White Peach and Raspberry Cobbler

Peaches and raspberries are some of my favorite reasons to have summer (notwithstanding the big ticket items like beach, warm, and happiness).  This is a relatively simple dessert with unadorned flavors, but the freshness of the fruit and a big old dollop of [real] whipped cream really delivers a tasty, seasonal punch.

Makes 4 individual cobblers.  Double the recipe and use a casserole dish if you want to make a larger batch to serve family style.  You'll probably need to up the cooking time by a bit, also.  Watch it very carefully, because to burn it would be a tragic loss.

White Peach and Raspberry Cobbler
for the cobbler

• 2 large white peaches
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

for the crust

• 1 heaping cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375.

Slice the peaches into comfortably bite-sized pieces, and place in a bowl with as much of the peach juice as possible.  Add the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.  Gently stir to coat the fruit evenly.

In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients for the topping.  Slowly pour in the melted butter while stirring, and work into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Grease 4 ramekins.  Evenly distribute the fruit among the 4, and top the ramekins with a layer of the flour mixture.  Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet or pan (to catch the drips) and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the topping golden brown.  Serve with freshly whipped cream.

Summer Farmers Market Salad

In the height of the summer when vegetables are fresh (as in, were alive on the plant that day or the day before), you don't really have to do fancy things to make them taste better, because they just taste good the way they are.  You don't have to cover up boring tastes or anything.  This is a great example of how to make a delicious, unadorned salad out of summer produce at its freshest.  I'm sure you could do something similar with just about any vegetable from the market this time of year.

Summer Farmers Market Salad

• baby arugula
• sliced heirloom tomatoes
• sliced lemon cucumber
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Layer the tomato slices and cucumber on top of a bed of arugula (peel the cucumber with a vegetable peeler, if necessary).  Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.