Friday night grateful list

Oh lovely weekend, welcome. My arms have been wide open, waiting to welcome you, since at least Wednesday. Thanks for finally showing up!

It's been a wild and wooly week, as my mom used to say. Lots of unusual things popping up to be handled--nothing too unusual, but perhaps it was the volume? Buckets instead of cupfuls, or to have a happier metaphor: a giant rainbow cake of awesome "things that need to be handled." No cupcakes around here, oh no. Whopping layers of cake. Yum.

Meanwhile, the grateful. Such a glorious time of year around here. Long, long days, with lots of light to wake me early, and keep me awake on the other end too. Very grateful for the blinds we have in our bedroom that help keep the light out--this week it had to keep out that strawberry moon business too, from Monday night. Seth and I were out for a bit of exercise when the moon rose, and it was lovely to see it rise in that harvesty way that is mammoth and warm.

And early in the mornings too, when I'm out with the dogs and the chickens, I'm struck by how green and beautiful everything is. We haven't ramped back up the HOT weather yet, just lolling around in the low 80s. Very hammock weather. I walk past our hammock. That's about how hammocky my week was. (Insert wink emoji here.) (I really want to wake up one day in a post-emoji world, but then I think to myself, how on earth would I add an extra "touch" to my texts?! Amiright, Ma?!)

Having Seth home is such a gift. There's really no other word for it. Just knowing he's here, even when he's not in the room with us, makes me smile. He started his new job this week, as a WalMart cashier. I saw him in action tonight as I got a few supplies. He was intent on his scanning responsibilities, and I kept the proper Mom distance. There's a rule that family and friends have to avoid their relative worker, so I behaved, even though I was sort of tempted and if caught would have pulled out my ID--look, different last names, we're not related. You can see I thought through this a little bit. Such a silly mom. Such a silly, grateful mom.

Seth and I are on track to eat a record amount of watermelon this summer. If there isn't a watermelon currently cut up and being eaten, there are leftovers in the fridge, or another one on the counter ready to cut, or both. Of course it's a little early for truly local melons, but we have been enjoying some real gems who have taken a trip north to our bellies. The other food item we are quite ahead of the game on is pesto. The one thing I got planted early is basil, and it is beautiful, bushy and fragrant. I love keeping it trimmed of its blossoms, and having the lovely scent on my hands for awhile after. Happy summer days! So grateful for produce, especially the local farms.

For this week especially, my grateful list includes (but is not limited to!):

Sweet husband and his thoughtful ways.

Our haven of a home, where I can tuck away for a day of rest and come out the other side energized.

Friends who drive hours to come to town for lunch and a visit and a laugh. Who can cut through nonsense in zero time and get to the heart of whatever really needs discussing.

Our pups and their unconditional love. Nothing like the greeting those three give us all at the end of the day. Is it about food? Possibly--especially for General. But those border collies, boy do they embody the "love is love is love is love is love is love" philosophy.

Cold brew coffee. The perfect summer drink. Easy to make, oh-so-easy to drink.

Early morning energy.

Instagram.

Coworkers who put in extra when needed, without being asked. (It's the "without being asked" that's especially awesome.)

Berries. All. The. Berries.

Summer rain. The smell, the feel in the air, the lovely morning after.

Wishing you a joyful, restful weekend.

Peace.

Cobbler: You pick the fruit

hen I realized I'd never truly posted this recipe before (just hinted at it here and here, and linked to it here and there), I was a bit aghast. Well, maybe aghast is a bit strong, but still. What's linking when compared to an actual post?! For this wondrous recipe, it seems a bit short shrift, to be honest.

I have made many cobblers in my life, but once I discovered THIS recipe, I haven't looked elsewhere. In fact, I have used the practice of boiling water added to a butter/flour/sugar mixture in other baking recipes to good effect as well. I had never tried this method before, always defaulting to a general "biscuit"-style topping with buttermilk, milk, sour cream or yogurt as the wet ingredient. Well, no more!

This recipe has worked exceptionally well with every fruit I've tried, from cherries to berries to peaches, apricots and rhubarb. The original recipe from epicurious calls for peaches... I am very much looking forward to peach season (and frozen could probably work fine...), but in the meantime, I made it for our family visit a few weekends ago, with mixed berries.

Cobbler
6 large peaches, cut into thin wedges (or 6 cups of cut up fruit, pick your favorite)
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (originally called for 1 tsp. I beg to differ.)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss the fruit with sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch in a 2-qt. nonreactive baking dish and bake in middle of oven 10 minutes. (I usually let it go a bit longer than 10 minutes... maybe 15, until there's a little bubbling action going on.)

While fruit is baking, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in boiling water until just combined.

Remove fruit from oven and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Bake in middle of oven until topping is golden, about 25 minutes. (Topping will spread as it bakes.)

I remember the first time I made this, my skepticism meter was quite high--the dough was sloppier than I expected, and I thought it would all be a pile of goo. To my delight, it was anything but goo, it was a really lovely, soft biscuit-y topping, and the fruit thickened up (with my little extra cornstarch!) nicely as well. With a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, this one is a keeper!