I don't know how things are going in your house, but my kids have gone into pre-mourning for school starting again (on the first! Before Labor Day--again!). Summer reading books have emerged, which they probably ought to call Last-Week-of-August reading books, and I get to hear again how summer-reading packets ruin books and reading and who-picks-these-books-anyway-?. But there's still one week left, with some fine weather forecast for over half of it, so take full advantage of the dregs of summer vacation with some last food hurrahs!
Have you had your soda yet? I tell you I'm addicted, especially since there's always a new flavor to try:
The peach pies have been made and put up in the freezer, leaving us a half-dozen leftover peaches. I absolutely must share with you this thirty-second recipe which I modified from here. This is tasty as a breakfast addition, or you could even top it with sweetened whipped cream and have it for dessert.
Microwave-Baked Peach Heaven
1 ripe peach, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp butter, cut in little pieces
1 tsp sugar (or even less, depending on how ripe your peach is)
sprinkle of cinnamon
Dot peach slices with butter and sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon. Cover with another dish and microwave on full power for one minute.
And then you might have noticed our farmers have corn. Corn hardly needs an excuse or a recipe, but my mother-in-law happened to give us a lot of corn at once, which got me to thinking about Deborah Madison's Corn Chowder from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It makes a lot, and I've been eating it for days! Still yummy, though, and by the third day I further de-vegetarianized it (I'd used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth) and threw in some chopped hot dog, and that was good too.
Deborah Madison's Corn Chowder
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 large onion, finely diced
kernels from 6 ears of corn
1 pound small potatoes, diced
2 branches worth of fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
2 cups milk or additional stock (I used half-and-half)
Chopped green onion or chives
Melt butter in a soup pot and add onions, bay leaf and thyme. Cook over low heat until onion is soft, 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes, stock, 1.5 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Smash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot to give the soup some thickness. Then add corn and milk. Simmer until heated through and corn tender, about 5 minutes. Taste for salt.
Grind in some pepper and serve sprinkled with sliced basil and the scallions.
Summer vacation might draw to a close, but our Market continues. Stay tuned for more feasting fall fare.
