Summer Garden Pasta

Meteorologically speaking, fall has fallen. Maybe in parts well above the Mason-Dixon Line or high in the Appalachians, crisp mornings and whispers of Autumn proper are upon y'all. When I'm in Cashiers, I can feel it too, but whilst back in Perrydise, the equinoxes have not yielded one to another and summer still reigns supreme. 

Indian Summer is what this seasonal limbo is often referred to. And summer garden produce is still coming in too! With the plethora of produce, a couple of my favorite dishes make their way to the table this time of year. In Dinner on the Grounds, I have my Cashiers Farmers Market Pasta, and from A Time to Cook, my Summer Garden Pasta comes to life on the pages. 

I love this pasta. It's simple and delicious and full of flavor. It can be doused with cream and covered with cheese or served simply without the cheese and cream ... yet be so elegantly fresh and light. It's even better the next day reheated!

Plus, this is a pot and pan dish. Boil the pasta in a pot and sauté the veggies in a pan. Mix it all in the pan and serve! There'll be some chopping too but it's a fun meal. A meatless meal but you'll never miss it... Unless you just want a piece of salmon or some shrimp or sausage for good measure.

This dish is an all time fave of mine and my family. I hope it becomes one for you and yours! Enjoy this season of summer fading to fall and all the produce the season affords! Happy eatin' y'all! 

Summer Garden Pasta

Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from my Southern Sideboard

Photography by Helen Norman

½ pound pasta, shape of your choice

2 shallots, peeled and minced

1 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ pound tomatoes, chopped

1-2 small yellow squash, diced

1-2 small zucchinis, diced

salt

freshly ground black pepper

dash of red pepper flakes, optional

4 ears of corn

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/3 cup roughly chopped basil leaves

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 cup or more heavy whipping cream

¾ cup grated Monterey Jack or Parmesan cheese

¾ cup panko breadcrumbs

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and then transfer pasta to a large baking dish sprayed with cooking oil.

In a large, deep skillet, cook shallots and onion in a pan with olive oil and butter over medium heat until they are caramelized and crispy. Add the chopped tomatoes, squash, and zucchini and stir together. Season to taste with salt and pepper; for a bit of heat, toss in a dash of red pepper flakes.

Remove corn from the cobs and add to the skillet; stir. Once the veggies have softened, add garlic and basil and stir gently (the pan is probably getting full). Pour in the vinegar and stir to release any caramelized bits stuck to the bottom of the pan and wake up the flavors. Now add a gentle pouring of heavy cream, amount depending on how creamy you want the sauce, and stir well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once the cream begins to simmer, transfer the whole panful to the baking dish filled with cooked pasta. Gently mix the vegetables and pasta together. Distribute cheese over the top. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are toasted, about 15 minutes.

Whole Wheat Blackberry Muffins with Citrus

Summer fruits and veggies start coming in this mid to late summertime heat. Often, it is not just a lil’ bit of ‘maters or peaches or squash – it’s a bushel and a peck! Blackberries for us are one of those crops. We have stands of wild blackberries down the dirt roads and edges of the woods on our property that fill our baskets with berries and, in turn, give us all sorts of blackberry delights!

From cobblers and crisps to jams and salads, we have found many an excuse to devour blackberries. Aunt Kathy, with her astute culinary prowess, makes these blackberry muffins that we all clamor and beg for during berry season. The whole wheat flour is heartier and holds up better, since the muffins are laden with berries. A citrus sauce makes for the perfect glaze, and I have found that I love citrus with blackberry any ol’ time!

Sprinkle a scant amount of a course sugar atop the muffins after glazing with the citrus sauce and see if you have any leftover for tomorrows breakfast! Hope y’all enjoy these as much as we do!

Whole Wheat Blackberry Muffins with Citrus
Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from Southern Sideboard
Photography by Helen Norman

1 stick butter

3⁄4 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3⁄4 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 3⁄4 cup blackberries, sweetened if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place paper liners in muffin tins.Melt butter. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and make a well. Pour buttermilk, eggs and butter in the well and mix with dry ingredients until moistened. Then fold in blackberries. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden.

Citrus Sauce

1 (12-16 ounce) jar marmalade

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed* orange juice

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed* Meyer lemon juice

1⁄2 teaspoon zest from orange and Meyer lemon

Warm the ingredients together and pour over muffins as a glaze while muffins are still warm.

*Freshly squeezed juice is key. Peels of the rinds also make lovely garnishes

Iron Skillet Peach Pie

This peachy keen series has been a real peach y'all! I could (and do nearly) eat peaches nearly every meal, every day!

Early August is here and the close of peach season in my neck of the woods is drawing nigh. Thankfully 'maters and peas and other summer produce will take us into an Indian Summer and then, thankfully into fall!

I have two sets of iron skillets - one set for savory cooking and one set for sweets. There's hardly anything better than a good iron skillet, but there's hardly anything worse than a peach or apple or berry pie that tastes like onions and gravy! Trust this Farmer, keep a sweet skillet handy so you don't serve onion/gravy flavored peach pie at a dinner party!

Mimi was the source - of course - of any of my iron skillet prowess. She taught me about cooking with them, in them, seasoning them and even bringing a rusty one back to life. She told me that if the house caught on fire, grab the silver and family photos - the skillets will be just fine!

So here is one of my favorite pies in an iron skillet - peach! Followed closely by apple and bringing up the rear would be my pineapple upside cake. The iron gets so hot that the cake or pies cook quickly and give your crust some crunch and substance. Besides tasting absolutely divine, these desserts are beautifully presented in their skillet caches - one less dish to wash and allows for easy reheating!

I'm a firm believer that pies are best two ways - first out of the oven upon their baking's completion and secondly reheated in the oven. Both methods are followed by generous servings of vanilla ice cream of course. Casseroles, spaghetti and lasagna are better reheated in the oven the next day too sans vanilla ice cream!!!

As the peach season draws to a close (I'm gonna stock up on a couple late season varieties to put up), I think this dish is lovely salute to summer and Southern cooking! If you can't make it or bake it in an iron skillet, you may need to think about what you're cooking!

Enjoy y'all!

Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from My Southern Sideboard

Photography by Helen Norman

2 piecrusts*

12 or so peaches, peeled or skin on

3 ½ tablespoons minute tapioca

1 scant cup sugar

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons cinnamon, divided

3 tablespoons drawn butter

1/8 cup vanilla sugar**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll out the piecrusts, lining the dough into a deep-dish iron skillet. Reserve the second crust for the topper; cut out leaf shapes or weave a lattice if you’re feeling crafty.

Mix together peaches, tapioca, sugar, almond and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a large bowl; set aside.

Add peach mixture to the pie pan and then start your leaf topper. Begin in the center and work outwards, covering and layering the leaves in rough concentric rings. If not using leaf shapes, just cover the pie and seal the top edges to the bottom crust with fingers or a fork.

Glaze the top with the drawn butter and then sprinkle with a mixture of vanilla sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon cinnamon. If the top is a solid piece, cut a couple of slits for ventilation. Place pie pan on a baking sheet in case of spillovers, and bake until golden and bubbly, about 1 hour. If you want it pretty for serving, let it rest; otherwise, dig right in! Peach mush tastes just fine!

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream – or homemade crème fresh.

*Use Tart Dough recipe, page 164, or your own favorite recipe. Otherwise, a store-bought piecrust is one of the best inventions around.

**Vanilla sugar is sugar infused with a vanilla bean pod. After scraping clean a vanilla seed pod, insert the pod into a sugar container and allow the essences of the two to meld together. Keep adding pods and sugar as you use the two and you’ll have vanilla sugar for years!

Georgia Caprese Salad

The classic triumvirate of tomato, basil and mozzarella is nothing short of divine. I can just imagine Michelangelo snacking on this delicacy whilst carving the David statue. The salad is such a quintessential, Italian dish yet it has become a major part of the American summer menu – especially with the resurgence of heirloom tomato growing! My Caprese Panzanella from Dinner on the Grounds evokes the freshness of the Caprese salad with the all too fabulousness of hunky bread cubes toasted to perfection so they can soak up the vinegary sauce. I digress… that salad is fit for another post!

My Georgia Caprese Salad has a fun origin and pays homage to the old adage “necessity is the mother of invention.” The necessity of mention was supper. A light summer supper for yours truly alone. I was hot. I was tired. I did not want to cook – the thought of being around more heat was as tempting as repeatedly running into the back porch screen – head first mind you – like the bumble bee was doing. My family was scattered with other activities, travel or who knows what and Ol’ Jimmy was home alone – and hungry!

Not only was the thought of cooking with heat unappealing, the thought of eating something hot was equally unappetizing. Enter the “necessity… invention” moment. I rummaged through the fridge and saw I had a block of Pepper Jack cheese from M&T. I said to myself, “Self, you can at least have cheese and crackers.” Then I got to thinking – a dangerous pastime. 

There was a basket of peaches on the island awaiting my attention. I had a mess of basil in a Mason jar on the windowsill and a Caprese Salad  - a GEORGIA Caprese Salad began running wild in my mind. “Could it work? Will it be good?” spun around my head and the next thing I knew, I had sliced that peach open, layered a slither of the Pepper Jack cheese with a basil leaf atop the peachy wedge and was eating like the Prodigal Son on the fattened calf. As fresh and delicious as it was, it needed something. The creaminess of the soft cheese with a little peppery heat was marvelous with the tangy sweetness of the peach. The basil gave that green zing and herby wow-factor only fresh herbs can do but there was something still lacking. It needed a vinegary bite but with a hint of sweetness. Lucky for me, I had a jar of balsamic vinegar that I had reduced for my balsamic barbeque sauce – oooh…another post idea! Drip, drip, drip – drizzle, drizzle, drizzle – dunk! That was just what it needed!

The intensified sweetness of the balsamic reduction was syrupy in viscosity and just the right sweet with a vinegary tang. So after making a pig’s ear mess at first, I thought that I should try again and make it pretty. And then, I had to coin it for sure as a truly Georgian dish – Georgia-grown peaches, Georgia-made cheese, my Georgia-garden-grown basil with a balsamic glaze made right in my kitchen… Italy helped with the origination of the vinegar proper! As Mimi said, “we eat with our eyes first…” thus, I had to make it visually pleasing. This part was not difficult mind you – a peach is, well, pretty as a peach on its own! So here it is y’all, my Georgia Caprese Salad!

Georgia Caprese Salad

Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from My Southern Sideboard

Photography by Helen Norman

1 peach

lemon juice

4 small, think slices pepper Jack cheese

4-6 large basil leaves

Balsamic vinegar*

*Reducing the balsamic vinegar on the stove over medium heat intensifies the flavor and thickens the vinegar too.

Peach and Pecan Chicken Salad

Whether you are married or buried in The South, you will have chicken salad. You may be a newly born baby down in Dixieland, and your first meal will most likely be a Dixieland Delight of chicken salad – second to pimento cheese or barbeque. I say all this in jest – “jest” saying, y’all, we eat a lot of chicken salad!

This Southern staple is apropos for a wedding, a shower, a luncheon, a wake, a church supper or a hunt club picnic. It is a mandatory dish at garden club. You can be quite elegant with your presentation, and remove the crust (Mimi always said that if you cut the crust off, it was fancy), or you may scoop it onto a lettuce leaf. Or, you may dip Ritz crackers into the styrofoam cup of chicken salad as you leave the drive-thru window at Georgia Bobs – chicken salad can be casual, everyday or highbrow, high-end… diner’s choice.

Chipped, chopped, shredded or chunky – chicken salad is much the same as Southern barbeque in its array of forms. “Mother always chipped hers so fine that it was almost fluffy…” I’ve heard many a time. “Uncle Earl just chopped his…” you may have witnessed this. MawMaw, Mema, Mimi and Mama all have their methods and, like brands of mayonnaise, their posterity follow suit in their taste and preference. Then there is the entire debate about celery. As for me and my house, the finer chopped the better – if added at all.

We are a seasonally accoutrement style chicken salad family. Pecans are generally a basic, year round mainstay to my recipes though a fall/winter crop, yet one may find walnuts, cashews or even almonds in different styles of the dish. As for the seasonal flair, apples may be found in the fall or perhaps the nuts of choice are seasoned with rosemary or sage. Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries find their way into summer recipes. Along with other fruits – peaches in particular.

Enter my Peach and Pecan Chicken Salad from A Time to Cook. It’s pretty much my basic chicken salad recipe with the addition of peaches and pecans. I even like to garnish with a twist of basil for extra scent and flavor texture. But rather than just mix the peaches and pecans into the salad, I like to heavily sprinkle them on top. No particular reason for this fashion or maybe so I can see the wedges of sweet peaches awaiting to be devoured.

Chicken salad, pimento cheese and poundcake are to me the building blocks of Southern culinary pyramid. Master them and you can always have something to snack on or feed the herd. One may then build upon these cornerstones seasonally or as your taste buds dictate. For this Farmer, summertime is peaches on and in everything – chicken salad notwithstanding! Hope y’all enjoy!

Peach and Pecan Chicken Salad

Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from My Southern Sideboard

Photography by Helen Norman

This recipe can easily be doubled. Use peaches or apples that are in season and a good-quality mayonnaise – for Southerners, it’s what your mama uses. Grapes make a nice garnish as well.

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup pecan halves

sea salt

6-8 peaches or 6 apples

lemon juice, optional

½ cup good-quality mayonnaise

2 cups cooked chicken, chipped or diced

6-8 sandwich rolls, or bread

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and toss pecans in melted butter. If using salted butter, add only a light sprinkling of salt. Toast pecans on the stove until they began to brown, tossing constantly so they don’t burn. Or transfer buttered and salted pecans to a baking sheet and toast in a 300-degree F oven for just a minute or two, watching carefully. If you can smell them, you may have let them go too far! Remove from heat and set aside.

Peel, pit and chip peaches or core and chop apples. If need be, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. The mayo helps with this too.

Combine the chicken, peaches or apples, and pecans in a bowl and then bring it all together with the mayo. Mix well and serve.

Farmer’s Note on Poaching or Sautéing Chicken: Cook 3 to 4 skinless boneless breasts in a quick stock with onions, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and chicken bouillon. Or just brown them in butter or oil with salt and pepper. Or, for fine garden flavor, roast the chicken with thyme or your favorite herb. When the chicken has cooled, chip or chop the bird.

A Peachy Keen Series

To quote my business manager Mrs. Coody (aka Laura Lyn), "...it's summer in Georgia. We eat peaches. We eat peaches on everything - for every meal!" Amen to that!!!

I love how peaches can fit the bill for any meal and snack in between! Over cereal or with yogurt in the morning, on a salad at lunch or even grilled and drizzled with an array of delicacies such as balsamic vinegar, honey or vanilla for supper dinner or dessert! I simply delight in a bowl of peaches with some cold milk - my go to peachy treat!



In honor of the peach season, I am sharing with y'all a few of my favorite peach dishes from my books. A Peachy Keen series if you will! So let's celebrate the season with peaches for, on, with and in everything we can imagine! Enjoy y'all!

Cornbread Crisps with Peach Salsa

Recipe from A Time to Cook – Dishes from my Southern Sideboard

Photography by Helen Norman

Often when entertaining, I like to serve some sort of cornbread crisp with a dip or a topping. Peach Salsa is just the ticket to a dance of flavors and textures. The splash of fruity sweetness adds a delectable complement to a basic fresh salsa.

Peach Salsa

3-4 medium to large vine ripe tomatoes

1 small onion or 2 shallots, or both

3-4 garlic cloves

3-4 small peppers or 2 larger ones (e.g., bell, banana, or even jalapeño), chopped, hotter peppers deseeded

4 large basil leaves, cut in chiffonade

chopped cilantro to taste

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

dash of cayenne pepper

2-3 peaches

¼ cup olive oil

splash of lime juice

Combine all ingredients in either a food processor or a bowl. Process for a smooth salsa, or mash for a chunkier texture. Serve with cornbread crisps.

Cornbread Crisps

Bake your favorite cornbread recipe with only half the batter in the skillet. When done, cut into rounds and toast to additional crispiness. Alternatively, use regular thickness of cornbread, cut into rounds and slice open-face style. Toast the rounds to make crisps.

Farmer's Note: I love to support locally, and always grab my peaches from the best... Pearson Farm and Lane Southern Orchard!

Summer Setting and Filming

I love to take pictures, set up for photo shoots, and even pose for a picture now and then; but, filming is a different ball of wax! Thankfully, I leave the filming proper to the pros, like my buddy Bobby McCullough. So when I need to have something filmed, I know that Bobby can work his magic with this ol’ boy and a fun video about my “Farmer to Table” mantra ensues! For the intro to this Farmer to Table series, we started with what I know best – chicken salad, pimento cheese, poundcake and setting a table! Especially when peaches are involved! 

A summer tablescape must involve the fruits of the season. I think there is hardly a flower arrangement as pretty as a basket or bowl of produce. Mixing the two together makes this Farmer weak in the knees! So, for this summer setting, I merged the two and gilded the lily with some – or shall I say fern?

I have a dessert set of Limoge fern plates with their coordinating cake stand. I am in love with these plates. They remind of some green and white plates of my aunt’s and the very “feel” of them is dainty yet handsome. I like to use them for dessert but for a salad plate too. Pair them with old silver, some vintage napkins and some of Aunt Kathy’s fabulous lavender Provvista dinnerware. For me, the more collected a tableau is the more luscious! Layers of heritage and history and seasonal nods are just a tapestry of delight on any table – and the story the pieces tell is that much more delightful!

Another little notion I love to see on a tabletop is a bouquet garnis or two. Yes a bouquet garnis can serve as a centerpiece all on its own, but often I find myself massing a single flower as arrangements sans greenery and allowing a separate bouquet of yummy herbs and greens dot the table. For this tablescape, mint, lemon balm and even a touch of camellia made for the gracious greenery portion. Fragrance and memory are linked, and to create a memory with herbs like mint and lemon balm for a lovely occasion like this is all the more enjoyable!

Rusty iron birds I used for Sister Maggie’s wedding also dot the table, adding a rustic, whimsical element and take the formality of the fern china down a notch or two. Mixing high and low textures, genres and looks on a table is key to a creative interpretation of your tablescape. For this summer setting, I gathered inspiration from the produce, the flora and fauna of the season, and thus recreated with the elements seen.

“We eat with our eyes first…” my Mimi always said. Before you’ve even had the first bite or taste, allow a visual feast to greet your friends and family when they arrive at your table. Farmer to table ya’ll, not just the food, but the flowers too!

 

Blackberry and Peach Crisp

Ya’ll, this is my go to summer dessert. Well, it may be my go to dessert period. I love to interchange seasonal fruits, but this version may be my favorite. Peaches by themselves are perfect for this dish, and I find myself throwing blueberries into the mix as well. You really cannot go wrong with this recipe!

I have this in A Time to Cook as well but this version calls for steel cut oats – I love the crunch effect they create. The tidbit of almond fairs so well with peaches since they are all in the same family. Speaking of family, yours will be running into the kitchen for this crisp! You can make it in two separate, deep dish pie pans or a good ol’ 9x13 pan – trust me, you and yours will be just smitten either way! Enjoy ya’ll!




Blackberry and Peach Crisp

• About a half dozen fresh peaches peeled and pitted and sliced (or simply quartered with the skin still on)
• 2 cups of fresh blackberries simply washed.
• A ½ cup of sugar…depending on the sweetness of the fruit…and another ¼ cup for the topping.
• ¾ cup of all purpose flower
• 1 cup of old fashioned oatmeal
• 1 – 1½ cups of steel cut oats
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar
• A stick of butter (room temperature) for topping and ½ a stick for filling
• 1 teaspoon of good vanilla
• ¾ teaspoon of almond extract
• Honey for drizzling
• Pecans for added crunch (if desired)
• Good vanilla ice cream – this is a must!!!

Melt the ½ stick of butter in a baking dish (9 x 13) in a 350 degree oven – enough time to allow the butter to start bubbling.

Peel and pit your peaches and slice them into wedges.  Tip for peeling peaches…place them in boiling water for about 20 seconds then remove them to an ice bath…this stops the cooking and the skin will peel right off.

Farmer’s Note: I often do not peel the peaches – they hold together nicely with the skin on and it is that much quicker to prep!

Wash your blackberries and pat dry. 

Mix the two fruits together in the bubbling butter – this browns and “fries” the fruit before baking...yum!  Use the ¼ cup of sugar as well if your fruits are not sweet enough to your liking. Drizzle the fruit with honey and mix in the vanilla and almond extract.

Mix the flour, brown and white sugar, oats, and remaining butter until it resembles a course meal.  Add a bit more butter if need be for desired consistency and pecans for additional crunch. Room temperature or melted butter will incorporate very well.

Spread the above mixture across the peaches and blackberries and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.  Do serve a la mode!  From this Farmer’s garden and table, enjoy!