Stone fruit season

The chickens are getting gigantic! They are now 9 weeks old! When we are home we let them run about in the garden, but they rather enjoy the condo that Doug built for them. They love their multi-height roosting system and their shredded junk-mail bedding. When the bedding gets changed, it goes right into the compost! Laying boxes will be installed in September.

I've been working on the late July blog for a while, and I think its time to post!

It has been incredible how many wonderful things are growing just a few miles from my house. Now that I'm working closer to home, I can spend more time seeking out local, fresh and healthier foods. I think Doug likes me cooking almost every night too!

Sadly though, late July means that much of the summer season is coming to a close and we'll be transitioning to fall veggies in our own garden.

We got some of our plants in the ground a little late this year, but we will still have cucumbers and tomatoes on into September if we are lucky.

A few wonderful things that I have come across this July in the Lowcountry have been:

- Plums

- Peaches

- Figs

- Tomatoes

- Sweet corn

- Sweet and hot peppers (chiles)

The pic to the right are local cayenne peppers, I like to dry my own, then grind them into powder I can use all year long.

- Melons

- ETC, ETC, ETC

After a few pictures, I'll share some recipes I either found on the internet, got from the guy at the roadside stand, or just made up myself!

Peach Tart

The easiest pastry recipe of all time, and yes, I modified this recipe from Food Network
Thank you, Ina Garten!

Follow this recipe to the letter, the only changes/substitutions I made:

-Peaches instead of apples (be sure that the peaches are very firm. Most people think that peaches that are firm are not ripe. WRONG! As long as the peach has a nice "blush" on the skin and it's in the store, its ready to go for pies and tarts. For eating raw, its nice to have them a little softer)
-South Carolina golden rum instead of Calvados.
- Orange marmalade instead of apricot preserves (I had good French orange marmalade on hand)

I made this tart for an elderly neighbor who recently lost her husband. I actually gave it to her without testing it....she offered me a slice with coffee and it was VERY GOOD! :)

Local Rockfish with soba noodles

- Rockfish is also known as Striped bass. It is on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch BEST CHOICE list for sustainability in the Southeast region. About 10 years ago numbers were in serious decline in the Chesapeake Bay area, but it has made a remarkable comeback. My fish market, Sea Eagle, carries local South Carolina long-line caught rockfish. They''ll even show you where the hook was in the fish's mouth!

1/2 pound of Rockfish fillets--serves 2 people very well, I even had leftovers
oilve oil
salt and pepper.
- salt and pepper the fish, sautee skin side UP in oilve oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. remove fish from the pan.

If you have "fond" or little bits of fish stuck on the bottom of the pan, deglaze pan with juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup of white wine. Take your wooden spoon and pry those bits up!

THEN add to the pan, sautee until soft and sauce reduced on medium heat:

- chopped red bell pepper, medium dice

- medium Vidalia onion, medium dice

- dash of cayenne pepper powder

-1 large fresh tomato, chopped

Add right before you put the fish back in the pan:

- tablespoon of fresh basil, fennel fronds (or 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed), fresh parsley.

- 1 tablespoon drained capers.

Put the fish back in the pan skin side DOWN with the veggies on LOW, then cook until the fish is flaky and cooked through but not falling apart.

I'm sure you could do this recipe with cod, grouper, flounder, etc.

Cook SOBA noodles to desired doneness: Soba noodles are a Japanese buckwheat noodle. If you cant find them at your grocery or local Asian market, use whole wheat spaghetti.

Remove fillets to serving dish. Put cooked hot soba noodles into the veggies in the pan, toss with tongs, then place with the fish on serving dish. YUMMY!
Serve with your favorite white wine.

Another thing I enjoyed SO MUCH this summer were Rainier Cherries from Washington State. Yeah, I know they're not local, but, since Doug loves them so much and they were buy one get one free at the Publix....we ate them as snacks and even dried some to eat with granola during the wintertime!

I was planning on making a pie with them, but they were eaten before that could happen. Oh well! Maybe I could soak the dried ones in rum and sugar and then make them into a tart sometime this winter!

NEXT BLOG........August, AVMA and Atlanta! :)