Summer Lovin'

Summer is coming to an end, and we had not yet crossed "home-made ice cream" off of our bucket list! Labor Day changed that! We did one of our favorites, cinnamon ice cream, and coupled it with fresh peach pie, which made a perfect duo! So... lucky you, you get two recipes!

Fresh Peach Pie

• 1 pie crust
• 1 cup mashed peaches
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 4-6 fresh peaches

1. Cook single pie crust in pie dish and let cool.
2. Use a blender or food processor to mash 1 cup of peaches (about 2 peaches--measure as you go)
3. Combine mashed peaches, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan.
4. Stir over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens. Allow it to get pretty thick.
5. Let glaze cool. 
6. Remove skins from 5-6 peaches. (You can blanch them to peel easily.) Slice peaches straight into the pie crust.
7. Pour glaze over the peaches. Enjoy! (Refrigerate to ensure that glaze won't get runny.) 

Someone likes to eat the crust off... ahem, Olivia. This was a store-bought crust, so it didn't fit as many peaches. Typically I would make a crust and put it in a bigger pie dish... all the more to enjoy! Click here for a great and easy pie crust recipe!

 Cinnamon Ice Cream

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla (mexican vanilla is my favorite!)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugars and half-and-half. When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat. Briskly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl as you ladle part of the mixture into the eggs to temper them. You don't want scrambled eggs in your ice cream! Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Continue cooking and stirring over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside to cool (I put it in the fridge until I'm ready to make the ice cream.) 
2. Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Makes 4 cups.

Zucchini Bread

School has started up again, and that means it's close to FALL! I don't know why, but I always want to cook more when it's fall (okay, I know why... pumpkin, pecans, chili's & soups, sweets for the holidays, warm ovens on cooler days...).
My mom just came for a visit and we hunted for a zucchini bread recipe that had the right spices. We found a delicious one, and just changed the spices up to get what we were craving. I present to you, not one, but two tasty zucchini bread loaves!

 Zucchini Bread

Yields: 2 loaves
Prep time: 20 min.
Cook time: 60 min.

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 3 1/2 cups grated zucchini (can use as few as 2)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup applesauce (or you can omit this and do 1 cup oil)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8"x4" loaf pans.
2. Shred zucchini, lightly packing it down as you measure it.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs, applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Mix very well.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and spices. Stir gently to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing as you go, then beat well to fully combine. 
6. With a rubber scraper, stir in shredded zucchini and pecans into the batter and mix well.
7. Pour half of the batter into each prepared pan. 
8. Bake for 45 to 60 min. or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out cleanly.
9. Remove pans and cool on wire racks.