A Gift of Morning Glories
There are a few kinds of floral bursts that make my heart stop.
The first is the luscious purple dripping of wisteria blooms on the vine. I have a mental inventory of the many of the houses in Lexington and the surrounding towns that grow wisteria. In the spring, when its in bloom, I make the rounds, making a tour of these houses, admiring the array of purple and sighing in admiration.
The other is the spectacular color of Heavenly Blue morning glories. It takes a long time for them to bloom in New England, but the wait is worth it. When I see the open flowers in the morning, I have to stop and smile. I love them.
This summer, Howard planned something special. Beginning in May, he planted the seeds, strung strings for support, and watered. Together, we waited, for months. This week, when we returned from a week away, I was treated to the payoff of all this effort. The garage was covered with morning glories! So far, it’s two mornings in a row. It makes my day. I don’t know how long it will last, but I’ll look forward to each day of the beautiful heart-stopping flowers. Thank you, Howard! It’s magnificent!
All summer, I’ve been making fruit crisps for dessert. I use a combination of stone fruit, usually peaches and nectarines, and berries (raspberries or blackberries). I have a handful of topping recipes that I switch between for years.
Recently, I’ve settled on a new one from the August 2010 Food Network magazine. I’ve made it several times in the past month or so. I’ve made it with both oats and cornmeal, though I think I prefer the oats. The nuts have depended on what seems like the right match for the fruit and my mood, walnuts, almonds, or pecans, so far. Actually, the pecans and the cornmeal were a nice combination. The options are many.
I like the way the topping bakes up. I also like that the topping stays firm and crispy when I microwave the leftovers. Some of the other topping recipes don’t fare as well, melting when reheated.
Try it, you’ll like it!
Summer Fruit Crisp
Adapted from this recipe from August 2010 Food Network magazine
Serves 8
Crisp Topping:
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup rolled oats or cornmeal
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup nuts, coarsely chopped (your choice: almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, or whatever you fancy)
- 7 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
Fruit Filling:
- 4 cups sliced stone fruit (peaches/nectarines, peeled, and/or plums, unpeeled)
- 1-2 cups fresh or frozen berries (raspberries and/or blackberries)
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar (or to taste)
Preheat oven to 375F.
To make the crisp topping, whisk together the flour, sugar, oats or cornmeal, salt, and nuts. With your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it is evenly distributed. The butter should no longer be visible, and the topping will clump when you squeeze a handful together.
In a large bowl, toss the ingredients for the fruit filling.
Transfer the fruit filling to a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the crisp topping over the fruit.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the topping is browned.
Summer Fruit Crisp
Pot Luck to Go
This is my final blog for the Loving Local Blogathon. If you didn’t read any of my posts earlier this week, the Loving Local blogathon coincides with Massachusetts Farmers Market week, which ends tomorrow, Saturday August 28. The blogathon, spearheaded by In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens, is to promote awareness and enthusiasm for locally produced food and to raise money for Mass Farmers’ Markets.
The sun finally came out and I still have quite a bit of the vegetables from my trip to the Lexington Farmers’ Market on Tuesday. Tonight, I was going to a end-of-summer get-together with my colleagues from work. The hostess is a fabulous cook, usually making Indian dishes.
I didn’t want to arrive emptyhanded, so I decided to bring a dish. It had to be something I could prepare before I left for work, but also something that would taste fresh at the end of the day. After browsing lots of cookbooks, I put together pieces of a few different recipes to come up with a pasta salad with fresh summer vegetables with an lime-peanut dressing to give it an Asian-inspired flair. All the vegetables were either from Tuesday’s market or from a local farmstand. I also added a handful of basil from my own backyard garden.
I thought it worked out well. I tossed the cooked pasta with some oil so it wouldn’t clump together during the day. I cooked and chopped the vegetables and stored them in a separate container. I put the chopped peanuts in another container and the dressing in a jar. All of this fit into a large canvas bag that I could stash in the office refrigerator for the day, then carry to the party and toss together there.
I used the vegetables I had on hand: string beans, corn on the cob, peppers, scallions, and cucumbers. You should definitely take a cue from what is fresh right now.
Asian-Inspired Pasta Salad with Summer Vegetables
Serves 8-10 as a side dish (make half for less people)
1 lb rotini pasta
1 Tbsp oil
1 cucumber, seeded and diced (peeled or unpeeled as you prefer)
2 ears corn (cook, then remove the kernels)
1/4 lb string beans (green, purple, wax, or any combination), cut into 1-inch pieces, cooked
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 scallions, sliced thin
1/3 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Dressing:
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1½ Tbsp peanut butter
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1½ Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1½ Tbsp soy sauce
- 1½ tsp brown sugar
- ¾ cup canola oil
- Salt to taste
Combine all the dressing ingredients in the blender and process until smooth.
Boil a large pot of water, and cook the pasta until al dente (about 10 minutes). Drain and toss with 1 Tbsp oil.
Toss the pasta with the chopped vegetables. Pour the dressing over the pasta and toss well.
Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
A Plateful of Happiness 