Blackberry-Peach Cornmeal Cake

This is one of my favorite desserts of all time! (The original is from Martha Stewart Everyday Food.) I love the crunch the cornmeal gives the buttery batter and the fruit makes you feel like it’s a healthy choice. The cake is yummy with ice cream for dessert or by itself for breakfast. You can substitute any combination of berries. (Note: The peaches add more liquid than berries, so it will need to bake a little longer.)

Blackberry-Peach Cornmeal Cake
1 Tbsp. butter
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint fresh blackberries
4 peaches, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Place 1 Tbsp. butter in cast-iron skillet, and place skillet in oven to melt the butter.
2. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter and next 3 ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring to combine.
3. Pour mixture into hot skillet. Sprinkle blackberries and peaches on top; sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Place a baking sheet under skillet.
4. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Allow cake to cool, and then invert onto a serving plate.

Corn-and-Tomato Salsa

This easy salsa showcases the best produce of the season. I threw the ingredients together and really liked the results. Black beans and chopped avocado would also be nice additions. The salsa perfectly complemented the pork tacos and homemade tortilla chips. Enjoy!


Corn-and-Tomato Salsa
5 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 ears corn, cut off the cob
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 minced garlic cloves
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
Juice from 2 limes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Combine tomatoes and next 5 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cilantro.

Fourth of July

Our annual Fourth of July party was so much fun! (Isn’t it nice that we had the kids eat by the doghouse?) Instead of our usual grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, I decided we would celebrate America with Mexican food. We shredded a smoked Boston butt for pork tacos served with all the fixin's: Easy Queso, Corn-and-Tomato Salsa, Guacamole, shredded lettuce, chopped fresh cilantro, and Homemade Tortilla Chips. (The kids had pizza.) For dessert, we enjoyed Julie's blueberry cobbler, Blackberry-Peach Cornmeal Cake, and Nutter Butter Banana Pudding. The weather was beautiful for an evening outside—low humidity (unusual for this neck of the woods) and a light breeze. We capped off the evening with a trip closer to downtown to watch fireworks. We are so thankful our friends made the trek to our new house for the festivities!

Strawberry Jam-Stuffed French Toast

This idea of this dish is very simple, but the flavor is fantastic! For breakfast, I spread homemade strawberry jam from my farmers market basket between slices of Italian bread, dipped the sandwiches in an egg mixture (1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tsp. vanilla), and then grilled them in melted butter in a cast-iron skillet. A little warm maple syrup finished them off. Enjoy!

Cornmeal-Crusted Onion Rings

This recipe is from Barefoot Contessa. My friend Jen made them for supper club last Saturday, which inspired me to make them. Usually I make Beer-Battered Onion Rings, which have a thick crust. These are much lighter tasting and are a great accompaniment to heavier foods, such as burgers. Madeline is an expert onion ring maker! I'll definitely make these again. Enjoy!

Cornmeal-Crusted Onion Rings
3 or 4 Vidalia onions
3 cups buttermilk
Salt and pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
Peanut oil

1. Slice onions, and separate into rings. Combine buttermilk, 2 tsp. salt, and 1 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Place onion rings in buttermilk mixture to soak for 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
2. Use a fork to remove onion rings from buttermilk mixture and coat with flour mixture.
3. Heat peanut oil in a large Dutch oven. Fry onion rings, in batches, until golden brown. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper before serving.

Birthday Party Menu

Tonight we celebrated the birthdays of our nieces Madeline (12) and Emma (4) who, along with sister Molly (5), are visiting from Virginia. Madeline wanted to help me cook, so that's what we did all afternoon. It was so much fun to spend time with Mad, and I was so impressed at her proficiency in the kitchen. Our menu included: Ground Beef and Ground Turkey Sliders, Cornmeal-Crusted Onion Rings, Chopped Apple Salad, grilled corn on the cob, birthday cake from Olexa’s, and Vanilla Custard Ice Cream. Madeline diligently stirred the custard for the ice cream and battered all the onion rings. During the party, the scene at our house was wild! There were four little girls under the age of 6 plus Mad and our niece Cameron (11). A good time was had by all. Enjoy!

Vanilla Custard Ice Cream
This recipe is from Ad Hoc by Thomas Keller.
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla paste or vanilla extract
10 egg yolks
6 Tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt

1. Heat milk and next 3 ingredients over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and mixture is thoroughly heated (about 20 minutes).
2. Whisk egg yolks and 6 Tbsp. sugar until combined. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk mixture to egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Stir in remaining milk mixture. Pour mixture through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl. Return mixture to saucepan, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Strain mixture into a bowl. Place bowl of custard into a larger bowl filled with ice. Stir occasionally to help mixture cool down; place custard in fridge to chill completely.
3. Pour custard into bowl of ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Creamed Corn

You are probably tired of hearing about the contents of my market basket—unfortunately we have 15 more weeks to go! This week we had five ears of corn. Rather than the expected corn on the cob, I decided to make creamed corn. This recipe reminds me of summers at Grannie’s. It’s very simple to pull together once you cut the corn off the cob. Creamed corn was the perfect complement to our veggie plate dinner. Enjoy!

Creamed Corn
2 bacon slices, chopped
5 ears corn, cut off the cob
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

1. Cook bacon slices in a skillet until done; drain on paper towels, and wipe out skillet. Melt butter in skillet, and add corn and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring often, until mixture begins to thicken slightly. Sprinkle with bacon before serving.