Month of Macro: Peaches

Wanna see some peaches...

Up close?

I took a few shots before I started canning them the other day...

And I kept thinking the focus was acting up because everything looked all "fuzzy".

But I suppose that can be blamed on the peach fuzz and not my camera!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you had a great day!

Month of Macro: Plums

Over the weekend, I bought some plums.

Since I'm into canning at the moment...

I wanted to take advantage of the great price on plums I found at my local grocer... 

So I picked up a few pounds and made some jam.

Of course, before I started the canning process I took some macro photos.

And while the exterior of the plums were fun to photograph....

I also liked shooting the insides!

I'll admit, I had never taken a close look at a plum slice.

Did you know there were so many veins and juicy protrusions?

I didn't... and now I'll never look at a plum slice the same way again!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you had a great weekend!

Month of Macro: Blackberries

Over the weekend, my grocer had a big sale on blackberries ($1 per half pint).

The berries were really lovely...

And I couldn't resist picking up a couple pints.

Plus, they were huge- check this out!

Once I got the berries home, I washed them and attempted a project I've been wanting to try for a while.

This little project used some of my favorite spices, including whole cinnamon sticks.

Unfortunately, I won't know if this project worked for over a month (per the recipe, believe it or not)!

If everything turns out, I'll make sure to share the outcome of this project in a few weeks... and in the meantime, I'll just do my best to be patient (which is not my best quality!)

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you're enjoying your Labor Day weekend!

A tasty summer crisp

With just a month of summer left, I wanted to share this recipe I found for Raspberry Peach Crisp!

The ingredients are really simple, and I bet you have most of them in your cupboard right now. Paired with a few seasonal fruits, this crisp is a perfect dessert on a warm, summer night!

When I made this, I started by slicing the peaches before adding the raspberries, lemon juice and vanilla.

After a quick stir, I poured it into an 8"x8" pan that I had greased.

In a different bowl, I mixed together all of the dry ingredients. And in yet another bowl, I added some almond extract to an egg and beat it. (It's recipes like this that make me long for a dishwasher.) Then I poured the egg mixture into the dry ingredients...

And stirred it until it was crumbly. When I was happy with the texture, I sprinkled it on top of the raspberries and peaches, making sure that everything was covered.

Then, per the recipe, I poured melted butter over the top of everything in the pan.

It looked pretty odd before I placed it in the oven...

But about thirty minutes later, it looked scrumptious!

Don't you agree?

When the crisp had cooled a bit, I spooned it into a bowl and dug in... and it was super yummy!

If you'd like to whip this up before the summer ends, here's the recipe:

Raspberry Peach Crisp

Ingredients:

2 peaches, sliced

1/2 pint of raspberries

Juice of half a lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour

3/4 cups sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 egg

6 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 3775 degrees. Combine peaches, raspberries, lemon juice, and vanilla before placing in a 8x8 baking pan that has been greased. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, beat egg and add along extract. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle flour mixture over fruit and drizzle with butter. Bake around 3 minutes, or until top is golden. Serve alone, over ice cream, or with Greek yogurt.

Oh- and while the crisp is delicious alone, it's also especially good with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Rhubarb Crisp

One of the things I like to do when I stay at my parents house is raid their garden. So when my mom suggested that I bake some Rhubarb Crisp for my dad, I was happy to oblige.

First, I walked out to one of their gardens...

Located the rhubarb plant...

And proceeded to slice some stalks from the plant.

(Even though the end of the stalks look pink, this particular plant is a Green Rhubarb, so the majority of the stalks are green.)

I then brought the stalks inside, and after a thorough washing, I chopped them up into little pieces. (Doesn't this look like a bowl of chopped celery?)

Then I added some brown sugar...

And cinnamon to the rhubarb, giving it a quick stir.

In a separate bowl, I made the crisp "topping" by combining butter, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and oatmeal with a pastry cutter.

After I stuffed a few ramekins with the rhubarb, I topped them with a generous helping of the crisp "topping".

Then I placed the ramekins on a baking sheet, and placed them in a pre-heated oven.

About half an hour later, I pulled these tasty dishes from the oven...

So my dad could help himself to individual portions of Rhubarb Crisp whenever he wanted it!

If you'd like to bake up this easy crisp, here's the recipe:

Rhubarb Crisp

Ingredients:

Rhubarb mixture:

Chopped rhubarb (enough to fill your desired baking dish)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Crisp topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/3 cup butter, softened

Directions:

Clean and chop rhubarb, and mix with brown sugar and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine crisp topping with pastry cutter. Place rhubarb mixture in greased baking dish(es), and bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender and crisp is "bubbling". Serve with ice cream or Greek yogurt (my dad's preference).

As you might suspect,  Rhubarb Crisp is somewhat tart, so it's best served with ice cream or Greek yogurt (my dad's favorite).

Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a great weekend!