Peach & Blueberry (or Raspberry) Crumbles

Do you ever have one of those days when you just get something in your head and that's just it-it's stuck there? I had one of those days today.

Before I left for the supermarket I looked over the recipe for today's Barefoot Blogger recipe not once but twice just to be sure. But for some reason once I got to the store I just had it in my head that we were making Peach and Raspberry Crumbles. It didn't matter that my list said blueberries...I knew it was raspberries...I knew I simply wrote blueberries by mistake. Guess what? The list was right.

As I am sure you may have surmised today is Barefoot Thursday, the day when countless food bloggers across the blogosphere prepare a delicious recipe created by the infamous Ina Garten-a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa. Today's recipe was selected by Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen-she selected (as you already know) Peach and Blueberry Crumbles. Why don't you join us next month preparing a Barefoot Blogger recipe?

I made only one change and that obviously would be that I used raspberries instead of the called for blueberries. But I have to say...raspberries worked out just grand. Not to sound like sour grapes (or blueberries as the case may be) but I like raspberries better anyway.

The recipe was delicious...peaches are so tasty right now so it could not have been a more timely selection-Thanks, Aggie.

Peach & Blueberry Crumbles

Ina Garten from The Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the fruit:

2 pounds firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)...or you may use raspberries!

For the crumble:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar, lightly packed

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.

or the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it's in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. serve warm or at room temperature.

If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles in the refrigerator and bake before dinner.

TLC and a Smoothie

Favorite Food Finds Friday is all about rushing today.

Your mother told you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day and you know she was right. But sometimes mornings can be so chaotic that you just don't have time to eat a balanced meal. That's where my favorite food find comes in...it's a grab and go breakfast that when paired with a yummy yogurt smoothie becomes a tasty quick breakfast.

Today's favorite food find is...

Kashi's Tasty Little Chewies (TLC) all natural chewy granola bars.

When our local Whole Foods opened last year, the week before the grand opening was a fundraiser tour week. Where for $5.00 you were given an inside peek at the new Whole Foods and the money raised would be donated to assorted local charities (isn't that a brilliant idea?). Each person who toured was given a cloth shopping bag filled with various samples and coupons. One of the samples in my bag was a Kashi TLC bar. Not being someone who can turn down a free food sample I tasted my Kashi Honey Almond Flax bar that very day.


Loved it. It was sweet and chewy (with 4 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein). The bars have become my breakfast in a rush go-to. The bars come in several varieties: Cherry Dark Chocolate, Honey Almond Flax (my favorite), Peanut Peanut Butter and Trail Mix. There are no partially hydrogenated oils and no high fructose corn syrup.


What's the perfect way to "wash" one of these babies down? A yogurt smoothie. Made quick and easy in my (favorite mini-appliance) The Magic Bullet, this smoothie and TLC bar breakfast is ready in 5 minutes. (Oh I've been known to eat this for lunch too).




Yummy Yogurt Smoothie



1 (6 ounce) container raspberry yogurt
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 ripe banana
1/4 cup skim milk
3 ice cubes

Combine all the ingredients in a blender (or Magic Bullet) and blend until smooth.

"Summer Blowout" Blueberry Orange Bars

Supermarkets and farmer's markets are usually overflowing with fresh berries this time of year. More often than not supermarkets are offering "buy one pint get one free" deals when berries are plentiful so it's a great time to stock up.

I will usually use one pint and freeze the other-as is-not washed. I wash them once I thaw them since when frozen wet ice crystals often form on the berries and once thawed they do not seem to work as well for baking recipes. If you do prefer to wash them first (which I'll admit I sometimes do just so I can eat them frozen right from the freezer) just be sure to let them dry completely before trying to freeze them.

Tonight is my book group meeting and I wanted to bring something sweet along.

We're reading: Summer Blowout by Claire Cook (Of "Must Love Dogs" fame). It's a cute beach novel-great vacation read. We are reading it because one of the members of my book group: "The Women Not in Need of Botox Book group" was fortunate enough to win an essay contest and won signed copies of the book for all the club members and a phone interview with Claire at our book club meeting. I'm not sure what she wrote to win, but I'm told there was some mention of an unfortunate incident last summer when I had a bat land in my often "bat's nest looking head of hair" and then it bit my wrist when I swatted it away. Not to worry, I have since had a complete series of rabies shots - so if I should find myself face to face with a rabid raccoon I'm ready. But I digress. Blueberry-Orange bars are what I came up with as a refreshing "Summer Blowout" treat.

Blueberry-Orange Bars

1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup confectioner's sugar plus additional for dusting

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tablespoons

2 tablespoon sour cream

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup fresh (not frozen) blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x9 inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Fill a large bowl halfway up with ice cubes and water.

Combine 1 1/4 cups of the flour, the confectioner's sugar and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest in a food processor. Add the butter, sour cream and orange extract; pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball.

With lightly floured hands, press the dough into the baking dish. Use a small rolling pin if you have one or use an orange to roll the dough into an even layer. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized sauce pan whisk together the sugar, salt, egg yolks, milk, remaining orange zest and the orange juice; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and place the pot into the bowl with ice water stirring until cooled. Stir in the blueberries.

Pour the the blueberry mixture into the partially cooked crust and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until custard is firm and edges are golden brown. Cool in the refrigerator. When completely cooled, cut into squares and dust lightly with confectioner's sugar.

Yield: 16 squares