Day Six of Local Eats

For Breakfast: Peach Crumble

 

I can’t think of a better way to enjoy fresh, local fruit, than to intensify the flavor in a dish such as this one. So, well, peachy (sorry), and full of spice, but quick and healthy too!

 

4 ripe peaches

6 T sugar

Couple dashes of cinnamon

½ cup oats

¼ cup all purpose flour

2 T butter

 

Wash and chop peaches. Mix with 3 T sugar and cinnamon. Pour into a buttered ovenproof dish. Mix oats with flour and remaining 3 T sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or a knife. Spoon oat mixture over top of peaches and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Makes four servings.

 

 

For Lunch: Strawberry Salad

 

This salad makes a nice light lunch, or a delicious starter to a summer dinner. Local strawberries at the peak of season make this really flavorful!

 

Wash salad greens of your choice. Wash and slice strawberries. In a salad bowl, whisk together an equal amount of white balsamic vinegar and olive oil, add a teaspoon of sugar, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Toss greens and berries with dressing, gently. Add your choice of extra toppings: walnuts or pecans, goat or feta cheese, even olives. 

 

 

For Dinner: Homemade Pizza

 

A super-simple dough makes this recipe easy to pull off any night of the week, but always seems more fun when it’s our Friday tradition. We often grill the pizza dough on our outdoor gas grill, which gives the finished product a wonderful pizza-oven-ish smoky flavor. One taste of your own home-cooked, wholesome pizza will convince you to throw out your takeout menus and create a family tradition of your own!

 

1 cup warm water

1 t sugar

1 packet yeast

1 t salt

2 T olive oil

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

 

Mix water, sugar and yeast, and let sit for 15 minutes. Add salt and olive, and begin adding flour ½ cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Turn dough out onto a floured countertop and knead for 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour. (I set the oven at 100, then turn off) Roll out into one large crust, or do as we do and slice dough into sixths, rolling each piece separately to make mini-pizzas. Brush with olive oil and cook, on an outdoor grill or in a cast-iron skillet, until crust is beginning to brown. Add toppings, pop into the oven just until your toppings are warmed through and cheese is melted. 

 

The beauty of homemade pizza is in the variety each family member has in choosing their own ingredients. This can be done on a large whole pizza also. Just give everyone their own section to create their culinary masterpiece!

 

Maurie's favorite is sausage (big surprise there!), and tonight's combo is Truth Hill’s Italian sausage, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes. Topped with fresh mozzarella from Full Quiver Farms in Kemp TX, which was purchased at Texas Meats Supernatural.

 

Abby is a Margherita Pizza girl. Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella only, please, with a dab of garden-fresh basil. Oh, but there’s sausage on the menu today, so let’s add some of that! The sausage gene has proliferated. This pizza looks delish, too.

 

My choice always involves veggies and more veggies. Major spinach, lots of tomato, any leftover grilled veg that is hanging around. Tonight I topped it all with dollops of chevre from the Caprino Royale farm, located in Waco, TX. We met them for the first time at last week’s Dallas Farmer’s Market, in Shed 2. Do yourself a favor and visit their captivating website, full of farm photos and sprinkled with their delightful wit. (And yes, they are Bond fans – wait till you see the animals’ names!) And if you are local, their goat cheese can’t be beat, but go early – they were sold out before noon last week. I got the LAST ONE!! I really couldn’t be happier about that right now, as it’s some of the best chevre I’ve ever had. We’ll be visiting them at the farm soon, for certain.

 

Tomorrow will be the last day of our week of eating only local food, and there’s still plenty left to devour. We have the makings for three more delicious meals, and I’ll share some more quick-cooking tips, too.

 

Comments

[Lisa]

I have followed your menu and recipes all week long and each day is better than the last! You and your fabulous cooking are so inspiring to me.:)

[coach suitcase]

Hey! I like your blog’s style. Especially the pictures, there are very beautiful Thank you for sharing !

[Sue]

That pizza has me drooling. I'm really glad my husband isn't reading your blog. He might get upset at his peanut butter and toast for breakfast every day!