Peach and Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake

I tried this recipe from Martha Stewart and it turned out great. I used frozen peaches because it is what I had, and skipped the lavender. It tasted a lot like peach cobbler.

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds), skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch wedges
• 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, using a pastry brush to coat sides with butter as it melts. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over bottom of skillet, and cook until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Arrange peaches in a circle at edge of skillet, on top of sugar. Arrange the remaining wedges in the center to fill. Reduce heat to low, and cook until juices are bubbling and peaches begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, lavender, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat remaining stick of butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Mix in vanilla and cream. Reduce speed to low, and beat in cornmeal mixture in 2 additions.
3. Drop large spoonfuls of batter over peaches, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer skillet to a wire rack, and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around edge of cake. Quickly invert cake onto a cutting board. Tap bottom of skillet to release peaches, and carefully remove skillet. Reposition peach slices on top of cake. Let cool slightly before serving.

recipe and image via Martha Stewart

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Pita Sandwich

This is an old favorite that is going to turn into a summer regular at our place. The picture looks kind of unappetizing (the beets turn things pink) but it is excellent! The kids needed a bit of encouragement to start, then Max ate his entire pita.

Veggie + More Pitas

Combine:

Cheese and meat of choice, chopped or shredded. (I used some deli turkey and leftover shredded chicken + Havarti in the pita pictured.)

The fun part: Veggies! This is a great way to use up fresh raw produce without feeling like you are eating loads of raw vegetables. For the pictured pita I grated 2 beets, 1 carrot, and 1 zucchini and then chopped up some lettuce and avocado into small pieces to make it more palatable for the kids. I might have added something else and forgotten, but you could throw in any other veggie, sprout, or seed and it would be delicious. Grating the fresh veggies really makes it easy to enjoy a lot; you actually don't realize what you are eating which is super helpful with kids.

Toss with dressing of choice. You don't need that much so taste as you add and mix (Ranch or Italian work perfectly, even combined.)

Stuff filling in pita bread (I like the smaller wheat ones) with extra lettuce for adults or cheese for kids. I put dressing on the side as dip for the kids to make it funner.