Peach-Blackberry Crisp

We have been enjoying lovely ripe peaches from Clarkdale, along with blackberries purchased at the farmers market on Saturday. We ate about half the pint on the way home, but the rest made it into a crisp.

4-5 cups sliced peaches
1-2 cups blackberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
dash of nutmeg
5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter an 8x8 pan or 10-inch deep dish pie pan.

In a large bowl, gently toss the fruit with the sugar and corn starch. Transfer to the buttered pan.

In a food processor, combine all other ingredients and pulse until crumbly but not powdered (you can also do this by hand with a pastry cutter or two knives, but it's harder). Spread over the fruit.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until topping is crisp and fruit is bubbly. Serve warm or hot. Great with ice cream, especially Snow's or Bart's Ginger.

Serves about six.

Variation: substitute blueberries for the blackberries.

Drying Herbs

The herbs in my garden are getting big and bushy, and lovely big bunches are showing up at the farmers market. It's a good time to think about drying some for use over the winter. You can dry herbs in a dehydrator or your oven, but the easiest method is just to hang them up to air dry. This method works well for basil, oregano, parsley, dill, rosemary, and sage, among others. Just bind several stalks together with string or a rubber band, then hang upside down in an airy location out of direct sunlight. You can do this inside a paper bag if you like, to catch any bits that fall off. If you are drying for seeds (with dill, for example, or coriander), you definitely want to use the paper bag--in that case, once everything is dry, you give it a good shake and the seeds will collect in the bottom of the bag.

The length of time that herbs need to hang to dry will vary with weather conditions and the herb you are using. Usually you'll need a week or two. Once the herb is dry and crumbly, you can transfer the leaves to an airtight container and store out of direct sunlight.

Clarkdale is Open

Clarkdale Fruit Farms, in Deerfield, is now open for the season! They have peaches, early apples, and a few plums available for sale.

Vietnamese Noodles with Chicken, Red Pepper, and Peach

One of the things I miss about living in California is the ready access to Vietnamese food, especially vermicelli bowls on hot nights. This is one attempt at an approximation, using in-season local produce. It wasn't perfect, but it was quite good. And it made a fine use for the first red bell pepper from our garden! The sauce is a variation on nuoc cham, so if you have some of that in the fridge already, you can just add some more water and sugar.

1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 peach or nectarine, pitted and diced (a little underripe is okay)
1-1 1/2 cups chopped fresh Thai basil, mint, cilantro, or combination
1/2 tsp lime juice
Salt to taste
1/2 lb rice vermicelli, cooked and cooled according to package directions
4 cups cooked shredded chicken (warm or room temperature)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, lightly toasted

Sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (ideally fresh)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the carrot, pepper, peach or nectarine, herbs, lime juice, and salt in a bowl.

Place generous servings of vermicelli in a bowl for each person. Top with some of the veggie mixture, then the chicken.

At the table, top generously with the sauce and a spoonful of peanuts.

Serves about 4.

Locavore Talk at Northfield Mountain

I'll be giving a talk on local eating at Northfield Mountain next Tuesday, Aug. 11. Details here: http://www.firstlightpower.com/northfield/publicprograms.asp

Pizza with Black Beans, Kale, and Bacon

The kale in the garden has grown so big that it was completely overshadowing crops that had been next to it earlier in the season. So I picked a bunch last night and used it in this tasty pizza, along with hot peppers, cilantro, and onions also from the garden. The bacon was from Bostrom Farm as usual. Note that this recipe makes two pizzas; you could easily halve it. Also, feel free to substitute other greens for the kale, depending on what you have.

3 cups cooked black beans
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 hot peppers (such as jalapenos), seeded and coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise
6-8 cups coarsely chopped or torn kale (stems removed)
4-5 strips cooked bacon, chopped
2 14-inch pizza crusts
3-4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar
3-4 ounces shredded mozzarella

Combine the black beans, cilantro, and hot peppers in the food process and process until relatively smooth. Add a little water to achieve a consistency you like. It should be somewhere between sauce and hummus. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Paint the pizza crusts lightly with olive oil.

Heat a little more olive oil in a skillet and saute the onions for about 2 minutes. Add the kale, in bunches if necessary, and saute until tender.

Spread the black bean mixture evenly over the pizza crusts. Spread the kale and onions over the beans, then sprinkle with bacon. Top with cheddar and mozzarella.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until crusts are done and cheese begins to brown.

Serves 4-6.

Linguine with Eggplant, Sausage, and Tomato Sauce

Coming home yesterday afternoon from a week away, and without going shopping, this is what I put together for dinner from the garden, the pantry, and the freezer. The eggplants came from our garden, Asian varieties than tend to fruit earlier than many Italian ones. The basil and garlic also came from the garden, and the sausage from Bostrom Farm. The tomatoes, I must confess, came from a can, as our tomatoes are not yet ripe.

olive oil
2 medium eggplants, quartered or halved and cut in 1/4-inch slices (about 6 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb linguine (or substitute other pasta if you like)
Grated Parmesan for topping

Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the eggplant and saute over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until almost tender. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or so, then stir in the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta. When done, drain and toss with a little olive oil.

While the pasta boils, cook the sausage in another skillet, breaking it up in crumbles as you go. When done, drain off the fat and add the sausage to the tomato sauce. Stir in the basil, then add salt and pepper to taste and turn off the heat.

Top with grated Parmesan at the table if desired.

Serves 4-6.

Variation: Use sliced zucchini or summer squash instead of or in addition to some of the eggplant. Leave out the sausage if you like.