Magic Peach Cobbler

Ooh-ooh, Erin goes to Scotland. Misses vegetables. Loves to invent. Ooh, ooh.

Yeah, meanwhile, I'm in central Illinois while the rest of the world travels abroad. My husband, in Japan. My friends Erin and Christy, in Scotland. My family, in Saint Louis and Texas, which feel far enough away. Boo hoo hoo.

But the one perk of Illinois in the summer, the one thing that trumps all of those other dumb places, is my Farmer's Market. Every Saturday. Free toffee, cheap pierogi, lots of dirt-covered, locally grown fruit and vegetables. Sigh.

Did I mention my quart and a half of peaches for $2? My half-pound of basil leaves? And the potatoes? Obviously, with all this produce and no one in town but me (so it feels), the pressure of cooking it up is on.

I don't know why I eat more produce once I bake it, but I do. As the following recipes testify.

MAGIC PEACH COBBLER

1/2 c. butter
Preheat oven to 350; put butter in a 9x13 dish; place dish in oven to melt. The magic begins.

1 c. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk
This is your batter. Mix it in a bowl if you want, or my sister-in-law mixes it straight in the pan full of now-melted butter.

3 c. peeled, sliced peaches with juices
Try blanching the peaches in boiling water to cover for 1 minute. So much easier. Be sure to let them cool before you try to slide off their skins. Avoid burns, people.

Pour batter in pan, arrange peach slices on top, and bake for 30 minutes. Be amazed as the cobbler crust rises above the peaches. Maybe all cobblers do this, but I don't know that for sure, so mine is still magic. In my head.

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That link will lead you to a complicated recipe for Spinach and Gruyere Tart in a Three-Pepper Crust. For this recipe I bought myself a tart pan. It may be the cutest thing I've bought for my kitchen, ever. Fluted edges, so adorable.

The tart was good, but not amazing. I'm going to guess more onion, some garlic sauteed with that, and more cheese would help. The crust was a good call, though. Be sure to use lots of pie weights or dried beans in the prebaking--I thought I'd used a lot, but no. It still rose in little humped pockets. And overall, the tart was overshadowed by Rogan's grilled lamb and peaches.