Fix-It and Forget-It

In the heat, a nice cold, creamy dessert is lovely. Of course, ice cream seems to be the standard summer dessert. But don’t forget custards, puddings, and mousses. Properly chilled, they are as lovely as ice cream. Continue Reading...

I get all sad when corn season and peach season end here in the Northeast. Deep into September, I kept pestering the standholders at market about whether or not they’d have sweet corn for at least another week. Finally they stopped promising.

I drive by a fruit orchard every day on my way to work, and one day the “Fresh Peaches” sign was down—and so was I. I was grumpy for a week, and then I saw the bins of fresh apples spilling into their parking lot. I stopped for Macintoshes—and I was cured.

Here’s a feast for your eyes, just to remind you how sturdily lovely fresh apples are:

Mom's "Tupp" Apple Cardamom Cake

And then there’s this zipped-up apple crisp recipe (which is really more of a cobbler) with a surprise ingredient that only makes the dish sing. I made the recipe earlier this week for a cooking class of experienced cooks, and they were amazed by the zesty brightness that the dish holds. We had a baking pan of the crisp left over after the class—and our staff quickly divided it up for their lunches!
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The Turkey Hill Giant Cow in the picture above is a common site in Lancaster County, and along the Eastern seaboard, too. Turkey Hill is a local dairy with a wide reach, and this cow travels to many major events.

My dad worked at the dairy his whole adult life and, among his responsibilities, was helping to choose the ice cream flavors. So we always had ice cream around when I was growing up. Dad would try out the flavors on us.

Maybe that’s why I’m an ice cream nut. If it’s in the house, I eat it. When I know it’s there, I can’t go to bed without some. So I try not to buy it.
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Fresh nutmeg is a great spice.

Really.

You can use it in dishes like French toast or a cobbler. Or you can simply sprinkle it over ice cream for a delicious treat.
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We needed a bit of a chocolate fix on Friday. And because nothing comforts like the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, we decided to go with this Fudgy Peanut Butter Cake. Apparently the owner of our local grocery agrees because he put down the phone to have us repeat what we were making when we stopped in to buy our ingredients. Then he wondered if he could come down over his lunch break for a serving.

The cake is sturdy and the fudgy-peanut butter sauce simply melts in your mouth. Serve it warm with melting vanilla ice cream and the whole neighborhood might just be over with a bowl and spoon – even the local grocer!
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