David Ross

That is delicious

So delicious I'm going to make this for dinner this week. We're hot in Eastern Washington right now, (though not as suffering hot as some parts of the country), and this just looks perfect for this time of year.

Yesterday was the class where I made the strawberry salad with a mint-basil vinaigrette. Went over very well and we all agreed that including feta cheese really set off the strawberries, cucumber, cantaloupe and watermelon. Just assembled on a platter then spooned the vinaigrette over the top. This is a photo of the nectarine clafouti. I have been on a clafouti dash this summer. Originally the class was planned for July and I was going to use bing cherries and apricots. Now a month later in August I had to adjust things since the cherry season is over and the apricots are waning, so I used nectarines. I rarely even think of nectarines in the summer, but it was the perfect choice. They are large this year and incredibly juicy, and they held up well baking in a clafouti. I used the same shortbread crust that I did for the huckleberry clafouti and the same custard base. The exception this time was adding 1 tsp. black pepper and a tsp. of five-spice powder. The idea was to add some spice to the nectarines. I wasn't sure how it would work, but it turned out really well. We served it chilled and dusted with powdered sugar just before slicing. Only problem was for a class we had to cut small slices and we could have passed around some whipped cream. Now I won't forget nectarines in the summer. In addition to the strawberry salad and nectarine clafouti, we did roasted game hens with chimichurri sauce-

The annual Hatch chile roast is going on for two weeks at our local Mexican market. The aroma of those roasting chiles is amazing. They roast them in a huge, rotating metal basket fired by 6 propane blasters. I'm pretty tame with chiles, so I bought a bag of the "medium." (They were also roasting hot, extra hot, and an even hotter strain of Hatch chiles). Simple grilled T-bone steak with fire-roasted hatch chiles in olive oil with some salt and pepper-

Sounds delicious thanks. I'm checking a market this morning for apricots.

My favorite baked fruit dish is a Brown Betty. Americans have been making Brown Betty's for generations, and I can attest to how delicious it is. I've been making peach, pear and apple Brown Betty for years. I always wonder how something so humble--fresh fruit, bread crumbs, butter and brown sugar--can result in a dessert that is at the top of the list. Yesterday I made a Peach Brown Betty with local peaches from the Yakima Valley in Central Washington. I blanched them very quickly in boiling water to loosen the skin, then cut into chunks. Then tossed in brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. I always use supermarket white bread to make fresh bread crumbs. Never an artisan loaf, although I am sure it would work fine. The supermarket white bread makes for fine crumbs that soak up the butter and become golden brown and delicate. Oh and lots of butter. I started with a layer of peaches in the bottom of a small Le Creuset pot- Then a layer of fresh bread crumbs dotted with butter- Then bake in a 375 oven for about 45 minutes until the bread crumbs are golden- Served with Tillamook Dairy (OR) Wild Oregon Blackberry Ice Cream- Peach Brown Betty- 2 cups fresh white bread crumbs, (Cut off the crust off 7-8 slices and pulse in a food processor) 1 cup dark brown sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. allspice 4 large peaches, (I used a 2-quart Le Creuset Dutch oven) 10 tbsp. butter, (I prefer salted butter) Cut a cross on the bottom of each peach and blanch about 2 minutes. Peel off the skin, cut into chunks. In a large bowl combine the peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and toss to combine. Layer half the peaches in the bottom of a baking dish, then a layer of bread crumbs, then dot with butter. Add a second layer of peaches, bread crumbs and butter. Bake in a 375 oven for 45 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden and you can see the peach syrup bubbling.

Great idea. We are still seeing them up here.

Does anyone have a recipe or experience with pickling apricots? I'm toying with the idea of pickled apricots and some type of pork or duck dish.

Thank you, those look delicious and I especially like the creativity of pairing blackberries and corn.

I've never tasted a blackberry as sweet and juicy as the berries I found at the Yakima Farmer's Market. Now I'm very envious of the Members that are great bakers and pastry artists--I think of all of you when I attempt to craft pastry. The puff pastry base proved to be too delicate to hold the crème anglaise, so I reverted back to the shortbread crust I used for the cherry clafouti. The crème anglaise was flavored with a hint of lemon and some mint from my garden, then the blackberries on top. No glaze or sugar dusting of the blackberries, just straight from the field, to the market, to the tart.

I was so fascinated I didn't stop the truck to get a hop photo. I grew up in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and we had hops, but not like the hop fields around Yakima. There were acres and acres, hundreds of acres. They towered well over 20' high on vines wrapping around an intricate set of poles and wires. It's really a sight to behold, and this time of year they are close to harvest. There is a Washington Hop Museum in Toppenish, which is about 20 miles South of Yakima. When we talk about craft breweries these days, I'm quite sure a lot of the hops come from this area.

This weekend I visited the Yakima Farmer's Market. Yakima is in the heart of Washington's agricultural region and this is the perfect time of year to visit the farm stands and markets throughout the Yakima River Valley. (And to stop and taste at one of the local wineries or breweries). I always drive off the freeways and highways and take the country roads, allowing for the opportunity to stop along the roadside and take pictures and be close to the crops and livestock in the fields. There were acres and acres of hops strung on poles reaching upwards of 20' and winery after winery. This is one of many hundreds of acres of sweet corn that is just days from harvesting. These corn stalks were at least 8 feet high and the ears were huge- The market is downtown in front of the historic Capitol Theatre. The re-painted sing on the building reads "public attractions, music festivals and vaudeville"- I've never seen fresh purslane before- Bushel after bushel of squash blossoms- All manner of peppers- Siberian Garlic? I'll be using the blackberries in a puff pastry tart for our Summer Fruits Cook-Off here,

I bought this beautiful box of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries at the Yakima Farmer's Market yesterday. Today I'm doing a pastry with the blackberries. Yakima is in the central part of Washington, in the heart of our State's agricultural region. Typically rhubarb is not in the markets this late, but they had boxes and boxes of bright red rhubarb for sale.

I was just at the Yakima Farmer's Market this morning and there was a large display of zucchini flowers. Recipe ideas were running through my mind, but the flowers were so delicate I didn't want to subject them to the 3 1/2 hour drive home. And the cooler was already packed with tons of other stuff. The dish you had sure shows how creative and versatile we can get with peaches.

I'm wondering how I'll prepare my peach dishes. I'm fond of both crisp and cobbler, but my favorite is an old-fashioned peach betty. Just layers of peaches, butter and fresh bread crumbs. Do you have any traditional peach dishes you make every summer?

Very delicious and I prefer it with whipped cream, (but of course ice cream is always good too).

It's been a wonderful summer season for Bing cherries here in Washington. (But the Ranier cherry crop wasn't very good this summer). We started seeing cherries in early June and they are still coming, albeit thinning out. Here's another clafouti, this time a classic cherry clafouti. It's a little different technique than the huckleberry clafouti. The cherries are soaked in cherry liqueur for a day, then drained, (save the liqueur), tossed with sugar and baked in the oven for about 15 minutes prior to scattering them in the tart pan and adding in the custard.

And some very good bread.............

That sure does fit within our summer fruits theme. And a great way to stretch them beyond the summer.

That's a great question and I'm glad you asked. The salad would easily serve 6. I drizzled about 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinaigrette over the top. I wanted the sweetness of the strawberries and watermelon to come through and not be drowned in oil and vinegar. Now our classroom setup is 16 students at 3 long tables in front of the kitchen. We have two large video monitors overhead that pickup the camera feed on top of the cooking area I'm working on. The students are home cooks that are seeking more knowledge on ingredients and techniques, but may not have made their own vinaigrette. In order to showcase the way to craft a vinaigrette, it's best to do it in a bowl--with the 3/4 cup olive oil--then add the vinegar. It helps visualize the final result, then we mention you only need a few drizzles over the salad. Same way we would teach a vinaigrette that incorporates a mustard.

I've been working on the recipes I'll be using at an upcoming cooking class with a theme of herbs and spices. Last night I finished the testing of the salad. When I started to work on the recipes it was long before we launched this cook-off, but I think it fits in our theme quite well. The salad is strawberries, cubes of cucumber, watermelon balls and feta cheese that I marinated in olive oil and dried herbs. I chose the Italian castevetrano green olives because they are a bit sweet and only slightly tangy to not overpower the strawberries and watermelon. What really went well with a bit of the strawberry was the marinated feta. The vinaigrette was simply 3/4 cup of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar. I'm not a fan of lots of vinegar in a salad dressing, but it had just enough tang for my tastes. I think balsamic vinegar reduced to a syrup would also work well. The mint and basil really bring out the sweetness and freshness of the watermelon and strawberries.

No I actually found it at Home Depot. It was in a basic box with no illustrations or photos on the outside, but said it was universal in size. What I really like is the heavy duty spit rod and the rod has about 6 different pieces so you can expand the rod to the size of your grill. The cages are bigger than the old Weber rotisserie I had, which I do like to hold the birds.

Thanks, lime juice in it tonight.

I was thinking that summer fruits are an obvious choice in a cocktail. This was my first attempt at a huckleberry cocktail. Now mind you, I make a cocktail about once every three months, but I do draw inspiration and ideas from our mixologist enthusiasts. I started by crushing some huckleberries, sugar and mint. Then in went Bombay Sapphire gin, ginger ale, ice and a sprig of mint from the garden. I wanted it to be sweet, not too sweet, but next time I think I'll add some lemon juice. And I think I'll muddle more huckleberries up front, and use crushed ice rather than cubes. I wondered if gin would be too strong a flavor next to the huckleberries since gin contains so many herbs and strong notes of juniper. But gin, rather than vodka, was perfect, evoking the flavors and perfumes of all the ingredients. Now what would you call this thing? Huckleberry Ginger Fizz?

After my well-worn rotisserie endured about 20 years, it was time for me to get a new one for the summer--and now I can't stop spit-roasting meats and seafood! Last night two spit-roasted game hens that were simply rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. I keep the briquettes around the sides of the Weber and the game hens took about 50 minutes. The spit-roasting keeps them incredibly juicy since they baste as they turn, and you get some crispy bits of golden skin.