I have no menu plan and no yarn along this week. It's been a rough week. Don't ask. Please pray, though. We're still eating, though. These are some recipes I have meant to post for a while, and I was already working on this post, so enjoy!




This is from a session making these cakes more than five years ago. Before Rich replaced our counters.
Fresh Peach Upside Down Cake

One of the most wonderful summer cakes there are. I combined a few recipes from Fine Cooking to come up with this.

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 large peaches, scalded, peeled and sliced

2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk

Heat oven to 350 F and lightly butter the sides of a large round cake pan (I used a stone pan that was at least 9" across and 2" high).

Make caramel: In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil and pour into the prepared pan. Spread with a spatula to coat the bottom evenly. Arrange peach slices evenly in the caramel, overlapping them slightly, if
necessary.


Make cake: Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until smooth (I used the Kitchen Aid). Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy and lighter in color. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each addition.

Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, add the flour alternately with the buttermilk.

Scoop large spoonfuls of batter onto the fruit; gently spread the batter evenly in the pan. Lightly tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Immediately run a paring knife around the inside edge of the pan. Set a flat serving plate on top of the pan and invert the cake. Let the inverted pan rest for about 5 minutes to let the topping settle. Gently remove the pan and serve the cake warm or at room temperature.




Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers

olive oil
12 Italian sausages in casings (either hot or sweet or a mix)
1 pound bell peppers, seeded and sliced (frozen works, too)
2 - 4 hot or frying peppers (like Anaheims or Italian frying peppers, optional), seeded and sliced
4 onions, peeled and sliced
10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 - 4 pints tomato sauce of your choice

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat and brown sausage on all sides, add onions, peppers, and saute until the onions and peppers are soft. Add garlic and stir for a minute or two.

Scrape all of this into your slow cooker, sprinkle with oregano and salt. Pour in tomato sauce and rinse out the jars/cans with about half the water as there was sauce in them, and pour that over the sausages and peppers. Cover and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours.

In the last half hour, I heat up salted water, cook the pasta and cut up the sausage into bite sized bits. We toss a salad and serve. Easy peasy.


Sausages and peppers in the crock before the sauce is added. We didn't have any red peppers this time. This is enough for our family. You may wish to cut it in half. Or make the whole amount and freeze part of it for another meal.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen