Coldbuster Smoothie

Breaking news, bakers of the world! Come and see it for yourself - the world's largest, hottest, oven! What's this amazing new product called, you ask? Why...New York City, of course!

We're ROASTING out here.

Seriously. If we had a car, we'd be baking chocolate chip cookies galore. Alas, no car, no cookies. :-(

We've been trying to beat the heat by drinking our cool in the form of fabulous, freezing smoothies. But the recipe I want to share with you today is actually not inspired by this miraculous-yet-miserable heat wave. It's a celebration.

Meet Christie & Charles. Tomorrow, they'll have been married one month! Happy one-month-iversary!

Kate and I met Christie at school in 6th Grade Choir. Apart, we were three wee, shrimpy little things - one soprano, one second soprano, one alto. But put us together, and bam! - you've got beautiful three part harmony. (Yes, yes. Super cheesy. But Christie wouldn't mind, so I'm not apologizing. :-)

We've been friends ever since, and we've shared a lot in the past 17 years. From matching Halloween costumes (cutest Care Bears ever), to just a little bit of fame (at our school, Show Choir kids were popular), to our deep faith and passion for liturgical dance, you might say we're three cookies cut with the same cookie cutter. Hehe.

Lookin' awesome in our sequin Show Choir vests!

But back to the smoothie. You see, I blame Christie's mom for my addiction to these cool and semi-healthy treats. It was 1996, and Christie, Katie, and I had just finished a "gig" as Dancing Fairy Princesses, and by "gig", I mean we taught a bunch of little kids a dance at a birthday party while wearing fabulous purple lyrical dresses and crowns made out of that star garland stuff. We were totally cool.

Anyways, on the way back to Christie's house, her mom asked if we wanted to stop at Jamba Juice (which had just changed it's name from Juice Club). There are three things I remember about what happened next:

1. Christie's mom insisted I get the Coldbuster smoothie, to combat the sniffles I was apparently suffering from;
2. That smoothie was one of the most wonderful things I had ever tasted; and
3. On the walkway up to the house, the bottom of my cup just FELL OUT.

Kate adds this anecdote to her memory of that day: "Christie's mom made me and Christie split the rest of our smoothies with Becca, since hers was all over the sidewalk. That was totally not fair!"

But they did share their smoothies with me. Because that's what friends are for.

So this homemade Coldbuster is for you Christie, in celebration of our friendship, and in honor of this next exciting chapter in your life with Charles. May your life together be filled with happiness, health, and love! Cheers!

-Becky

Coldbuster Smoothie
Inspired by Jamba Juice
Makes approximately 24 ounces

2 generous scoops peach frozen yogurt or orange sherbet
1 large banana, sliced and frozen
1 cup frozen peaches
4 ice cubes
3/4 to 1 cup orange juice

1. Place all ingredients except orange juice in blender or food processor.
2. Pulse a few times to break up ice cubes and frozen fruit. (Note: You may wish to microwave the frozen peaches for about 15 seconds to thaw them just slightly.)
3. Turn blender on, then pour orange juice through hole in top of blender. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour into a glass, grab a straw, and enjoy!

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce, and a song

When Becky and I were growing up, our family went on a lot of day trips.  On the car ride home, we always made up a song to the tune of "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah."  For instance:

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
We had a Jelly Belly Factory Day!
At Old Sacramento we almost went broke,
and at Budweiser we all got free Coke!

(Note: The over-21 crowd got free Bud, obviously.  But us young'uns were pretty darn excited about the free Coca-Cola. It smelled way better than beer.)

 

I got to go on a day trip with some new friends recently.  You know what's coming, right?

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
I went a-peach-pickin' last Saturday!
Hayrides and bubbles, ice cream and sun,
Who knew farm labor was so much fun?!

(Yes, I know that "sun" and "fun" are the boring-est words on the planet to rhyme.  But quality lyrics are not the point here.  The point is to be silly.  Be silly!)

Have you ever been peach picking?  No?  Well then today's your lucky day!  I happen to have some photos from our outing.  I'll take you on a tour.

This is the peach orchard.

This is a just-picked peach.

This is a just-picked, half-eaten peach.  Yum.

 This is the adorable baby I got to go peach picking with.  Couldn't you just eat her up?! (Note: You should not actually eat her.  She is not a peach.)

 This is our (not yet) 20-pound bag of peaches.

And this, my friends, is what we made with (some of) that 20 pounds of peaches.

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce from The Pioneer Woman. It's ooey, it's gooey, it tastes like you went peach picking and maple-syrup gathering all in one day.

(Maple-syrup gathering - is that a thing? Can you do that? If so, someone please tell me where...I'm feeling another zip-a-dee-doo-dah coming on already.)

If you don't have a peach orchard near you, go pick some peaches from your local market and make this peach crisp right away. You'll be very glad you did.  And if you happen to write a song about it, please do share!

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce
from The Pioneer Woman
Makes 8 servings

• 5 to 6 whole fresh peaches (best when not overly ripe or soft)
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• ½ lemon
• 7 tbsp real maple syrup, divided
• 1-½ cups whipping cream
• 3 tbsp light corn syrup

For topping:
1. In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt using a fork or pastry blender. Cut butter into small pieces and gradually add to flour mixture until evenly mixed.

For filling:
2. Peel and slice peaches into a bowl. Add the zest from half a lemon. Squeeze juice from lemon half and stir in with peaches and zest. Add 2 tablespoons real maple syrup to peaches; stir well.

3. Pour peach mixture into a small pan (8” or 9” square) and cover evenly with crumb topping.

4. Cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crisp and brown on top. (I baked mine for about 40 minutes after the foil came off.)

For Maple Cream Sauce:
5. Pour whipping cream into a saucepan. Add 5 tablespoons real maple syrup, 3 tablespoons corn syrup, and stir over moderate heat until thickened and reduced by about one-third, approximately 15 minutes.

6. Refrigerate mixture until it is cold and thick, or set the saucepan into a small bowl of ice.  Stir the mixture until cool and thickened, about 15 minutes (ice will melt and turn into ice water).

Drizzle sauce over peach crisp. Serve warm.

Honey-Peach Ice Cream

Happy National Peach Ice Cream Day!

The heat wave here in NYC continues. We've broken all previous high temperature records by about a million degrees...which makes sense, considering a million degrees is pretty much how hot it feels outside.

And if it's a million degrees outside, it's a million and ten degrees inside our tiny apartment. We'd all have melted into big ooey-gooey piles of sweat and nastiness by now (talk about a messy kitchen!) if it wasn't for one thing:

Ice cream.

Well, okay, modern AC technology has considerably helped, too, but I choose to focus on the tastier of the two appliances running to our rescue: our mighty and marvelous ice cream maker.

So far this summer we've made chocolate ice cream (one of mine and Katie's favorites), vanilla ice cream (the Music Man's favorite), and cheesecake ice cream (quite possibly my new favorite). But when Katie found a recipe for honey-peach ice cream, we knew that our charming-chugging-churning-machine wasn't going back in the cupboard anytime soon. What says 'summer' more than ripe, juicy, flavorful peaches? Nothing, that's what.

The combo of peaches and honey in this recipe reminds Katie of the honey sticks we used to devour each summer at the local farmer's market. Me - I just love peaches. I've been known to eat the canned variety right out of the, um, can. What can I say - they're just frickin' good.

But this ice cream is WAY better. Enjoy.

-Becky

Honey-Peach Ice Cream

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours” via Ezra Pound Cake
Makes about 1 quart

• For the best flavor, and to make sure you don’t have little icy peach pieces, let this ice cream sit at room temperature before serving, or warm it in a microwave using 5-second bursts of heat.

• You can replace the peaches with nectarines, which won’t need peeling, or apricots, which can be peeled with a serrated vegetable peeler.

4 large ripe peaches (or about 2 pounds)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


STEP ONE: Peel & pit the peaches (say that ten times fast).

1. Fill a large pot with enough water to submerge your peaches. Bring water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside. Using a paring knife, lightly score the bottom of each peach with an X.

2. When water is boiling, gently add peaches to boiling water and boil for 45 seconds. Transfer peaches to ice water for 30 seconds.

3. Remove peach skin with your fingers or a paring knife. It may be helpful to do this under cold running water (like you do with hardboiled eggs).

4. Cut along the seam of each peeled peach to the pit, running your knife all the way around the fruit. Twist each half in opposite directions to free one half from the pit, or simply pull the two sides apart. Remove the pit with your fingers or the knife.

STEP TWO: Prepare peach puree (bonus points for adding that to the first tongue twister).

5. Coarsely chop half the peaches into 1/2-inch chunks, and toss them into a small saucepan. Add honey, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Puree the mixture using a blender, food processor or immersion blender. Set aside.

STEP THREE: Make custard and chill (the custard). YOU can chill too if you want - you've worked hard thus far.

6. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a boil. In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together.

7. Once milk and cream is boiling, drizzle about one third of the hot liquid into the egg/sugar mixture while constantly whisking – this will temper the eggs so they don’t curdle. Still whisking, slowly pour in the remaining cream mixture.

8. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring without stopping, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. The custard should reach at least 170 degrees F, but no more than 180 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and pour the custard into a 2-quart glass measuring cup or clean heatproof bowl. Stir in the vanilla and peach puree.

9. Refrigerate the custard at least 2 hours or until chilled before churning it into ice cream.

STEP FOUR: Churn ice cream and freeze (the ice cream). YOU can freeze too, if you happen to be playing freeze tag. If so, I call "not it"!

10. Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker, and churn according to manufacturer’s directions. While the ice cream is churning, finely dice the remaining 2 peaches, then, just before the ice cream is thickened and ready, add the peaches and churn to blend. Pack the ice cream into a container and freeze it for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop.