If you are like me and do the cooking for Thanksgiving Day, this is the post for you! Getting all the ingredients ahead of time is so helpful so you can prepare recipes before the big day. Each year we have our tried and true family traditional dishes and often, I will experiment with one or two new ones. So here is the Thanksgiving menu I served last year.

The Main Star~the Turkey

Typically I get a 20-25 lb. turkey because I love the leftover meat. Over the last few years my culinarily adventurous son convinced me to part from the traditional method of roasting the bird, to faster, and tastier methods. Here are my top two ways to cook a turkey:

Expertly Spiced and Glazed Roast Turkey

This recipe, by Bon Appetit, was developed “to miraculously roast a turkey that is well seasoned, juicy, and—can we type this loudly enough?—PROPERLY COOKED! Every part of the bird deserves equal love and appreciation, without a dry bite in the house. The absolute inarguably best way to cook a turkey is to break it down into parts, dry-brine it, and roast it on a wire rack in a baking sheet. The parts expose every piece for even cooking”.

Here is why I love this recipe.

• The cooking time is very fast. For a 15 lb. bird, the turkey is done in approximately 100 minutes (depending on your oven, thickness of breast, etc.). The glaze for this is D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!
• You can prep this up to 2 days in advance. There is a easy rub to make and once you apply that, the refrigerator does the rest. There are very detailed instructions on how to separate the turkey. If you are not comfortable doing that, ask your local butcher.
• All you need to bake this is a wire rack and a rimmed baking sheet

Click here for the recipe.

Super Crispy Skin Turkey with a Dry Brine

We tried this different approach to preparing the turkey in 2019 and again, the turkey is juicy and the skin is extra crispy. Simply combine one part baking powder with three to four parts kosher salt (about a teaspoon of baking powder per tablespoon of kosher salt will work), add some black pepper to taste, then sprinkle it evenly over the surface of the skin. Then—and this is key—let it rest, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. The best part of this recipe:

• Can prepare it up to 24 hours in advance
• Simple dry brine which is easy to make and spread over the bird
• There is no basting during the cooking time
• Fabulous results
• You can present a whole cooked turkey to your guests

You can find this Serious Eats recipe here.

The Stuffing

Typically, I make Martha Stewart’s Herbed Corn Bread Dressing from her 1982 book Entertaining. But this year, I made the Serious Easts Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing recipe (see it here). It is clearly a winner. Again, this can be made a day in advance, which helps reduce the chaos in the kitchen.

Why I like this recipe~

• I like making my own bread crumbs which is super easy and far better than the ones you buy in the store
• With the turkey parts leftover from separating the turkey, I easily made my own stock for the recipe. Made me feel like I am using all parts of the turkey and not being wasteful.
• Since I did not buy enough sage sausage, I did add the remaining 1/2 pound needed with hot sausage and the results are fine
• Able to use fresh herbs from my garden

The Gravy

Plan on doubling this recipe as there is never enough gravy. This is another recipe you can make ahead of time~up to 5 days in advance. I really like Costco’s organic chicken stock but homemade or other store brands will work too. The recipe asks for 1/4 teaspoon of Marmite, which I didn’t add. I’m not really sure what it is but eliminating it didn’t seem to affect the flavor or consistency. This is a lighter colored gravy~just FYI. See recipe here.

Side Dishes

Every year we make what we call Drunken Sweet Potatoes, based on a fun Thanksgiving where my in-laws were adding more and more bourbon~mostly to their mouths and then some to the recipe! From a very worn and tattered 1974 The Family Circle Cookbook, there are no marshmallows, just sweet potatoes, butter, bourbon, orange juice, spices and topped with pecans. Easy to make, easy to bake. This, too, can be prepared ahead of time. See recipe below.

Brussel Sprouts

My family loves this Trader Joe’s recipe (see it here). Who doesn’t love something roasted in maple syrup and olive oil? The Brussels sprouts caramelize to a gorgeous color. Spoon the maple syrup sauce over and sprinkle with either fresh pomegranate arils or dried cranberries. You can either roast a whole stalk of Brussels sprouts or use bags of individual ones.

Caesar Salad

I try not to have the menu be carbohydrate loaded so any opportunity to add more vegetables I take. With the greens being so delicious and abundant in the garden, a simple salad is made. Just greens and grated Parmesan cheese, homemade croutons and my friend, Chloe’s Caesar dressing. This is now my favorite go-to dressing for a Caesar salad. You can see it here.

Making the croutons is easy as I just cut up some bread, seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder and some black truffle sea salt (which is yummy on just about anything), drizzle with olive oil and bake until crispy. Another easy recipe that is so much better than store-bought croutons.

Cranberry Sauce

There is nothing easier to make than cranberry sauce. All it takes is cranberries and sugar and water. Boom. That’s it. Heat until the berries start to wrinkle. Turn off the heat and it all becomes a nice, thick cranberry sauce. You really don’t need anything else, unless you want to spruce it up. Personally, I like the plain old simple recipe. We use the leftover cranberry sauce as a spread on sandwiches too. Just yummy. Recipe is generally on the bag of berries. And you can make it way ahead of time too.

Desserts

For our dinner last year, we did keep the desserts simple. Two pumpkin pies and one apple. My husband makes the pumpkin pies and they are so delicious. A happy error in one ingredient many years ago is why his pies are the best and in demand year after year.

I am always experimenting with apple pies and I am a bit fond of this new recipe. Again, it is a Serious Eats one with the title, A Perfect Apple Pie. You can see the recipe here.

Have a wonderful Tuesday and I hope you will enjoy some of these recipes for your holiday cooking.

If you enjoy this post, please share on Pinterest.

Can this possibly be the next to the last Saturday in August? Part of me is trying to milk the most out of the last bit of summer because once Fall hits, then we are in full stride toward the holidays. There is something about the “lazy days of summer” that resonates right now. We are still in the mountains enjoying the silence, the storms and the stars. It’s that time again for another Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good things this week.

Enjoying August

I cannot even recall the last time I plopped myself into a hammock. This Hatteras hammock is literally decades old, and it finally gets hung between two Ponderosa pines at our cabin. If you are looking for a hammock, I strongly suggest this brand.

Handcrafted with a Brazilian teakwood spreader bar, all-weather proof rope and quilted Sunbrella fabric, I am truly impressed with how well this hammock has held up over the years. The extra bonus is that it’s made in the U.S.A. in Greenville, North Carolina. They come in all different styles and colors and you can find more directly through Hatteras Hammocks here. No commission to me, just sharing an excellent product with you!

Guests for the Weekend

Neighbor friends from Phoenix came up to the mountains last weekend to get out of the heat and attend the Annual White Mountain Sheriff’s Posse BBQ. This fundraiser is a slice of Americana where the entire town turns out for this event.

Posse members get up early Friday morning to prepare a deep pit in the ground and fill it with coals so it will be hot enough to cook the meat and beans that they bury and cook onsite. They actually begin cooking around 3 p.m. on Friday so they are ready to go when they open at 11 a.m. on Saturday. This is their only fundraiser so if you ever in Pinetop, Arizona in August, it is certainly one of the best barbecues…plus you get to meet a lot of men in big hats!

We hosted our friends for dinner both Friday and Saturday night. When cooking for a crowd, I love serving my healthy turkey chili. With fall approaching, you may want to add this recipe to your meal plan. You will get lots of compliments and it’s even better a few days later!

A Stormy Cocktail

Some 40 years ago, I vacationed in Bermuda. After riding a moped in a downpour, wearing an unattractive huge rain poncho, I took shelter at The Swizzle Inn, the oldest bar in Bermuda. At that time it was just a great old bar with the walls and ceiling covered in business cards. Here I had my very first Dark ‘n Stormy cocktail.

The story of this beverage starts in 1806 with a gentleman named James Gosling, who set out on his ship from the UK with the intention of traveling to America. The boat didn’t quite make it to its destination, docking instead in Bermuda. By 1857, Gosling had started a rum business with his family. They started by selling their spirit from a large rum barrel, allowing the locals to bring their jugs to fill up as required. It didn’t take long before the company progressed into selling their rum in champagne bottles, giving their product the name Black Seal rum.

The rum became very popular on the island, but the Dark ‘N Stormy cocktail was not born until sometime after the First World War. It is thought to have been created within the Royal Naval Officers Club, who ran a ginger beer factory. They discovered that the combination of the two drinks made for a delicious treat.

Ingredients

An added interesting fact is that it is actually illegal to make a Dark ‘N Stormy cocktail without the original ingredients. Even a slight twist on the recipe could get you in trouble, as the Gosling brothers have trademarked the name and the family have not been afraid to sue anyone caught using the name without the right ingredients.

During a huge storm, this is my cocktail of choice and brings back my Bermuda adventure memories. Remember to use Goslings Black Seal Black rum, a reputable ginger beer (like Fever Tree, Goslings or Q), and fresh lime wedge. I depart slightly from this recipe and add the fresh juice from 1/2 lime, which I have been told is called a Partly Cloudy, not a Dark ‘n Stormy. See the recipe below.

A Colorful Cottage

I dream about a beach cottage in my future and love this very colorful one from Cottages and Bungalows. Artist Erin Houghton’s sunny beach cottage mixes classic and whimsy and will make you smile. I so appreciate her personal and cheerful touch to this sweet space.

Read the full article and see more pictures here.

Bargain Tea Set

Look what I found on a 75% off shelf at a local florist! Have you heard of Tea Forte? I love their triangular tea bags with the paper leaf at the top. Included in the set is an oval bamboo tray, porcelain cup and lid, mini sugar & creamer and the tea bag tray.

You can order the triangular tea bags or loose tea online as they have many flavor choices from black tea to herbal and tea samplers.

If you were to purchase each piece individual it would be approximately $50. Tea Forte also has tea sets in boxes but not with all these items. The entire set just makes me happy and knowing I got it for $13 makes it extra sweet! Here are the links if you want to purchase this:

Oval Bamboo Tray

Porcelain Cup with lid

Mini Sugar & Creamer

I cannot find a link to buy the tea bag tray. You can also purchase a stainless triangular tea infuser with a green silicon leaf and just add your own loose tea instead of buying their tea bags.

Each afternoon I am trying to stop for a few minutes and enjoy a cup of tea (sometimes coffee). Such a wonderful and valuable British tradition to pace ourselves, right? This set would be the perfect gift for someone who enjoys a relaxing cup of tea.

Pesky Woodpeckers

The woodpeckers are relentless this year. I don’t mind them tapping on a tree, but when they continue to destroy the cedar siding on our cabin, it is infuriating. Of course, they are a protected species and are rather territorial too. Two pesky ones try to dive bomb me while on the hammock.

Of course, I look like the crazy neighbor running outside trying to scare them off from their pecking damage to our exterior.

As much as I don’t like the aesthetics, I am now trying Bird-B-Gone Flash Tape that is supposed to scare critters away. The birds are repelled (apparently) by the flashing reflections. You can see all the pecking damage done around the window and on the siding above the window.

Doesn’t it look ridiculous? Does anyone have a solution to prevent woodpecker house damage? Has anyone used this tape? Please advise because these birds are driving me a bit nuts.

From the Internet

My friend, Kim from Shiplaps and Shells is a self-taught expert on flowers. Her post, 13 Tips to Extend the Vase Life of Your Cut Flowers, is filled with fabulous information. We all need fresh flowers on a regular basis, right? Now you will discover how to keep and enjoy them even longer. You can see her post here.

Scottish Fairy Tale Castle for Sale

For those with deep pockets, here is a real estate opportunity for you! It comes with 28,500 acres, 12. 5 miles of river front, 20 cottages and houses and of course, Dunbeath Castle. I wonder if the sale price includes the furniture? See this spectacular property here.

If you missed a post this week, you can see how to make Refrigerated Pickles here. My son, inspired by my post, sent me a photo of the pickles he made this week. Love his creative flavors. He uses Persian cucumbers, adds Serrano peppers in the spicy dill jar. For the spicy Asian one, he includes rice vinegar, splash of fish sauce, gochugaru and ginger peppercorns. Not only is it an easy recipe, but see how you can change up the flavors to your liking?

Here at Bella Terra we are always trying to live simply and here are some of the ways we do so in Wednesday’s post Living Simply and Efficiently.

Wishing you a wonderfully relaxing weekend. This week went by so fast and I’m looking for ways to slow things down a bit… I think I hear that hammock calling me….

Can you believe it is August already? Summer is quickly slipping away and what better time to enjoy the fruit of the season. Is there any other fruit that conjures up such joy and happiness?  Summer, picnics and childhood memories? Watermelon is always an invited guest. It is refreshing and sweet and when chilled, provides a fun way to combat the heat.  You will not find an easier dessert than a slice of watermelon.

Nutritional Information

Most people believe that watermelon is only made up of water and sugar, however, it is actually considered to be a nutrient dense food.  It has a high amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for a low amount of calories. According to an article in the Medical News Today:

“One cup of diced watermelon (152 grams) contains 43 calories, 0 grams of fat, 2 milligrams of sodium, 11 grams of carbohydrates (including 9 grams of sugar) and 1 gram of fiber. One cup of watermelon will provide 17% of vitamin A, 21% of vitamin C, 2% of iron and 1% of calcium needs for the day.”

Watermelon also contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, choline, lycopene and betaine. Watermelon contains more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable.

Despite being a great source of the above nutrients, watermelon is made up of 92% water.

How to Pick the Perfect Watermelon

According to Eagle Eye Produce, here are a few tips to pick the perfect watermelon every time.

• Find a watermelon that is a uniform size (oval or round) either is ok. You just want to watch out for irregular bumps.
• You want to find the melon that is heavy for its size. This usually means it will be sweeter and will have more water content.
• Look for an orange creamy field spot. The darker yellow field spot usually means it was on the vine longer and is full of flavor.
• If the field spot is white that’s a sign that the melon is not quite ripe.
• Larger “webbing” or “sugar spots” means that the melon is seeping out sugar and is usually the sign of sweet melon.
• Look for dark & dull melons which is a sign that the melon is ripe. When the melon is shiny it is underripe.

The Top 10 Benefits of Eating Watermelon

Along with cantaloupe and honeydew, watermelons are a member of the botanical family Cucurbitaceae. There are five common types of watermelon: seeded, seedless, mini (also known as personal), yellow and orange.

Here are the top 9 benefits of eating watermelon:

• Helps you stay hydrated.
• Packed with nutrients and beneficial plant compounds.
• May have anticancer effects.
• May improve heart health.
• May reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.
• May help prevent macular degeneration.
• May relieve muscle soreness.  
• May aid skin health.
• May improve digestion

…and a 10th one. Watermelon apparently helps burn belly fat. A hydrating fruit rich in lycopene, it will increase your body’s arginine levels, an amino acid that ups the body’s fat-burning potential. At the same time the juicy red fruit helps the body burn fat, it also builds lean muscle. Just 1 cup a day does the trick. 

Skinny Jalapeño Watermelon Margarita

Now I feel much better about sharing this next recipe, because it is delicious and healthy!  As you know, I am a BIG fan of Monique from Ambitious Kitchen, everything from her food philosophy to her fabulous recipes. This concoction, her Skinny Jalapeno Watermelon Margarita has become my summer cocktail~~and it’s easy to double, triple or quadruple the recipe. It’s not too sweet, but light and refreshing.

You can control the heat of the jalapeno, depending on your personal preference. And look at that beautiful color!!

I have tried different combinations of rim coatings~~ from just coarse salt, to salt/organic sugar mix and the Mexican flavoring, Tajin Classic Seasoning. Tajin comes in the classic flavoring, Chile Lime and a low sodium version too.

Cucumber and Watermelon Salad with Hoisin-Lime Dressing

My second, very tasty, recipe involving watermelon is a Vietnamese-style salad that makes a refreshing accompaniment to any kind of barbecue meat.  Originally this recipe, Cucumber and Watermelon Salad with Hoisin-Lime Dressing, appeared in Bon Appetit in July 2002 in their Flavors of the World article. You can find it today on Epicurious.

With 7 simple and fresh ingredients, this salad is so easy to make.  Start with cubes of watermelon and English cucumbers.

Mix them together and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours.  Drain and discard the liquid that will accumulate.

In the meantime, make the dressing and chop the fresh herbs and dry-roasted peanuts.

Gently toss all the ingredients together and garnish with the nuts. Not only is this salad delicious, but is full of flavor and crunch. A perfect use for the end of the summer watermelons.

Watermelon Frosè

This is such a simple recipe and can be used with ANY fruit you like (I use peaches,mangos and apricots). Freeze cubes of watermelon (about 4 cups). Place in a blender with a chilled bottle of your favorite rosé and blend. Hopefully your watermelon is sweet, but you can add a squirt of honey, simple syrup or agave syrup if not. Some people add a squeeze of lime, but personally, I like it with just the rosé and the frozen fruit.

Sipping this tasty, slushy drink during a hot day or night is SO refreshing.

As we endure the hot month of August, I hope you have access to great watermelon and can try a few of these recipes and gain all the healthy benefits.

If you enjoy this pin, please share on Pinterest.

Happy first Saturday of June! Typically by now we are experiencing the summer heat, but I must say our weather has been just gorgeous! Mornings in the low 60s and highs in the low 90s. The next few days may get to triple digits but the forecast is lower temperatures for most of next week! A lovely, long delightful Spring~I will take it! School is out, the snowbirds have left and there’s little to no traffic. Quite honestly, I do love this time of year. What a week! Let’s get started chatting about all good things.

Last weekend was Memorial Day and it was a relaxing one for us at the cabin. Mid-week I drove back to Phoenix which generally is a 3.5 hour drive. Unfortunately, however, a semi-truck fire occurred about 1 hour from my home destination on State Route 87. It appears the contents of the truck caught on fire and traffic slowed as we came upon billowing black smoke.

Even though the driver pulled over to the side of the road, it was a very windy day. Soon the fire spread to the adjacent brush and quickly became a 10 acre active fire….all while I am sitting parked in bumper to bumper traffic with no place to turn around or back up or proceed forward.

Of course, this all occurred out in the middle of nowhere, without close local resources to fight the fire. Eventually ADOT closed SR 87 in both directions. For 3.5 hours we watched as fire fighters tried to contain this wildfire, while also trying to extinguish the huge truck fire.

The good news is that no one was hurt and in spite of the high winds, fire fighters were able to contain the fires. Plus during the 3.5 hours of not being able to go anywhere, everyone got out of their cars and were very friendly. So grateful to those who are trained to rush toward danger to protect the rest of us, as fires can be so unpredictable.

Thank you for your Suggestions

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all your comments and ideas last week on how to tie in the decor on the back porch of the cabin. You are all so talented and each comment I read, I was so impressed with your feedback.

As a result, I found these Bria Gray Stripe Throw Pillows at Big Lots (we only have a few stores up in the mountains) for $9.97 and they are the perfect size for the red chairs. The neutrals of gray and white are a big improvement in tying in the colors of seating area to the dining space.

It’s a first step, and I will be implementing some of your great ideas. Thank you! You are the best!

Cabin Projects Completed

It is a busy week checking off all the projects from the To Do list for the cabin. My husband, is the real champ here, getting so much done. With our neighbor Gary, they are busy splitting wood for the fall woodpile.

He also rented a professional carpet cleaner from Home Depot. I do not believe we have ever cleaned all the carpeting at the cabin. Even the outdoor rug on the screened in porch got a good cleaning.

Typically we bring our outdoor cushions inside over the winter, but failed to do so with one piece of furniture. Even though the furniture is covered, the mice did quite a job on one of my cushions.

The furniture is from Pottery Barn and the cushions are made with Sunbrella fabric. However, it is several years old. I attempt to go to a fabric store which sells Sunbrella but there is nothing in stock that matches. They also make (not repair) cushions but the first available date to get my cushion into production would be late August and it would be expensive too.

Darn. I decide to walk the fabric store to see if I can find any fabric that might match, because I can do this, right? Fortunately, in the remnant section, I find 1 3/4 yard of this Sunbrella fabric.

It’s a slightly different color but I have enough fabric between the decorative Greek key strips to replace the damaged section. Plus this repair will be on the back side of the cushion, not the visible front edge.

Here is the repaired cushion. Not bad for someone who doesn’t sew alot!

I have never been a fan of the angled roof-line over the front door entrance to the cabin. Obviously, the cabin footprint has been added onto over the years, but this part of the structure has always bugged me a bit. This past week, my husband hung a large set of elk antlers and I’m hoping this will be the focal point vs. the roofline.

A Gift that keeps on Giving

Currently, my son, Benjamin and his girlfriend, Delaney are living in Chicago while Benjamin gets his masters degree at the University of Chicago. They live in a high rise apartment on the 36th floor and do not have any outdoor space. However, Benjamin loves to cook and Delaney is creative, so for Delaney’s birthday we send her an Aero Garden, a hydroponic indoor garden system.

The unit is small enough for their apartment, and is providing an abundance of fresh herbs for their cooking.

Their garden is loaded with Genovese basil, dill, thyme, mint, parsley and Thai basil. The control panel tells you when to add water, reminds you when to add plant food (included), automatically turns lights on and off for your indoor herb garden.

I know Father’s Day is around the corner, but this gift would be great for anyone that wants fresh herbs but may be limited on time and gardening space.

The added benefit is that I get photos with plant growth updates as well as pictures of the delicious food they make with these fresh herbs.

You can buy the Aero garden on Amazon here for $119.99. This also includes the plant food and the seed pods. I’m actually thinking about getting one too. Growing and eating your own food does something good for the soul.

Garden Update

We are picking spaghetti squash and love this easy recipe. Roast the squash by cutting in half, remove the seeds and sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper on the cut side. Pierce with a fork all over the squash and roast in an oven at 400 degrees (cut side down) for 40 minutes. Scrape out the “spaghetti”. We then pour my homemade tomato sauce with ground beef or bison or turkey on top. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese. An easy, nutritious and delicious meal.

This weekend I really need to focus on using up the balance of the peaches. It’s time to pick them all, let them ripen and find recipes so they don’t go to waste. If you missed my post yesterday, it is filled with peach recipes.

The apricots are just starting to turn yellow, but I am picking them a few days earlier so I can get to the before the birds. Looking forward to making my almond apricot tart.

From around the Internet

Have you ever used Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing? I’ve seen it in the stores but have never purchased it. Here is an interesting article from Kitchn about how this product can really whiten your towels. Someone washed my white towels at the cabin with the red ones so I’m wondering if I can remove the pink with this product. If you have used it, please let me know your thoughts.

Speaking of laundry, Carrie Vitt from Deliciously Organic sent an email about toxins in laundry detergent. Here is a paragraph from her email:

The fact is, most laundry detergents are very toxic to our bodies. 

Popular detergents contain over 25 toxic chemicals—and those are just the ones that are blatantly listed on the labels. There are many more trace toxicities that aren’t printed. 

Here are some of the biggest toxins (including known and probable carcinogens) you’ll find in common detergents: 

• Phosphates
• Bleach
• Formaldehyde
• Ammonium sulfate
• Dioxane

And don’t forget about the dyes, fragrances, and brighteners, which are enough on their own to make it a product you’d never sign off on having in your home. 

But, obviously, detergent is a necessity.

Carrie recommends Molly Sud’s Laundry Powder. I’ve never tried this, but let me know if you are concerned about the possible toxins in our laundry detergent. If so, what are you doing to minimize this?

My friend, Andrea from Design Morsels, doesn’t use detergent at all since she converted to an ozone system. You can read her post, the Ozone Laundry System: Pros and Cons, Does it Really Work? Andrea is the modern day Hints from Heloise (am I dating myself?) and her blog posts are always filled with really good information.

Well, that’s a wrap! Here are some pretty pictures to send you into the weekend! Thanks for joining me today.

Our peach crop this year is abundant and amazing. Typically by mid-May all the peaches are either picked or eaten by the birds. But this year, I am still picking peaches into June. The tree is still full of fruit and hopefully by this weekend, all the peaches will be gleaned, ripe or not. Peach season is always an exciting time around our house.

I am not sure what varietal peach tree we have, but these are true peaches~gorgeous, fleshy fruit that is flavorful and fuzzy. I’m not even sure you can find a fuzzy peach in a typical grocery store chain anymore.

We call these our “bend over and eat peaches”. They are so juicy and so sweet. Many a shirt has been ruined with peach juice.

Peach Crisp

This year the first dessert we make is peach crisp. I use the recipe from one of my favorite cook books. If you are not familiar with Susan Branch, she is an author, watercolorist and designer. Born in Southern California, she lives in an 1849 home in Martha’s Vineyard.

Her cookbooks are works of art with handwritten copy. One of my favorites is The Summer Cookbook, published in 1995. The peach crisp recipe is based on the Peach & Plum Crisp one in this book. You can tell I use this recipe a lot as the page is a bit dog-eared! I believe this book may be out of print, but Amazon has it here.

You can’t go wrong with anything crisp~~apple, peach, pear, and cherry. I use this recipe for all fruits because the “crisp” part is the perfect topping. I adjust the recipe by increasing the quantity of one fruit vs. two. Click here for the recipe.

Peach Salsa

What is interesting about picking fresh fruit, is that it doesn’t last very long. So I need to use the fruit within a few days. As a result, yesterday we made peach salsa.

I didn’t really follow a recipe this time. This batch is made with tomatoes (cherry ones from the garden), yellow and orange bell pepper (as I didn’t have any green or red), peaches, cilantro, red onion, jalapeño peppers, lime juice, and salt.

More Recipes

This salsa is perfect with chips, but also goes well with fish or chicken. If you would like to get the recipe from a previous post on Peach Salsa, click here. I have two other blog posts with peach recipes~~Tomato, Peach and Corn Salad (which is delicious!) and homemade Peach Pie.

We will be picking more peaches today and maybe peach ice cream this afternoon? At some point, my family will tell me they are “peached out”. That is my cue to preserve the rest of the harvest.

Have a peachy day!