The Bedside Rose

My Hubbers and I have long since moved past the days where I get flowers for, what I term, Hallmark holidays.  Valentines Day, Mothers Day, even anniversaries, are not times when I want to receive flowers.  I like gifts of flowers to be a surprise, not an obligation. Some days he'll walk in the house with a surprise bouquet.  Those I love. 

We have always had roses in our yard.  I love roses. Ever since I can remember, when the roses start blooming in the spring, my Hubbers will get a small vase from our cabinet and put it on my bedside table.  During the growing season he keeps that vase filled with fresh roses, sometimes one perfect bloom, other times a small bouquet.  He never says anything, I will walk into the bedroom at night and there will be a new rose. He used to work in a florist shop and has a tool that takes the thorns off the stems so he takes the time to do that. I love these roses.  The time and thought he devotes to doing this means the world to me.

When our daughter lived at home he would keep a vase by her bed, too. He took care of his two girls.

We have our youngest granddaughter almost every Friday night. A few weeks ago she walked in my room and noticed I had a new rose.  She said "Nana, how come I don't have one?" I told her Papa and he immediately went out and cut her one.  A new tradition has begun.  This Friday morning he went out to the garden and cut and trimmed two roses; pink for me, red for her.

She had to smell hers a few times before she climbed into bed! Generation Three is now being spoiled.

Heading Into Fall

Fall is my second favorite season (in my life the seasons are spring, summer, fall and tax season!)  Pumpkins, colorful leaves, football games (Go Niners!) apples, the smell of cinnamon baked goods are a few of my favorite fall things. Life becomes a little slower in the fall, my Hubbers and I tend to nest more.

I'm not ready for summer to be over.  I love the warm days and nights, tending to my flower garden, watching the birds, swimming in the pool, grilling, fresh fruit and veggies.  But, much to my dismay, I see signs of fall each day.  The local schools are in session again, the days are getting shorter, football is back (this does not bother me!), the summer flowers are looking a little tired.

Just when I was feeling a little bummed that summer was waning, I get a batch of new magazines in the mail, all with fall themes. All three magazines are filled with decorating ideas, fall recipes, party ideas.  Now I'm envisioning caramel spice cake, pumpkin tartlets, cranberry coffee cake, tailgate parties, scrumptious soups, Halloween festivities, tea party ideas (yes, Mom, I'll make some lemon curd!)

I may go kicking and screaming into fall but once I get there I know I will be enjoying the fun!

Peach Upside-Down Cake

In the past few weeks I've made a sour cream peach pie, peach and raspberry crisp and peach, ginger and blueberry strudel.  A few nights ago I made a peach upside-down cake.  I think I'm officially done with peach desserts for the summer! I'm ready for a different fruit.  I say this now but, come January, I'll be craving a warm piece of peach pie with a scoop of ice cream! I suppose I could freeze some peach pie filling but not sure I'll get that done this year. So many good intentions, so little time!

This cake is a twist on the traditional pineapple upside-down cake. It's very easy to make and makes an impressive-looking dessert. It's especially good warm but I've been known to have an unwarmed piece for breakfast (I tell myself it's no different than having a piece of toast with jam. Same calories, right?!!)

I took this to dinner at a friend's house.  It is easy to transport and makes a small cake so not a lot of leftovers to deal with.

You don't need a "fancy" pan to make this but it makes for a very nice presentation, if you do!

Spread the batter over the peach and sugar layer, very easy dessert!

Peach Upside-Down Cake

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced, pitted and peeled fresh peaches (2-3 medium)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Place 1/4 cup butter in an 8x8x2-inch baking pan and set pan in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes, or until butter is melted. (Be sure to watch carefully to avoid overbrowning the butter.)  Remove pan from oven.  Add brown sugar, stirring until sugar is completely moistened.  Spread sugar mixture evenly in pan. Arrange peach slices evenly over brown sugar mixture. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Beat in granulated sugar until well combined.  Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined.  Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to beaten butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition, just until combined.  Spread batter evenly over the peaches in the pan.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto a large serving plate.  Cool for 10 to 15 minutes more.  Serve warm.

Peach, Ginger & Blueberry Strudel

I always have a package of puff pastry sheets in my freezer.  They are useful for so many things, including quick desserts.  Last week our neighborhood had a gathering in connection with the Neighborhood Watch National Night Out. We were all requested to bring a dessert. By now you probably know that I rarely buy a dessert, the food snob that I am! I love to bake but I had worked all day and didn't have time to bake something very elaborate. On this evening I turned to my trusty puff pastry friend and made this simple strudel.

It's a very easy dessert to put together but very flavorful. If you are not a fan of ginger you can leave it out but I like the depth of flavor it brings to the fruit combination.

 

Peach, Ginger and Blueberry Strudel

1 pint fresh blueberries
3 cups fresh peaches, skins removed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar

Adjust oven rack to the center shelf; preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss together berries, peaches, flour, ginger, brown sugar and orange zest; set aside. Unfold one puff pastry and, on a lightly floured surface, roll it out to an approximate 10x12-inch rectangle.

Transfer the pastry dough onto the sheet pan and brush edges of dough with some of the egg.  Arrange half the fruit mixture lengthwise down the center.  Fold both sides of the dough over the fruit toward the center. Pinch the seam together and tuck it under to seal it securely.  Pinch the ends to seal then turn the strudel over so the seam is on the bottom.  Repeat with remaining sheet of pastry dough.

Brush the tops with the remaining egg and sprinkle sugar over the surface of the dough.  With a sharp knife, cut four 1-inch slits down the length of the pastry. Bake 25-30 minutes, until pastry is golden brown and feels crispy to the touch. Remove from oven; let cool for 15 minutes before serving.  Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Peach and Raspberry Crisp

In the summer I love desserts using fresh fruit.  Peaches and raspberries have always been one of my favorite combinations.  This crisp doesn't disappoint. I've adapted it from Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa) recipe. She uses orange zest in her version.  I prefer to let the peaches and raspberries stand on their own.

This crisp is so easy to put together. It's a great dessert when you have a crowd to feed.  The topping can be made ahead of time, and refrigerated, to save some prep time.  You can also make the crisp ahead of time and reheat.  I always try to time it so that it comes out of the oven about half an hour or so before we eat dinner. When it's time for dessert, the crisp is still warm but not so warm that you can't eat it.  It's especially good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!



Peach and Raspberry Crisp

4 to 5 pounds firm, ripe peaches (10 to 12 large peaches)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups plues 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pint raspberries
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter (or use cooking spray) the inside of a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Peel the peaches and slice them into thick wedges; place into a large bowl.  Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the raspberries.  Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.  If there is a lot of liquid, add 1 more tablespoon of flour. Pour the peach mixture into the baking dish and gently smooth the top.

For the topping, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, and the cold, diced butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with a paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until the butter is pea-sized and the mixture is crumbly (can be made ahead and refrigerated). Sprinkle evenly on top of the peaches and raspberries.  Bake for 1 hour, until the top is browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. 

Frosty Memories

When I was in high school my parents bought the local A&W drive in. Soon I was knee-deep in making root beer floats and freezes, milkshakes, soft-serve ice cream cones. I washed dozens of mugs a day as most of the root beer drinks were served in frozen, frosty mugs. We had no indoor seating, no air conditioning. We were closed in the winter. In the summer it would get so hot we'd open the freezer to stick our face in! We made the root beer in a big stainless steel vat, using concentrate from A&W and huge bags of sugar. Some of my girlfriends worked there, too. We worked hard but there were also a lot of fun times, especially flirting with cute guys who came to the order window! All in all, it was a great experience.

Every now and then I crave a root beer float or freeze. Recently I made a batch of vanilla ice cream and the root beer craving got stronger. Though it's not as good as the root beer we made, the bottled root beer still tastes pretty good. After swimming for a few hours on a 100 degree + day I introduced root beer freezes to my youngest granddaughter. I don't have a milkshake machine, so a blender had to do the mixing. No frosty, frozen mugs (a Disney Princess cup works!) We devoured them!  She loved her first freeze and, for a moment in time, I was transported back to my teenage days. Great memories and a great afternoon treat!

Bandana Dress

I first began making bandana dresses when my oldest granddaughter was four.  She turned nine in May.  My youngest granddaughter will be four in a month. In between, we have a six year old. Can we slow down the clock, please! The dresses are very easy to make and only involve two items; a knit top (any type of sleeve) and two bandanas. The girls love them as they are very comfortable.  Most girls love to twirl around and the way the bandanas are offset on these dresses provides plenty of twirling activity!

Hobby and fabric stores have a wide variety of bandana options, very easy to find a pattern for the little girl in your life. (Has anyone seen any San Francisco 49ers bandanas? I need some!) The dresses are inexpensive to make, for less than $10 you have a dress that is not only cute but very durable.

Earlier this year I purchased a Silhouette Cameo digital cutting machine. The applique on the top of the dress was my first attempt at using the machine to cut fabric. I have a lot to learn, especially with sizing the various pieces of the applique, but it went pretty well for the first time. I wish I would have used a darker yellow for the bee body but didn't have anything appropriate in my fabric stash.

I bought the pdf pattern from this site. With the pattern is a template for cutting the opening of the bandanas so they will fit the width of the top. Basically, you measure the width of the top, correspond that measurement to the template and cut accordingly. It's a very easy and effective way to get an accurate cut.

After that it's just a matter of arranging the bandanas to get the proper hem effect and sewing the bandana to the top. The dresses take no time to make!