guest posting

another one of my posts from nigella's book on yourheartout.com.

here's a hint: it's VERY chocolatey

peach-ginger-blueberry cobbler

i want to hug peaches. they are so delightful that i buy a bunch at the end of the season and cut them up and freeze them. i admit that i HATE peeling and chopping them (although that little trick where you boil the peaches at a hard boil for 1 to 2 minutes really makes it so much easier.) even so, peaches are a dream. i was craving them last night so, when i was looking for good cobbler recipes, i found my cousin's that she sent me a while back. i added some blueberries and halved the original recipe so it fit in an 8x8 square pan. plus a few spices that i was in the mood for. which seemed to work well because my friend said it tasted like christmas in a bowl (i'd say that's a pretty awesome compliment.) here is the original recipe:

PEACH COBBLER
7 cups peaches (peeled, sliced and chunked)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

(i added about 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg and cloves. and about 1 tsp. fresh ginger.)

Mix together and put in a 9x13 pan.

topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1 egg

mix topping ingredients together and spoon over peach filling.

bake 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the topping is browned and thoroughly cooked. you could top with ice cream, or english custard like i did.

granola with coconut and dried apricots

i'm always looking for nutritious snacks and with no preservatives that don't taste like stale cardboard. luckily, i found this granola recipe on smittenkitchen.com but made a few adjustments to make it less of a granola bar and more loose granola i could eat as cereal or just munch on.


2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
3/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cup dried apricots

preheat your oven to 350°F. butter a 9×13-inch pan.

toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ and flax seed. reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

while the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, vanilla, coconut and almond extracts and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in (wet fingers and/or a silicon spatula work great for this) until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.

bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.

store these in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or two.

(with milk and bananas - dreamy!)