chilly air...

Things have been extraordinarily busy which has left little time for writing…until this very moment.

The crisp air is settling in and making me crave all the delights of fall – one of my favorite times of year. I have been eyeing candy apples in shop windows and giant pumpkins being sold on street corners by the same men that picked them hours earlier.

Leaves rustle and shake themselves loose. Tuesday we’re expecting a much needed rain. I love the rain except when my roof has yet to be fixed. A few tarps will have to deter the droplets from sneaking in.

a bit of garden maintenance...

I've been working so much in the kitchen lately, I've neglected the garden. Granted it will be easier when all I have to do is open my back door and wander out in my pajamas to check on things. Soon, fingers crossed, soon.

On this warm morning I've driven over to the house and have several hours to spend in the garden. It was just enough time to tie the leggy tomatoes to their trellises, clear the bed that recently housed enormous squash plants (unfortunately, they got a bad case of powdery mildew and withered away), fill that same bed with Scarlet Nantes carrot seeds and pick the tiny dark seeds from my dried kale pods for future plantings.

I chuckle when I look down at myself. My fingertips are caked with chlorophyl and my arms are dusted with soil. What a grand way to start the day!

baby lemon bundts

Even when the majority of my week was spent whirring creamy cauliflower soup in the Vita-mix or searing juicy pork burgers for my clients, on weekends I find a sense of calm when I'm in the kitchen baking.

I love watching the flour fall in white heaps on the parchment as I drag my knife across the top of the measuring cups or the grains of sugar that disperse on the cutting board and sparkle as they catch the light. And I love peeking through the oven window to behold the magic of baking powder as it elevates the treats inside to new heights.

This weekend I experimented with the cast aluminum baby bundt pan I recently purchased from Surfas (a local restaurant supply store chock full of interesting food and kitchen items). With an abundance of garden lemons on hand, I decided a lemon bundt cake recipe was the ticket. The result were these wonderful little cakes. I'm not done experimenting though...they need a slightly brighter more lemony flavor. And while the organic powdered sugar does work for icing, it's not that beautiful snowy white color that stands out against the golden cake crumb. Another try and I think I'll be able to share the recipe. Until then, have a sweet day!

Masumoto's Elberta Peaches

There's a sweet peach fragrance clinging to the warm living room air; rows of sunshine colored Elberta peaches cover my pop-up table.

Four summer's in a row, I have been the lucky recipient of my friends Amelia and Ralph's peach picking invitation. And each year when I discover their email with the date for the picking extravaganza my heart skips a beat.

These peaches aren't any ordinary peaches. These organic peaches are from Masumoto's 80-acre family farm in Selma, California (approximately three and a half hours from Los Angeles). They are the juiciest peaches I've ever had, which means I stand over the sink when devouring them.

David Mas Masumoto (otherwise know as Mas), the wonderfully warm peach farmer and his delightful family came up with a brilliant way to share their Elberta peaches. They started a peach adoption program which means early in the year, those interested in peach picking, fill out an application and write an essay stating what they would do with the bounty of 'babies' (a term Mas uses for his peaches) that they will pick if chosen. Those accepted pay a fee for their tree and must commit to two weekends of peach picking which can be split with friends.

Our tradition starts out early Friday afternoon. We bring with us treats and wine that can be shared in the hotel room prior to dinner. Then we head to a local Mexican restaurant for super casual fare. The next morning we're at the farm by 7:30am and after Mas' explains the art of picking a peach, we excitedly find our tree, setup a ladder, buckets and boxes. We start by assessing the varied shades of orange, yellow, and green that determine the ripeness of the fruit.

While it's extremely satisfying finding perfectly ripe fruit on the tree, it's also acceptable to pick fruit that's not quite ripe. Slightly green or light yellow fruit will ripen sitting on a counter and will extend what I call 'peach heaven.'

We fill yellow buckets with warm, fuzzy peaches. The sorting process then begins. We line boxes with plastic sleeves that are numbered according to how many peaches will fit in each box and then sort the peaches by size and ripeness. All ripe small peaches go in one box while unripe small peaches go in another. We mark the boxes as to what's inside and continue this process until all the 'ready' peaches are picked from the tree, sorted and boxed.

If the pleasure of participating in this amazing experience isn't enough, Mas' family and a plethora of volunteers whip up a peachy breakfast that we eat under the sun dappled leaves of the peach trees.

Peach picking usually finishes by 10:30am and with full bellies and dusty cars piled high with boxes of warm peaches we head for the highway. All the way home there's talk of what delicious treats the peaches will take the shape of and how we can't wait to share our loot with our friends.

This is a summer tradition that I hope lasts forever.

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

There is something about Sunday mornings that makes me want to bake. Filling the still air with the sounds of egg shells cracking and the Kitchenaid whirring is music like no other. As the timer counts down, the smell of sweetness fills the rooms and sneaks out vents and windows to drive passers-by crazy.

Yesterday, with a large container of plump, sweet blueberries on hand, I decided to make a blueberry-streusel coffee cake. It was barely out of the oven when I was asked, "When can I cut a piece?" Twenty minutes later, I too gave in to the smell and soon had streusel crumbs tumbling to the floor as I devoured one piece and then two.

This yummy treat is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe and I think you will find it hard to resist just having one piece. Happy baking!

Blueberry-Streusel Coffee Cake

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp (plus more for pan)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries (if using frozen, toss them first with a very small amount of flour so that they don't bleed into the batter)

1 cup streusel (see below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch tube pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Spoon about half the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the berries in a single layer on top of the batter; avoid placing any berries against the pan's edge, as they may stick or burn if not fully encased in batter. Top with the remaining batter, making sure it is evenly distributed. Smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched, 50 or so minutes (I've made this in different ovens and some times it takes longer. If you're unsure, use a cake tester..if it come out clean, voila). Transfer the pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack, then reinvert (so streusel side is up) and let cool completely.

Streusel

(makes 4 cups....since you'll have extra...just store it in the fridge and when you have some yummy fruit from your garden or the farmers market, make a crumble).

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 1/2 stick (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temp

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender, until large, moist clumps form. Streusel can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

the chiquita

A hybrid snuck in....the Chiquita, a one-inch grape tomato with translucent skin. I didn't realize a hybrid was lurking in the bunch until I started researching this varietal. Darn.

It is a determinate tomato which means all of it's fruit ripen within a short period of time and it tends to stop growing once it reaches a certain height, which is good for smaller spaces.

I was hoping when I popped it in my mouth there would be an explosion of sweetness. No such luck. C'mon if plant breeders are tinkering by cross breeding compatible plants, I expect a spectacular tomato. Instead, it lacks flavor so even if the seeds could be saved (hybrid seeds typically can't be saved because they don't produce plants with identical qualities), I wouldn't bother. Seeds must be open pollinated to be saved which means they are capable of producing seedlings just like the parent plant.

Perhaps roasting these with herbs will be more inspiring.

the tomato collection - part one

Two days ago the first of the heirloom tomatoes were ready.....the gorgeous Turkish Striped Monastery which is said to have been collected at a monastery in Istanbul, Turkey. I discovered it at Tomatomania this year and since I have an affinity for most things Turkish, I snapped it up. It's purchase was determined by it's name and it's name alone since there weren't many details listed on the label. It is on the smaller side (approximately one and a half inches in diameter), full flavored with the perfect amount of acid. I will definitely be saving it's seeds for future plantings.

I've decided that as the various heirlooms ripen, I'll document and post details about each of them. This will help me remember what I've planted and hopefully serve as a planting guide for others.

And then when the plants are laden with fruit, I'll plan a tomato tasting party.