Wandering in the farmers market on a lazy Saturday morning you see peaches. You gently pick one up and smell it’s sweet mouth-watering aroma, you feel the slightly fuzzy skin, and look upon a golden red orb warm from the sun. You take a bite and feel the juice run down your chin…. this is as close as I can come to describing a peach, because words do them no justice.

Peaches are divided into clingstones and freestones, depending on whether the flesh sticks to the stone or not; both can have either white or yellow flesh. Peaches with white flesh typically are very sweet with little acidity, while yellow-fleshed peaches typically have an acidic tang coupled with sweetness, though this also varies greatly. Both colours often have some red on their skin.

I just love peaches and I have been getting them at the farmers market for the past 2 weeks. They are clingstones (stick to the pit), but there has not been that much waste. I love to make peach pie, but I found my peach cobbler recipe, so decided to make that instead. Less work and oh so delicious.

Peach Cobbler
8 Servings

Topping
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch of nutmeg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

Filling
1/3 cup Instand ClearJel or cornstarch
3/4 granulated sugar (Add more depending on tartness of peaches) 
6 cup peaches, peeled & thinly sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Cognac
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

For topping: Mix first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add butter, cut in butter until mixture resembles course meal. Cover and refrigerate.

For filling: Stir together the sugar and thickener in a large bowl. Add the fruit, vanilla, Cognac and spices, stirring to combine.

Spoon filling in to a 9-inch deep dish-pie plate. (A regular square baking dish works well too.) Sprinkle topping over time of the fruit. Bake until peaches are tender and juices bubble thickly, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a big dollop of whip cream.

Bananas are the only produce that I am happy to let “go bad”. Once they’re nice and brown, I’m ready to make banana bread. A thick slice of banana bread, yum! Everyone has their little variations (add nuts, don’t add nuts, chocolate chips, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice). My variation follows;

I sprinkle the nuts on top of my bread, because my boys are not nut eaters and I love them. I do not like chunks of banana in my bread, so I puree them in the blender.  

Dough
1/2 cup butter, 1stick
1cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
1 cup pecans, chopped
3 bananas, pureed (blender)

Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer; add eggs and mix well. Mix in flour, soda, salt and nutmeg until just mixed. Add pureed bananas, mix well. Stir in nuts. Pour batter in to a well greased 9X5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick, inserted in to the middle, comes out clean.

I have dug out my “Fall vegetable” recipes that I use at this time of year. Some of the vegetables that I am mixing in to my farmers market list are; Beans, Beets, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Jerusalem  Artichokes, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Snow Peas, Spinach, Squash (Winter).

In the next few post I do, I want to feature a fall vegetable and share a recipe. This week I am sharing a cauliflower soup recipe. I have included some pictures of some different types: white cauliflower, purple cauliflower and ramanesco cauliflower. 

Cauliflower Soup with Wild Mushrooms 
(The original recipe was found in “Mustards Grill” cook book. I have change the recipe to my liking and posted my version.)

The most important thing to remember with this soup is to keep it white, so cook it over low heat “melting” the vegetables instead of browning or caramelizing them. Covering the soup as it cooks also seems to help it keep white. Puree the soup in a blender; a food processor just can’t give you the velvety effect you want. You have two choices of garnishes: a heady combination of mushrooms and Cognac or a simple sprinkling of chopped, blanched cauliflower. Serves 6

1 cup of Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Soup
Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes or until hot, over low heat. Add the 4 cups of cauliflower and cook another couple of minutes, stirring to coat with oil. Add the salt and pepper and cook for an minute more. Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated. Add the stock and potatoes and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cauliflower and potatoes are very tender. Don’t rush, as you want the soup to be smooth when it is pureed.

Meanwhile, prepare the garnish. For the 1-cup cauliflower garnish, blanch the cauliflower florets in boiling salt water until tender-crisp. About 1 1/2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Mushroom garnish, Heat the butter in a small fry pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, shallots, nutmeg, salt and pepper and sauté for about 7 minutes, until tender. Pour in Cognac and light, using a match. The liquor may burst into flames, but this will only last of a few moments and will burn off the alcohol flavor, making for a richer taste. Cook until almost dry.

To finish the soup, put the cheese and cream in a large bowl. Blend the soup, in small batches, in a blender. While it is still hot, pour it over the cheese and cream, stirring well with each addition. Serve it right away with a spoonful or two of the crisp-tender cauliflower or the mushroom garnish.  

You may chill the pureed soup, before adding the cheese and cream. Reheat soup and add the cheese and cream.

This soup is so delicious! I was not a huge fan of cauliflower, but after making this soup, I am now a fan. 

On a side note, the purple cauliflower roasted and finished with a bit of lemon juice and Parmesan cheese is a yummy side dish. The purple cauliflower keeps its color when roasted.