300 and counting

by Linda Hopkins

Yep, it’s my 300th post. I have to confess, I never thought I’d really do it! I can’t think of one other thing in my entire life that I’ve done this consistently on a daily (or near-daily) basis before… well besides brushing my teeth, I suppose.

Well, another thing I’ve done very regularly for the last seven years is to keep my hummingbird feeder full. Not as easy as it may seem. I am seriously devoted to the little devils. I snapped the photo of this sweet guy a couple of days ago while he took a rest on a nail used to hang our Christmas lights. I love to watch them zip around and really appreciate their feisty attitude… so aggressive and defensive for ones so small. After taking the hummer photo, I checked on the herb garden and peach tree and when I discovered how many ripe peaches there were – I had to make a wonderful summer cobbler with them.

So today it’s dessert and backyard photo day! Pictures of my peaches and sunflowers to go along with the resting little guy above.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Fruit Layer
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups coarsely chopped peeled peaches
2 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cobbler
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons buttermilk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8-inch baking dish with Pam.

Fruit Layer: Combine sugar, cornstarch, zest, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add peaches, blueberries, lemon juice, and vanilla, and toss gently. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Cobbler: Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add buttermilk; stir just until the flour mixture is moist.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 3 times. Pat dough out into about a circle about 1/4-inch thick; cut into 16 biscuits using a 1 1/2-inch biscuit cutter.

Remove dish from oven; arrange biscuits on top of hot fruit mixture.

Brush top of biscuits with 1 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden.