I came across the Cookbook Challenge late last year and thought what a great opportunity to explore new recipes, hone my food photography skills and revisit the hundreds of cookbooks I've been collecting throughout my life.
I come from a line of cooks - my mother earned her living as a cook, my grandmother also and whilst they were never professionally trained, the food they served was always inspirational. It was through watching both these women cook when I was a child that I developed my own love of cooking. Combine that with a passion for photography and the Cookbook Challenge seemed like fun - 26 recipes on a theme over 52 weeks - cooked, photographed and blogged.
The challenge for Week 1 was 'Stone Fruit'. Peaches are my favourite fruit with their beautiful golden flesh, velvety skin and their sweet perfume alone reminds me of summer.
My recipe comes from a set of cookbooks I was given as a child in the late 60s or early 70s. The matriarch of Australian cooking, Margaret Fulton published a weekly cookery course and I'd spend hours looking at the beautiful images and reading the recipes and information.
40 years later these recipes still delight those who try them.
Spiced Peaches
4 large yellow peaches
4 tablespoons brown sugar
cinnamon
nutmeg
16 whole cloves
45 grams (1 1/2 oz) butter (I used much less with good results)
The recipe suggests: "Delicious as a dessert or a welcome substitute for vegetables, with hot ham or duck".
Method
Pour boiling water over the peaches, allow to stand for 3 minutes and then skin, halve and stone them.
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| Marg Fulton still teaches me today - I had no idea how easy it is to peel peaches using this method! |
Arrange in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the brown sugar and a little cinnamon and nutmeg.
Pierce each peach half with 2 cloves. Cut butter into small pieces, scatter over peaches, slip under the grill for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Voila!
This is an old fashioned recipe that put a smile on the faces of my family. By cutting down on the butter it appeased those who are sticking to their health regime. If wanting to be a little indulgent the peaches would be extra delicious with vanilla ice-cream, custard or a dollop of cream.
I just wish someone would invent aroma-net - the perfume of cinnamon, cloves and peaches was ... sigh!
What's your favourite stone fruit?
The challenge for Week 2? Citrus
The challenge for Week 2? Citrus
Cooked with love,
Annie x
http://www.flickr.com/photos.annmaxine
