Cherry Peach Galette with Cornmeal Crust

I’ve been on a bit of a purge lately. Cleaning out closets, gathering bags of stuff to donate-- I’ve been attempting to rid myself of some of the clutter I’ve amassed. After weeks of putting it off, I finally talked myself into tackling the kitchen.

Oh, my tiny little kitchen.. A kitchen so small, I can touch both sides of it at the same time. Without stretching. I can mop the whole tile floor without ever stepping foot on it. And don’t even try to open the fridge and the dishwasher at the same time. With a tiny little kitchen, space is at a premium. The majority of my cabinets measure less than 12 inches across and my counterspace is almost nonexistent. Most of my appliances (with the exception of my KitchenAid mixer) live in the space between the top of my cabinets and the ceiling. Not quite ideal for someone who’s only 5’2”.

Although I have minimal space to store things, I find myself acquiring more and more stuff every time I turn around. Utensils, gadgets, appliances. I have more stuff than I know what to do with, and way more stuff than I have room for. So I sucked it up and tackled the clutter, throwing out or donating everything I didn’t use or really need. And it was kind of liberating.

No matter how many cookies I make, I’m sure I don’t need 8 spatulas. Gone. The electric carving knife that’s only been out of the box once? Gone. The unmatching, lidless plastic lunchmeat containers that tumble out whenever I open the cabinet? Trash. The two bamboo steamers that have never been down from the top of my fridge in the entire 5+ years I’ve lived here? Gifted to Boyfriend. I felt so accomplished in my cleaning, I shifted my attention from the top of the fridge to inside.

Leftovers + veggies that need to be used NOW = Another round of Chicken Ropa Vieja. Boom. Dinner for 3 days and no more half used things hanging out in the back of the fridge. But wait. What’s this bag of cherries still doing in here? Huh. Kind of forgot about them. Guess it’s time to take a break from cleaning to preheat the oven. We’re making pie.

Or a galette to be more specific. A rustic free-form pie baked on a baking sheet rather than a pie plate. It’s pie for people who are intimidated by pie. No double crusts, no crimping, no fuss. You can get into this pie game, I promise.

Pair the cherries up with some juicy peaches and toss them around in some sugar and vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract). They play very well together. Wrap them up in some amazing cornmeal pie crust. It's flaky, tender, and has just a touch of texture and crunch. Sprinkle it all over with sugar and let it all get golden and bubbly. Serve it up with some sweetened whipped cream or ice cream and you won't be disappointed.

Leftovers should always be this good.

**Note: I'm not sure how readily available fresh cherries and peaches are anymore. I kind of got into vacation mode very early, and sorta forgot to put this post up when I made it.. almost a month ago.. My bad. Feel free to substitute frozen for fresh. Or throw some delicious apples in it instead!

My Fair Lady 2013 - A Trip to the Ohio State Fair

With the Labor Day weekend nearly upon us, summer is officially winding down. While I'm not really ready to let summer go yet, I thought I'd give you a look back on the best part of every summer for me. Fair time!

I've gone to the Ohio State Fair for years. The food, the animals, the concerts, the food, the.. um.. interesting characters. (Although I was a bit disappointed in the shortage of mullets this year. Especially the family mullet.) Oh, did I mention the food? Anything you'd ever dream of frying, or have never even thought about frying are all on display. And don't forget the vast array of things on a stick--like chocolate covered bacon. And make sure you grab an ice cream cone from the dairy building while you check out the butter cow. (It's exactly what it sounds like: a cow sculpted from butter.)

This year I went with my best friend and her family, wandering through the animal barns, the petting zoo, hitting the rides in Kiddie Land, and snapping tons of pictures along the way.

Not sure he's really enjoying the shearing process.

The baby animals are always a big hit. I just want to take this baby cow home with me! And the piglets! Oh. My. Gosh.

Pigs! I just love pigs. I don't know why.

But I think my favorite is the horse barn. Such beautiful animals.

And of course, my absolute favorite part of the fair, and my favorite part of the whole summer--the baking competitions. Once I realized I could combine my [over]competitiveness with my love of baking, that was it. The quest for ribbons has been insatiable. You'd think I was competing on Top Chef with how serious I take this competition. This was my 5th year entering, and once again, it didn't disappoint.

Another 2 blue ribbons for scones and chocolate cake to add to my collection! That takes me up to a grand total of 15 ribbons over 5 years. Not too shabby!

It was also a good year for my baking friends too. Timmura (who I've done several Cupcake Camps and previous fairs with) not only placed 2nd with her Root Beer Float cupcakes,

but also took a first place AND a best in show for her Chocolate Stout Cupcakes! Yay! I may or may not have fangirled a little bit and took like 20 pictures of them.

It was another great time this year! (Even though they were out of the Maple Bacon ice cream in the dairy building the day I went--the ONE thing I wanted to try this year! Oh well. I'll just have to make my own.) I'm already on the quest for next year's recipe (I'm thinking pie this time!) and I can't wait until it's summer all over again!

Stay tuned-- I'll be posting a complete list of all my ribbon winning recipes soon!

Blackberry Pie

An open letter to Pie:

I think I need to apologize to you. For years I’ve been acting under the notion that I hate any and all kinds of baked fruit. Because of it, I’ve turned away from you, ignored you, shunned you. I’ve passed you over in favor of things like cake and cupcakes, lured in by their swirls of sweet sugary frosting.

In my constant search for recipes, you were always the last on the list, if you even made it to the list at all. Cookies were always my top choice. Macarons even beat you out. I’d cite my abhorrence to squishy fruit and my fear of pie crust as reasons for my avoidance. The few feeble attempts I made at conquering you over the years were of the cream and custard variety, with graham cracker or store bought crust, and did very little to sway me from my firm prejudice against you.

That is until I made handpies. With real pie crust. From that moment on, I was hooked. Enrobed in flaky, buttery dough, my hatred of baked fruit began to wane. You broke down my defenses and made me realize how wrong I had been this whole time. And I’ve been so, so very wrong. This Blackberry Pie proves it.

The filling is almost jam-like sweet and I can’t get enough of the crust. I’ve eaten piece after piece, unwilling to share with anyone else. I can’t believe I went this long without you, Pie. With just a few simple ingredients, you turn into something incredible. You’ve certainly changed my mind, and for that I’m grateful. And I’m truly sorry I ever doubted you.

Signed,
A new pie lover

PS- I'm on my way today to the Ohio State Fair, where I find out whether my 7 entries this year won any ribbons! *Crossing fingers*

Strawberry Galette

I spy some green outside my door! The past week has brought warmer temperatures (finally!) and the first buds of spring popped up seemingly overnight. Hooray! Spring has finally sprung!

The first taste of warmer weather makes me excited for what's to come. I can't wait to rock my dresses again. I live for days I can throw open the doors and windows and let the breeze blow in. I long for evenings spent on the patio, book in hand, surrounded by green leaves and the beginning bursts of colorful flowers. (Until they inevitably succumb to the negligence of my black thumb...) I yearn for dinners on the grill and big bowls full of ripe, juicy, sweet berries. Oh, sweet delicious summer fruit, how I’ve missed you in the cold winter months.

Strawberries are by far one of my favorite fruits. I generally eat them sliced up and sprinkled with an ungodly amount of sugar. Lately, however, I’ve been enjoying them with just a drizzle of honey to enhance their natural sweetness. A bit healthier and a lot cleaner than my usual snack, and every bit as delicious.

And it makes the perfect base for a simple, rustic, no fuss dessert.

Think of a galette as pie for people who are scared of pie crust. No messing with pie plates or double crusts or crimping. Just roll the crust out flat and relatively round, throw some fruit in the middle and fold it up. No need for perfection here. It’s as easy as… pie. Or rather, pie’s calm, laid back brother.

The honey bumps up the strawberries’ natural sweetness, while balsamic vinegar adds a subtle layer of extra flavor. Wrapped in a flaky crust and drizzled with a little extra honey, it’s a heavenly way to welcome in spring.

Strawberry Peach Jam

I seem to be living a very eco-hippie life right now. Not really by choice either. My 16-year old car has recently taken to overheating to the point of smoke pouring from under the hood, and with my very limited (non-existent) budget, she’s been sidelined in the parking lot in favor of taking the bus to and from work every day. Yay public transit. And then there’s my washer. My free, hand-me-down, probably older than I am washer I acquired from a lady at work who was moving and couldn’t take it with her. After what I assume was a long and productive life, it’s finally given up. It doesn’t spin anymore, so there’s no real washing going on. With no way to get my clothes to a laundromat (because I’m NOT taking them on the bus), I’m hand washing my clothes in a bucket. Luckily my free, hand-me-down dryer from yet another coworker is still going strong, so the neighbors don’t have to see my unmentionables hanging out on my back patio to dry.

So I figure, while I’m embracing this forced hippie life, why not dive in even further. Let's take up canning! Because obviously, I needed a new hobby. (Right.) Now trust me, I had no interest in canning. At all. The thought had never even crossed my mind. But then I made my own barbecue sauce. And then Boyfriend raved so much about it, he wanted to give some to his brother and coworker for them to try.

It’s one thing to make a batch and put it in my fridge to use. I have a very high tolerance for expiration dates (I mean, those are really just suggestions, right? As long as it smells fine..), and if I make myself sick, well it’s my own fault for being stupid. And it's fine to give it to Boyfriend who used it on nearly everything almost immediately. It’s a completely different thing to give it to someone else who may or may not use it in a timely manner. And I don’t want to kill anyone with spoiled food. So I started Googling how to can homemade barbecue sauce. And found out just how easy it really is. Boiling water, a big pot, and some Mason jars. That’s really about all you need. Obviously there’s a bit more to it than that, but if you’ve got those, you’re nearly ready to can!

After my first BBQ attempt, I was hooked. I wanted to can everything in sight! With my aversion of all things veggie, the next obvious step was to make jam. Lots of jam. Blackberry, strawberry, cherry.. Jam, jam, jam! And it’s all so easy! I may never, ever buy jam at the store again. At this very moment, I have 4 different types of hanging out in my pantry. Which is perfect, since I'm living on a PB&J budget with my hippie ways.

Making and canning jam isn’t as scary as it seems. I went from thinking about canning, to reading books about canning, to actually canning my own jam in the course of an afternoon. 1 afternoon! The next morning I had toast and jam for breakfast. My own jam. That I made. Jam that spread just like Smuckers. And tasted just as good! If I can figure it out in my tiny little kitchen (and win a 1st place Blue Ribbon at the Ohio State Fair for my first attempt at Cherry Jam!), I have all the faith that you can too.

 

I wish I could go into all the details and specifics of the canning process for you, but honestly, I don’t really know them all. Which is why I haven’t progressed much past jam. (And because of that whole veggie aversion thing.) I will say that it’s very important to know the difference between water bath processing and pressure canning, and which you should use for your creations. Water bath processing is simply boiling the jars in water for a period of time. This method of processing is fine for fruit based products, such as jam, because the majority of fruit is high in acidity, which bacteria generally don’t like to hang out in. Boiling the jars will kill off what bacteria might still be hanging around. Pressure canning requires special equipment that uses pressure (obviously) to heat the jars to a temperature higher than boiling. Unlike fruit, veggies are generally low in acidity, which makes them perfect playgrounds for all kinds of yuckies that can make you sick. To kill the bacteria and prevent spoilage, you need heat that’s well above temperatures that boiling alone can reach, which is where the pressure canner comes in. There’s a bit more to canning than that, so I definitely recommend doing a little research before diving headfirst into it.

If you’re into the book reading thing, I highly recommend Canning & Preserving with Ashley English. This is the one I read nearly cover to cover before I started. It’s easy to read and understand, especially that science-y part about the pH levels (high vs low acidity). And of the 6 books I got from the library on canning, this is the one I liked the most. There’s also the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, which is written by the experts of all things canning, so you know they know what they’re talking about. If you’re more into the web surfing thing, check out the Ball website for quick reference on the basics of canning, as well as tons of recipes to get you started. So what are you waiting for? Go forth and jam!

Lemon Triple Berry Buckle

I’m a sale shopper. Nothing makes my little heart soar more than those 4 little letters. S-A-L-E. Even if I don’t really need it, I can’t help myself if it’s on sale. A pair of shoes that I can’t wear through an entire shift at work without feeling crippled? But they’re adorable, and they’re on sale! 5 of the exact same shirt in different colors? They're half off!  Numerous bottles of BBQ sauce? They’re on sale for $1 and I have $1 off coupon. They’re FREE! No matter that I have no use for 8 bottles of BBQ sauce. I didn’t pay a dime!

Nothing gets me more than fresh fruit on sale. Every trip to the store, I load more fruit in my cart because, “you just can’t beat that price!” Before I know it, I have more fruit than is humanly possible to eat, and I’ve got to use it NOW. Because unlike BBQ sauce that’ll hang out in the pantry for awhile, fruit doesn’t stick around forever. We’re just hitting the stride of summer fruit sales, so right now, my fridge is packed with berries, cherries, and other fruity goodness just begging to be used up. When I saw this recipe, I knew it’d be the perfect way to show them off—a Lemon Triple Berry Buckle.

Honest truth—I’d never heard of a buckle before, other than what’s on a belt. Cobbler, crisp, crumble, pie—those I get. But buckle? What the heck is a buckle? Think of a buckle is a cake/crumble hybrid. A moist soft yellow cake base, a layer of delicious juicy berries, topped with a lemony sweet crumb topping. I think I found my new favorite thing to bake! It's perfect for summer picnics and barbecues. Portable cake you can eat with your hands, and no worries of melty, gooey frosting! It may be your perfect 4th of July treat!

I used a mixture of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, because I had them all hanging out in my fridge, but feel free to use whatever berries you want. And absolutely make sure you rub the lemon zest into the sugar first before mixing it in with the other ingredients. It releases all the oils from the zest and gives it a bright lemony pop.

Now to find more recipes to use up the rest of my raspberries and blueberries before I bring the next load of fruit home.

Friday Favorites - Vol 5 - Summer Food (Recipe Recap)

Currently I'm sitting on my back patio staring up at a brilliant blue sky filled with white puffy clouds. I'm surrounded by warm air, bright pink flowers, the heavenly scent of mint leaves, and a tiny hummingbird that keeps coming to visit. It's summer, and it's absolutely perfect. I wish it would stay exactly like this forever.

Can you guess what my absolute favorite part of summer is? The food. Fresh fruits, ice cream, picnic snacks--there's so much great food to eat during the summer! I put together a list of all my favorite recipes for you, so hopefully it's not too hot in the kitchen to jump in there and whip up some deliciousness before you head back out to the pool or the barbecue!

Let's start with something to cool off--Ice Cream!

1. The perfect blend of slightly salty and sweet - Salty Caramel Ice Cream, 2. Simple yet utterly delicious - Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, 3. The easiest ice cream you'll ever make - Peanut Butter Ice Cream, 4. It's all about hot and cold, so add a little spice to your chill - "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream


There's nothing better than fresh fruit in the summer. Ripe juicy berries are my weakness, and they just beg to be used whatever way they can.

 

1. Blackberries bursting with flavor - Blackberry Crumble Bars, 2. Be patriotic with a great Independence Day picnic dessert - Red, White, and Blue Shortcakes, 3. Chocolate and Raspberry marry beautifully - Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes, 4. This stunner of a dessert is simple to whip up - Strawberry Cream Cake, 5. Why not take your pie with you! - Peach Hand Pies


Heading out to a baseball game or a drive-in or outdoor movie? Make sure you pack some popcorn to munch on!

Left: Homemade Kettle Corn - a little bit spicy a little bit sweet, a whole lot of yum, Right: Homemade Caramel Corn - Lame prize not included.


Don't want to spend time inside? Take your snacks to go!

Left: Whether you're sitting around the campfire or just sitting in the airconditioning, S'mores are the essential summer snack. Class it up with Homemade S'mores, Right: Create your own beautiful fireworks with out all the noise and danger of blowing your hand off - Firework Sugar Cookies


And last, but certainly not least, celebrate Independence Day with a delicious cake! Red, White, and Blue and oh so good.

Hope you have a great summer, and happy summer baking! :)

Backyard Mint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge Sauce

Although we're still about a week or so away from being official, summer is definitely here. The days are warm and sunny. The flowers are blooming (I’ve even got my first flowers on my tomato plant!) I’ve signed up for the summer reading program at the library. I’ve even gone on our first camping trip of the year! But the thing that really makes it summer—I’ve officially made this season’s first batch of ice cream.

Along with a couple tomato and pepper plants, I also planted some fresh herbs this year. Since I don’t do much in the way of veggies, I mostly planted things I could use to make pasta—thyme, rosemary, and oregano. But of course I had to throw in a little something for dessert—a mint plant! I’m terrible at keeping things alive, so I went for the starter plant rather than seeds, and within a few weeks, it was ready to harvest.

I’ve been eyeing the recipe for Backyard Mint in Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home since I got it last year. I love Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, and knew it would be even better with mint from my own plant!

Like the most of the recipes in the book, it’s not a quick “throw it all together” type of recipe. But it’s not a “slave the day away” recipe either. And trust me--it’s well worth the little bit of extra time it takes to put together. It’s insanely creamy and smooth. If you don’t have fresh mint leaves, feel free to substitute mint extract, but if you’ve got leaves, definitely use them. They give the ice cream more of a fresh, earthy taste.

Because I’m planning on sharing it with Boyfriend, who always complains that it’s impossible to find plain mint ice cream, I left the standard chocolate chips out. Instead I made a mint infused hot fudge sauce to pour over top so we’re both happy. It’s dark and luscious, and I kind of want to eat it with a spoon straight out of the jar I poured it into. It's the perfect topping for pretty much anything. I've even used some of it to make microwave s'mores!

So here's a question for you: I still have a lot of mint and all of summer left, so what else can I make with fresh mint? Besides ice cream and mojitos? Leave me your best mint recipes!

Blackberry Crumble Bars

The sunshine outside right now is deceiving. It looks absolutely gorgeous, but there’s still a bit of a chill in the air. I shouldn’t complain because it’s beautiful for early April. But after a few weeks of way above average temperatures that felt more like May than March, I want the almost 80s back! I want to grill out for dinner. I want to sit outside on my brand new patio furniture. I want to ride my new bike. I want to frolic in the sunshine in a tank top and a skirt! But I guess I’ll have to settle for staring at the emerging green outside my back door from the couch and eating some summer berries to trick myself into thinking it’s almost warm.

Is there anything better than juicy, ripe berries? I’m a terrible eater when it comes to fresh produce (I hate nearly every vegetable on earth), but I can pack away fruit like it’s my job. It’s the main reason I love summer. Because I certainly can’t stand the heat.

The grocery store has been having sales on summer fruit for the past couple weeks now. While I held off on the cheap, but not-so-great looking strawberries, I couldn’t resist the perfect blackberries. They just called to me, and at $1 a carton, I couldn’t stop myself.

I also couldn’t stop myself from eating these bars. I didn’t even share! Warm from the oven or room temperature with a bit of whipped cream, they were hard to say no to. Sweet and tart with just a tiny hint of cinnamon spice, these helped convince me that I’m officially over my aversion to baked fruit. I’m ready to try these bars again when the big hauls of summer fruit come rolling in. I think they’d be amazing with a mix of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

Oh Summer, please hurry!

Salty Caramel Ice Cream (And a GIVEAWAY!)

Here it is, Friday already. The final day of Ice Cream Week! I can’t believe we’ve made it through a week of recipes already! But I saved the best for last! It’s one of the signature flavors from one of my favorite ice cream places ever. Today, we’re making Jeni’s Salty Caramel Ice Cream! And if you stick around til the end, there might just be something in it for you too.

One of the best things about going to a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams shop is that you can sample as many flavors as you want before you decide. Which can also be a bad thing, because I usually have a hard time making a decision after I’ve tried everything! I’ve gotten a little better at narrowing it down to 3 flavors for my “trio” (3 small scoops in a bowl), but there was a time I’d walk out with a bowl overflowing with scoops because I couldn’t narrow it down to less than 5! And one of them was ALWAYS Salty Caramel. Apparently I’m not alone in my love of the Salty Caramel. According to Jeni’s book, the flavor makes up more than 20% of the total sales of all the flavors offered. 20%! That’s one in every 5 people walking out the door with a scoop of Salty Caramel! So you know it has to be good.

I was a little terrified of making caramel for the ice cream. I don’t have a lot of experience with caramel (1 success and 1 drippy failure), and I’ve never made it using the dry method suggested (melting the sugar in a pan with no water). But I only messed up once! I didn’t follow the golden kitchen rule of mise en place-- making sure you’ve got everything ready to go before you even start, including a place to set the hot pan away from the heat. I realized too late that I didn’t have anywhere to set my pan to add the cream, except my counter, which I was scared of burning. So I ended up burning the caramel instead. Round 2 went much better though, and my caramel came out perfectly.

The finished product is a smooth, creamy bite of rich salted caramel. Mine’s not as salty as I would like it to be because I made the mistake of using just table salt rather than the good quality sea salt, but it’s still really good. Definitely one I’ll make again and again. And hopefully you will too! What’s that? You don’t have the book? Well, we’ll just have to change that won’t we?

I told you there was something in it for you! I’m throwing a giveaway! You could end up with your very own copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home! Yay!

But if that’s not cool enough for you, how about I sweeten the deal a little more… Let’s make it an autographed copy of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.

Oh, heck. While I’m at it, why not make it TWO autographed copies!

So how do you win one of these? Easy!

Just leave a comment on this post between now and 11:59PM EST on Friday, August 19th (1 week from now!), telling me what your favorite ice cream flavor is. It’s as simple as that!

Two winners will be chosen by Random.org and will be announced on Monday, August 22nd. Winners will also be notified by email, so make sure you include a valid email address or some way I can contact you. If I don’t hear back from a winner in 72 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Also, the giveaway is limited to US residents only.

Want an extra entry? Just follow @thebustybaker on Twitter, and tweet:

I want to win an autographed copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home from @thebustybaker. You can too! http://bit.ly/oSsoHs #giveaway

Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me you did! (Please leave either a link to the tweet or your Twitter name in the comment too, so I know who you are.)

**The giveaway has now ended! Thanks for participating!**

*Giveaway disclaimer: All opinions on Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home are my own. I have not been paid for endorsement in any way. The books for the giveaway were bought by me, with my own money, and I went to a book signing to obtain the autographs. (And looked like a crazy, sweaty, spastic creep while I was there. But I did it all for you.) The books will be shipped to the winners via United States Postal Service as soon as I can get to the post office.