epicurious – Veggicurious

Simple Peach Cake

I bought another ten pounds of peaches at the Farmers Market last weekend. I’m just not ready for peach season to be over! After I made pints of ginger peach jam and had a peach for breakfast every morning that week, I made this simple, rustic peach cake for a dinner with a friend. I used a recipe from my CSA, itself adapted from an Epicurious recipe using nectarines. I didn’t have the almond extract, but I added a little extra fresh grated nutmeg!

Golden Peach Cake
Adapted from Epicurious
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
2-3 peaches, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.

4. Spread batter evenly in pan, then scatter peaches over top. Stir together nutmeg and remaining 1/2 tablespoon sugar and sprinkle over top.

5. Bake until cake is golden-brown and top is firm but tender when lightly touched (cake will rise over fruit), 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool to warm.

A Chard and Tofu “Saag Paneer”

I can hardly tell you how beautiful my rainbow swiss chard is. Still growing strong in my raised bed, I look at it longingly everyday, but usually feel compelled to eat some of the vegetables from CSA languishing the refrigerator. Not tonight. In the mood for some saag paneer, but without paneer on-hand or spinach, I decided to do a little recipe sleuthing on the internet. Surely others have made similar substitutes before? I discovered that chard, turnip and other dark leafy greens are frequent substitutes for spinach in “saag.” And vegans substitute tofu for paneer all the time. I used a combination of recipes from epicurious and the webblog “Tigers and Strawberries,” which used a more complex spice mixture. While I might not have created the most authentic version of this dish, I was able to use the chard and the last of the hot thai chilies in my garden, along with the tofu in the fridge. AND to make use of the green tomatoes from my CSA in this sweet and spicy chutney from Food in Jars.

Beet Risotto with Horseradish

I love beets, and recently learned to love beet greens, but sometimes I want to try something new with them. I found this recipe on Epicurious and though “huh.” The combination of horseradish and beets had never crossed my mind. But it work – really well. The risotto is incredibly earthy, the cheese brings a creaminess, and the horseradish is just the right amount of kick. I even added extra! And it uses both the beets and the greens!