peach crumble pie

peach season is officially here.  for father's day i whipped up some peach crumble pies with some peaches that i got at the farmers market.  fresh peaches make the best pies!  

ingredients

crust

pie crust, here is my go to crust recipe  

filling

8 or 9 peaches, sliced (skins left on)

3 Tbsp AP flour

topping

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 brown sugar

1/2 cup old fashion rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/2 tsp cardamon

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

directions  

-pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

-in a large cast iron pan or pie pan, roll out and transfer your pie crust

-fold crust over and use your fingers or fork to make a lip on the pie

-place in the refridgerator

-wash and slice peaches

-in a bowl, toss peaches with the 3 Tbsp of flour

-in a seperate bowl make the crumble by mixing together the sugars, flours, oats, and spices

-carefully arrange the peaches in your pie crust

-sprinkle the cruble mixture on top

-place in oven for 55-65 minutes or until crumble is browned and pie is a little bubbly

*if your pie crust is starting to brown, remove it from the oven and cover just the crust with foil, and put back into the oven

photo and recipe by kristen bach

the best bbq

sometimes i drive all the way past madison to the intersection of 1-20 and highway 83. there is nothing there but an old gas station. there is an add-on on the side that sells the best bbq. it has no name. i asked the guy's name ( robert ) and told him his ribs are the best. all he said was ' i jes cook 'em slow.' there's nowhere to eat the ribs. not even a shade tree, so i had to sit in my air conditioned car and wolf them down. so tender you barely have to chew..mmm-mmm...

words and photographs by rebecca wood

strawberry fields forever

my daughter and i just made a farm visit to 3 porch farm.  we got to help them harvest strawberries for a couple of hours.  we tested plenty of them out while we were picking, not too bad!

photos and words by kristen bach

rwood studio shoot

if it weren't for r.wood studio, beautyeveryday may not exist.  the three of us met through the work we have done with rebecca at her pottery studio.  even after working at the studio for nearly a decade i still feel just as inspired as the first time i ever saw it.  the days that we spend styling, eating, and taking pictures are always a treat!  here are some pics from our photoshoot that we did the otherday in our friends bright and cheery studio.

words and photos by kristen bach

hot cross buns

when we do photoshoots we love to use elements from our community like flowers from a local farm or food from a local chef.  a while back we collaborated mimi from homemade.  they made a bunch of lovely food for us to take photos of.  one of my favorite things that they made were these hot cross buns and i thought that they would be a great thing to make for easter! i asked mimi to share her favorite hot cross buns recipe with us.  it is from the bouchon bakery book. 

ingredients

yields: 12 buns

For the buns:Dried Currants 3/4cup

Dried Cranberries ½ cup

Vanilla bean ¼

All-purpose flour 2 ½ cups+ 2 ½ Tblsp

Instant yeast 2 3/8 tsp

Granulated Sugar 3 Tblsp + 2 tsp

Fine seas salt 1 ½ tsp

Eggs 1 ½ eggs (88 grams)

Whole Milk ¼ cup

Unsalted butter 5.8 oz (cut into ½ inch cubes and at room temp)

To make the dough:

In a medium sized mixing bowl place dried currants and cranberries. Pour 2 cups boiling water over the dried fruit. Let sit for 5 minutes then strain off additional water and pat dry with paper towel. Dry the bowl and return fruit to the bowl and mix with the scraped seeds of the ¼ vanilla bean.In a stand mixer: place the flour and yeast in the bowl fitted with a dough hook and mix on low for about 15 minutes to distribute the yeast evenly. Add sugar, salt, eggs an whole milk. Mix on low speed for 4 minutes until dough comes together and then continue to mix for another 30 minutes. Next add the butter a few pieces at a time allowing the butter to fully incorporate before adding the next batch. Once all the butter is added, stop and scrape down the sides and then mix in low for another 10 minutes.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Add the plumped fruit and gently need in. Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold like a letter: left of dough pulled out over 2/3rds of the dough and then right side out over the remainder. Repeat this process again. Gently pick the dough up and place in large lightly buttered bowl seam side down. Allow to rest, covered, for 45minutes at room temperature. Repeat one more “letter” fold and then return the bowl to rest for another 45 minutes. Spray a ¼ sheet pan with pan spray and line the bottom with parchment. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper or dull chef knife divide the dough into 12 even pieces: 78 grams each. Using the palms of your hands make into even round balls and place seam side down at in rows 3 by 4 evenly spaced. Top with egg wash and cover pan with a box or plastic tub to proof for 1- 1½ hours until the balls have risen and are touching each other.

Bake at 350°F 25- 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

photos by kristen bach, recipe by bouchon bakery book, and baked by anjuli berstein of homemade catering

winter tomato sauce

i think that most of us are dreaming of the bounty of spring and summer.  i can't wait to slice open a fresh tomato,sprinkle it with some salt, and call it a meal.  while dreaming of tomatoes i decided to make a comforting winter sauce to serve atop some fresh noodles.  with no fresh tomatoes on hand I opened up a can of san marzano tomatoes which always seem to get me through the cold months. 

ingredients

1 big can of san marzano tomatoes

1 medium yellow onion

3 cloves of chopped garlic

1 T fresh basil (i used some that i had froze in the fall)

2 T olive oil

1 sweet pepper

4 sprigs of rosemary

water, if needed

salt and pepper to taste

directions:

-pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees

-chop up the vegetables

-in a 9 x 13 inch roasting pan coat with olive oil

-put vegetables and herbs in the pan and season

-slowly cook the vegetables for 2 hours or more

add water if sauce begins to burn or looks like it need some liquid

-remove the sprigs of rosemary and serve over bread, rice, noodles, or beans

photo and recipe by kristen bach