I Really Like Your Peaches…Peach Salsa & Blue Cornmeal Chips

Aug 26, 2011 By Love & Flour in Snacks 2 Comments Tags: cornmeal, peach

The second peach recipe post includes two recipes for your snacking enjoyment: peach salsa and chips made from blue cornmeal. I knew I wanted to make peach salsa, but I didn’t know I wanted to make chips until the blue cornmeal I tried to pour into a container wouldn’t all fit. I thought some blue “tortilla” chips made from the blue cornmeal might be a nice complement to the peach salsa.

So, I started the quest for homemade tortilla chip recipes. Now, I don’t mean to be unpleasant, but cutting up store-bought tortillas and frying them or baking them does not really count as homemade. Many resources tried to convince me of this, but those recipes seemed akin to looking up the word “celebration” in the dictionary and finding the definition “to celebrate.”

I was eventually able to find a recipe on wikiHow. The dough, because it was so soft, was somewhat difficult to work with. I used a drinking glass to roll the dough out directly onto a cookie sheet, then cut and baked the chips.

I was very happy with how well they turned out; they were just crispy enough and spiced just right for my tastes. I used chili powder, but garlic powder, black pepper or cumin are other good choices.

The salsa was equally delicious. It combined two of my favorites, peaches and cilantro. The peaches had just the right sweetness, the cilantro just the right bite, and the ginger and cayenne pepper just the right heat. Salsa is definitely a make-it-your-own type recipe, so experiment with the seasonings that you like the best. Happy Friday!

Peach Salsa & Blue Cornmeal Tortilla Chips

Ingredients

Salsa
1 medium peach, chopped
¼ cup onion, diced
¼ cup bell pepper, diced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Tortilla Chips
½ cup water
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon chili powder
⅔ cups blue cornmeal

Instructions

For the salsa, combine the peach, onion, bell pepper, cilantro, lemon juice, ginger, and cayenne pepper.
Allow to sit for a few hours or overnight for flavors to combine.
For the chips, bring the water, butter, and spices to a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in the cornmeal.
Allow to cool slightly before rolling or pressing the mixture to about ⅛” thickness.
Cut the sheet into triangles or other desired shapes.
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 25 minutes until crispy.

I really love your peaches…Peach Cupcakes

Aug 24, 2011 By Love & Flour in Cupcakes 1 Comment Tags: peach, tea

As promised, I have been baking the peaches into something delicious. First up, cupcakes. I felt a little bit like a sell out by baking the peaches into a cake when there are so many unique peach recipes out there (check out this sandwich). But I just couldn’t resist, so I pulled together a recipe.

I flavored the cake with vanilla and what is quickly becoming my new vanilla: lemon zest. If vanilla is the little black dress of baking, then lemon zest is the new black. I am adding lemon zest to about everything I bake lately. Zesting a lemon smells so good, and I simply like the way it tastes. Other flavor ideas I came across included cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

The cupcakes will bake nearly flat. I was a bit put off by the flat tops at first, but then I noticed the peach cupcakes on the Smitten Kitchen blog were pretty flat too. Since Smitten Kitchen can reasonably be described as a holy grail of food blogging, I didn’t get too bent out of shape about my flat cupcakes. The cupcakes may sink ever so slightly while they cool, but this will be nothing major. To give your cupcakes the best chance at staying flat, make sure not to overmix the batter and not to slam the oven door.

I initially considered blueberry for the icing, because really, peaches and blueberries go together like peas and carrots. But after finding Paula Deen’s popular peach tea cupcake recipe , I decided to flavor the icing with tea. Another big part of my decision was the fact that I love the peach iced tea served at Olive Garden. It is probably a very unpopular move to admit enjoying something at a chain restaurant on a food blog, but I never proclaimed I was a foodie. I am just a novice baker who really likes peach iced tea.

I was quickly growing bored with icing my cupcakes from the outside edge in towards the center. They look pretty, but I wanted to try something new. I took a cue from Smitten Kitchen and made some pointy dots with a round tip 12. I also made some flat circles with this tip. I decorated the rest of the cupcakes with a standard decorating tip 1 M, but this time, I worked across the tops of the cupcakes or from the center to the outer edge. I liked the way these reverse circles looked like roses.

How did the cupcakes taste? They were good, but it pains me to admit they weren’t as great as I had hoped. I really wanted to taste the peach, but it comes across as more of a light flavor than a “wow, peach” reaction. The cupcakes are also very, very moist. They almost remind me of a bread pudding. Not quite, but almost. The sweet tea in the icing is barely present, so feel free to kick the icing up with some lemon zest as well.

Overall, I baked what I think is a pretty decent peach cupcake that can be varied with a number of other flavors. Try them out, and if you do, let me know what you think. One recipe down, two to go…Enjoy!

Peach Cupcakes

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 14

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 medium peaches, very finely chopped
zest of one lemon
Frosting
½ cup (1 stick) butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons strongly brewed tea

Instructions

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and the sugars.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Continue to mix on medium speed while alternatively adding the milk and vanilla with the flour mixture.
Fold in the peaches and lemon zest.
Line a cupcake pan with paper liners and pour batter into liners until nearly full, almost to the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
For the frosting, cream the butter and slowly add the confectioners’ sugar.
Add the tea and beat at high speed two to three minutes until the icing is light and smooth.
Spoon the icing into a decorating bag fitted with a round tip 12 to ice with the pointed dots or with a decorating tip 1M to ice with the swirl.
Gently pipe the icing onto each cupcake.
If desired, garnish with sliced peaches and lemon zest.

Notes

Optional spices for the cake include cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger. For the tea, I brewed two tea bags in ¼ cup water.

Things Are Peachy

Aug 22, 2011 By Love & Flour in Musings No Comments Tags: peach

It’s national eat a peach day. It’s not bake with a peach day or cook with a peach day, it’s just eat a peach day. I am using this technicality in hopes of excusing my lack of baking today.

You see, I have French class tonight. Yes, I am taking a class to learn what I suppose will be just enough French to get myself into trouble. The first class began last Monday, and I have already been slightly admonished by the teacher for my failure to correctly pronounce the letter “r”. Make the sound in the back of your throat! It needs to sound more guttural! I either sound like I’m about to growl or about to choke.

I wanted to hear the language so badly that I watched a French movie (Queen to Play) over the weekend. It was subtitled, of course, but I was happy to recognize one word! What was the word? Gâteau. It means cake.

Now, back to the pêches, I mean peaches. I went to the Farmer’s market yesterday afternoon and bought a basket of peaches that look pretty, smell divine, and taste delightful.

As I was getting the peaches ready for their photo shoot, I was reminded of the time my mom and dad took my sister and I to the French Market in Columbus. At the time, I’d say it was the early 90s, the French Market was a happening place. At a bakery, they bought us each a little pastry in the shape of a peach. I wanted one so badly because they made me laugh. “Look, it’s like a little butt,” I giggled.

My sister ate her peach immediately. I was appalled. How could she not admire such a work of art? I displayed my peach on a shelf in my bed room for about six months. My mother was appalled. Though I got to enjoy my peach for a longer time, I think my sister got to enjoy her peach in a better way by eating it.

When I think of all the things I could make with peaches, I begin to feel like Bubba in Forrest Gump. Peach pie, peach cake, peach tarts, peach pizza, peach tea, peach muffins, peach ice cream, peach kabobs, peach cobbler, peach jam, peaches and cream…

I can bake them or grill them or stew them or just plain eat them. There are so many things to do with peaches! Could a new triple crown be in store?

Any residual guilt from not baking today was alleviated when, while writing this post, my chief taster and blog consultant brought me a peach Chik-fil-A milkshake! While I’m busy learning French (and thinking about baking), the Georgia Peach Council has some great peach recipes to tide you over on its website . I promise these peaches will find their way into something delicious soon.