I cook with wine…

This is one I should have posted long ago, when persimmons were in season. I’m actually fairly new to this fruit and have generally just eaten them raw, ideally wrapped inside some prosciutto. However, I found myself craving pie and thought these little Fuyu beauties would pair well with apples, for a new twist on an American classic. Since neither fruit is terribly sweet and I wanted to keep the filling low on sugar, I did overindulge a bit with a sweet and crunchy topping. If you’d like to keep it low sugar, I believe some strips of pastry topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon would do just as well.

Ingredients:

One frozen pie crust (I used a whole wheat version found at Whole Foods)

Filling

2 green apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 persimmons, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour (you can sub all-purpose)

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Topping

1 cup pecans, chopped

¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour (same as above)

¼ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick butter at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all filling ingredients and pour into pie crust, spreading evenly.

Combine all the dry topping ingredients in a large bowl and then cut in butter, using a pastry cutter, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread evenly over the top of pie.

Bake in over for approximately 25 minutes or until topping is browned. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Bon appétit!

Once again, I am reminded that summer’s bounty is oh-so-great. Peaches are one of those fruits that, if you have the luck to stumble upon that perfectly ripe specimen, will surpass the flavor of any cheesecake or pudding or other man-made dessert. Nature truly loves us.

That said, after a few months of plain peaches, one might want to dress up the fruit a little and this simple crumble recipe is an easy and relatively healthy way to do so. Ripe white peaches are naturally sweeter than yellow peaches, so I used mildly sweet agave nectar to create a syrup. However, if you’re using yellow peaches, you might want to step up the sweetness with raw honey. Also, for a special friend, you can probably make a similar raw, vegan dish by simply letting the peaches and agave nectar sit out for an hour or so, long enough for the juices to seep out and create a syrup. Then combine chopped almonds, walnuts/pecans, and dates with cinnamon and maybe just enough agave nectar to hold it together in little clumps and I think you’re golden!

Peaches have plenty of nutritional attributes, but I’m going to hold off on that info for now, and encourage you to just focus on the pure sensual goodness of the flavor and texture of the peaches. The endorphins produced by this will be health benefit enough!

Ingredients:

3 large white peaches

2 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)

1 ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose flour would work here too, but I like the flavor in the whole wheat)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons raw sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup slivered almonds

¼ cup butter

¼ cup milk

Directions: 

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the peaches and mix with agave nectar. Pour into 9 x 9 inch baking dish and let sit.

 Mix together the flour, cinnamon, sugar, baking powder and almonds. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. This is going to take a little bit of elbow grease, as you will also be cutting the almonds into smaller pieces, but it’s worth the effort. Stir in milk. Mixture should now vary between larger clumps and smaller crumbs.

 Pour crumble mix over top of peaches and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until crumble is golden brown. Let cool slightly, serve as is, or with vanilla ice cream if you’re feeling saucy.