food.is.a.Good.thing

Sweet.
Salty.
Sour.
Bitter.

Umami.

 For those of you unfamiliar with Umami, it was sent to blow all of your grade school knowledge out of the water. Similar (but exactly the opposite) to “their” decision that Pluto was no longer a planet, Umami is the newly named fifth “taste”. (I wonder if they actually teach that in school now or if its just a foodie term. Any teachers out there that can weigh in??)

Umami’s flavor is best described as savory or meaty and can be found in items such as seaweed, mushrooms, soybeans, tomatoes, meats and well aged cheeses. It lends itself to alot of asian cuisine as you can tell by the previous ingredients. Delicious restaurants such as Umami Burger in LA specialize in this flavor. Their popular Umami Burger (creative, I know) combines as many elements of the Umami flavor as possible - roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, parmesan frico, sauteed shitake mushrooms, housemade ketchup and ground beef dusted in one of our households favorite items - mushroom powder.

Mushroom powder - we make ours out of porcinis - is the easiest way to add that savory Umami flavor to any dish with very little effort. Fantastic sprinkled on a steak or burger to kick the meaty flavor up a notch, perfect in risotto, pasta sauces or soups to add an extra depth of flavor. Anything you could imagines mushrooms in, this magic dust will knock your socks off. 

You could likely find Porcini Powder at fancy gourmet food stores, or perhaps a really good international market - but it is so easy to make at home there is no need to waste your time hunting! Simply buy dried porcini (or any variety of your favorite mushroom for that matter), toss it all in a blender or food processor, and blend to a fine powder. Unless you have a small coffee grinder or spice blender you will probably still end up with some small chunks - but nothing wrong with that in my book!

Blend.
Sprinkle.
Grill. Cook. Create. Enjoy. 

Another product of the “I need a break from peaches” moments. Delish and perfectly refreshing for your future summer afternoons!

BLACKBERRY CLEMENTINE GIN FIZZ
1 part gin
1 part blackberry syrup
2 parts Clementine sode (I used Izze’s)

Combine all in a shaker over ice. STIR. Strain into a martini or low ball glass. Garnish with blackberries. 

Time to delve into the canning portion of this adventure. Which was pretty much a goal of the whole charade to begin with, but I still felt a bit of apprehension about it. This summer is my first time venturing into the world of canning, and while I may have bit off more than I could chew for my first weekend of it, I can’t say that I regret it one bit! All these jars of delicious eating and gifting ahead of me, who could regret that??? (At the moment I am just regretting that I didn’t snap a photo of the whole troop).

Overall the whole haul produced:
Blackberry Syrup
Blueberry Jam
Peach Preserves
Peach Salsa
Peach Butter (recipe hopefully to come..)
Peach Puree (frozen to use in sauces and desserts down the road)
Peach Syrup (see Blackberry Syrup above and just substitute fruit)
Frozen Blueberries (trick, freeze the berries on a sheet tray first, prevents them from freezing into one solid blueberry ice cube)
and an assortment of fresh treats

Not too shabby! Won’t get into the recipe for the jam and preserves because this year I stuck with the recipe straight off the pectin box. I figured hey, if the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip cookies turns out some pretty darn good cookies, so can this, right? Right. Delicious.

But I must heed one word of caution to anyone considering a similar list.

PEACHES SUCK.

Yup that cute, delicious, juicy, ripe thing. Sucks. I mentioned briefly in my original post about my frustration with white peaches. If your plan on breaking down lots and lots of peaches, please avoid these at all costs. Your own sanity is at stake here. I really don’t know how we ended up with some of these guys, we must have wandered one row too far in the orchard, lord only knows. Dealing with 30+lbs of peaches is time consuming enough, but these suckers are called “clingstones” for a reason - that pit hangs in there for dear life. Thankfully they were only (ha) about 1/3 of our entire haul, but its enough to drive this girl to do crazy things.

I say all this not to scare you away from canning peaches, because trust me, its worth it. But just beware that the peeling and pitting portion of the adventure is time consuming and not very fun. I suggest you have company and assistance (and an ice cold adult beverage doesn’t hurt either..)

Without further ado, the Peach Salsa - delicious with pretty much anything dipped in it, on fish tacos, on pork, you name it. Sweet and heat.

PEACH SALSA

(now before I get into this recipe I highly suggest you read up on canning recommendations from the USDA. I by no means claim to be an expert here)

(this recipe should fill 6-8 pint sized jars)

In a canning put bring water to a boil. You will need enough to eventually cover the filled jars by about 1 inch. Place your empty jars in the boil water to sanitize while you prepare the salsa. In a separate saucepan bring water to a boil. Once it reaches a boil cut the heat and add the lids and screw tops.

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the bottom form burning. Once mixture comes to a boil, let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Carefully remove the clean jars from the boiling water. Fill the jars with the salsa, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rim to be sure no salsa will get in the way of the lid sealing (this step is very important). Top with the lid and screw on tightly. Fill the remaining jars and then carefully place back in the boiling water of the canner. Cover canner and boil for 15 minutes (boiling time may vary depending on altitude). If the water is not at a boil when the cans are inserted, do not start timing until it returns to a boil. 

Looking back now, I really am not sure what came over me Saturday night. After a day filled with picking, syrup making and recovering, I sat down to enjoy the issue of Food and Wine that just graced the presence of my mail box. About 1/2 way in what do I find, but a blurb about Alice Waters, accompanied by 3 recipes for fresh peaches…..

Somehow I couldn’t help myself. 

CREAM PEACH TART WITH ALMOND CRUST
(adapted from Food & Wine)

2 cups vanilla wafer cookies (Nilla wafers anyone? hadn’t had these suckers in years..)
1/2 cup roasted almonds
6 Tbs sugar
4 Tbs melted butter
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 medium peaches, pealed and cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor combine cookies, almonds and 2 Tbs of the sugar. Process until fine. Add melted butter and pulse until mixture is moist and well combined. Press the crumbs into the bottom of and slightly up the side of a springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, wipe out the food processor. Add cream cheese, sour cream, egg & 2 Tbs of sugar. Process until smooth. When the the crust is finished baking, pour the custard mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. 

Let the tart cool, either on the counter (or in the freezer if you are impatient and hungry like me)

In a bowl toss the peaches with the remaining 2 Tbs of sugar. Arrange the peaches on top of your cooled tart. Remove ring. Eat.

I was impatient and had to have a piece assoonashumanlypossible. But if you can stand it I definitely recommend eating the next day. The tart will have solidified a bit more, the peach juice will have settled in a bit - 2 thumbs up.

To put it lightly, the mass of fruit that we brought home quickly drove me to the need of a cocktail. My first task after showering and attempting to recouperate from our picking adventure was to deal with the blackberries. We really didn’t get many, 3 pounds each, but I could tell they wouldn’t last long if they weren’t dealt with quickly. Because I already had lots of plans for jams and such with the other fruit, I picked the easiest thing I could think of for the last minute addition to the fruit picking haul. 

BLACKBERRY SYRUP
4.5 cups of blackberries, washed
1.5 cups of sugar 
1/4 cup of water

In a 2 qt saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, roughly 30 minutes, until the berries are soft. Pour the mixture through a strainer into another bowl, discarding the remaining berry pieces. Return the syrup to the saucepan and let reduce by about half (more or less depending on the thickness you want out of your syrup. more for pancake syrup, less for drink additives etc)

So back to my original story. I was exhausted and needed a refreshing beverage. We had made a pitstop on our way home to pick up a bottle of bubbly - planning on Peach Belini’s to celebrate. Those were delicious, but what came after, as a result of the Blackberry Syrup, should be on every brunch menu in Nashville.

BLACKBERRY MIMOSA
1/2 oz blackberry syrup
Cava or any similar dry sparkling wine

Pour blackberry syrup in champagne flute. Top with cava. Drink.

Recover.

Repeat.

Prepare for the canning days ahead.. sigh. 

Okay, okay. So I created a holiday. I was just so darn excited about the fruit picking day that my wonderful friend Dana and I had planned that I just couldn’t help it. This past Saturday we planned a trip to several farms in middle Tennessee to pick peaches and blueberries. There were many more farms to choose from than I expected, but we finally settled on 2, trying to find ones relatively close together so we could knock out both fruit easily.

The best resource I found was PickYourOwn.org - while a terribly obnoxious and horribly designed (if you can even say it is designed at all) website, it seemed to have a pretty comprehensive list of the picking option for each county. For peaches we went with Pratt’s Orchard, and for blueberries we went with Kelley’s Berry Farm (sorry no website….) - both out in Lebanon, TN.

Our day started at Pratt’s

Cute little orchard, you literally drive right past their house to get to the peach trees. We were greeted by a local highschool who I can only assume is workin his summer job at the peach farm (for some reason the song Strawberry Wine by Deana Carter just popped into my head.. hmm), handed some baskets and off we go!

I didnt get a good picture of the haul, but all said and done we walked away with about 65 lbs of peaches between the 2 of us. 4 baskets full.

Then it was off to Kelley’s for some berry picking. Not gonna lie, was a bit over the photos by the time we got into this, because by this time it was hot as Hades outside and the ball of fun had definitely deflated a bit (that and you would not have enjoyed seeing pictures of us at this point…). But we persevered! They still had some blackberries so we decided to each get a bucket. Nice surprise but definitely alot of work. Those suckers are on some thorny thorny bushes, and they definitely make you hunt for those jewels of fruit. 

We each managed a bucket 3/4 full before we threw in the towel. Surprisingly much more grapey flavor than the tartness you expect from a blackberry. Interesting.

After much rehydration we ventured out to the blueberry bushes. Much easier to pick, but still not easy work. The berry picking definitely gave us both alot more appreciation for the farm laborers who do this all day every day. 

All in all our haul included:
65 lbs of peaches
6 lbs of blackberries
16 lbs of blueberries

The rest of the weekend was entirely consumed with dealing with this mass of fruit. Expect many many blog posts in the near future about that adventure (for better, or for worse… don’t get me started on white peaches right now…)

So there you have it! Do any of you guys have farms you love to go out and pick each year? Any others I need to add to my list for years or months to come?? 

The most common argument out there against buying organic is the cost. I get it, I really do. It is more expensive. I could go on and on about the benefits of it anyways, how it really isnt that much more expensive, especially when you consider the increased quality and nutrients etc etc… But for some people it still doesnt matter. Every dollar counts. For anyone wanting to start moving in the direction of eating more organically, but just cant afford it, I suggest just getting started with one or two items. You know what you like to eat, you know what you will actually use, so telling you to stick yourself in the Organic aisle of your local grocery store probably wont get you far. I suggest you pick one or two produce items that are important to you, and start buying those organically. 

Each year the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organization who focuses on research and advocacy of agriculture and its effect on public health (among other things..), releases a list they call their “Dirty Dozen”. It is a list of the 12 fruits and vegetables found with the highest amount of pesticide residue. Their recommendation is that for each item on the Dirty Dozen list, focus on buying organic instead. If you want some idea’s on items to transition to organic on your grocery list - this is a great place to start!

“THE DIRTY DOZEN”
1. Apples
2. Celery 
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Imported nectarines
7. Imported grapes
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Domestic blueberries
11.  Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

They also publish a list called the “Clean 15” which are items found with the least amount of pesticide residue. So if you want to which items you might be okay saving till the end of your organic transition - here you go!

“THE CLEAN 15”
1. Onions
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Domestic cantaloupe 
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet Potatotes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms 

These lists are a great place to start. Any other suggestions out there of items you have made the transition on which weren’t too cost prohibitive? I would love to hear them!