Peach Cobbler
This is my peach cobbler. It is really delicious, thanks to the delectable peaches from Rancho Durazno on the Western Slope in Colorado.
Slice 3-4 peaches into thin half-moon-like slices. Preheat an oven to 350. For the cobbler topping:
- 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 egg
- 1 TB walnut oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 4 TB plain rice milk (I’m sure you could use real milk, but I never have it in the fridge, so I used homemade rice milk)
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix the wet into the dry, pour over the peaches, and bake for 30 minutes. Try to enjoy in moderation.
Macaroni and Carrots and Cheese
- At August 25, 2009
- By megan
- In carrot, Cheddar Cheese, favorites, pasta
3
This is a must-try for anyone who loves the comfort food of baked macaroni and cheese but cringes at the fat content. My grandmother’s is the best, but it has tons of cheese, milk, and butter. I basically stopped making macaroni and cheese, but then I created this dish and look for excuses to make it again and again.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz whole wheat shells, macaroni, or whatever shape pasta you want
- 1 pound carrots (approximately) peeled and chopped into smaller pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 medium sized onion, sliced into smaller strips (I used a walla-walla onion because it is in season. Otherwise, use a yellow onion.)
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 pepper, thinly sliced into inch long, super thin strips
- 1.5 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (I prefer Tillamook)
- sea salt
- fresh ground black pepper
In a large pot, bring water to a boil with the unpeeled garlic and bay leaves. When it reaches a boil, add some salt and then the carrots. Boil them for 30 minutes to make them really soft.
While that is boiling, start to heat the olive oil in a pan. Sauté the onions on medium heat until they are soft, golden brown, and fragrant. Transfer them to another dish and add the sliced pepper to the hot pan. Sauté for a couple minutes and then turn down the heat. These don’t need to be cooked to death, so if they really are thinly sliced, a couple minutes is all they need to soften up and get some flavor from the onion and olive oil.
When the carrots are soft, fetch them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon. I used a large slotted spoon to get all of the carrots, garlic, and bay leaves, and then took 1 cup of this carrot water in a Pyrex measuring cup to be used to help the carrot mashing. I then added more water to the boiling water, brought it back to a boil, and used this to cook the pasta. You could obviously go about this in another way: drain the carrots and re-fill the pot, but it saves water and energy to do it the way I did.
Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, add the onions, carrots, and peeled garlic to a food processor and purée until it looks like baby food. You may need extra water, so this is why I reserved some of the carrot water. Discard the bay leaves.
When the pasta is done and drained, pour it back into the large pot. Then add the carrot purée and mix well. Next, add the pepper strips and grated cheese, mix well, then salt, pepper, and mix again. Transfer into a large Pyrex baking dish and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy.
Peaches and Cream
I will not come within 10 feet of processed, canned, whipped cream. It takes 2 minutes to make it from scratch, and the flavor is amazing. Once you make it for yourself you will never settle for the fake stuff again.
Directions: Put some heavy whipping cream in the KitchenAid mixer with the wire whisk attachment. I added 1 TB maple syrup, but you could add a little powdered sugar. In my opinion, whipped cream goes on sweet things, so it doesn’t need to be really sweet. Use the splash guard because cream will fly all over your kitchen. Start to whip on speed 10 and watch as it magically transforms into a delectable topping. Do not over-beat it or you will wind up with butter! 2 minutes maximum. I served mine on peaches.
Creamy Mushroom and Fennel Risotto
This meal is a masterpiece, so be prepared to spend more than an hour in the kitchen and at least 25 minutes almost constantly stirring the pot. If that sounds like a challenge you are willing to try, please consider making this delicious risotto.
I used shiitake, cremini, and oyster mushrooms from Hazel Dell. If you do not live in the Boulder area, please look into finding a local supplier of mushrooms near you. Once they reach a supermarket they just aren’t the same.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound mixed mushrooms
- 1 bulb fennel
- 1 medium sized yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 TB butter
- 4 TB olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 1 quart veggie broth (chicken broth will work if you are not a vegetarian)
- water- 3-4 cups (or more, depending on how long it takes to cook the rice)
- 5 TB heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- freshly ground black pepper
To make this whole process go more smoothly, prep the mushrooms and fennel first. This way, you will have them cooked and ready to go so they can be added to the risotto when it is almost done. This will make life a lot easier for a dish like this.
First, chop the onion. Cut off the fennel bulb from its stalks, peel apart the layers, wash, and chop into pieces roughly the size of your well-chopped onion.
Next, mince the garlic. Rinse the mushrooms and chop them into a size you like. I prefer smaller pieces, so I made mine small. However, if you are a real mushroom-lover, feel free to use larger pieces.
In a large pot (I used a 6 quart stock pot), add 1 TB butter. Melt the butter on medium-high and add the onion. When they are just getting tender, add the fennel and cook this on medium low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
While you’re working the fennel, start the mushrooms. In a saute pan, heat 1 TB butter and 1 TB olive oil on medium-high. Add the mushrooms and saute a few minutes before adding the white wine. Turn heat down to medium and cook 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 5 more minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, combine the fennel/onions and mushrooms/garlic to be added to the risotto later. Set this aside and take a breath.
Now, to start the risotto-
Pour the broth and 3 cups of water into a large pot. Not the one you may have used for the fennel- you will need two large pots for this major production. 1 for the risotto and 1 to keep boiling hot broth and water ready to be added, ladle-full by ladle-full, into the risotto. Bring the broth to a boil and keep it boiling.
Go back to your 6 quart pot that the fennel was in (but is no longer in because it has been mixed into the mushrooms). Add 2 TB butter and melt on medium high heat. When it melts, add 3 TB olive oil and mix well into the butter. Add the rice and coat with the oil/butter mixture. After a couple minutes, add 2-3 ladles of boiling broth. From now on you will need to stir almost constantly. Keep stirring and adding more broth as the liquid is absorbed. Continue this process for 25 minutes or so. If you need to add more water to the broth because you are running out of liquid, do so. But, be careful. Keep the broth boiling so you always add boiling water to the risotto.
Check the texture of the rice after 25 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fennel mixture and mix well. Keep adding broth and stirring until the rice is tender but just slightly al dente. At this point, turn the heat all the way down to low and add the cream. Stir it in well and then add the grated parmesan cheese. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, and enjoy.
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