Sauteed Summer Squash & Zucchini with Bacon & Parmesan

Serves 6 to 8

 

Do you love summer squash & zucchini as much as I do?  I could eat it every day... stewed, stuffed, gratin, casserole, fried, and even raw ribbons in a salad!   Here's a really simple, but tasty, recipe that is a perfect side dish.  I cooked & served mine in a large cast iron skillet.

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and torn into pieces

2 to 3 Tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 small onion, halved and sliced

2 cups yellow squash, washed and sliced into ¼ inch slices

    (about 3 to 4 squash)

2 cups zucchini squash, washed and sliced into ¼ inch slices

    (about 3 zucchini)

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

• Cook the bacon and set aside (I microwaved it)
• Add the olive oil to a large skillet and saute the onions for a few minutes until they begin to get tender.
• Add the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and give a stir.
• Add the squash and zucchini and sauté, stirring frequently until the veggies reach your desired consistency… either crunchy or soft or somewhere in between!   This will take about ten to fifteen minutes.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve!

Elsie Lee's Creamed Corn

 Elsie Lee’s Creamed Corn... sort of!

Well, nobody can make creamed corn like my Mom did!  We eagerly anticipated the summer months, when we would go a local farm to get dozens of ears of corn.  We sat on the screened porch and removed the husks & cut out the bad wormy parts, so that Mom could make batches of creamed corn for the freezer.  It was sooooo good!  In fact it was so good that I have never had the courage to make it myself because I just knew that mine would never be as good as hers was.  She's been gone for over two and a half years now and I miss her every single day.   I came home from a recent visit to our local farm market where I purchased two dozen ears of farm fresh corn.... and I decided to give creamed corn a try.  I had lots of fun making this; it can be a bit messy as corn and corn milk were squirting every which a way!  It turned out great; it's not quite my Mom's recipe as that was only in her head, never written down... but here's my version. I think Mom is smiling down at me right now!

Servings: 8 to 10

16 ears fresh corn, husks removed

1 ½ cups half & half

6 Tablespoons  salted butter

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

Rinse the corn and run your fingers along each cob to remove the silks.

Use a knife or, even easier, use a “corn zipper, corn scraper, corn kernel remover, corn peeler” (these handy gadgets are known by many names!) to remove the kernels from the cob.

Hold each ear of corn in a vertical position with the bottom of the ear resting in a large deep bowl.  Slice downward and remove the kernels.  Note that this will only remove ½ of the kernel, so give another slice with the back side of the knife and press to release the sweet corn milk.  Look at the bowl of goodness that you have!

Add the corn, most of the half and half, and butter to a large pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly so that the mixture doesn’t burn.   Reduce heat to low and cook about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add salt and pepper to taste.   Add the remaining half and half, if necessary, for desired consistency & continue to cook over low heat until heated through.

Serve and Smile!

Good Ole Peach & Blueberry Pie

As I've mentioned, my love for peaches runs deep and there's not much better than a simple peach pie!  Well... that is until you add blueberries to the mix!  This one is easy and yummy.  It's just sweet enough, but not too sweet.  It's a perfect dessert for a Sunday supper!

 

4 cups peaches, pitted and sliced (about 10-12 peaches)

1 cup blueberries, rinsed & drained

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup Splenda sugar (or ½ cup sugar)

¼ cup Splenda brown sugar (or ½ cup brown sugar)

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened a bit

1 package pie crusts (for double crust pie)

Place peaches and blueberries in large bowl.  Add lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon and stir lightly to combine.

Mix flour, sugar, and butter until crumbly (you can use a pastry cutter to make this easier).

Place one crust in the bottom of a deep dish 9-inch pie plate. Prick bottom and sides liberally with fork.  To avoid the dreaded soggy crust, brush lightly with egg wash and bake  in preheated 425 degree F oven for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove from oven.

Place ½ of the peach blueberry mixture in the crust.  Sprinkle with half of the crumb mixture.  Top with remaining peach blueberry mixture and then remaining crumb mixture. 

Top this with remaining pie crust.  I like to cut mine into strips and make a lattice top.  Brush lightly with egg wash.

Bake in 350 degree F oven for about 45 minutes until golden brown.  Turn oven off and let sit in the oven to cool and “gel” for about an hour.

Serve warm with vanilla (or peach!) ice cream and smile.

Patti's Southern Peach Cake

I literally grew up with Southern peaches, starting with Gerber peaches (some of which were supplied by SC orchards).  Two of my Grandmother’s sisters had peach orchards in South Carolina.  In fact, my very first job was working in Auntie Beulah’s peach packing facility.  I was not old enough to legally work, but being thirteen, I was eager to hang out with the older high school kids who worked at her plant during the summer.  As Aunt Beulah & Uncle Ralph were protective of me, since I was living with my grandparents for the summer, I was placed in the refrigerated rooms, away from the big machinery.  This was where we packaged the best peaches for the grocery stores.  This area was so cold that I needed to wear a sweater.  I became smitten with Stanley, a high school kid who worked in the large primary packing facility with the conveyer belts and large machinery (you know off limits to me).  As it happened I ventured out to speak with him during a lunch break and my sweater sleeve got caught in a conveyer belt & my arm was being pulled in to the peach machine.  I couldn’t believe how fast everything came to a stand-still!  Even my sweater was rescued!  Needless to say, that was my last day at Beulah’s packing plant!

My mom taught me how to correctly peel a peach when I was a teenager.  There IS a correct way so that you end up with beautiful peach slices.  Of course, it helps if the peaches are “free stones”!  My love for peaches never ceases!  I hope you enjoy this cake.  In my opinion, it’s excellent for dessert, coffee, or even breakfast!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar (or 1 cup Splenda sugar blend)

4 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped

Peach Glaze for Topping:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 Tablespoons peach nectar (or milk)

½ teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS:

•   Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter a 10-inch tube pan and sprinkle to   coat lightly with sugar.
•   In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy; then add the eggs one at a time.  Beat well after each addition and stir in vanilla and almond extracts. 
•  Reserve ¼ cup of the flour to coat the peaches.  Sift the remaining 2 ¾ cup flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Blend this into the creamed butter mixture, a little at a time.  Beat until well blended. 
•   Coat the peaches with the reserved flour and fold the peaches into the batter.  Spread the batter evenly into prepared pan.
•  Bake for 60 minutes in preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan for ten minutes or so before removing it to serving plate.

 If desired, top with peach glaze:  Mix together 2 cups confectioners’ sugar with 3 Tablespoons peach nectar and ½ teaspoon almond extract.  Drizzle over slightly warm cake.