Last week we drove to my Aunt Cinda's house and picked the last of the June peaches and some of her amazing Brazos Blackberries. We ate most of the blackberries already, but the generous amount of peaches she gave us are hanging on in the fridge. Today we made a superb peach/berry cobbler crisp, one I'll definitely repeat! (from the Austin Chronicle).

The 1.5 lbs peaches, pitted and cut into chunks (notice: no peeling necessary!)
2 cups blackberries or blueberries (since we ate most of the Brazos Blacks, I added some blues)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 c. granulated sugar

In a large bowl, toss the peaches and berries gently with the cornstarch, lemon, and granulated sugar, until combined well. Spread in a 13"X9" baking dish.
















2/3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
3/4 c. chopped pecans

In another bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the butter, blending until it resembles coarse meal, and stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the pecan-oat mixture evenly over the peaches.



















Bake in the middle of at 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden. Serve with ice cream (or whip cream, as preferred at our house):

These are the custom salads I made for dinner tonight. I do not cook individual meals for dinner; if they don't like what I cook they don't have to eat, or they can always have a banana. This is America: no one is going to starve. However, I will make individual insalate, to increase vegetable consumption. Colin's is without leaves. He insists this is not his salad, he does not like salad, this is his dinner. Anna is having spinach leaves with tomatoes she picked from the Farmers' Market and cucumbers. Anthony is having spinach and cukes with no tomatoes. I am having a little spinach and a bunch of spicy arugula and tomatoes.

The dressings are all different, too -- Anna likes Ranch, Anthony likes Paul Newman's, and I dress my own with EVO, sea salt, pepper, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Colin eats his crudites naked.

Laura, the dish in the last post was Insalata Caprese. It is a traditional Italian salad from Capri, near Naples and Pompeii. It is so simple, but only worth eating in the height of summer ripeness. Here's the ingredient list (I can't really call it a recipe):

Sliced vine-ripe tomatoes
Sliced mozzarella (preferably fresh or bufalo, NOT Kraft)
Julienned fresh basil

Arrange prettily, then drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil (EVO), salt and pepper.

So, my deal with pork, Steph, is this: commercially raised pork is pretty horrendous. The females who have litters of piglets have to be in these tiny farrowing crates. They are iron cages no bigger than their bodies on top of concrete. The mothers cannot turn around, can't get any exercise other than stand-up-lay-down, and can't even really see their piglets. The supposed reason for this is so that the mothers don't accidentally squish the piglets (in the farrowing crates the babies can move about and out of the way, even if the mommies can't). However, anyone can see that keeping an animal in such captive confinement is cruel.

There is quite a bit of debate about this issue, not just in the PETA-type circles, but also in the American Veterinary Medical Association, whether we should come out as a profession against the crates or turn a blind eye. I can't justify it anymore with my personal dollars (just like I'll never buy eggs that aren't at least nominally free range anymore).

I'll still eat prosciutto (because most European farmers don't use such mass-production oriented methods, and certainly not for the pigs destined to be prosciutto!), and I will eat Berkshire pork from Peach Creek Farms. They get to run around and root in the mud all day, and farrow in hay-lined stalls - a veritable maternity suite compared to the crates. I also ordered the carnitas from Chipotle because they only buy from farms with these kinder, saner methods. But no more bacon, chops, or tenderloin from HEB or Costco. The tenderloin I felt guilty about last week was from the freezer, bought before my self-imposed boycott.

So, here is the guilt-free meal we had tonight, thanks to the Austin Farmers Market and Peach Creek Farms!

Tonight I made panzanella, or Italian Bread Salad, one of my favorite summertime meals (mostly because there is no pan to clean up, just a cutting board). Toasted rustic bread cubes, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, feta, and white beans tossed with a garlicky vinagrette. This time I added prosciutto, which put it over the top. Prosciutto makes everything heavenly - cantaloupe, pizza, shrimp, panini. Those must be some happy hogs over there in Emilia-Romana, eating the whey from the parmegiano reggiano! Ah, but I forgot the fresh chopped basil. I'll have to try again...

(PS Note topless boy in the background, fresh from the post-swim bath!)

I am still cooking, just not blogging much these days. Here is the meal I made after the triathlon and after the nap that followed it! Emily and I were the only ones who ate the squash and the eggplant - the first from our garden. I feel guilty about eating pork tenderloin, but it is always SO GOOD. Rounded out with crusty bread and homemade hummus, it was a great summer meal.