Peach Bread Pudding

Uh Oh, I still have a bunch of peaches from last week’s farm share, and will be getting more in tomorrow’s share! Gotta use ‘em up now. How about some peach salsa? Nah, not today. What else? Look up what other bloggers have done with peaches? Ding! This peach bread pudding has made the rounds, and sounded like a great idea…bake tonight, have at work tomorrow and the day after…never mind about the new peaches coming in!

http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/08/marvins-peachy-bread-pudding/

I modified the recipe a great deal, some intentionally, some by accident. It’s been a long time since I’ve run out of vanilla, but I did just now. Hmmm, how about that chocolate extract that I got last year and haven’t figured out how to use? Does liquid chocolate flavor have fewer calories than actual chocolate? Most likely, yes!

I wanted the peaches to be the star of the show, rather than the bread, so I changed the proportion of the two. I also sprinkled the top of the dish with about 1/4 teaspoon ginger, for no reason at all! Next time I'd measure out 1/2 teaspoon because I like the flavor but it wasn't very strong this time. The ingredients and instructions are grouped together here: Blend 2 Tablespoons melted butter, 3 eggs, 1 ½ cups milk, and 2 Tablespoons vanilla

Add ½ cup sugar and blend in. Stir in 8 ounces of ripped up bread, and 3 cups of cut up peaches. Pour into a greased baking dish (I used a pie plate, but a square 8” or 9” pan would work great. Sprinkle with ½ cup chopped nuts. Bake for 30 -45 minutes at 350 degrees until center is set.

It tasted great, and even kind of healthy because I used whole grain bread. I suspect it would taste much richer if I had used cream and the additional sugar originally called for. I did not make rum sauce since I was planning on having it at work for a snack. Next time I would add even more peaches for that amount of bread, and more vanilla or chocolate extract. Now I just need to figure out what to make with all the tomatoes from last week and this week- salads are great, but enough already- let’s get creative! Does anyone have a favorite tomato pie recipe?

Arugula Basil Pesto

As much as I enjoyed learning about cooking and baking with dried spices last year, it’s also fun to use fresh herbs and vegetables. I’ve been making this recipe from Whole Foods for years, and will share my modifications. The end result is thicker than a traditional pesto, but uses less than half of the oil called for. I always have cream cheese on hand, but rarely have ricotta cheese in the fridge, so I use the former here…any kind you have is fine!

I’ve been admiring the way Pioneer Woman shows all ingredients at the beginning of each recipe, so I thought I’d give it a try. I need way more small bowls, hence the use of a glass for the oil. Throughout the year, I make this recipe with arugula and spinach, but today’s farm stand had glorious basil, so that was "it" for this version.

The following quantities are small dinner portions for two people. I wrote a note to myself that if I was going to reheat leftovers at the office the next day, I should use only one clove of garlic. The next project is to roast a head of garlic and mellow the flavor of the garlic before adding it here.

Assemble in a blender: 1 cup arugula, 1 cup basil or spinach, 1 clove garlic, ¼ cup nuts (toasted for a maximum of 3 minutes), 2 tablespoons oil, 3 tablespoons milk (I used skim), 2 tablespoons cream cheese, 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese. Blend until desired consistency is reached. I add the pesto to just boiled and drained pasta, and warm it briefly. You could heat it separately on the stove or in the microwave.

The original recipe calls for shrimp, and I have served this pasta with everything from scallops to smoked salmon when I'm in a rush. Last year we grew our own arugula, and the young sprouts were a gentler flavor than the full sized bunches available now.

I used pine nuts in this iteration, but have used walnuts, cashews, and possibly hazelnuts in the past. My baking drawer in the fridge is well stocked! The original recipe calls for salt and pepper, but I’ve never added them to this pesto. Do you have a favorite healthy-er pesto recipe? Any tips to share?

Pineapple Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins

My aunt gave me the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook for Christmas, and I’ve already tried a number of recipes with great success. A trip to their flour store in Norwich, VT was fun! Last week’s farm share included a pound of carrots, and today’s had another pound, so it’s a good thing I have a super duper food chopper blender that made the work easy for this recipe. I did make modifications, so the entire recipe is listed here.

You’ll need: 4 large eggs, ¾ cup vegetable oil and ¾ cup applesauce, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, just under 1 ¼ cups sugar, ½ cup brown sugar (I didn’t pack it as called for in the recipe), 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 tsp. baking soda, 1 ½ tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 T cinnamon, ½ tsp. nutmeg. Mix all of these ingredients, starting with the eggs, adding the oil, adding remaining ingredients. I didn’t combine the dry ingredients together first (before adding them in, as I “should have”).

After these are blended, add 2 ½ cups grated carrots, 1 cup chopped walnuts or any other type of nuts, 1 cup unsweetened coconut, 1 cup crushed pineapple (8 oz. can, drained, or other type of pineapple run through the blender).

This recipe made enough for 12 muffins and a 9 x 13 pan with a thin-to-medium layer. It can be used to make 3 round 8-inch pans. Be sure to grease and flour the pans or use muffin tin liners or parchment paper. I set the timer for 15 minutes, checked them, and set it for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees. The muffins were done after 25 minutes, but the large pan needed 30 minutes. I had used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to put the batter into the muffin papers.

Frosting: I started off by modifying the quantity listed for the sugar, and decided to add more if needed. Here’s what went in: 6 T (3/4 stick) butter, 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese- both at room temperature, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 3 cups confectioners’ sugar (I didn’t sift as instructed). I did not add more sugar and didn’t use the 2 T milk listed “as needed” to make the frosting more pliable. I used nut pieces to decorate the tops of the frosted muffins, so I did not add chopped nuts to the frosting as suggested.

The first muffin, warm from the oven, was soft and rich. The sweetness was just right for me, after lowering the amount of white and brown sugars called for just slightly, and using unsweetened coconut. These are not the sticky sweet confections from bakeries, so if that’s what you want, be sure to up all the sugar counts. But they were a nice treat for me, knowing that they were more healthy than usual!

Cards # 25 and 26 – Ecuador Part 1

I’ve missed creating new cards while the basement floor has been ripped up, dehumidified, and replaced. I had intended to take a break from travel cards and make more creative mixed media ones, but that’s on hold for now. I had made these in anticipation of being out of town a few times over the summer, so I “saved them up” for use later on but will share them now. Maybe I should start cooking again!

Ecuador is amazing, and we’d highly recommend it. The Galapagos Islands are a wonder unto themselves, and well worth the extra flight and fees. I initially thought that the $100 park fee was a tourist “rip-off”, but after seeing these guys wandering freely- NOT in a zoo, I didn’t mind the expense. The giant tortoises were like creatures from a movie, but they were beautiful in their own right- and seemed just as curious about us as we were about them!

Many people take cruises around the Galapagos Islands, but due to our somewhat limited time and budget, we stayed on land and took day tours of nearby islands. We did not use special zoom lenses to take these photos- they were that close. The animals were not afraid of people, though we were instructed to not touch them or feed them “people food”. We saw an iguana wandering down the street in Puerto Ayora, but we were on a restaurant balcony so couldn’t get a good photo. It was hilarious watching him/her saunter down the sidewalk.

There are a number of hotels and B&B’s on Santa Cruz, one of the larger inhabited islands. The food was great, and we met interesting fellow tourists from around the world, including a couple from our state! Knowing some Spanish helped in the Quito area, but English sufficed for most of the Galapagos experiences. I haven’t thought of a reason to send a card with a large, albeit colorful crab on it, so no card for this critter yet. Maybe someday, a “sorry I was a crab” card, or “hope you’re feeling less crabby soon” to a good friend? 

Garden flowers and farm share

I’m running out of cards made before the basement flood, and haven’t been able to make more since then. I’ll share some photos that are slated to be made into cards, and will do the same with some travel blogs that don’t have cards yet, either.

Can you see the moisture inside these flowers? They grew mightily this spring, putting a big smile on my face every time I saw them. The white ones on the other side of the yard were also gorgeous, but didn’t have sunlight filtering through them like in this photo. After I’ve added another peony to the side of the house, maybe it will be time for another bleeding heart. I wonder how many colors they come in? Do you have a favorite color?

I’m so happy with the two hydrangeas that we added in the past two years. They are stunning, especially this unusually flowering one. The other is more traditional, but I’m amazed by the odd blossom pattern here. I’ve seen some pink ones, too, but don’t know if they are recently planted ones that haven’t changed color due to the soil composition. I’ll keep grinning every time I see these, too! Good riddance, hostas, and thanks to my friends for taking them off my hands/property.

Our garden experiment last year was a good learning experience, lots of work, and little but cute yield. We decided to try a farm share this year, and have also planted a few items that I’ll post as they grow (bell peppers, sugar snap peas, watermelon, herbs). These strawberries came in a huge flat of … pick-your-own! Now I respect why they cost so much in the store. We had strawberry shortcake, strawberry milkshakes, strawberries and yogurt, and still needed to freeze several bags for later use. Yum!

Cards # 20 and 21 - African Safari Part 2

We were on a low-budget tour, sleeping in 2 person tents on the ground, with campground bathing facilities. I tried a new (to me) technique to mat this ostrich photo: I searched for a green paper to use as a mat, but didn’t like the shades I had on hand. I used an ink pad to color over a paler green paper to create a more vibrant frame. Too much ink came onto the paper at first, so I blotted some off with a paper napkin that was nearby.

I don't know the names of these cuties, but here are some iridescent birds. I slipped the card into a frame I got in Nairobi. 

Your future safari experience may be very different from mine. An acquaintance took one out of South Africa a few years ago, and  stayed in gorgeous hotels with private plunge pools and "regular" restaurants. We sat on tiny stools near the camp fire and ate with one plate and one fork whatever the cook had prepared for us (usually good, but not gourmet- who cares, we’re on a safari!). 

Our teeth rattled in our heads as we jounced for miles over rutted roads in an older vehicle whose shock absorbers were surely out-shocked, but it was still great! As a result, our price was do-able for a small group of 20-something women without corporate jobs to foot the bill for a luxury tour. I can’t recommend any particular company, so have fun researching the details.