Palisades Peaches

Colorado Peach Muffins with Cardamom Streusel

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Eggs/Toast hot at same time: In sm skillet: Grill cut in half buttered bread; flip; add eggs, s+p; flick with water. Cover til done.

I’m an egg lover and indulge in one or two in some fashion nearly every day. That said, there is simply nothing like fresh bread or pastries for breakfast. Am I right? Biscuits and honey with sour cream (try it), cinnamon rolls, banana bread, Danish, croissants, English muffins, scones, slices off a warm whole wheat loaf slathered with butter and jam, crumpets, and — of course — muffins. I rarely bake in summer but when a cool morning finally arrives, there’s little to stop me from mixing up some certain special something (Why not a muffin starring our famous Colorado peaches?!) and scarfing it down quite warm, right out of the pan. Well, truth told, it’s husband and best sous Dave who’s more the scarfer. The man can eat; thank you, thank you. I’ll have one muffin with my coffee and call it quits. While Dave…well, you get the picture.

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Almond Crunch Peach Pie

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…a late summer or Labor Day almond-laced peach pie with a nutty crumb topping

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Folks love pie. They not only like to EAT pie; they like to TALK pie. Just start a conversation with, “I was thinking of making a pie…” and see where the discussion goes. Lists of favorite pies; sad looks about not being able to make pie crust; tales of Aunt so-and-so’s legendary apple pies; questions about your sharing said pie; wondering about who’s doing what come the holidays. I like to talk pie because I like to BAKE pie. Just about any pie. I mean, is there anything prettier? Any better reason to clean your plate? Is there a tastier way to end Thanksgiving? A tastier way to begin the Friday morning after Thanksgiving?!

Living in Colorado, I skew up my annual late-August Palisades peach pie just a tinge. There’s peach-blueberry; brown sugar peach pie; peach cobbler (well, it’s pie-ish); some sort of crisp; and so on and so forth. This year, I had to have a crumb topping because… I don’t know. But not just any crumb topping; I wanted an almond crumb topping with the almond note repeated in the peach filling so that you had that perfect complete almond thrill in each and every bite. I love almonds– and peaches and almonds are related, you know. So now you have an Almond Crunch Peach Pie. Just for you.

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The Ever-Changing Salad

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Today, in Colorado Springs, we have a high of 68 degrees F (20 C) with (praise God) rain. It’s by no means the end of summer, but is for sure the harbinger of fall. Our jeans and fleeces never get put away as they do in Chicago or Minneapolis because we never know if we’ll have that bizarre August snow or just the run of the mill welcome and chilly summer evening when we sip a little stronger something out at the fire pit watching the stars. (Remember watching the stars?)

This time of the year, we’re so happy with our Palisades peaches, Rocky Ford cantelope and watermelon, Pueblo or Hatch chiles, jalapeños, home grown tomatoes, fresh herbs, and Olathe sweet corn that sometimes we celebrate our soon-to-end warm weather by making dinner out of just those ingredients. A few additions like salt and pepper, arugula, Sherry vinegar, goat or mozzarella cheese, and maybe a little oil make the meal just what it ought to be. One night there’s a version starring ruby red watermelon and the next day it’s Halloween-orange cantelope instead; sometimes a berry of some sort gets thrown in. I call it, “The Ever-Changing Salad,” not because it must change, but only because by nature, it just does. And we’re so glad of that.

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Sweet Cinnamon Biscuit Peach Cobbler and Armagnac Ice Cream

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Cobblers are often thought to take the place of pies--if you don’t know how or don’t want to bake a pie.  I beg to differ. Cobblers, along with crisps, buckles, fools, and pandowdies, etc., are their very own lovely desserts…or breakfasts. True, they’re a bit quicker or easier to both make and bake as they have only one layer of some sort of crust, but they differ in many other ways.  (Fools have no crust at all!) For me, the filling of a cobbler, in particular, isn’t nearly as sweet and surely isn’t as caloric as that of a pie with two crusts. Instead of pie pastry or pâte brisée, there is–for cobbler– a soft, billowy-pillowy biscuit topping with a crunchy edge that merely sets off the great big bite of fruit. And, while others might disagree, I’d typically only make a cobbler when the fruit was at its peak. Mid-winter apple cobbler might be the exception. Yes, it’s hot to bake right now and yes, it’s perfectly luscious, too.

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Grilled Cantaloupe with Goat Cheese, Maple Syrup, and Toasted Almonds

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My book, SOUPS & SIDES FOR EVERY SEASON, has a chapter with easy and quick dessert recipes and one of my favorites is Grilled Peaches or Figs with Cheese, Honey, Thyme, and Black Pepper. It’s on the blog, too.  While figs aren’t often available in Colorado–more’s the pity– our Palisades peaches are plentiful, juicy western slope wonders.  (Scroll down for more info about our peaches and see about attending the upcoming Peach festival. I’ll stay up here where it’s just a bit cooler, heat wuss that I am. In fact, I’m heading to Santa Fe where it’s both higher AND cooler. But you go on west.)

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