The blackberry run may be ending, and if you’ve been lucky, you were able to harvest enough wild blackberries to make jams, jellies, syrup, pie fillings, and to freeze berries for making winter smoothies and to dry blackberries for baking.
The fruit run is still in the beginnings, though. Everbearing strawberries are getting a fall rush of blooms and fruits. Raspberries are now ripening. Soon we’ll be getting ripe apples and pears, but for now, it’s berries and stone fruits.
This picture is last year’s first raspberry because I forgot to take my camera out with me this year. But the raspberries ahve loved the moisture from last year and this year and are producing like crazy. My 2 year old canes were laden with raspberries last week – enough to put up 2 pints of jelly, make pint jar of syrup, and to freeze, so far, 3 pints of raspberries for winter pleasures.
The plums, peaches, apricots, pluots, and other stone fruits are ripening now, too.
The recipes are virtually endless for makign delicious and wonderful gourmet dishes from the bounty of fall fruits we are now receiving. The most important thing to remember about making yur fodd gourmet is to pay exquisite attention to the details of the preparation. Make sure the fruit is at its peak of ripeness. Use the sharpest knives you have to slice the fruits so you lose minimal juice.
When you peel peaches and other tender skinned stone-fruits, don’t use a potato peeler – unless you intend to make a jelly from the thicke, fruity skins. Use a very sharp ceramic knife or, if you have one, an obsidian bladed knife. Peel as close to the skin as possible so you get maximum fruit and minimum waste.
Wash the fruit well before peeling. The peels can be used to flavor drinks, other types of jellies, or as a garnish or food dye. A little plum peel added to cooking rice gives it an aroma and flavor that is marvelous. If you’re using a sticky rice for making rice pudding, the plum peel in it will add a dimension and flavor level you won’t be able to achieve any other way. People will rave about your rice pudding.
Steeping the peels (which can be frozen or dried for this purpose) in hot teas, juices, or coffee can elevate the beverage from good to great. Plum and nectarine and other smooth stone fruit peels are ebst for this – the fuzz from peach peels leaves a texture and mouth feel not everyone appreciates.
Peach peel is best added to your compost. If you have a worm bin – it’s kind of chancy. My red worms won’t touch peach peel, it simply rots in the bin, but a friend of mine in Kansas has a bin of worms that will devour them in a heartbeat. Test your worms, and if there’s no sign of them eating the peels within a day or two, move the peels to the compost.
Cold fruit soups are a delightful end of summer treat. Adding brandy or wine and fresh herbs to the soups make them extraordinarily beautiful and lifts them out of the ordinary.
Gourmet Cold and Creamy Peach Soup
2 cups peeled and thinly sliced ripe peaches
1 cup creme fraiche
1 cup whipping cream (or half and half)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium sprig of fresh rosemary
extra slices of peaches and teeny sprigs of rosemary for garnish
Soak the rosemary sprig in the brandy and vanilla extract overnight, then remove the rosemary and compost it.
Puree the 2 cups of peach slices with the creme fraiche (or plain yogurt if you can’t find creme fraiche), whipping cream, and brown sugar until smooth. Slowly add the herbed brandy.
Serves 6 in footed bowls with sliced peaches and rosemary garnish.
Fresh pineapples are also ripening now. I haven’t had a lot of luck growing them here in OKlahoma, but just a ways south, on the Texas/Oklahoma border at a friend’s house, we have a nice pineapple that produces a few fruits each year. We’d get more if we planted more. Because it’s possible to get pineapple fresh and homegrown even in Oklahoma, I’m posting my Pineapple Gazpacho Recipe. Just making gazpacho from unexpected ingredients is often enough to make it gourmet, but attention to details like hte ripeness of the pineapple and the artistry of the garnish elevate the dish to exquisite.
Pineapple Gazpacho
2 cups fresh pineapple cut into 1/4″ cubes or triangular tidbits
2 cups pineapple juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 seeded cucumber, cut to match the pineapple
1 small red bell pepper, seeded, peeled, and cut into small squares
1 small yellow onion (use a flat onion – they’re sweeter), diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons minced green herb ix of cilantro, parsley, and basil
Reserve some of the red bell pepper for a garnish. If you want, you can cut the bell pepper into interesting shapes. Puree 1 cup of pineapple with the pineapple juice, lime juice, olive oil, garlic cloves, and half the onion. Toss the puree with the rest of the onion, bell pepper, pineapple, and cucumber and chill for at least 2 hours.
Serves 6. Serve in fresh pineapple boats if you have enough, or in a dark green bowls for contrast. Garnish with the red bell pepper and fresh herbs.
