Remembering Summer: Peach and Basil Crisp

Oh Summer, how I long for thee!
In the summer I yearn for cold bright days like we're having-- I dream of snuggling in front of the fireplace, hot beverages, bundling up but now that it is here?? I want nothing more than to sit near an open window, drinking cool lemonade and grilling outside.

The thing I love most about summer though is the fruit. Give me a stone fruit and I will give you a smile.

I get lots of basil during the summer from my farm share-- so here is how I put the two together. Pretty simple stuff! 

Inside you'll need: 

Four peaches

A palmful of sugar (about a tablespoon) or less-- the recipe is better the simpler it is. If your fruit is really good, you can go without sugar.

5 leaves of  basil
A pinch of kosher salt
Toss them together without bruising your peaches.

For the crisp:
1/3 cup of chopped almonds
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 flour
 Knob of butter (3 tablespoons?)
Another pinch of salt

Mix these things together and put on top of the fruit.

 Bake at 400 degrees for about 1/2 hour or until golden and gooey.

Serve warm with a little ice cream or whipping cream.

Dicount Pot Pie!

So I didn't do much in the way of fancy cooking over the last few weeks. While I enjoy the flavors of the "holiday season" I don't celebrate Christian holidays in any meaningful way-- so I tend to just sit back and let the food others make come to me in some fashion.

Still, it was cold (we got snow twice in Seattle) and cold weather requires warm foods.


What you'll need:

Chicken (about a pound)
Vegetables (You can use almost any assortment you fancy, I used standard frozen veggies because I was in a rush)
Prefabricated pie crust
Sauce (you can make your own, which I will demonstrate in another post or, as I did here, use a can of soup)
Salt and pepper to taste.
So here is my version of the pot pie.

Okay! Around the holidays it is a great time to stock up on baking and cooking essentials. I got nutmeg for 1/2 off! Butter is routinely less than a dollar. I also got premade pie crusts on sale that freeze just fine and will be great for pot pies or summer tarts later in the year. I used a premade pie crust and placed it lightly in my dish. I slow cooked five chicken thighs. I drained the fat and removed the bones and placed the chicken into the uncooked shell.

You can't see it here, but I also seasoned the chicken (with salt and pepper) and added a can of mushroom condensed soup (also on sale this time of year!). I stirred in a bag of frozen vegetables. I make a more from scratch vegetarian potpie with mushrooms, parmesan and cream, and if I were to make this again, I'd probably go that route-- but I was trying to take it easy here.

Okay, the crust has been filled with chicken, veggies and sauce. On goes the second crust!

I baked until golden at 350-- this took about an hour and the bottom crust was cooked through as well.

Nom. Nom. Nom.