Peach Perfection

"Moving to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches. Moving to the country, gonna eat me a lot of peaches. Peaches..." you know the song. And I have to agree, with maybe the exception that peaches come from a can. Peaches should never come from a can. They are the absolute best, when they are fresh and in season. In Ontario that happens to be in mid to late summer.
  Peach is one of my favourite flavors. It's juicy, kind of sour, yet sweet. I have many fond memories of my mom and my step mom making peach pie in the summertime. And although I have never personally been to the Winona peach festival, I hear people rave about their peach sundaes. Guess I'm not the only one who is crazy about peaches!


Peach Sundaes at the Winona Peach festival

  This year when peach season rolled around, I found myself coming up with all sorts of different ideas, or creations if you will for peach recipes. The first was a new spin on an old favourite. Peach pie. In the past I have made traditional peach pie many times, but this year I had a brilliant idea to make something more original. I was flipping through my "Taste of Home" cookbook and found an
 
 

 intriguing recipe for custard pie. I decided to try it out. When I was finished, I cut up fresh peaches and placed them on top of the pie. Then I glazed the peaches with a peach jelly. The result was delicious!
  My next venture, was to add peaches to a salad I was making for dinner one night. Then I thought, why stop there. I broke out the peach jelly,  and made a peach vinaigrette to go with it. Once again, a delightful success.
  There was one Sunday morning I woke up craving french toast. A little peach schnapps in the egg mixture, some fresh peaches on top and some peach jelly mixed with cream cheese and viola. The perfect peach brunch was created.
  One hot afternoon I was craving iced tea. I found some ginger peach tea in my cupboard. Five minutes later, I had whipped up a pitcher of refreshing ginger peach iced tea. Which was not only amazingly tasty and thirst quenching, but it also hydrated me for the next three days!
  Finally, as summer began to fade and peach season along with it, I saved my best peach creation for last. Peach sangria. Peach schnapps, white wine, peaches. It was nothing short of perfection. Although, I may have had a little too much sangria for my own good that night. It was still a genius cocktail to say the least.
  I look forward to next summer, and the opportunity to work with peaches in my kitchen once again. "If I had my little way, I'd eat peaches everyday.." It's too bad peach season is so short.



                                                                                                 Peach Custard Pie

 
                Never Fail Pie Crust:

              1c all purpose flour
              1/4 tsp salt
              1/3c shortening
              1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
              2-3 tsp milk

            Roll out pie crust after chilling dough for 30mins. Line a 9 inch pastry plate with rolled out dough. Bake at 400 F for 10mins
 
                           Custard Filling:

                                    4 eggs
                                    2 1/2c milk
                                    1/2c sugar
                                                                                                                        1 tsp ground nutmeg
                                                                                                                        1 tsp vanilla extract
                                                                                                                        1 tsp almond extract
                                                                                                                        1/2 tsp salt

                                                                                      Beat eggs and remaining ingredients. Pour into
                                                                                    crust. Cover edges with foil. Bake for 20-25
                                                                                    minutes. Or until a knife inserted comes out
                                                                                    clean. Cool for 1 hour. Chill for 3 hours.

                                                                                     
                                                                                          Summer Salad with Peach Vinaigrette

 
                       3c fresh spinach
                       3c romaine lettuce
                       1/4 fresh raspberries
                       1 peach pitted, peeled and sliced
                       1/4c chopped cucumber
                       1/8c chopped green onion
                       2 grilled chicken breasts
                      1/8c sliced almonds

                                  Peach Vinaigrette:           
                                   1 tbsp peach jelly
                                   2 tsp Dijon mustard
                                   1 tbsp honey
                                   6 tbsp sunflower seed oil
                                   6 tbsp white wine vinegar
                                      salt and pepper to taste



                                                                                                   Ginger Peach Iced Tea

 
      5 tea bags of ginger peach tea
      3c boiling water
      1/2c simple syrup
      2 peaches pitted, peeled and sliced


  Place tea bags in a glass pitcher. Pour boiling water over tea bags, placing a stainless steel spoon in first to ensure glass does not crack. Bring concentrated tea to room temperature. Add peaches, simple syrup and ice to pitcher. Wait 5mins and serve.

 
 
 


 

 

    

         Peach French Toast

4 beaten eggs
1c milk
2 tbs sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp peach schnapps
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 slices of french bread
2 peaches pitted, peeled and sliced
sunflower seed oil and butter (to coat the frying pan while cooking)
1/4c of cream cheese mixed with 2 tbs of peach jelly
maple syrup and icing sugar for garnish






    Peach Sangria

1 shot of peach schnapps
1/4c tropical passion juice
2/3c sauvignon blanc
1/3c sprite
1 peach pitted and sliced
 

Easter Dinner: Hosted by The Perfect Housewife

hostess with the mostess

   It's no secret to my family and friends, that I love holidays! What's there not to love about holidays? Cooking, baking, eating, entertaining, decorating.... I could go on, and on. I'm actually slightly obsessed with holidays, I even start thinking about them and planning for them weeks and weeks before they actually take place. And although Easter is not considered by some to be as major of a holiday as say Christmas or Thanksgiving, to me it's equally as important and exciting.
  Growing up, my parents always made a big deal out of Easter. Maybe that's where I get it from? So this Easter I decided well in advance, that I wanted to host my first big family dinner. And when I say big, I am talking about inviting 20+ people for a formal sit down dinner in my tiny little house. My husband (Jake) gets anxiety when I talk about having only 10 people over, so I decided to start planning things early and let Jake in on my plans a bit closer to the day of the dinner.
  There is a lot to consider when you are hosting a formal dinner party. First off, where will everyone sit? Most people (myself included) can not fit 20 people into their dining room. This is when it comes in handy to have an open concept space in your home, where you can set up a few long folding tables. I am lucky enough to have an open concept kitchen/living room, but an open concept kitchen/living room/dining room would be even better if you have it! Maybe one day... I hope. Next up, you need to plan what you are going to serve for dinner. I decided on turkey, and not so much because I like turkey (because really it's not my all time fave), but because Jake got one for free from his employer at Christmas time (and I needed to use it up). My Oma offered to make a ham, and I took her up on it. Oma makes the best ham. Actually, Oma makes the best everything! I also decided to take my guests up on their offers to bring something. Cooking for 20 people is a lot of work, not to mention can get quite costly. So I say if people want to help make your life easier and contribute to the meal, then let them. I decided to make one veggie dish, the stuffing, and a salad myself. The rest of the sides I delegated for my guests to bring. As for dessert, I planned on making some Easter themed sugar cookies and a new creation of my own, lemon merainge pie cupcakes. Jake's Nana makes the best cream pies, so I asked her to bring a couple of them as well. Things were starting to shape up nicely. I had a menu set, a seating plan in motion, and guests invited. There was still lots to do though...

my spring/Easter themed planter
in front of my house

  I began envisioning how I wanted the dinner table to look. I fancied the idea of a green, yellow and pink colour scheme (very Easterish). So when I saw a beautiful green linen table cloth embroidered with white tulips, I knew I had to buy it for Easter dinner. In fact I had to buy two, because one wouldn't be long enough for a table set for 20! Once I found my table cloth, I began keeping my eye out for matching paper napkins. Normally I prefer cloth napkins, but after already purchasing the table cloth I decided paper napkins would be a bit more cost effective. I was able to find some beautiful pink, yellow and green plaid paper napkins along with some very cute lily shaped tea light candles in the same colours. Now I had a start on my centre pieces as well. I bought three of the same small glass vases for flowers, to use as part of my centre pieces. Now for dishes and cutlery. Luckily between my good cutlery and my everyday cutlery, I determined that I had enough for 20 people. But I did not have 20 dishes all in the same colour. I have two sets of dishes, a white set and a red set. Since red is more of a fall/winter colour, white was clearly the best option. So I had to buy more white dishes. Buying more dishes is yet another thing I decided to not let my husband in on. Since he thinks we have too many dishes already as it is. Men... they just don't have an appreciation for a beautifully set colour coordinated table! If it was up to him, we would serve our guests Easter dinner on paper plates. And probably mismatched ugly ones at that!
  Once my guests began to RSVP, I discovered that there would only be 15 people actually attending. That seemed much more reasonable. Although my husband still had his doubts that we could comfortably fit everyone in our small open concept kitchen/living room. I was confident that it would all work out just fine. The week prior to Easter, I added a few Easter decorations to the front of my house. I hate it when people over decorate for any holiday. All you need is a few tasteful and festive pieces to really brighten up your house and make it look appropriate for the approaching holiday.

sugar cookies all decorated

rolling out the sugar cookie dough

  On Good Friday I planned to make my sugar cookies. I'll let you in on a little secret. Pillsbury makes awesome sugar cookie dough! But they only sell it in the stores at Christmas time, So every December I stock up, and freeze the dough. Then I have enough to last me through out the entire year. Sugar cookies are such a colourful and delicious way to jazz up any holiday dessert table. Not to mention, they're super fun to make and decorate. I was about halfway finished making my cookies, when the phone rang. We were told some devastating news. Jake's cousin had been killed in a motorcycle accident. After the news sunk in (it took a minute or so), I questioned whether or not to cancel Easter dinner. After Jake and I talked it over, we decided that as long as the funeral was not on that day (which it wasn't) we would move forward with it. The turkey had already been taken out of the freezer, and we figured that being around the Schmidt side of the family (who would be in positive and upbeat moods) would be a ray of sunshine for us and my in law's during what would be a very sad and devastating few days ahead. Of course Jake's grandparents would not be attending (understandably so). Which brought our dinner table down to "dinner for 13".

cupcakes ready to be frosted

lemon merainge pie cupcakes
(with peeps on top, for an Easter feel)

    On Saturday, I also came to the realisation that I would now have to not only make cupcakes, but I also had to now come up with 2 pies (since Jake's Nana wasn't coming). Most people would have just bought the pies. I off course chose to be difficult and add making two pies to my already jam packed to do list. Luckily for me, Dr. Oetker makes delicious coconut and banana cream pie filling mix. Sometimes even the perfect housewife has to cheat a little. So not only did I have to do all of my running around for dinner on Saturday, but I also had to work on Saturday night. When I returned home from work at 2am, I immediately started baking cupcakes and making the pies. My stepson (Owen) couldn't help but comment, as I pulled out my stand mixer and began cracking eggs "I love how you just come home from work at 2am and just start baking! That's awesome." It's true, I just may be the only crazy person I know who would do such a thing. What can I say? I was born to bake!

the spread

my colour coordinated table

   On Sunday morning I got up early (after only 4 hrs of sleep), to put the turkey in the oven. Then I  began frosting cupcakes, setting up tables, ironing table cloths etc. I sent Jake down the street (where there was a guy selling Easter flowers on the corner) to buy some pink and yellow tulips. He came home with yellow daises and purple hydrangeas. He said that was all that was left. I worked my magic, and the flowers looked great on the dinner table. By this time it was 5 minutes before people were set to arrive, and I was still in my pyjamas, rocking last night's make up and major bed head. Sweet, no time for a shower or to wash my hair. Somehow I managed to pull myself together before my guests arrived, and I think I looked half decent at least.

the perfect housewife
and her husband

Easter themed dessert

    The family arrived and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon, full of food, drinks, and lots of love and laughter. I think I did a pretty good job for my first big family dinner. If there is one thing that I learnt from that weekend, it is that life is beyond precious. We all take everything and everyone for granted much too often. The truth is, that anyone you love can be here one day and gone the next. It's really that simple. So things like family dinners over holidays might seem like too much work for some people, so much so that people just decide to not have a family dinner at all. Because it's "too much work", or "I just don't have the time". Hey, if I can come home from work at 2am and bake desserts, run on 4hrs of sleep and still make a dinner special... then so can anyone else.

nothing says "I love you" like a housewife's homemade lunch



a beautiful table set for 2



  Sometimes it is the most simple and inexpensive things in life that really show the people you love how much you care about them! A handmade card, a home cooked meal or some freshly baked/made treats can really impress your loved one and make them feel special. Anyone can go out and buy a gift, but spending your time to make something for someone is a rarity these days.

  This month I had two loved ones to make feel special. The first was my Oma (whose birthday was on February 10th), the second was Jake (my husband),who I not only celebrate Valentine's day with, but on February 12th it was the 10th anniversary of our first date. Since I missed my Oma's birthday party (due to work), I was excited to invite her over for a home cooked meal chez moi. And although Jake enjoys my home cooking almost everyday of life, it's not all that often that I make his favourite dishes.

a restaurant quality meal





tortilla crusted halibut





banana bread pudding a la mode



gourmet blend of mushrooms



adding some Shiraz to the broth



My Oma has cooked for our family for the past 50 years, so I was delighted to finally return the favour  and cook a special meal just for her. I decided to make cream of mushroom soup as a starter, followed by tortilla crusted baked halibut accompanied by a spinach blend salad with a honey sesame vinaigrette, and to top it all off banana bread pudding for dessert. It sounds like a meal you would get served in a fancy restaurant, only it cost a bit less and was made with a lot more love! I found an amazing recipe for the cream of mushroom soup from celebrity chef Michael Smith on the foddnetwork.ca's website. I altered the recipe a bit, adding my homemade beef broth instead of chicken broth and using a gourmet blend of cramini, shitaki, and oyster mushrooms instead of just button mushrooms. All in all, the soup was beyond delicious. For the halibut I crushed some tortilla chips in my food processor and set up a flour, egg, and crushed tortilla chip assembly line for the fish and into the oven they went for about 25mins. The spinach salad blend was simple to make as well. I washed and cut up some boston lettuce and baby spinach and then tossed it in the honey sesame vinaigrette that I made. The banana bread pudding was a bit more work. I had to make the banana bread the night before, and then cube it and toast it in the oven. Then I placed it in a baking pan and poured the custard mixture over it. When it was finished cooking, I topped it off with some vanilla frozen yogurt and served it up with a fresh cup of coffee (brewed in my Keurig coffee maker of course). The whole lunch was beyond delicious, and most importantly enjoyed and appreciated by the birthday girl! The soup especially was rich and decadent. The blend of mushrooms really added a meaty texture to the rich and creamy broth.















a homemade lunch for my valentine



white chocolate covered strawberries



 The very next day was Valentines day! In 2002 I had my 2nd date with Jake on this romantic holiday, and I cooked for him for the very first time. What did I make you ask? Spaghetti and meatballs with ceaser salad. I was only 20 years old at the time, and hadn't really developed cooking as a passion just yet. Jake brought dessert, whipped cream (from a can) and strawberries. They say that the key to a man's heart is through his stomach... well I guess it only took two dates for me to get the key! The strawberries for dessert has become a tradition for us, and now every Valentine's day I make chocolate covered strawberries. This year on Valentine's day, both Jake and I had to work (and opposite shifts at that). That meant that we really didn't have much time to spend together. I decided that a homemade lunch was the perfect way to spend the measly one hour of time that we had together. I started by making one of our favourite soup's, roasted red pepper. We love that kind of soup so much, that we even had the chef's at the banquet hall that hosted our wedding reception make it to serve at our wedding dinner. Believe it or not, it's actually a fairly simple soup to make. In the winter months, I use a jar of already roasted red peppers instead of roasting them myself on the BBQ. To accompany the soup, I made oven roasted chicken breast on a toasted baguette. And then, let's not forget the chocolate covered strawberries for dessert! Jake was pleasantly surprised to arrive home from a long day at work, to find a romantic table for two with some of his favourite foods on it.

  The older I get, the more and more I appreciate having someone else cook for me. Even though I love to cook myself. There's just something really nice about sitting back and relaxing, while someone else waits on you, serves you a meal, and then cleans up after you as well. To me, nothing says "I love you" like a homemade lunch. Food is love, and sharing what you love is one of the greatest gifts of all!





Cream of Mushroom Soup :                    2 lbs of gourmet mushrooms

                                                                  1/2 c of butter

                                                                  3 onions chopped



                                                                  1/2 of a bottle of Shiraz

                                                                  4 c of beef broth

                                                                  1 c of whipping cream

                                                                  1 tbsp of fresh thyme

                                                                  3 tbsp of corn starch

                                                                  1/2 c of water

                                                                  salt and pepper to taste



sauteing the butter, mushrooms and onions



   In a large sauce pot cook mushrooms, onions, and butter on meduim heat until mushrooms turn brown. Add wine and simmer, reducing by 50%. Add broth and whipping cream, bring to a boil. Add thyme and simmer for a few more minutes. In a small cup, combine corn starch and water making a pasty like liquid. Add corn starch liquid to soup slowly and stir. Let soup simmer to desired thickness.

Tortilla Crusted Halibut:

                                                                    2 fillets of halibut

                                                                    1 c of crushed tortilla chips

                                                                    1 egg beaten

                                                                    1/2 c of flour

                                                                    1 tbsp of Parmesan cheese

                                                                    1 tbsp of thyme

                                                                    dash of salt and pepper



assembly line for the halibut





crushing the tortilla chips



   Crush tortilla chips using a food processor. Combine crushed tortilla chips, Parmesan cheese, thyme, and salt and pepper. Place mixture on dinner plate. Place flour and beaten egg on separate dinner plates. Using a fork dip halibut fillet first in flour (coating both sides of fillet), then in egg mixture (again coating both sides of fillet), and then in tortilla mixture (once again coating both sides of fillet). Repeat with second halibut fillet. Place coated fillets in a greased baking dish, and bake for 20-25 mins at 350 F. Turning fillets over at the half way point. Serve with tarter sauce.

Mixed Spinach Salad with Honey-Sesame Vinaigrette Dressing:                     

                                                            2 c of washed and dried baby spinach

                                                            1 c of washed and dried boston lettuce

                                                            2 tbsp of goat cheese (optional)

                                                            2 tbsp of mixed dried fruit (optional)

                                                            2 tbsp of sunflower seeds (optional)

                                                            4 tbsp of cider vinegar

                                                            3 tbsp of olive oil

                                                            1 tbsp of honey

                                                            1 tsp of sesame seeds

                                                            1 tbsp of water

                                                            dash of salt and pepper

  



tossing the salad



   In a small bowl, whisk cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, sesame seeds, water and salt and pepper. Toss spinach and lettuce in dressing. Place salad on serving plate, and top with optional ingredients. 

Banana Bread Pudding:

                                                    3/4 of a loaf of banana bread (with crusts removed and cut into cubes)

                                                    1 1/2 c of water

                                                    1 c of sugar

                                                    1/2 c of butter



banana bread



                                                    2 c of whip cream

                                                    2 c of milk

                                                    4 eggs (beaten)

                                                    1 tsp of nutmeg

                                                    1 tsp of vanilla



banana bread pudding



  Preheat oven to 350 F. Cubes of banana bread on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 20 mins. In a sauce pot combine water and sugar. Beat on high heat until syrup is golden brown. Add butter and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in cream. Add vanilla, milk, nutmeg and eggs (tempering the egg mixture) whisk until combined. Stir in cubes of banana bread. Allow mixture to absorb into bread. Pour into a baking dish, sprinkle with sugar and bake for 45mins. Serve with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries:

                                                                     1 pint of strawberries (long stemmed ones are desirable)

                                                                     1 pkg of chocolate chips (white chocolate chips optional)

                                                                     3 tbsp of cream

                                                                     2 tbsp of butter



white chocolate chips ready to be melted



strawberries ready for dipping



  Wash and dry strawberries. Using a double broiler on the stove, melt chocolate chips. Stir in cream and butter, creating a smooth chocolate mixture. Remove from heat, and dip strawberries in mixture. Place strawberries on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate for one hour before serving.     

melted white chocolate mixture