We’re still enjoying peaches, one of summer’s quintessential treats. Easily bruised, peaches are often brought to market on the hard side. Put them inside a paper bag (side by side, rather than all piled up) and give them a day or two to fully ripen. Here’s a simple way to prepare peaches, to serve with cream or ice-cream. You’ll need to peel and pit them. You’re usually told to blanch the whole peach, then skin and halve it to remove the stone. If you’ve had plenty of practice at...
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If you’re buying strawberries, it’s a good idea to come prepared with a shallow basket, or other container to carry them home. Imported fruit tends to be shipped while still hard, but fresh-picked, really red-ripe berries are almost bursting with sweet juice—keep them spread out rather than piling them high. Not that keeping strawberries is usually a problem. Keeping hands off strawberries is the challenge. This week’s recipe comes from Andrea Norris, one of the volunteer board workin...
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Here’s a classic French dessert, a clafouti, with a distinctly sweet Cape Cod twist.

Blueberry clafouti

1¾ cups blueberries, stems removed, rinsed and well dried
1 tsp. vanilla essence
large pinch cinnamon
unsalted butter and sugar for the dish
2 large eggs
5 tbs. sugar
¾ cup half and half  
¾ cup flour mixed with a pinch of salt
To finish: 2 tbs. sugar, preferably superfine, for browning clafouti
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
softly whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Find a 9 to 9...
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This modern adaptation of Thomas Jefferson's recipe, with interesting historical notes, can be found in Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance (Damon Lee Fowler, ed. 2005. Charlottesville, VA: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.) In Jefferson’s day, ice cream was made in a sorbetière, and set in lidded molds. The recipe below is abridged (omitting the molding stage) with the Foundation’s permission. Pick up some fresh farm eggs, and celebrate the 4th with a scoop of snowy vanill...
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This week’s farm-to-table recipe is for a simple pavlova. A pavlova is a meringue confection with a brittle outer crust and marshmallowey interior. It’s spread with whipped cream and finished with seasonal fruit – tart fruit works especially well because of the meringue’s sweetness. You could try this now with strawberries, or with raspberries or mixed summer berries in the coming weeks. Later in the summer, top the pavlova with grilled or poached peach slices or plums.

Pavlova with S...
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(serves 4-6)

1 lb. rhubarb, trimmed and washed
3/4 cup sugar, more if you have a sweet tooth
sliver or two of orange peel (outer orange skin only)
1/2 cup freshly boiled water
Whipped cream and shortbread or thin ginger cookies, to serve

For the poaching liquid: chop 1/2 to 1 stalk of rhubarb, depending on size (about 1/2 cup.) Drop into a blender with 1/4 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, the orange slivers, and a 1/2 cup of boiling water. Blend, starting slowly and increasing speed to high. Add rema...
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