Peach Pie

Wow! I felt so productive the other night.  I made this amazing pie, froze several gallons of peaches, made homemade apple sauce, and managed to cook dinner and pack 3 lunches for the next day.  So great to sit down with my hubby at the end of a long beautiful day with a yummy piece of fresh peach pie!  Enjoy.

This recipe was adapted from the William and Sonoma Pie and Tart book.  I used a pre-made roll-out crust by pillsbury (to save time), and altered spices a bit.

Ingredients:
2 Rolled-out basic pie dough rounds
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. quick cooking tapioca
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg (optional, but super yummy!)
pinch of salt
6-8 ripe but firm peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced. (about 5 cups)




Follow directions for placing crust in 9" pie plate.  To make your own crust use this recipe.

In a small bowl combine: sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Place peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with the sugar mixture to distribute.  Transfer to dough-lined pie pan.

Top with second dough round, crimp the edges, and cut a few slits near the middle of the pie.  Get creative with the top to make it beautiful, even though it won't last long because people are going to gobble this pie up!

Refrigerate pie until dough is firm, 20-30 minutes.  Place oven rack in lower third of oven, preheat to 375 degrees.

Bake the pie until crust is golden and filling is thick and bubbling, 45-60 minutes.  Let cool to set, then serve warm.

**Always feel free to play around with spices. Be creative!
**Always feel free to decrease sugar depending on your taste, peaches are so sweet anyway so you probably don't need as much sugar as most recipes call for.

We bought these peaches from a local orchard, Lohr's, and they are amazing.  We bought a bushel of seconds and they were great.  Looking forward to more frozen peaches this winter and some peach jam soon to be put up.

LOVE knowing where my food comes from.

Veggie Korma

After searching the web high and low for a veggie korma recipe I decided to make one up.  I don't have garam masala in the house and every recipe I read had it as an ingredient.  We gave the final dish 3/5 spoons, but made improvements that increased it to at least 4/5.

Cook your favorite rice.  We used a blend from Trader Joe's.

Saute a combination of vegetables that equal roughly 3-4 cups, to desired consistency:
Onion             Carrot              Potato             Okra             Green Beans
Whatever is in season!


Add in:
14 oz coconut milk
1 c. Veggie Broth, more if final sauce is too thick for your taste.
1/2 t. Curry Powder
1/2 t. Nutmeg
1/2 t. Turmeric
1/2 t. Cumin
1-2 T Lime Juice
1 T Soy Sauce
2 T Fresh Basil, chopped

** I thought this was really tasty with tofu, but you could also add chickpeas and it would be super yummy!

Today on the Farm

We got up bright and early and headed to the farm this morning to tend the garden.  

We spent a marvelous 3 hours picking veggies, taking pictures, eating melon and making sure everything was growing.  

This year we have been very lucky that the groundhogs haven't eaten everything.  With that luck comes a ton of veggies because we usually plant extra since the groundhogs eat most of it... 

Anyway here is a peek at what we picked today.  Minus the other 8 gallons of tomatoes and several gallons of edamame...  soon to be sauce for the winter and blanched for freezing, respectively.

The garden is a ton of work but is fun to watch grow and even better to eat.  I love knowing where my food comes from.

Please leave me comments about your garden, any tips, your favorite thing to grow, your favorite CSA, why you love local food.

Eat Your Veggies!

Baby Suck Pads

Anyone who has a baby and uses a baby carrier knows they like to suck on the straps.  Leaving them soggy and sometimes difficult to clean.  I went on the search for a solution and found “suck pads” for the straps and thought, “Hey! I could make those.”  So here is how to do it:

For a 3 inch strap:

*Cut fabric 6.5 x 9 inches: you will need 4 sides and whatever material you want to put in the middle for absorbency, such as flannel, terry, or fleece.

*Layer two outer layers with right sides facing.

*Lay insides on top.

*Sew around outside starting in the middle of one of the long sides using ¼ inch seam.  **Make sure you stop your stitch 2.5 inches from where you started so that you can turn the pad right side out.

*Turn pad right side out making sure to form corners with chopstick or eraser end of pencil.

*Iron flat and sew a decorative stitch around edge to close seam.

*Add snaps with snap tool, or use Velcro.  (I luckily have a good friend who has an amazing snap tool that I got to borrow. Thank you.)

These are made with 4 layers of flannel and are reversible.  

**I have made some with terry on one side and cotton on the other.  Depends on what your baby likes to suck on.  

And one set that are also taggies!

So far I have made these for the Ergo and Beco carriers.  Which is a whole other topic because they are amazing carriers and it is sooo much fun and cuddly to wear your baby so close.  But these particular suck pads could be used for any straps that are 3" wide.

Baba Ganoush

UPDATED:  I grew these amazing eggplant this summer (2011).  They are called Turkish Orange.  They taste lovely and made an amazing baba ganoush:

I used the same recipe as below, a post I put up last summer...  Enjoy.

I love eggplant and this summer they are sweeter than ever. Why?  hmmm.....  something to learn about.  Well I got a bunch between my garden and the CSA and made a great Baba Ganoush using this recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, halved
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

I grilled my eggplant first, you could also roast them in an oven at 350 degrees for 30 min. or until soft.  Once roasted remove from skin and place in blender or food processor.

Add lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic, puree.  Add salt and pepper to taste and transfer to bowl.  Mix in olive oil and refrigerate at least 1 hr before eating.

Serve with mini toasts, veggies, or crackers.  Super yummy with basil and tomatoes.

Best Sauce Ever

 Such a great time of year for fresh veggies from the garden.  Right now we are picking a million tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, edamame, and watermelon.  Last night I made zucchini boats to use up a bunch of veggies before we also get our surprise veggies from our CSA on tuesday.

Zucchini Boats

2 large Zucchini, halved, insides scraped out

1 T. olive oil

1 c. cooked bulgur

½ c. chopped mushrooms

¼ c. diced onions

1 c. tofu, cut into ¼ inch squares

¼ c. chopped green beans

Heat oil in skillet.

Sauté onion x 3 min.  Add tofu, green beans, mushrooms and sauté to desired crunchiness.  Add in cooked bulgur.  **Remember it may take you 30-45 min to cook the bulgur first.  Follow directions on package and start before prepping everything else.

I grilled these but you can also just bake them.  It was hot today so these went on the grill on low for about 12 minutes.  Top with the yummiest sauce ever…below...

Top with Walnut Sauce:

¼ c. whole wheat or unbleached flour

½ c. raw walnuts

3 T. braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce

1 T. fresh lemon juice

2 c. veggie broth

1 garlic clove

Pepper to taste.

*Toast ¼ c. flour in small pan till lightly brown.

*Transfer to a blender and add walnuts, braggs, lemon juice, ½ c. veggie broth, garlic, pepper and blend until smooth.  Add remaining 1 ½ c. broth and blend smooth.

*Transfer to a pot and simmer over low heat, stirring often, until mixture is thickened.  3-6 minutes or until desired consistency.

***Serve hot, drizzle over zucchini boats for an amazing mouth adventure!

** Be creative with this, you can really fill these boats with any flavor combinations you like.  Try orzo, tomatoes, feta, basil and mint with a tahini dressing OR millet with mushrooms, peppers, sausage, tomato, thyme with a spicy Italian dressing.  Leave me a comment if you try another flavor combo!

The Help

I am reading "The Help" and can't put it down.  Every free minute (except this one) I am reading this book.  What the experts are saying:

New York Daily News 
"[A] story with heart and hope....A good old-fashioned novel."
Atlanta Journal Constitution
"Powerful...[Stockett's] attention to historical detail, dialect and characterization create a beautiful portrait of a fragmenting world...This heartbreaking story is a stunning debut from a gifted talent."


Tell me what you think about this book.....





Up next: Anthill by E.O. Wilson

Felt Food

Last weekend it rained a lot, so I came up with a few rainy day projects... including making felt food for my baby to play with.  I found this great tutorial at Shelley Inspired  and my food turned out so cute.  An eggplant is next!










The next project was chocolate nut balls.  Yummy!

Put the following in a food processor and pulse until ground:
1/2 c. cashews
1/2 c. oats
3/4 c. walnuts

Stir in:
1 t vanilla extract
2 T. agave nectar (or honey)
2 T coconut oil
1 T cocoa (optional)

Make into smalls balls and freeze for 10 min.
Meanwhile melt some chocolate for dipping.
Add coconut if you wish.

Enjoy!

Welcome

Welcome to Marisa Makes!  A blog to find easy yummy food, good friends, DIY projects and fun.  There are a million blogs out there devoted to these topics, but Marisa Makes has a healthy lifestyle slant that will include guest blogs from some of the most beautiful fun healthy women I know, that also happen to be amazing cooks, mothers and crafters.

Look forward to tips on cooking, exercise, running, healthy food, gardening, motherhood, and life...