sweet miscellany

My work schedule doesn’t give me a lot of free weekend time, especially as of late. When I do finally have a weekend, I usually try to catch up on sleep, baking, and what not. This weekend I made it a point to go to the farmer’s market here in Longview. Not only have I been meaning to go for ages, but it was the last weekend for summer produce before they close until fall. That makes me a little sad, but at least next time I go the temperature will be below 100 degrees, or so I hope.

I think my trip turned out quite successful. I ended up with a bunch of dandelion greens, a bunch of lacinato kale, and 4lbs of peaches, all grown not far from my little apartment! I have lovely visions of what the dandelion greens and kale will become, so if I remember, I will share recipes for those in a later post. The peaches were made into a simple and lovely peach jam destined to be sold in my etsy shop, but not before I enjoyed one with some milk.

Peach Jam!

Have you ever had peaches with ice cold milk? It’s pretty much peaches and cream but with milk instead of cream. You can enjoy them for breakfast, as a dessert, or perhaps as a midnight snack. The following isn’t really a recipe, but more of a suggestion or starting point. It’s very simple, but also quite delicious. Since there are so few ingredients (2 to be exact!), I would suggest using some fresh, local peaches and the freshest organic milk (or cream) you can find. If you are feeling ambitious, you could add some toasted nuts or coconut.

Peaches with Milk
serves 1

1 large peach
about 1/4 cup of organic milk (or cream, soy milk, almond milk, etc.)

Slice or chop the peach to your liking, then douse in milk. Savor the beauty of how easy this was, then enjoy the simple deliciousness that is before you.

You know that $7 or $8 jar of cashew butter you paid for in the store? It’s probably got added oil, sugar, and other things you don’t really need. Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could make your own without any additives and adjust it just right for your tastes? If you have a powerful food processor in working order, you are in luck. I would love to tell you that making homemade cashew butter is laborious and I slaved over it all day for you, but that would be a bold faced lie. It is quite simple. So simple, in fact, that you will slap yourself for having ever paid money for cashew butter in the grocery store.

This time around, I made my cashew butter with only roasted cashews and nothing else because I was planning on using it in a recipe and wanted to control the salt level. Feel free to add salt or honey to suit your tastebuds. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, maybe you could throw in some curry powder or other spices to complement your cashew butter.

This first step is hard, so pay attention: grab a few handfuls of raw, unsalted cashews.

Next, place them on a baking sheet and roast them at 375 degrees until they become fragrant and they start to turn golden, about 7 minutes or so.

Let the cashews cool a bit, then put them in the bowl of a food processor (along with some salt or honey if you would like) and turn it on high. During the first few minutes, it will look like cashew meal. Next, it will start sticking to the sides. When this starts to happen, stop the processor every now and then to scrape it down with a spatula. At some point, it will stop sticking to the sides and will start to form a bit of a ball. At this point it is done and will have formed a nice, thick cashew butter. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t look like what you buy at the store. It will not look like the store bought version as you do not have a high powdered grinder and are not adding additional oil. Store your homemade cashew butter in a jar and keep it in the fridge between uses to prevent it from spoiling quickly. One of my favorite ways to eat it is to spread it on whole wheat toast and top it with thinly sliced apples for a nice breakfast or snack, but the possibilities are endless!

Farmer’s Market Loot: Fresh Texas Peaches

Homemade Goodness: Roasted Cashew Butter