Peach Buckle

This is one of those perfect summer desserts; not too sweet with a focus on the fruit. It is also a "rustic" dessert, similar to nantucket pies, cobblers, etc., which are my favorite to make during the super hot months because they aren't fussy and are very forgiving. When the thermometer hangs steady in the 90s and at times manages to reach over 100 F, my patience wains. But my need for dessert seems to be directly correlated with the heat - peach buckle to the rescue!

I admit that when I had my first slice, I wished it had been peachier. The only bites that had peach flavor were those with actual peach slices. However the next morning (when I can usually be found having another piece of whatever baked good had been made the day before), the flavors melded beautifully and the whole cake had a delightful peach flavor.

Peach Buckle (adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen)
Note: Make sure your pan is deep enough so when the peaches "buckle" into the batter, it does not over flow. After assembling, there should be space between the top layer and the edge of your pan.

Cake & Filling
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted & browned
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt pinch allspice
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup whole milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs peaches, skin removed & sliced into wedges

Topping
1/4 cup melted butter (reserved from above)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a large glass baking pan with parchment paper and butter the sides.

2. Melt and brown your butter. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt and allspice.

3. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup cooled brown butter, sugar, eggs, and milk. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Spread into your prepared pan.

4. Line the top of the batter with peach wedges. In a separate bowl, combine reserved melted butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon & salt for topping. Sprinkle the topping on top of the peaches.

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes until topping is browned. Let sit for about 20 minutes before serving.

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

You may be thinking that making chili during the most ridiculous heat wave in recent memory is an insane person's mission. But hear me out. You brown the turkey and throw it in the slow cooker on low all day. It couldn't be simpler. And in addition to the slow cooker working to meld the flavors of the chili, the process creates no additional heat in your kitchen. None. So when the temp is 115 in the shade, and you live in a fifth floor walk up with brick walls, this should be your go to dinner.

And if that wasn't enough to sell you, it makes 8 hefty servings. And the leftovers, are even tastier than the first go-round! I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, who has made some additions of her own, like adding Rotel for some extra kick. I reproduced the original below, so you can adapt it to your individual taste.

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili (adapted from Prevention Magazine)
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 10 oz can kidney beans
1 10 oz can black beans
1 10 oz can pinto beans
1 20 oz can diced tomatoes
1 2.25 oz can tomato paste
1 cup red wine

1. In a large saute pan over medium heat, add onion and turkey. Once the onion begins to sweat, add the garlic and taco seasoning. Brown the meat (about 7 minutes).

2. To your slow cooker, add all of the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and red wine. Stir. Add in the turkey mixture.

3. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low all day.

Blueberry Galette

This is one of those recipes that you can likely make with stuff you already have in your house. Which is really handy when you're having a low-key dinner and want to throw together a tasty treat to make dessert a little more special. It's also great for when you are in New Jersey and don't have access to a car, but still want to make a dessert (as though there's a time I don't want to make a dessert ...)

I used blueberries, but you could just as easily use peaches, nectarines, plums, or really any fruit that's in season. The fruit is the star of the show though, so you should pick one that is at its best.

There are at least a million galette recipes online, but I just used my favorite pie crust recipe and made the blueberry mixture by feel. If you use a store-bought crust, or have an extra in your freezer from a previous batch, this really is the easiest recipe in the world. To make mine a little extra special, I made whipped cream and sprinkled a little lemon zest on top.

Blueberry Galette
Note: If you want to make my pie crust, the recipe is below. If you are using ready-made, you can start here

2 cups blueberries
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
scant 1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp cold, unsalted butter in small pieces
1 tsp turbanido sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. In a medium bowl, mix blueberries, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, and sugar.

2. Transfer the blueberry mixture to the center of your pie crust. Leaving about 1 1/2 inch around the edges. Fold the crust toward the center. Repeat around the entire pie, pleating the crust as you work your way around (see 1st picture for a visual). Sprinkle small pieces of butter of the top of the blueberry center.

3. Brush outside of crust with egg wash and sprinkle with turbanido sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Depending on your oven, you may want to rotate a few times during baking.


Pie Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 sticks, cold unsalted butter
1 cup ice water

1. Put a few ice cubes in your water and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.

2. Cut the butter into cubes and sprinkle over the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter work butter into flour until the dough starts to come together; don't over mix. Once larger clumps start to form, sprinkle a little bit of water over top, 1 tbsp at a time. Err on the dry side, too much water will ruin the dough. Use your hands to bring the dough together.

3. Slice the dough in 1/2 and place each half in plastic wrap. Place the one you want to use in the fridge for 2 hours. The other 1/2 can be frozen for future use.

4. After 2 hours. Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Starting in the center of your dough roll away from you. Flour again and turn the dough a 1/4 turn. Repeat until the dough is a bit bigger than your pie pan. Transfer to your pie plate and return to the fridge.

Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding

Ok, this is pretty lame, but I won't be able to post pictures until I make this again, because I failed to bring my camera to New Jersey this past weekend. However (and I think this will help you to forgive me), I just couldn't wait to share this incredibly tasty and SUPER easy recipe.

For those of you who don't live a near Magnolia Bakery, I 1) feel bad for you, but 2) feel it necessary to explain the cult-like following of this banana pudding. Any weekend morning you will find a line out the door of people waiting to pick up their pre-ordered banana pudding. Yeah, it's that good.

So imagine my surprise when I bought the More From Magnolia cookbook and right there on page 113 is the recipe. And to make things even better, its a snap to make. So here you go my friends ... enjoy!

Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding (from More From Magnolia)

1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-o)
3 cups heavy cream
1 12-ounce box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (accept no substitutes)
4 cups sliced ripe bananas

1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate over night, or at least for 4 hours.

2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. (be patient). Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

3. To assemble: select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5 quart capacity. Arrange 1/3 of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then 1/3 of the bananas, and 1/3 of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers on the top layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

Camp Tweedale

(photo from http://www.insidecamps.com/review/camp-tweedale-1384.html

I have never used this blog as a means of garnering support for a cause. I envisioned it as a place to share recipes and that is best done when the mood is light. But a few days ago I heard devastating news. The Council that runs the Girl Scouts of Eastern PA (formerly FVSGC) has decided to close Camp Tweedale.

Please sign our petition

This is the only camp that serves girls living in Chester and Delaware counties and is also pretty close to girls in Lancaster and Philadelphia. I spent every childhood summer at this camp, starting at the age of 5, and then worked there in the kitchen as soon as I was old enough.

Please sign our petition

I realize that girls can make memories anywhere. And that my emotional attachment to Camp Tweedale is personal. But closing this camp is a disservice to the local girls. Chester County is one of the most populous counties in Eastern PA; girls will now have to drive over an hour to access a Camp for weekend troop camping and summer sleep away camp. 78% of Girl Scouts in Eastern PA are Daisies and Brownies (5-7 years old). I think it is unrealistic to think that parents will send these young girls so far away for resident camping. This decision is wrong and we think there is still time to change it! Please take a moment to sign our petition and let GSEPA know that closing Camp Tweedale is a mistake.

Please sign our petition

Peanut Butter and Fudge Oatmeal Cookies

In the interest of full disclosure, I don't love these cookies. Don't get me wrong. They are great with a glass of milk and the peanut butter, chocolate, oatmeal trio is a winner. But there are a lot of other cookies I would reach for first if given a choice. On the other hand, it is the perfect cookie for Tom. And considering the fact that he can't eat starting at midnight tonight until after his surgery tomorrow afternoon, these cookies were made and an empty glass with a slightly white bottom and a small plate with a few crumbs are sitting between us.

The original recipe doesn't call for any flour. Not a sprinkle of it. And, maybe I'm old-school, but you don't make cookies without flour. It might be tasty. But a cookie, it isn't. So I adjusted that slightly. I also made mine much smaller than initially called for. I'd much rather eat 6 small cookies than 2 big ones. You feel like you get more. And its less daunting when you don't have to use both hands to eat.

So without further ado ... the peanut butter and fudge oatmeal cookie.

Peanut Butter and Fudge Oatmeal Cookies (adapted from the kitchn)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
4 1/2 cups old-fashion oats
2 tbsps all purpose flour
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl mix together butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir until completely mixed.

2. In a separate bowl mixt flour, baking soda, and salt. Add oats and flour mixture to peanut butter mixture. Place in the fridge to cool.

3. In a small saucepan over low heat stir sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips until all chocolate is melted. Turn flame off.

4. On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, place teaspoon sized balls of dough. Flatten them with your fingers and place a dollop of chocolate in the middle of each. Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges are light brown. Wait 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

I am lemon-obsessed. I've lost count of the number of times that I have passed off a Magnolia Bakery lemon zest muffin as breakfast and I baked this lemon olive oil cake last week just because I wanted a snack. Also, lemonade has pretty much replaced water and diet coke in my life.

This cake lasted less than a day in our house. Tom and I basically split it down the middle and before 24 hours had passed, we had taken care of our respective shares. (I ate more than 1/2 for those keep score at home).

It was so light, thanks to the gorgeous egg whites. And the crunchy bits of turbinado sugar on top are perfect. AND, there's no butter! This is usually a sin in my kitchen, because it typically means that shortening has been used (yuck), but here, the light olive oil is really a stunning compliment to the lemon. Be sure to use a light bodied olive oil, so the flavor doesn't overpower your lemons.


And to celebrate my birthday (which was yesterday), Tom got me yet another lemon treat from Magnolia. This time, a lemon layer cake with tart lemon cream filling and lemon meringue buttercream icing. Seriously, I may turn into a lemon by the end of the month.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake (from Epicurious)
1 cup cake flour
zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup light olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

4 egg whites
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a round cake pan or spring-form pan. Cover the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper.

2. Mix together flour and lemon zest. Set aside.

3. Beat yolks and sugar on high for about 3 minutes; until very light and fluffy. Reduce speed and slowly add in olive oil and lemon juice. Using a spoon or spatula stir in flour/zest mixture until just combined.

4. Carefully wash and dry your beaters. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and salt until foamy. Slowly add in 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until soft peaks form; about 3 minutes.

5. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Pour into your prepared pan. Tap a few times to release any air bubbles. Sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar.

6. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.