Ice Tea Quickie

So just a quick post for now... I've gotten back into my ice tea habit for the summer, though it doesn't quite feel like summer here yet. I found these really great ice tea bags at Trader Joe's which you put in the coffee maker and brew. I ran out last week so I just put a few tablespoons of loose leaf tea in a coffee filter and brewed it with 12 cups of water and it worked like a charm. I have some lovely key lime tea I got in St. John which I brewed and it turned out great. I've been getting Agave Nectar to sweeten the tea, I think this provides more of an illusion of health than an actual reduction of calories, but I do what I can. It is convenient thought because it is already in syrup format, not that making simple syrup is that hard, but you know I get lazy. Also a quick hit on a spring dinner:

Potato and Corn Chowder:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 slices bacon, chopped (I use turkey bacon) 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 pound small potatoes, cut into small chunks 4 to 5 large ears corn, kernels scraped from the cobs, or one 10-ounce box frozen corn 1 medium or 2 small zucchini, finely chopped 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika 3 tablespoons flour One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth (I've been using "Better than Bullion" concentrate) 1 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream Salt and pepper

1. In a medium soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp at the edges. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes, corn, zucchini, and paprika and cook for 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pot, stir and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the broth and simmer until thickened a bit. Stir in the milk and cream and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes. 2. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. This is adapted from a recipe from Every Day With Rachel Ray (I know she is a little scary and perky, but the woman can cook!) Quick and Dirty Method: Replace veggies with a bag or two of precut ones from the store. I used Wegman's Minestrone veggies (which has carrots, celery and leaks too) and added some fresh green beans at the last minute (don't over cook them) and a bag of frozen corn. I think you can put in whatever veggies you like with this, it is mostly the method of starting with bacon and adding flour in to thicken it which gives it that nice smoky but fresh flavor from the cream. I made this for my dad and he thinks it would benefit from taking out some of the potatoes and pureeing them to thicken it more. I think you could probably do the same with the frozen corn, but I was too lazy to do that tonight so I can't tell you how it would turn out. I like to serve it with a white pizza, store bought dough rubbed with olive oil, chopped garlic, some spiced (herbes de Provence is nice) with a four cheese Italian blend on top. Enjoy!

British Comfort Food

So in honor of my lovely British roomate's departure for the summer I thought I'd bake her one last fruit crisp (or crumble, I know there is a technical distinction but whatever either way it tastes good!). My favorite recipe is Ina Garten's. The Peach Crisp page of my Barefoot Contessa cookbook is warped and staned with peach juice, which in my mom and I's book is the mark of a great recipe (more on dog-eared classics coming soon...). I use whatever fruit is handy, I like peaches and strawberries in the dead of summer when they are beautiful and sweet, and in the fall apples with loads of cinnamon and nutmeg and sometimes some dried cranberries thrown in for good measure. I once added some of Trader Joe's fab Cranberry Apple Chutney, one of my favorite condiments, which was really good. I think peaches might be good with some ginger grated in. When I taught a friend to make pie crust we added ginger to the peaches and it was really nice, though the pie as a whole was a disaster. Ok so the master recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 and butter the largest casserole you have, Pyrex is great for this

The Fruit:
First you need to mix up the fruit, peel the apples, peaches, or pears and cut then in to chunks. For peaches you can blanch them for 30 seconds a few at a time in boiling water and then shock them in cold water to get the peels off. You can toss in strawberry slices or raspberries, dried cranberries, whatever appeals, just be sure you have enough fruit. You'll want 4-5 pounds of whatever it is, it will look like a lot but you'll make a good amount of topping and it will be too rich if you don't have enough fruit.
So combine in a bowl or right in your casserole:
4-5 lbs fruit
about 3/4 cup of sugar. Use 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup brown with peaches and all brown with apples. I pretty much put in a couple of handfuls and judge by taste.
2 tbls. of flour (I eyeball this too, just a good handful works to thicken the fruits' sauce)
Spices: Add whatever you like here, most often I go with maybe a tsp. of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. of fresh grated nutmeg

let this all sit while you get on with the topping

The Crisp:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

You can mix this up in a food processor or with the paddle attachment of a mixer, but for my money as Julia Child taught us, our hands are the best tools so just use the tips of your fingers and mush the dry ingredients into the butter. Whatever you do you are looking for a crumbly consistency with pea sized pieces of butter.

Get your fruit into the casserole, and through the magic of television your fruit, having sat with the sugar and flour, will create it's own sauce. Then dump the crisp on top and smooth it out. Pop it in the oven for 1 hour and you will have some serious comfort food fit for people on either side of the pond. Let it cool a bit before digging into the molten goodness and served with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream you will be in heaven!

Enjoy!