2 friends across town

What I'm Cooking (and thinking of cooking) this week

Tracy

"Greeked-up" pasta salad and some thoughts on peaches

The other night hubs threw some awesome Johnsonville brats on the grill and my only chore was to come up with a side that I could toss together quickly. I already had some wagon-wheel pasta in the pantry, along with some black olives(I prefer calamatas but the fam gives them a thumbs down) and a packet of Good Season's "natural" vinaigrette dressing mix.

That evening on the way home I picked up some grape tomatoes, some crumbled feta cheese--Athenos makes a great one spiked with basil and sundried tomato--and a seedless cucumber. I tossed everything together after cooking up the pasta and running some cold water over it after draining it. All I did with the vinaigrette was follow the package instructions and make it with olive oil instead of vegetable oil, then I drizzed about a cup over the pasta and tossed to coat. After chopping up the veggies I arranged those on top, sprinkled on the feta and then drizzled a little more dressing over all.

This came together in under a half hour and was a hit, especially with Olivia the olive-gobbler!

Since Clover wrote that she has some extra peaches on her hands, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite ways to use up these summer gems. 

One of my favorite desserts in the summer is a peach and strawberry cobbler with sugar-cookie crust. I first got the idea of mixing peaches and strawberries from a recipe I saw on epicurious.com and then I saw another cobbler recipe in an old church cookbook that used sugar cookie mix as the topping. The crust spreads out thin and cookie-like with a crispy, sugary top layer.

Here's what you'll need for the filling:

About 5-6 peaches, peeled and cut into 1-inch thick wedges

A pint of strawberries, hulled and halved

1/3 cup sugar

1 tblsp cornstarch

For the topping:

1 pkg Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1 egg

1 stick butter, melted

Mix fruit, sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl, set aside. In a seperate bowl, make the cookie dough according to package directions. (Just stir everything together until soft dough forms). Scoop out about half the dough and freeze in a ziplock bag for later use--you only need half the dough for this recipe or else it'll absorb too much of the fruit's yummy juices.

Pour the fruit into an 8-inch square or oval baking dish. Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls over the filling. Sprinkle top with 2-3 tsp granulated sugar. Bake about 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. This is so delicious with vanilla ice cream and the sweetness of the peaches compliments the summery tang of the strawberries perfectly! It's also a lovely rosey color.

Another great use for an abundance of peaches is freezer jam. I'd never even tried making it until last year, when Dawn assured me it was super easy and virtually fool-proof. I don't think she was calling me a fool by suggesting that- - -or WAS she? Anyway. Just follow the instructions on any Certo or Sure-Jell pectin box. You can make just a few or a dozen containers depending on how much fruit you have; it keeps up to a week in the fridge or a few months in the freezer and they make great gifts.

Ah, the peach. Sadly, the season is coming to an end rapidly. Makes you want to go all misty-eyed and give a salute to the shrine in Gaffney. Check out the July 22 post here to do just that.