Peach and Lemon Oh My

Place Peaches in Boiling water 30 seconds.  Then into cold water.

 Peach Pudding:
Two large Peaches
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of one lemon
Package Gelatine
1/4 cup warm water


Lovely by itself.
Better with lemon curd.
Peach Mouse if mixed into Whipped Cream.

Peel

Slice and blend. Remove 1/2 cup puree for curd.  Then add juice of one lemon and 1/4 cup sugar.

In a bowl mix a package of gelatine with 1/4 cup warm water until dissolved.

Add puree.  Mix well.  Cover and refrigerate.

 Peach Lemon Curd:
1/2 cup Peach Puree
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
pinch salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs. water (or milk)
2 eggs
3 egg yolks  
6 tbs. butter (I used from freezer. I think it helps to prevent boiling and scorching eggs)

Cook over medium heat until mixture coats the spoon. Do not let it boil.  Pour into glass container and refrigerate. Or eat warm with yogurt!

My 4 year old ate two bowls of warm peach lemon curd and yogurt.

Lemon curd with Peach Pudding

In My Garden June and July

June Garden:

June Flower Garden

June Zucchini Patch

July Garden:

Compost pumpkins

Little 3 sister gardens

Tomatoes

Runner Bean Trellis

Spotty Peaches

Cucumber Trellis

8 zucchinis and counting...

Broom corn and flowers

Wildflowers where once there was old forsythia

Sammy and Soma venturing out to play.

Sprout Cakes Gluten and Dairy Free

I have been playing with sprouts.
I finally got around to sprouting regular lentils from the cupboard.  They were good, but I sprouted many and they needed steamed slightly to take out the starchiness.  My boys ate them with humus, but there were still more sprouts. Therefore, Sprout Cakes were born.
By the way, "Cakes" are pretty interesting around here.  For some reason I can put most veggies and grains in a "cake" or "patty" and they are devoured with a little "sauce" (usually yogurt with a little lemon or Tahini dressing).  What might be fit for a pauper (usually all the leftovers in the fridge) is a King's dinner at our table.
I decided to make these gluten free and it worked.  They were light, airy, well loved, and nutritious.

Recipe:
Sprout Cakes:
1 1/2 cups sprouted lentils, lightly steamed
2 red potatoes boiled till tender and cubed
2 tablespoons homemade pesto (I used dairy free with Walnuts)
1/2 cup beet greens
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs

1. Boil Potatoes.  In last minutes add sprouted lentils. Drain.
2. Make Pesto.  1/2 cup basil leaves, 5 cloves garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1/3 cup walnuts, Puree.
3. Remove all but 2 tbs. pesto from food processor.  Add potatoes, sprouts, and beet greens.
4. Puree till smooth. Then add eggs, salt, baking powder and pulse to combine.
5. Cook on a griddle for a few minutes each side. Keep warm in 250degree oven.

Makes no sense to serve gluten free cakes with pasta. I know.  But I had homemade pesto!

Soft Boiled Eggs introduced by Grandma

On our last trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house (My Parents), we were introduced to soft boiled eggs.
I grew up reading Bread and Jam for Frances, where the father badger loves to eat soft boiled eggs for breakfast.  Well it is hard to believe, being the egg lover I am, that I did not recall having sampled a soft boiled egg or really how to make one...
My eldest loves eggs! He will eat them for any meal and devour them as long as I do not try to sneak in tomato, red pepper, or chard. Grandma told us about the soft boiled eggs her grandmother used to make her. We were enthralled.  "You mean you put it in a glass?", said I.  Then my father chimed in, "Your mom used to make them for me all the time before you awoke in the morning."  Then I said, "Why weren't they made for me?".  My parents looked at each other and said, "I don't think you liked them".  So I have tried them, when small, and I guess I turned up my nose.
The conversation sent Grandma to the kitchen immediately to make one and my eldest son found his new favorite food.

Here is the Preparation:
Boil water to cover eggs
Add eggs to water with slotted spoon.
set timer for 3-4 minutes (depending how much soft you prefer)
Prepare cups with broken bread and a big dollop of butter.
Remove eggs with slotted spoon to a folded towel or egg cup.
Crack top with a butter knife
scoop out egg with a small spoon into prepared cup
Mix up and devour. (Usually in our pajamas)

Tallmadge Beach

 This is not really a beach.  A slightly flooded hardware supply store.  We went for pea gravel and a little sand for the sandbox, but found ourselves covered in sand and water.  It was too perfect for me to say they could not play.

Elderflower Fizz and Syrup

 Last fall I had enough berries on my Elderberry bush to make Elderberry syrup.
That is found here  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1619104225715683534#editor/target=post;postID=3054331216500554520;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=5;src=postname

 In the Garden:
I planted five bare root bushes 3 years ago with my eldest son on my back.  Two bushes survived an occasional mowing and the relocation of our garden.  Now one bush is enormous and the other still small due to the location of each.  What I did not know is that these beautiful plants once established send out off shoots in the Spring.  My large bush had at least 10 baby plants around its base.  I gave some away and planted three in new locations in the front garden.  The shoot that I let grow under the large bush turned sideways and a bit ugly and I tore it out.   When I planted the first Elderberry bushes I told my Grandfather (then 92). He said, "Why would you plant those? They will take over!" So I must forewarn you as my grandfather did. If your soil is quite healthy you could create an Elderberry hedge in a few years.  If you do not want large beautiful plants with heavy floral scent in Spring and healthful berries in fall then do not plant.  Also, it is wise to prune back each year to keep them a reasonable size for picking.
On another garden note, I learned that the leaves (that you will most definitely prune) are great for the compost pile.
Health Benefits:
Elder flowers are high in Quercetin, a natural anti-histamine.  This seems just about perfect to me.  In the spring when the pollen is at it's highest, nature gave us these beautiful flowers to drink, be merry, and calm the runny nose and itchy eyes of the gardener.
Elderberries have so many healthful qualities and when made into syrup my children love to take a spoonful.
Toxic Stems:
Just a note of caution here.  The stems of the plant are toxic.  Do not consume them.  It can be trying to get the flowers and berries off of the little stems.  In the fizz I trimmed as much away from the flower as possible and strained the rest out after two days.   I did try to make a tea and discovered that applying hot water to the stems brings out brown yuck and did not work.  When picking berries some of the little stems make there way in but you will strain them out or pick up with some tweezers.

Elderflower Fizz:
12 heads of Elder flowers
3 cups of sugar
6 lemons
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Filtered water

We used two 1/2 gallon jars (One used to be a Jalapeno Jar).  We placed 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the bottom of each jar and added hot water to dissolve the sugar.  Then filled it half way up with cold water.  I then gave my little guys the task of adding 6 flower heads to each jar and 3 lemons cut in thick slices.  They stirred while I placed a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in each jar. You could easily make half a recipe in this manner as well.

Mixing the Elderflower Fizz

After two days we strained the liquid.  It was enough to fit into One jar.  I labeled it Elder and left on the counter for two weeks. Then bottled it into wine bottles and some beer bottles for distributing to friends.

My Elderberry Bush sent out new blooms for a couple weeks. I decided to experiment some more.  This time making a syrup that can be added to tea, whipped cream, cakes...


Elderflower Syrup:
6 flower heads
1 cup sugar
3 cups water

I made a simple syrup on the stove. Combine 1 cup of sugar and 3 cups water.  Cook on medium heat until slightly thick.  Let cool to room temperature.
Set flower heads with umbels down in bowl.  Pour syrup over and cover with plastic wrap or towel and place in fridge overnight or about 8-10 hours.
Strain into two 12 ounce mason jars or several little jelly jars for gifts.

Elderflower Syrup