Prospectus

Issue date: 8/19/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Aaron Geiger

There is such a great variety of inexpensive fresh fruit available in the summer, like peaches, plums, and berries, that I find it hard to resist bringing home more than I know what to do with every time I go to the store. Unfortunately, this habit occasionally leads to a fruit fly breeding colony in a remote corner of my kitchen. I hate to see good fruit go bad, so this year, instead of cutting back, I have decided to buy too much fruit on purpose. That way, I know I have too much, and I make myself put some of it in the freezer as soon as I get home. (Fruit that is at risk for turning into a slimy lump at the bottom of the fruit bowl or the refrigerator bin can be cleaned, sliced, and frozen in re-sealable freezer bags for several months and can be used in any of the following recipes.) With my clever new fruit-storage system, I get to indulge in all the wonderful fruit that is available in the summer right now, plus I can look forward to having plenty more after the season is over, when prices go up and the fruit starts tasting like cardboard.

Aside from eating it out of hand, my favorite way to use fresh fruit is in a cobbler. You can make a cobbler with a biscuit or pastry crust on top, and that's wonderful, but it is so much easier (and just as tasty) to make it with what my grandmother called a magic crust. As with all good things, you start by melting a stick of butter in an 8-inch square baking pan while the oven preheats to 350°F. Combine one cup each of flour and sugar (white, brown or a combination) along with 2 teaspoons of baking powder, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Whisk in 1 cup of milk. Pour this batter over the melted butter and scatter 2 cups of fruit (I am partial to a mixture of peaches and blueberries, but any combination of soft fruits or berries will work) over the top of the batter. As the cobbler bakes (for about 30 minutes), the batter will magically rise to the top and bake into a chewy, buttery crust. It is even better topped with ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

An equally simple alternative to a cobbler is a crumble, or crisp. Combine ½ cup of quick-cooking or rolled oats, 6 tablespoons of flour, ½ cup of brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons of softened butter in a bowl, and cut the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle this over 3 cups of fruit that has been tossed with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour and then placed in the bottom of an oiled, 8-inch square baking pan. Bake for about 40 minutes at 350°F until the top is crispy and golden. (Also nice with whipped cream or ice cream-vanilla yogurt's not bad, either.)

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