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Raspberry Cream Pie

Raspberry Cream Pie

Gray

“Adam seemed clothed in a viscosity that slowed his movements and held his thoughts down. He saw the world through gray water. Now and then his mind fought its way upward, and when the light broke in it brought him only sickness of the mind, and he retired into the grayness again.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

It was an unusually gray August. A mix of coastal fog and smoke from the Soberanes fire, left us feeling that summer must be somewhere, just not here. To be fair, the sun pushed its way through the gray many afternoons, at least for a few hours. Then the late afternoon fog swooped in from the coast and settled until the next afternoon, or the day after that. The Soberanes fire has moved south and so has the dusting of gray ash, on our cars, patio, plants and whatever else was outside. We will remember this fire for a very long time. After this raging fire Big Sur and the Los Padres National Forest won’t ever be the same. It was started by an illegal campfire on July 22nd in Garrapta State Park and it won’t be contained until the end of September. That’s right, over two months of fire. Every June, July and August I look for summer, knowing that it will arrive in September and stay through October. This is how we summer in this part of California. READ MORE . . .

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Blackberry Cobbler with Lemon Thyme

Blackberry Cobbler with Lemon Thyme

Oh August and Blackberry Cobbler!


He threaded among willows and sycamores and wild blackberry vines in the riverbed, patted the trunks of live oak and scrub oak, madrone and laurel.
East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Oh August! We still have fresh blackberries, raspberries, tomatoes, a new crop of crisp apples and pears too. I’m dizzy with possibility. I grew up devouring summer cobblers, crumbles and crisps. We scooped lush, sweet fruit into our bowls and went back to dig in the pan until it was all gone. Scraping the corners of the pan to get every last bit of sticky fruit was a must. My mom was known for her pies but when she was summer busy a cobbler topped with drop biscuits brought no complaints. Desserts with more fruit than topping, more fruit than sugar, just more fruit is the siren song of August in California.

A cobbler is a classic American dessert, lots of barely sweetened fruit topped with fluffy homemade biscuits. This is a recipe that takes the classic pairing of biscuits and jam and tosses it up in the air! It lands with more jammy fruit than biscuit. The pillowy biscuits are tender crumbed from butter and cream. Their bottoms nestle into the fruit while the biscuit tops reach high in the oven to gain their toasty brown tops. For a golden finish brush the biscuit tops with more cream and a sprinkle of sugar. READ MORE . . .

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Double Ginger Pear Crisp

Double Ginger Pear Crisp

A Taste of Sacramento

“They do pretty nice things in Sacramento, and Horace told how they did things in Sacramento as they rode along.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Last month I attended the International Food Bloggers Conference, IFBC, in Sacramento. It was my first food blogging conference. Gerlinde, of Sunny Cove Chef, and I traveled and roomed together. It was a whirlwind four days of non-stop activity. The experience was rewarding and I recommend attending next year’s conference in Sacramento. READ MORE . . .

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Plum Blackberry Galette

Plum Blackberry Galette

Further, five years of blogging

“You’re either on the bus, or off the bus.”

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe

Inspiration

There once was a bus named Further (or Furthur). Further’s trip across country is famously chronicled in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. I read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test the summer after I graduated from high school. It was required reading for English composition at the local JC. To say I was stunned at the selection of book choice was an understatement. In high school English we read the classics, not books about the roots of hippie culture written in the style of New Journalism. By the time we finished the book and its’ related assignments most of the class had dropped out. It was summer and the book was a long, meandering, crazy read. Sure the book is about LSD laced Kool-Aid (LSD was legal then) and all the crazy things that happened. For me, the book was all about the metaphor of Further. Going further, further than before, to keep going, exploring and learning, living with passion and vigor, being in the moment. READ MORE . . .

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Strawberry Mascarpone Tarts with Port Glaze

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Glaze

Strawberry Season

“Abra came in with shining eyes and a red nose from the frosty wind, and she brought such pleasure that Lee giggled softly when he saw her. Where are the tarts? She demanded.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Late spring and early summer is my favorite time of the year. When the harvest of local berries begins I can’t seem to get enough. Strawberries are the first. I eat them freshly picked and tucked into salads, but desserts with fresh berries are the best. I am not referring to the lackluster strawberries from the grocery or big box stores. These strawberries can be found almost year round. The grocery store berries are a variety grown to have a long shelf life and stay fresh after they are shipped cross country. (They also get a blast of MAP gas to lengthen shelf life.) I patiently wait for sweet strawberries that are picked when ripe and juicy. They are uniformly red! These berries must be eaten right away, the day they are picked is best. These sweet strawberries can be found at a local farm stand, farmers market or as part of a CSA. I’m fortunate that The Farm just outside Salinas grows some of the best organic berries. At least once a week during strawberry season you’ll find me there buying strawberries. READ MORE . . .