Ain't Nothing Sweeter Than Georgia Peaches

We just put Peach Cobbler with a White Chocolate Brandy Ice Cream on the dessert menu for the summer. Every time I think about peaches, two things come to mind. The first is this song by Lauren Alaina, which is so catchy that it will get stuck in your head for days and make you start dancing absentmindedly. For the record, this can produce giggles and chuckles from those who happen to stumble upon you getting down to said song when you think you are alone. For this reason, I recently checked to make sure there were no cameras pointed at the pastry station. Ha! The second thing that comes to mind is this poem that I read in college the first time around. It struck a chord in my soul and I copied it into one of my many notebooks and have continued to revisit it through the years.
From Blossoms
From blossoms comes this brown paper bag of peaches we bought from the boy at the bend in the road where we turned toward signs painted Peaches.
From laden boughs, from hands, from sweet fellowship in the bins, comes nectar at the roadside, succulent peaches we devour, dusty skin and all, comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat.
O, to take what we love inside, to carry within us an orchard, to eat not only the skin, but the shade, not only the sugar, but the days, to hold the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into the round jubilance of peach.
There are days we live as if death were nowhere in the background; from joy to joy to joy, from wing to wing, from blossom to blossom to impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.
- Li-Young Lee

This Peach Cobbler is impossibly easy, and delightfully delicious. One of the younger male front of the house employees asked me for the recipe recently, and stopped me yesterday to tell me that it was one of the most simple recipes to follow and that it came out amazing. For this reason, I've decided to share the recipe here. The key is making sure that you use perfectly ripe peaches, and don't forget to let it cool for a few minutes before trying to take that first bite. That part is the most difficult since the smell of the cobbler as it bakes will tempt you almost beyond control, but resist or you will burn your taste buds off and not be able to enjoy the deliciousness!


Crisp Filling:

• Diced Peaches
• 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tb Flour
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 3/4 tsp. Regular or, preferably Saigon Cinnamon

1. Mix all dry ingredients and toss with peaches a little at a time until just coated.
2. Place generous scoop in shallow ramekins and make even, leaving enough room for topping.

Crisp Topping:

• 1# 8 oz light brown sugar
• 2 C. AP Flour
• 1 Tb Cinnamon
• 1 1/3 C. butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2 C. panko
• 1/2 C. oatmeal

1. Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon with the paddle attachment.
2. Add in butter and mix just until crumbly.
3. Add in panko and oatmeal and mix just until combined.
4. Spread over fruit in ramekins and bake at 375 degrees F until fruit is bubbly and crisp is browned, about 15 minutes.
5. Remove and let stand approximately 5 minutes. Served immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Or Blackberry Brandy Swirl...you know. ;)

Well, obviously...

My first 90 day challenge ended a few weeks ago. I did really well on it, and stayed committed to it through the whole thing. At the end, though, I guess I decided to take a little break from it. "I deserve it." I started having bigger "tastes" at work again. I started having more "treats." Marc's work schedule changed so we started eating our meal of the day alone, which led to not planning it out, and trying to figure something out last minute or eating family meal at work which isn't always the healthiest.

My second challenge started on June 26th. Well, sort of. I haven't been following the program. Last night everything kind of clicked for me and I had a "Well...obviously!!!" moment. I have known what proper nutrition helped me with, but I guess I had just pushed it to the back burner again. I've been feeling so tired and lethargic. I've been drinking more and more coffee to get through the day again. I've been barely making it to naptime without collapsing from exhaustion. I've been slowly pulling back into my head again, thoughts whirling round and round. I've been feeling less happy, and needing to remind myself more and more of "probability/possibility." I've been feeling less motivated, less alive, less passion. My skin has broken out like you wouldn't even believe. I've been making poor choices in many areas of my life, not just nutrition, but it all STARTS with nutrition. Why in the world would I put myself through all that? I'm so sick of feeling like crap, and it's so obviously related to something I am choosing to do. Well, I've had enough! That moment of instant gratification of tastiness just isn't worth feeling this way. Starting today, I'm going back on the shakes twice a day and following the plan. I'm planning my snacks and my meal each day. I'm drinking more water. I'm getting ME back, dammit!

Marc's been pushing me and pushing me and I've been resisting so hard. He is doing SO amazing on his challenge. He's working so incredibly hard and it's showing. My lack of energy has been difficult for him to tolerate. It's put a little bit of a splinter between us lately. I was seriously sitting there going, "Why am I so tired? Marc, I'm SO TIRED. I don't want to go work out, I'm exhausted already, and I have to work later. I need to conserve energy." I can't wait to start feeling myself and have more energy again. I can't wait to catch up to Marc's results and have us working as a team again.

My Latest Creations...

I haven't posted a food entry in awhile so let's give you a quick rundown of my latest works of food art...

We have added a Butterscotch Creme Brulee served with Homemade Peanut Caramel Popcorn. Mark Anders, the East Coast/Florida Joint Venture Partner of Roy's, loved it so much that he told Adam that it should be on every Roy's menu. Future Prix Fixe item, perhaps?

I've decided to make small steps towards Keepsake Cakes and Pastries, and right now I am making items and putting them on my Facebook site for auction to family and friends. This is giving me extra practice to try new techniques and get better at ones I have done before without added pressure. My first auction was for Devil's Food Cupcakes with a Peanut Butter Frosting, garnished with Godiva Salted Caramel Chocolate

I also made a 4" cake of the same flavors, but I added a square of fondant on the top and hand painted it. I love this technique and look forward to using it more.

I also made this cake for a bash we went to on the 4th of July. I covered it in marbled blue fondant, white royal icing dots, and white fondant stars. I topped it with my Signature Sugar Cookies baked into cookie pops and decorated with royal icing.

Here is the inside of the cake-It was a Vanilla Cake, Raspberry Syrup and Jam, Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ganache, Peanut Butter Frosting, with a layer of White Chocolate Buttercream in the very middle and covered on the outside with the same.

A friend had a baby shower recently and I made a diaper cake for her gift. The baby's room is going to be in an animal/jungle theme, so that's what I went with for the theme of the cake. Is a pastry chef creating a diaper cake too cutesy?

Now that I'm purposely baking once a week (at least!), there should be more food posts!