Seasons of Change

I have finally admitted to myself that summer is over.
School is in full swing, nights are getting colder and life is starting to move on. Now that summer is over though, I can fully enjoy fall. The leaves are just beginning to change and the mountain is dotted with a hint of red and orange with a promise of more to come. Fall is the perfect time to bake pies. I don't really know why, maybe because so much fruit is in season, or maybe because I am trying to gain fat to keep myself warm in the coming winter. And because I have a wonderful brother who was willing to go with me to the farmer's market in the morning, I became the owner of a beautiful bag of fresh peaches. These peaches were delicious. They are beautiful first of all, just getting soft and barely fuzzy. And they made the most wonderful peach pie ever. I know you probably aren't supposed to say that about food you cook yourself, but it was pretty tasty. Here is the recipe.

Fresh Peach Pie (adapted from Leite's Culinaria)

1 recipe of Extra Flaky Pie Crust (add 2 teaspoons sugar to recipe for sweeter crust)
5 cups peeled and sliced peaches (maybe 8 peaches)
a few generous squeezes of fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp cold butter




1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Squeeze lemon juice over peaches and toss gently. In a separate bowl combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Combine with peaches until coated.
2. Pour peach mixture into prepared pie dish. Grate cold butter with cheese grater and spread butter flakes evenly across the top of the pie. Cover pie with top pie crust and crimp edges. Cut steam vents in top.
3. Cook for 35-40 min until crust is browned. Spread a bit of butter across top of hot crust and let pie cool at least one hour. Serve warm, at room temperature, cold or however you so desire.

Ode to Basil

This is the beautiful basil plant in my apartment that inspired me to make bruschetta. I gave it to my roommate when I moved away for the summer and we are all a little surprised that it survived. You may note that in the bottom right corner that our little basil plant is in a splint due to a number of accidents like falling off the windowsill. Reason #532 why basil is awesome- it has a strong will to live.Fresh basil makes everything taste better. It has a clean, earthy smell that is almost sweet and it's flavor is full and rich. When people see a basil plant in your kitchen they assume that you are a savvy and exotic cook and that you are therefore desirable as a friend/ wife, if you care about that kind of thing. As I have sworn off dating, I keep the basil in the kitchen because it looks nice Everyone should own a basil plant, go out and buy one right now.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 or 7 ripe tomatoes ( I use roma because they are cheap)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
• Salt to taste
• Some type of bread, a baguette would probably be best, but all I had were English muffins and those worked.

1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Bring a medium pot of water to boil, once water has begun to boil remove from burner and immediately submerge whole tomatoes. Let sit for one minute. Cut tomato skins off with knife, skins should peel off fairly easily, but will be hot. Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out seeds, and juice from inside. Dice remaining tomato flesh.

2.  Put garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt to taste. Add tomatoes and toss thoroughly, put in refrigerator while preparing bread.

3. The fast and easy way to prepare bread is to just stick it in the toaster. If you have more time, top sliced baguette or french bread with a little olive oil or butter and a dash of Parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Stick in the oven on broil and pull out when the tops are brown and crispy (1-2 minutes). Top warm, crispy bread with a plentiful amount of bruschetta and enjoy!
 

Today's Story is a quote: "Color my life with the chaos of trouble" - Belle and Sebastian

In Search of my Soul

 Back to school. Back to work. New apartment. New ward. New People. And I feel like I'm drowning slowly. I miss the mountains, I miss my children, I miss knowing everyone and I miss mon etoile. I don't really feel like meeting new people and I don't want to be social. So I decided I needed to do some soul searching. I am taking some time to figure myself out. I don't really know what that means, but that's what I'm doing. So here is a delicious and not too difficult Thai recipe for anyone else who might be soul searching and getting a little hungry on the way.
 Panang Curry Recipe
Ingredients

• 3 large chicken breasts,
• 1-2 tbsp Panang Curry Paste (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 4 cups coconut milk
• 8-10 kaffir lime leaves, very finely chopped
• some salt
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 bell peppers- red, orange or yellow, cut into thin julienne strips and halved 
• 8-10 cups cooked rice

Preparation

1. Wash the chicken and cut into thin, bite size pieces, and fry until barely done.
2. Heat 2 cups of coconut milk over medium heat until the oil surfaces. Add curry paste, stir constantly for 2 minutes until fragrant and red oil surfaces. Add the chicken, and cook for a further 2 minutes or until done. Add the remaining coconut milk.
3. Season to taste with salt, fish sauce and sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add lime leaves and bell peppers and let simmer for 5 minutes. 
4. Spoon 1-2 cups rice in each bowl and top with curry. Eat. Ponder life. And read this sad story. 
 

Some Sad Story