Spiced Peach Cobbler Cake

The end of summer is starting to feel near - probably because Labor Day is just around the corner and there are little signs like the squirrels getting very busy and then there are the spiders that have started showing up and they are really big! I realized that I hadn't really cooked with the luscious summer fruit much since I liked eating them directly from the farmer's market stands. I especially enjoyed the wonderful Queen Anne Cherries this year. But this week the peaches really drew me and they started getting a bit soft in my fruit bowl. Since I hate to waste food, I opted to make Peach Cobbler, one of my father's favorite summer desserts. This recipe originally came from Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cooking. When I used to make this as a teenager, my sister's and I took to calling it Cobbler-Cake. That's because most cobblers have a biscuit like dough that's plopped on top of the peaches, but that's too heavy for my taste. This recipe uses a cake-like batter that you pour on top and when it's done, it's light and moist and is actually a lot like Clafouti - although that uses cherries with pits. If the French were using peaches, it would properly be called a Flaugnard. It's also a close relative to the Slump, but there the fruit is mixed into the batter. I use a little less sugar when the peaches are really ripe and a little more when they are hard and sour. The hint of nutmeg and cinnamon give it an amazing aroma as it bakes and just a hint of mystery when you taste it. This recipe makes quite a lot as the peaches are spread in an 9 x 11 inch pan, but around here it goes fast! My father loved it with cream, my sons perfer vanilla ice cream. I like it just the way it comes out of the oven and I even like it cold the next morning if there's any left.

Spiced Peach Cobbler-Cake

4 very large, 6 medium or 8 small peaches - about 4 cups total

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons Butter, melted

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and slice peaches and mix with sugar and spices. Pour into a buttered 9 x 11" pan and make topping.

Beat egg, sugar, butter and milk. Mix flour, baking soda and salt and stir into egg mixture. Pour batter over peaches. Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Five Element Analysis

Desserts are very sweet and this one is no exception. Therefore, Peach Cobbler is automatically part of the Earth Element. The peaches and sugar are Earthy too. The cinnamon and nutmeg bring in just a bit of the Metal Element along with the milk. The flour in the batter adds the Wood Element and the egg adds a little of the Water Element. This is by no means a balanced dish and the other elements all need more representation, so serve it after a meal with a lot more Fire and Metal Element foods.

Geoduck Clam Chowder

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have some pretty amazing shellfish - Penn Cove Mussels, Olympic Oysters and Razor Clams are some of my favorites. About the oddest one around is the Geoduck Clam. It's the world's largest shellfish usually weighing between one to three pounds. It is hard to dig up, very expensive to buy, but makes wonderful clam chowder if you can get past how scary it looks. They are a food that I've always wanted to try but was always put off by the high price and the fact that the siphon proturding from the shell looks an awful lot like a brown elephant's tusk. Yesterday, I was given the gift of 2 1/2 pounds of Geoducks (already cleaned and ready to be cut up and made into soup and fried clam strips. I had read that this could be a pretty tough clam and the meat was usually ground up, but I found that if you cut the clam meat into little cubes and you don't cook them for very long, they can actually be very tender. I thought the Geoducks made great chowder.

Here's the recipe in case you get some of these clams someday, but if you don't - this recipe is equally good with any other kinds of clams including canned clams - I prefer the Snow Brand. Just make sure you have the 8 - 10 ounces total of chopped clams - I always go for lots of clams. By the way, I also like to add little pieces of carrot to the soup as it is so pretty along with the pale green of the celery in the creamy soup juxtaposed against the pink pieces of bacon and the beige clams. Clam Chowder is one of my favorite soups - I love the soft briny scent of the sea that reminds me of my childhood on the coast of California. Serve with lots of saltine crackers!

Clam Chowder

8 - 10 ounces of chopped clams

1 large onion chopped

2 Tablespoons butter

4 slices of bacon chopped

2 small carrots or 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small dice

2 small stalks of celery or 1 large stalk, chopped into small pieces

2 medium or 1 very large potato cut into small pieces

4 cups clam broth or juice (canned or bottled)

2 cups whole milk, half and half or cream

2 - 4 Tablespoons cornstarch (depending on whether you like thin or thick clam chowder) mixed with enough water to make a slurry.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook bacon in soup pot until it has rendered its' fat and is still soft. If it is low fat bacon and doesn't give up much fat, add butter to the pan and then add onions. Cook until translucent then add carrots, celery and potatoes. Stir for a few minutes until they just start to soften. Add in clam broth and clams and bring to a boil. Then add milk and just return to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cornstarch and water mixture and stir until thickened. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Five Element Analysis

Clams being from the sea are naturally part of the Water Element and so is the salty bacon and it' is a soup made mostly from briny clam broth. This soup is therefore good for the kidneys and is very soothing and clams are said to help clean the liver too. The onions add the Metal Element as does the milk. The potatoes and carrots contribute a good amount of the Earth Element. Celery adds just a touch of the Fire Element and if you'd like to have more, you can add a little bit of Tabasco Sauce to liven things up or add a Fire dessert. The only thing missing is the Wood Element, but luckily saltine crackers are made from wheat so they bring that element in and you can also use a little lemon squeezed in too. This ends up being a pretty balanced little bowl of soup.

Summer Vegetable Trio

It's suddenly hot in Seattle and finally feels like summer. Most people here are thrilled but I'm not really a hot weather person. The only thing I really like about summer is being able to wear sundresses and sandals and the ability to buy and eat wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables. But, when it's hot, I don't like to heat up the kitchen - or me - so I like barely cooked food and not too much of it. Meat feels a little heavy to me when it's hot outside so meat becomes the side dish for a change and vegetables become the stars of the meal. 

After a visit to the farmer's market, I had some wonderful broccoli, corn and zucchini. I made a raw broccoli salad with bacon, onions and sunflower seeds. The dressing is just a bit sweet and tangy as I used Rice Wine Vinegar as the dressing with a pinch of extra sugar. I also love using the stalks peeled and cut into little pieces as they are wonderfully crunchy. I didn't use the bacon fat although that's probably the traditional way to make this kind of salad - I used just cooked bacon and the oil for the salad is vegetable oil which makes it much lighter. 

 For the corn - it is one of the simplest things I make. I cut the it off the cob and sauteed it with chopped onions and red pepper that caramelize in just a bit in butter. It is delicious this way and you can substitute fresh chopped tomato too. 

For the zucchini, I simply grated it with a carrot and sauteed it in extra virgin olive oil with garlic and basil. My kids dislike zucchini unless it is made this way or hidden in chocolate cake. This way of cooking it takes away that mushy squash texture and highlights the lovely light green flavor of zucchini. All in all, it was a delightful summer meal and not at all heavy and involved very little heat - just a quick saute. My sons added some meat to their meal - leftover chicken and Italian sausage meatballs. I just added a big glass of Iced Tea!

Broccoli Salad

1 large head of broccoli washed or 2 small heads (stalk included)

6 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled (can also use bacon bits from a package - up to 1/4 cup)

1/2 small red onion chopped

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I used Safflower)

2 Tablespoons Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

¼ cup Raisins or dried Cranberries

¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds 

Cut off the broccoli florets and chop them into small pieces and place in a bowl. Peel the broccoli stalks and then chop them into little pieces. Pour boiling water over them and let blanch for 2 – 3 minutes. Then drain.  

Heat vegetable oil in pan and add onion. Cook until just translucent. Add in the crumbled cooked bacon (or bacon bits) and then Rice Wine Vinegar and Sugar. Stir until Sugar is melted and Vinegar is hot. Pour over Broccoli. Season with Salt and Pepper and toss until mixed. Let the salad sit for about 15 minutes to 1/2 hour to let the flavors meld before serving. To serve, sprinkle with Raisins (or Cranberries) and Sunflower Seeds.

Sauteed Corn with Red Peppers

4 ears fresh corn, shucked

1/2 onion minced

1/2 red pepper diced (or fresh tomato chopped)

2 Tablespoons butter

Salt and Pepper

Boil corn for 10 minutes. Remove from water and let cool and then cut from the cob. Melt butter in skillet and add onion and pepper pieces. Saute until onion pieces are wilted and just starting to turn golden. Add in the corn and saute until corn is completely hot. Season with salt and pepper.

Grated Zucchini and Carrot

1 large zucchini or 2 small zuchinis grated

1 carrot peeled and grated

1 large garlic clove minced

3 -4 large basil leaves minced or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

In large frying pan, heat Olive Oil and add garlic. Cook just until you can smell the fragrance of the garlic. Be sure to stir with the spatula to keep the garlic from burning. Add grated zucchini and carrot and basil leaves - saute until soft. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Five Element Analysis

These dishes are very colorful so you know that it is going to be a very balanced meal if you add some additional protein. Analyzed by dish: The Broccoli brings in the Wood Element along with the vinegar, the bacon and sunflower seeds add Water. The onion adds the Metal Element, while the sugar (also in the Seasoned Rice Vinegar) adds the Earth Element. For the corn and red peppers - the corn is the Earth Element, the red peppers brings in the Fire Element and the onions being only lightly sauteed add the Metal Element. The zucchini dish is primarily Earthy as both carrots and zucchini belong to this element. The garlic and basil bring in the Metal Element. Serve them all together and you will definitely have balance!

Potato Crusted Salmon

Last summer my son went to Vancouver with my cousin and her family and he came home raving about a dish he had at a seafood restaurant there - Potato Crusted Halibut. He's been asking me to try to make it with him ever since. But the halibut I found at the market was simply too expensive, so we made it with salmon instead and it was wonderful! It was actually pretty easy to make as well. It's kind of like cooking crispy hasbrowns on top of fish. The only caution is that you can't cook it for too long or the fish will get dry. The fish store at Pike Place Market recommended that we get 1/2 pound of salmon per person, but it was actually too much for us and we had leftovers, but they were good the next day reheated in the broiler. We served it with curry rice and sauteed spinach leaves with garlic and red pepper flakes. Here's the recipe for the salmon:

Potato Crusted Salmon

1 1/2 - 2 lbs wild Salmon filet (preferably wild) cut into 3 - 4 equal pieces

3- 4 potatoes, peeled and shredded and put into a bowl of cold water (each potato should be about the size of a piece of salmon)

1/2 cup mayonnaise (preferably Best Foods or Hellman's on the East Coast)

1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

1 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I used light olive oil)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Rinse and dry each piece of salmon and put on plate. Remove the potatoes from the water and squeeze dry in a clean kitchen towel and put aside on a plate. Mix the mayonnaise with the garlic and lemon juice and spread on each piece of salmon thickly. Take a handful of shredded potato and press on top of the salmon so that the potato is about 1/2 inch on top of the salmon. Repeat with each piece. Salt and pepper the top of the potatoes liberally.

Heat oven to 425 degrees and place oiled baking sheet in oven to heat.

Heat a large frying pan and add oil. When the oil is hot, carefully place the salmon potato side down. A few potato shreds will come loose so simply push them back toward the fish. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are well browned - be patient - it may take five minutes or more. When they are all browned, carefully place a large plate over the pan and turn the pan over (using mitts on both hands and be careful!) until the fish is potato side up on the plate. Remove hot pan from the oven and place fish on the pan. Return to oven and cook 5 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily and potato is cooked through.

Five Element Analysis

Fish is always from the Water Element and Salmon as a cold water fish is full of Omega 3s and is especially Watery in nature. The potatos add the Earth Element, the mayonnaise as a condiment is a Metal Food and the garlic adds a little more. The touch of lemon brings in the Wood Element but that needs more emphasis in the meal so be sure to add a green vegetable. We added spinach with garlic and red chili flakes to bring in more Wood and a little Fire to liven things up. The curry rice adds more Metal and since the curry powder was Madras, it also adds a little bit more Fire. But for this meal to be fully balanced, a little more Fire food is recommended - perhaps some lovely berries for desert.

Confetti Chicken Chili

I have a darling little dog named Frito and I am always asked why he is named after a corn chip. The simple answer is that on the day he came to us as a puppy, I had made chili and in my family, we always serve chili with Fritos. He took off with a couple of fritos that we dropped from the table and we started calling him Frito Bandito - Frito for short. I might add that his paws smell like the corn chips too. The chili I made that night is one of my sons' favorite foods and it has ended being comfort food for us when life gets stressful. Frito no longer likes corn chips - he much prefers squeaky balls, but we all still like this chili recipe. It's a little lighter than the usual chili because I use ground chicken and I don't like so many beans, so I also add corn. These ingredients, along with the red and green peppers makes the chili feel very festive and the various colors make it look like a bit like confetti. You can also make it with ground beef if you like or ground turkey works too. It's quick and easy and has won over some friends who aren't that fond of the canned stuff. With a recipe this easy and good, there is no need to buy canned chili again! We serve it with fritos of course or Tortilla Chips and also shredded cheddar cheese.

Confetti Chicken Chili

1 pound ground chicken

1 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 green pepper chopped

1/2 red (or orange) pepper chopped

1 large can (28 oz) tomato sauce (I use Hunts)

1 can chicken broth

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

2 - 3 Tablespoons chili powder (I use McCormick and Schmick's)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or several dashes of hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Place olive oil in large pot. Heat and add onions, garlic and peppers. Cook until onion is just wilted and add the ground chicken. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Ad tomato sauce, chicken broth, beans, corn and seasoning. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1/2 hour.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, raw onions if desired and fritos or tortilla chips.

Five Element Analysis

This is a very colorful dish and that is the biggest clue that the Five Elements are represented well here. Chili by it's very nature is a Fire food - it is from the hot Southwest and  this dish also has lots of tomatoes, peppers and some hot chili, which all belong to the Fire Element. The addition of chicken adds some of the Wood Element and the garlic, onions and cumin bring in the Metal Element. The black beans add the Water Element, while the corn and corn chips bring in the Earth Element. As you can see, this ends up being a very balanced bowl of food!

Swedish Almond Cake

I have to admit that I've never been much of a chocolate person. Oh I do enjoy a wonderful piece of Swiss chocolate at Sprungli when I am in Zurich, but it's actually not a common craving for me. I once read that people are either into chocolate or lemon which I think is way too few choices as I am quite into almond as a sweet flavor. So when I suddenly develop a sweet tooth that doesn't involve cooking fruit, I will make an almond cake - my next choice after that always involves cinnamon, but that's for another day.

If you like almonds like me, than you would really enjoy my Father's favorite almond cake. I learned to make this when I was quite young. I believe the original name is Tosca Cake but we always called it Swedish Almond Cake. The original recipe only called for vanilla extract, but I like almonds so much that I add some almond extract too. The topping is a classic Swedish cookie and cake sauce that caramelizes as it cooks. One of my friends has a Mom who bakes it on top of graham crackers and it makes a lovely cookie that I will post someday. Anyway, I love to serve this cake with raspberries and strawberries. My sons insist that it needs lightly sweetened whipped cream too. Enjoy!

Swedish Almond Cake

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cream (or whole milk)

1/2 cup (or one stick) melted butter

Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts together until light. Mix flour with baking powder and salt. Stir in flour mixture into creamed mixture 1/2 at a time and stir until well blended. Add butter mixture and stir until smooth.

Butter a 9" pie pan (I use a Pyrex pie pan) and spoon batter into pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until center is just becoming firm. Remove pan from oven and turn heat up to 375 degrees.

Make topping mixture below and spread very carefully on top of cake to cover. Put cake back int he oven and cook 5 - 10 minutes or until the mixture is brown and bubbling. Serve in wedges. Good with whipped cream and raspberries or strawberries.

Almond Topping:

1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds

1/4 cup melted butter

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cream (or milk)

1 Tablespoon flour

Five Element Analysis

I'll never pretend that desserts are a balanced meal but they are quite wonderful as an extra helping of the Earth Element! This cake is very sweet so it is clearly Earthy and the almonds emphasize that element even more. The whipped cream brings in some of the Metal Element and some raspberries or strawberries add a little Wood from their tartness but  belong to the Fire Element. Serving this cake with tea or coffee adds even more Fire. 

Dal Soup

I've started cooking again now that I am back in Seattle. One of my goals when I get back from a teaching tour is to regain my energy back from what is usually terrible jetlag. And of course, that means I make soup. As I love Indian food, I will often make Dal Soup. I make it thinner than is served in Indian restaurants as there it is more like a stew or gravy. I like it to have some broth in mine so that when it is poured over Basmati Rice, it still has some soupiness to it. I like to use Moong or Mung Beans although red lentils work well too. Mung Beans are the little yellow pulses that are sprouted into Bean Sprouts or made into Mung Bean or cellophane noodles from their flour. In India, Moong Dal is used to treat the sick, the elderly and small children as it is very nourishing. I don't make mine very spicy as I have a low heat tolerance so I only ad one Serrano Chili. I love the addition of tomatoes and sometime add spinach too as it makes it more colorful. This is one of my older son's favorite soups and another recipe that is frequently requested by my intensive students. I hope you enjoy it too!

Dal Soup

2 cups Moong Dal (yellow split mung beans), washed and drained

10 cups water

½ tsp turmeric

1 - 2 serrano chilis seeded and minced fine

2 tsps salt

6 Tbsps ghee or butter

2 small or one large onion chopped

1 ½ tsps cumin seeds

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced or mashed

2 large or 4 small tomatoes diced

1 bunch of cilantro leaves

1 small bunch spinach leaves (optional)

Additional salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, mix Dal, water, turmeric, Serrano chilis and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, skim and cook until tender – about 45 minutes. In a frying pan, heat ghee and fry onions with cumin seeds until the onions are light golden color. Add garlic and ginger and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add tomato and cilantro. Cook until mixture becomes smooth. Add tomato mixture to Dal mixture. Add spinach if using. Then, cook it all together for an additional few minutes and serve with basmati rice.

Five Element Analysis

Soup is always part of the Water Element although this one has a lot of Earth Element foods too. Mung Beans are also Watery, but they are yellow and soft when cooked so they embody the Earth Element as well and the very nature of this soup is thick and creamy, which adds even more to that Earthy experience. The tomatoes add some of the Fire Element which is also enhanced by the Serrano Chili. The Metal Element is represented by the spices and the white rice it is served on and the garlic and onions bring even more Metal in. The Wood Element is represented by the cilantro and spinach. So this ends up being a very balanced little bowl of soup!