Jenn’s Cook Book

This Smoothie-licious recipe is a great get-up-and-go treat for breakfast or any time of the day you might need a kick to get moving. Wheat germ, which is something that has just recently made an appearance here at Jenn’s Cook Book, is part of the wheat kernel and is apparently one of the most nutritious foods you can find. It adds a nutty flavor and a bit of texture to this smoothie, a perfect pairing with peaches (think peach cobbler, with vanilla ice cream…yum!).

1 cup frozen unsweetened sliced peaches
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup wheat germ
2-3 ice cubes, if desired

Combine all ingredients in a blender and whirl away! Add ice cubes to achieve desired consistency. Garnish with additional wheat germ and peach slices (optional, but pretty darn fancy).

Makes 1 generous serving.

Variation: swap 1/2 cup frozen dark sweet cherries for half of the peach slices.

Celebrate National Peach Cobbler Day with this easy impostor. Okay, this is more of a crisp than an actual cobbler, but it’s the thought that counts! Since cherries and peaches are a distant memories here in mid-April Michigan, I used frozen fruit and it tasted great. Be sure to thaw fruit completely first. Wheat germ adds a toasted, nutty taste to the crumbly topping.

2 bags (16 oz each) unsweetened frozen sliced peaches, thawed
1 bag (12 oz) unsweetened frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/2 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
2 tbsp wheat germ
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
frozen yogurt, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and coat a 13×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Pour thawed peaches and cherries into prepared pan, including any juices from the bags. Toss fruit with cornstarch and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Set aside.

In a food processor or chopped, combine flour and butter. Pulse until butter is in pea-sized pieces. Add remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, quick oats, wheat germ, and cinnamon. Pulse until just combined.

Sprinkle topping over prepared fruit. Bake 20-25 minutes, until topping is golden and fruit mixture is bubbly. Serve warm with frozen yogurt, if desired.

Shown below, served with vanilla frozen yogurt and garnished with mint:

I am so not a morning person. Ever. I’m even less of a morning person when I have to get up before the sun does. Now I have a way to catch a little sunshine when it’s still dark outside. This homemade treat is easy, healthy, and tasty. What a great way to start the day, with a little Spring Fever.

If you are unable to find mango sorbet, try another flavor such as raspberry or lemon. You can also swap half of the strawberries with a sliced banana, or try with sliced peaches this summer.

2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup mango sorbet
5-6 ice cubes, to thicken if desired

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth. Sip and enjoy. Yum!

Here is a quick and simple dinner from Everyday Food magazine. The frozen peaches do not need to be thawed and are a real time-saver. To easily grate the fresh ginger, peel a finger of ginger and freeze overnight in a zip-lock bag. The flavors in this recipe are fresh and light, with a touch of Asian flair. The original recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, but I prefer boneless, skinless. Adjust the red-pepper flakes to your tastes. Serve with Coconut-Ginger Rice.

1 bag (1 lb) frozen peaches, unthawed
2 red onions, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt and pepper
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, to taste
3 to 4 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 450F

Place peaches and onions on a large rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with ginger, soy sauce, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red-pepper flakes.

Rub chicken with remaining teaspoon vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken (skin side up, if using skin-on) among peaches and onions.

Roast until chicken is opaque throughout and no longer pink, about 25 minutes. Serve chicken over rice, topped with peaches and onions.

From Self magazine, this iced tea combines peach, lemon, ginger, and mint with black tea. The recipe calls for Earl Gray or Darjeeling tea, but I used English Breakfast. Assam, Ceylon, Irish Breakfast or plain Lipton would work just fine. This recipe is great for peaches that are slightly over-ripe, as they will be pureed and will taste just fine (but might not look so appealing).

8 tea bags
1 lemon, sliced (ends discarded)
1 piece of ginger, 2 inches, cut into chunks
4 large, ripe peaches
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
mint sprigs, for garnish

Boil 8 cups of water over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add tea bags, sliced lemon, and ginger pieces. Remove pan from heat and steep 10 minutes. Pour into a heat-resistant pitcher through a strainer. Discard tea bags, lemon, and ginger.  

Peel, pit, and dice 2 of the peaches. Place in a blender with 1/2 cup sugar and blend until smooth (add a bit of the tea if needed to get the blender going). Pour peach puree into tea and stir well, dissolving sugar.

Pit and cut remaining peaches into slices. Stir into tea. Chill tea for 1-2 hours. To serve, pour over ice and garnish with mint sprigs.

Makes 8 servings. Each serving is approx 70 calories.

Brewing the tea:

Adding slices to the pitcher:

Garnishing my tea with basil (peach and basil go well together):

Here is yet another great recipe from Everyday Food magazine (did I mention I love, love, love this magazine?). This one uses fresh peaches and raspberries, perfectly in season this time of year, combined with subtle vanilla flavor.

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 tbsp sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scraped, OR 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 firm, ripe peaches (1 to 1 1/2 pounds total), halved and pitted
1 package, 5 to 6 oz, raspberries
1 pint vanilla iced cream

Preheat oven to 400F

In a large, shallow baking dish, combine butter, lemon juice, sugar, and vanilla. Add peaches, turning to coat all sides with butter mixture, and arrange cut-side down in a single layer.

Roast until peaches are tender and cooking liquid is syrupy, 15 to 25 minutes, brushing with cooking liquid half-way through. Whisk in 1 to 2 tbsp warm water if cooking liquid is too thick to drizzle. Serve peaches (warm or room temperature) with raspberries and vanilla iced cream, drizzled with cooking liquid.

I brought this dish to a reunion, but doubled the recipe. To double:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup lemon juice (1 1/2 to 2 large lemons)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
8 peaches, quartered and pitted
1 pint raspberries
1 gallon vanilla iced cream
Follow same directions for baking as above, but turn peaches once during cooking. Cooking times might vary.

From BellyBytes.com, this iced tea recipe uses orange pekoe tea, fresh basil, and peach nectar.  The original recipes calls for 3 teabags, but I like my tea strong, so I used 4.

4 bags orange pekoe tea
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
4 cups water
3 1/3 cups chilled peach nectar (five, 5 1/2 oz cans)
1/4 cup chilled simple syrup, or to taste (see below)
fresh peach slices and basil sprigs, for garnish

Put tea bags and basil in a heat resistant pitcher. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and pour over tea bags. Steep tea for 5-10 minutes and remove tea bags. Cool tea and chill, covered, for about 1 hour or until cold.

Stir in chilled nectar and simple syrup. Place peach slices and ice in each glass. Pour in tea and top with a basil sprig.   

Simple Syrup:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water

To make Simple Syrup:
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring. Boil until sugar dissolves. Let syrup cool and chill, covered. Simple Syrup will keep for 2 weeks. Chill, covered, until ready to use.

Here is a great dessert recipe from the Everyday Food book. It is listed in the “Fall” chapter, but I think it works better for spring or summer, when the stone fruits are more in season. The combination I used was peaches, plums, and apricots. Because the apricots were small, I used 4 instead of 2.

Pick 3 of the following:
2 apricots
2 nectarines
2 peaches
2 plums
Plus:
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 to 3 tbsp sugar (depending on the sweetness of the fruit)
2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 tbsp fresh lime juice (about 1 small)
Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, optional

Preheat oven to 400F

Prick the skins of the stone fruit. Halve each fruit and remove pits. Halve fruit again. Separate rosemary leaves and discard stems.

In a roasting pan, toss the fruit with rosemary, sugar, butter, and lime juice. Roast, tossing occasionally, until the fruit is fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm over vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, if desired, and drizzle the pan juices over the top.

Here is the third iced tea recipe from Real Simple magazine. A fun twist on an old favorite, the mint sprig refreshes this peachy iced tea.

8 cups boiling water
8 tea bags
4 ripe peaches 
1 bunch mint 

Pour boiling water into a heat resistant pitcher over tea bags. Seep tea for 10 minutes and remove tea bags. Allow tea to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Chill 2-3 hours.

Cut peaches into slices and place in glasses. Pour tea over peach slices and ice. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint and enjoy!

Here’s a fun & festive variation of my favorite party drink. I’ve had sangria served in a variety of glasses, but I find plain drinking glasses work best. This works with dry wine or semi-sweet wine, my recommendation is St. Julian’s Simply Red.

1 bottle (750 ml) red wine
1 cup orange juice
2 oz (2 shots) white rum
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced
1 cup halved strawberries
ice cubes
additional fruit for garnish, if desired

Place sliced fruit in a large punch bowl or pitcher. Add orange juice then red wine and rum. Stir well (it’s okay if the fruit gets crushed). Chill for at least 2 hours.

Remove fruit from sangria and place in serving glasses with ice cubes. Pour sangria over fruit and ice. Garnish with additional fruit as desired.

To make White Sangria, use white or blush table wine and substitute Peach Schnapps for rum.

Try mixing in other seasonal fruit, such as raspberries, watermelon, or peaches. Top with maraschino cherries and rim glasses with sugar!