Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Strawberry-Peach Cobbler and a Father's Day Gift


Apparently, after a recent cross-Canada poll, it was stated that the majority of dads want a flat screen TV for Father's Day. I hope that's not what Danny wanted because I got him something a little different...


See that cute black fellow on the right?
In a few weeks he's going to be delivered to our place in brown paper packages tied up with string, namely as organic, free-range Angus beef! Yep, I got my hubby a cow for Father's Day--all the barbecue he could ever want. How's that for manly?

It's been in the works for a while to split this locally raised yearling with some friends of ours; their cousin raises them on a gorgeous farm that has been in the family for generations in (very) rural Quebec. We drove out on the weekend to meet the farmer, select our calf and see where it was raised.
Gee, I wish I had this view. It was quite picturesque!


The cows were practically knee-deep in buttercups and clover. I haven't seen Food, Inc yet, but I'm pretty sure that few beef cows have it as good as these ones.

Our little ones snacked on all the carrots intended for the cows and enjoyed the outing immensely; however, Mateo didn't like it when they 'mooed'. Cows can be pretty intimidating up close, especially the bull that stared us down.


We attempted the whole "...this is where hamburger comes from" talk with Noah, but abandoned it pretty fast. He's extremely sensitive (he wept over the shorn tomato plants that were eaten by unknown creatures in our garden) and is much too young to be troubling his little head over such matters.

Zipping along Quebec's rural roads, I kept my eyes peeled for a sign announcing 'Fraises du Quebec'. It wasn't long before we found a fruit stand and treated ourselves to a basket of the season's freshest fruit. We devoured most of them on the spot, but I managed to save a few for later. I stretched them with some fresh peaches I had sitting around and made a few of my favorite simple summer desserts. Perfect for bringing to a pot-luck!


I'm anticipating picking my own strawberries soon and the endless possibilities that await! For now, I'm perfectly content with my cobbler--and have 125 lbs of beef to look forward to in a few weeks.

Happy Summer!


Strawberry-Peach Cobbler
(adapted from Everyday Baking)

For The Filling:

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of fruit)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 pound peaches, halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and cut again in half crosswise

1/2 lb strawberries

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


For the Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk


1. Make the filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Wash and prepare fruit; you should have about 4 cups of strawberries and peaches. Add fruit to cornstarch mixture and add lemon juice; toss to combine. Divide filling evenly among four 8-ounce custard cups (or one 2-quart baking dish); transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.


2. Make the topping and bake: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk; stir just until a dough forms. Drop dough onto peaches, using about 1/3 cup dough for each custard cup. Sprinkle dough with remaining teaspoon sugar. Bake until fruit is bubbling and biscuit topping is golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes; serve warm.

23 comments:

Maria said...

The cows are so cute! Great photos. I am loving the cobbler too! I love fruit desserts in the summer!

Tim Chin said...

I don't whether I should be sad for the cow or whether I should salivate.

Kelsey B. said...

This is great - I made a peach cobbler for father's day! One of my grandmother's recipes.. I love the cow gift idea. I am from farm country in upstate NY and agree that visiting the farms where healthy cows live is the best way to get meat, and support farmers.

Amber said...

Way to get Danny (and yourself too - pretty sneaky) a cow for a gift! We need to research doing that, we live in beef country after all!

Blaise is a sensitive little guy too, when he was about 1 1/2 and we still lived in Guatemala our neighbors had a mama hen and a baby chick. Blaise called them the "Buck- bucks." So one day I'm feeding him chicken for lunch, he asks me what it is and I tell him chicken. He looked at me with his big blue eyes so wide and questioned "Buck-buck?" It was heart breaking! Almost enough to make the venture back to vegetarianism :)

ps. Could I use granny smith apples in the cobbler or no?

Deborah said...

I wish I had a freezer big enough to get my husband a cow! And the cobbler sounds AMAZING!

Madeline said...

Yay, you went for the Angus! This is going to be one delicious summer for you guys. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. The Cobbler looks fantastic too :)

kickpleat said...

Ohhh, I can't wait until we get some fresh local peaches & nectarines. I've never made a true cobbler before and this looks amazing. I love your father's day gift too. Perfect!

Melissa said...

Cobbler is one of my husband's favorites. Maybe that is why I was shocked when he picked cake over cobbler for Fathers Day.

Such a summery dessert.

CookiePie said...

Gorgeous cobbler! And your boys are so, so cute :)

Abby said...

How on EARTH are your boys so big?!

And how proud you must be that they are devouring those carrots that way.

I love that Noah is so tender-hearted. What a sweetheart!

I broached the subject of sharing a cow with my dad, but he wasn't receptive. I'm going to keep trying.

Jenny said...

I've been looking into purchasing part of a cow myself, what an investment!
Lovely cobbler, can't wait for our strawberries to be ready.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

125 pounds! Holy cow that's a lot beef!

No way would we have been able to tell babygirl that the cow we're visiting is going to be dinner. She's a tree hugger. :)
~ingrid

Talita said...

What a pleasant pics! I never tried a cobbler. Sounds delish and I'll make this soon!

Culinary Wannabe said...

That has to be one of the best Father's Day presents I have ever heard of! Talk about thinking outside the box! Can't wait to see what you do with all that beef - I hope you have a huge freezer!

The Purple Foodie said...

I've been wanting to make peachy cobblers this season but I think we're almost out of peaches for this season :(

Hilary said...

What a unique gift! And it's so reassuring to know where your meat is coming from, what's gone into it and thus what's going into you! They look like happy cows :)

Patricia Scarpin said...

The boys are much too cute!
Father's Day here is only in August, but this cobbler would go well anyday - yum!

Andrea said...

This is so fantastic of you! I think it's very important for kids to learn where food actually comes from, so kudos to your for getting started early!

Liliana said...

I have to say that's quite an original Father's Day gift!

Your cobbler looks so delicious! I will have to try that combination.

P.S. I miss Italy too. Can't wait to go back.

Creative Classroom Core said...

Such gorgeous photographs! I love cobblers! Youve inspired me to make one soon - I havnt made one in a long time!

Anonymous said...

I love that you gave a cow...how practical:) I know growing up in Ohio it was nothing to raise animals exclusively for eating but when I moved to New York people thought I was nuts that I raised animals and then ate them. Oh well I guess. I have a feeling the meat I grew up eating was better tasting than anything they were eating. Also the cobbler looks amazing. I love peaches, and mixed with strawberries it has to be delicious.

Zoe said...

What a lovely post. Perfect summer treat!

Bonnie said...

wow! I'm glad I clicked on your blog this morning while searching on Yahoo for a cobbler for peaches and strawberries! This looks so delicious! I love the name of your blog and your header!! So great! I will have a look around your blog...it looks fantastic!! By the way, my name is Bonnie, I live in SW Pennsylvania in the U.S. I see that you live in Canada.
P.S. I love the fathers day gift for your husband...my husband would love that as well. We are also into eating local and such. Sometimes we get ground beef from our local dairy...it is from their cows and it is delicious...their milk is to die for as well. We recently butchered 3 meat chickens and were pretty happy with how it went. The chickens are delicious. We also have 6 egg layers that we have running around, free ranging it on our property. The eggs are delicious. Anyhow, you can stop by my blog if you like...just wanted to say hello!!

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