Baby Wants Pie!

Something is seriously wrong with me. I've made 3 pies in 3 days. Here's the damage, plus a few random things I've made over the past week or so.

Ina Garten's Summer Fruit Crostata

I used pluots instead of black plums - their color was amazing.

And, I used my own crust recipe instead of Ina's. Here it is:

2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. sea salt
3 T. sugar
1 1/2 cubes cold butter (12 T.), cut into small pieces
4 T. shortening
1/3 to 1/2 c. ice water (or more if you need it)

Roll out the dough....

Dump on the fruit...

I like to roll out the dough and then use a dinner plate to trim off some of the jagged edges. It's not perfect, but that's the beauty of this type of pie.

And finally, a pie without fruit.

Martha Stewart's Coconut Custard Pie

I was pleasantly surprised by this pie. It was really easy and the custard turn out really smooth with none of that unpleasant cornstarchy-ness. Lucky for me I had an old bag of coconut chips. They're unsweetened, so I tossed the coconut with a couple of tablespoons of Golden Syrup and toasted it. Sweet and crunchy coconut. Nice.

Don't forget to make jam tart with the pastry scraps. Jam tarts forgive a multitude of sins. Believe me, I know.

And now for something completely different...

The summer's first zucchini is finally here. Here it is, simply sauteed with some onion, garlic, and tomato. My new favorite website, Gourmet.com has a some intriguing zucchini recipes in their zucchini test kitchen challenge.

Here are some grilled potatoes with a blue cheese viniagrette. It's a version of Bobby Flay's potato salad sans the watercress underneath.

A random mishap with some exploding dough.


I'm still making bread most of the time, although I still have moments of weakness where I can't be bothered to bake, especially in July.
Rhubarb ice cream: sweet, tangy, subtle.

Yet another fruit dessert: summer fruit bars. Fuzzy picture, but good. That's all for now. Stay tuned for some good eats from Victoria, B.C.

Blueberry Cherry Buckle

In the spirit of Independence Day, here's a red, white and blue dessert. You're probably sick of seeing fruit desserts and reading me wax on about the glories of turning someone's abundance into something delicious, so let me just say this: I'll be making this one again with whatever fruits I can get my hands on.

More of a fruity coffee cake than a cobbler, it's just sweet enough but not overly rich. It's moist without being heavy, and the presence of fresh fruit offers just enough redemptive value to allow you to eat this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour's Baker's Companion and adjusted to fit a 9 x 13-inch pan.

Blueberry Cherry Buckle

Batter

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. unsalted butter (1 stick), room temp

2 lg. eggs, room temp

1 c. milk, room temp

4 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. cardamom (optional)

2 t. vanilla

3 c. blueberries, rinsed and picked over

2 c. sweet cherries, pitted

(Note about the fruit: you could certainly add more or different fruit in whatever combination you like. Peaches and blueberries are good together.)

Streusel

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. four

1 t. cinnamon

zest from 1 lemon

1/2 t. salt

2/3 stick soft butter (5 1/2 t.)

Grease and flour 9x13-inch pan and preheat oven to 375.

Batter:

Cream together sugar and butter until soft and light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat for a couple of minutes. Whisk together dry ingredients. Stir in the milk alternately with the dry ingredients and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Add 1/2 batter to bottom of pan. Distribute fruit over the batter, and top with remaining batter. Use butter knife to gently swirl through ingredients and distribute evenly.

For the streusel:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Add the butter in small chunks, mixing to make medium-size crumbs. (You could use a pastry blender for this.) Scrunch together some of the streusel to make larger crumbs. Sprinkle streusel even over batter.

Bake fro 45 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan, on a rack. Serve alone, or with whipped cream or ice cream.