never seem to have a clean sink (except now, after cleaning my way through a huge pile of dishes). Here are the wonderful things I've tried in the last couple of weeks, but haven't gotten to post about:

We made breakfast burritos with leftovers from some grilled vegetables and steak

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble- I got a little hungry and forgot to take a picture before I ate some! 

It tasted like warm jam covered with a crumbly, crunchy topping. Highly recommend! From Bon Appetit

Just some sauteed mustard greens, broccoli, mushrooms over roasted purple potatoes. Yum!

Cardamom Oatmeal Pancakes- I made a batch and froze it for quick breakfasts. I thought they were wonderfully hearty pancakes, even though I am boosting the amount of cardamom in the next batch I make.

Simple dinner of chicken sausage, broccoli and rice.

One of my crazy ambitious nights: Black Bean Hummus, Corn Chips, and Soft Chicken Tacos from Whole Grains for Busy People. But it was so delicious- the only thing I'll really change is adding some chili powder to the chicken tacos because they just weren't that spicy. 

And I can't wait to keep on cooking! Yay! 

Oh, and I made rhubarb streusel muffins and strawberry freezer jam, but I already put them away in the freezer and forgot to take a picture! But they were both delicious. 

Frittata and Pictures

I was inspired to make this lovely frittata after talking to one of my friends. I mentioned to her that I still had some purple spring onions from the farmer's market and I really wanted to showcase them in a dish, so their unique color and sweeter flavor wouldn't be lost. 

She suggested a frittata, based on pictures she had seen of asparagus laid delicately on top. So, I took the idea and ran with it!

I added in 3ish cups of Russian Red Kale that I also had from the farmer's market and added in some asparagus.  I used this recipe as a base and just added the extra vegetables.  Yum! I think I needed to drain the vegetables a bit more, because the frittata was a little watery, but it was a great first attempt!

Oh, and here are some pictures from my trip to the mountains with some ladies from my church last weekend. I completely forgot to share them earlier this week! It was so peaceful to walk along the trail!

I'm off to go apartment hunting for the summer! Have a lovely day!

Recipe Tuesday

 I felt the pull to the kitchen over the weekend after I left for a few interviews at the end of last week, so here is what I made (and loved!)

Sugar Cookies with Lavender sprinkled in

Chai Scented Granola

Oh my goodness... this granola got some great feedback BEFORE it even left the oven! It smells so wonderful while cooking and I highly recommend this granola recipe! It really does taste like chai!

Individual Blackberry Crumbles, from a request from my brother

Lavender-Chocolate Marshmallow Bars 

(so delicious! don't be discouraged by the labor intensive process, its REALLY worth it! I got rave reviews from even the men in my life who don't like "fancy" food)

And I made this at the beginning of last week for a friend, so I didn't get to try it. It smelled delicious, though, and I want to make it for myself too!

I even whipped up some pancakes for my boyfriend and his family. I love pancakes, so it was really an excuse to make them, but sshhh! They think I was spoiling them! We even topped a few of the pancakes with the lemon curd I made last week. Delicious.

Overall, I think I satisfied my baking desires for a few days, but I really recommend all of these recipes, so get in the kitchen, because I know you're hungry now!

Recipe Tuesday

I love trying new recipes and with Tastespotting and Pinterest, I'm always finding more to try but there never seems to be enough time! Thankfully, I got to spend some quality time with my friend, K., on Friday to bake and with S. on Saturday to go flea-marketing and bake in the afternoon.  It was a full, but delicious weekend!

Chocolate Chip Cookies via the Holiday Cookies magazine by Martha

These are PERFECT- sweet with a little saltiness that makes them addictive

Fruit for the Blood Orange and Clementine Galette: tangerines, 1 Moro blood orange, three raspberry blood oranges, and a lemon

via the Pitchfork Diaries- I saw the pictures and knew that I had to make it!

It made enough filling for 2 galettes, so be prepared to indulge! It really tasted like subtle citrus with a little extra sweetness. It was delicate and so fresh. And really easy!

Cocoa-Orange Granola Bars from Anja's Food 4 Thought

These are tasty, but they aren't firm enough for my taste. I don't know how to tell when they are done, but I think we undercooked these just a tad. I can't wait to try again, because the flavor is spot on!

Overall, we were really pleased with all of the recipes and I'm super stoked to eat the leftovers! 

Did you bake anything special over the weekend? 

Recent Recipes I've Tried

I don't think I share it enough, but I LOVE a good chai tea, especially when its made from some of my friends who have visited India and prepare it the real way they learned it (equal parts sugar and milk, anyone?!) So when I see chai tea incorporated in recipes, it always makes my mouth water. 

So, I got the chance to make some chai tea bread for breakfast with friends last week and it turned out wonderful, even though I had no doubt that the chai would be a winner. The only part I wish I could re-do was cooling the tea; my tea was slightly warm but I was freaking out and praying the eggs wouldn't turn into scrambled eggs. But nothing happened except a delicious loaf of chai tea quickbread!

Don't let this picture fool you- its really moist and tastes delicious!

I also made this recipe for vanilla-scented granola, but modified it a little: I decreased the amount of almonds to 3/4 cup and added 1/4 cup dried pomegranate seeds.

This granola was SO GOOD that we were eating it off the baking sheet like candy when it came out! And it is really versatile + doesn't call for 20+ ingredients! Its my new, go-to granola recipe. Take a chance and make some- you won't regret it!

 

 

Bacon Wrapped Christmas Presents

Basically, everyone knows things taste better with bacon. Its a fact of the world. 

So when I saw Deliciously Organic's recipe for bacon-wrapped steak bites, I knew that Jonathan would die if I made them. 

 

We tried them tonight and they stand up to their simple, but self-explanatory name of goodness.  I just mixed it up and used some of the apple cider vinegar I had on hand and made the batch bigger for our dinner but it worked perfectly. Even though his mom's chocolate pound cake wasn't so fortunate (it had trouble baking for some reason).

We topped of a big Caesar salad with these bad boys and it was just amazing. We are definitely making these again. I think next week. Or tomorrow :) 

For our after-dinner treat, we baked up some Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies from the Novice Chef (from her Ass Friendly section- so they're less guilt-inducing! So many cookies to try, why make tons of just fattening ones?)

These are going to be my go-to chocolate cookies from now on! They are so light- I'm going to make them with Heath Bar pieces next week too! Go try some- they're amazing. And just replace the Andes mints with something else if you're not a fan. 

It was a great day in the kitchen, except my minor burn from the steam that resulted from cooking my acorn squash for today's lunch with Jonathan's family with water in the pan at 400 degrees. Oops! More on the lunch tomorrow- its time to nom!