Garden Goodies: Fruit Sweets, From Summer to Fall

Posted by Deb Puchalla

I sent my son to his first day of first grade yesterday with an apple for a snack -- a box of milk and a chocolate kiss alongside -- because it felt like the right food for right now. But earlier this week I was with postcollege pals in Washington, D.C. (Gail, Leigh, Victoria, Sandie -- that means you!) and ate the sweetest peach of summer. I'm torn: What fruit to eat and what desserts to make or bake during these in-between days?

To continue our ongoing garden party with my post-postcollege pal (Margaret, that means you!) at A Way to Garden, we're swapping samplings from the sweet side of the farmers' market. The time is ripe: Depending on where you live and the weather, farm-stand offerings vary widely; we've collected inspired dessert recipes, lest the blueberries and strawberries and plums are gone and the apples and figs and pears steal all of our affections. (The prospects are exciting, so grab your camera: We want pictures of the fruit desserts you make this month -- take a look at the dozens people have already added; it's easy and fun!)

The only problem for any home cook hankering for something fruity is choosing: Vanilla Roasted Peaches with Raspberries or Apple Crisp?

I happen to be a fan of almost all fruit, eaten out of hand and, okay, I'll admit it, baked into goodies. In fact, I'm still really proud of "Cobblers, Crumbles, and Crisps," an article I wrote for Martha Stewart Living, because I can look back at pictures and text and still taste every bite. I'm not worried that my copy is a bit sticky with brown sugar and fruit juice (the Plum-Nectarine Buckle is unbelievable). Still, I tend to associate summer with berries and peaches and -- oh dear, it's here -- fall with figs and apples. The truth is, nearly anything goes in September. Margaret says apples are coming in upstate, and within the next few weeks my family will make the northward pilgrimage to Johnny Appleseed's farm for bags and bags of juicy, crisp Cortlands and Macouns and McIntoshes.

Before then -- and after -- I'll head into the kitchen and bake standbys for the bake sale and something new for a dinner party dessert. I asked around to find out what people do with fruit besides giving it to their kids as a day-one brown-bag snack. Maybe it's because we spent so much time talking about the possibilities of herbs and green beans and zukes and cukes and tomatoes and corn, but everyone must have built up a big craving for something sweet: I got so many responses, recipes, and ideas!

Here's a smattering of what fruit to get before it's gone and what to get as it's new to the produce stand -- and what to do with it. Some comes from what we've created for the magazine; I harvested others from the blogosphere. Thanks to all who've participated -- it sure has been fun!

Lori made a very berry pound cake that looks very, very good, and the fresh berry tart at Bake or Break seems divine -- pretty picture, too! Deb at Smitten Kitchen is showing off her raspberry breakfast bars, which I plan to try for my little scholar's lunch box. I can't help it, though. I'm in New York, so I'm partial to cheesecake with berries. What are you partial to? (And why can't I be partial to naked berries?)

Even more than for the berries, everybody went ga-ga over the possibilities of peaches. I like this fruit grilled; if you do, try these with sweetened sour cream. Sweet, tangy, delicious, and superfast. How about an easy cobbler? Or turn a classic treat into a drink: Astacia stirred up a peach melba spritzer. Amy Goldman, of gardening and foodie fame, has a showstopper I'm dying to bake, a galette of white peaches and tomatoes. Ginger and stone fruit marry beautifully, as in our gingered blackberry and black plum shortcakes; my Twitter buddy Mark favors a gingered peach tarte tatin, but vegan cook Dayna suggests gingered peach shortbread bars. (Note to self: Must find time!) Kelly, a food stylist and photographer in Seattle, doesn't need a recipe, telegraphing her idea in a message to me: honey, vanilla and a touch of brandy-poached peaches with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Rachel's offering, grilled peach upside down cake, is crave-worthy, as well. How sweet they all seem, right? The thing is, the air is cooling, so get them while they're good.

Diane at Napa Farmhouse is all excited about pears, as the lucky recipient of a windfall of them; it feels a little early for pears to me, but I wouldn’t turn down one of her chocolate-glazed spiced pear cupcakes. And Martha wrote recently of her figs, another fruit I think of as fallish but which is really out all summer, depending on your locale. We've done a handful of recipes with figs at the magazine, but I'm not convinced anything could taste better than a just-plucked-from-the-tree fig, halved so that it looks nearly as seductive as it tastes. (Maybe an upcoming story will prove me wrong; stay tuned.)

Undeniably popular, though, are the apples. Again, how to decide? I begin with the old faithful first. Good old apple pie. Or that crisp. We've done bushels of apple recipes at Everyday Food, one as tasty as the next. I'm a big fan of John Barricelli's Sono Baking Company in Norwalk, Connecticut, and his three-layer apple cake is decadent -- but so worth it. Cate, for her part, says she's been faithfully making her cinnamon apple cake for a decade and hasn't found better. Food for thought! Thankfully, the season is just starting so there's plenty of time to experiment. I never thought to pickle apples, but Chris, a new online buddy, did. Andrea's applesauce and apple butter both sound tasty, too.

I could go on and on, but the apples are incoming and it's late for a school night. More fruit ideas will have to wait (why don't you share yours in the comments below?). Surely we'll post again. For now, I have to pack my son's snack; maybe something peachy for him. And an apple for his teacher.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE EDF FRUIT RECIPES
Plum Oatmeal Crisp
Vanilla Roasted Peaches with Raspberries
Mixed Berry Terrine
Applesauce Cake
Sauteed Peaches with Ice Cream
Rustic Apple Tart
More Summer Desserts—Hurry!

I hope you'll continue to visit us here and on Twitter.

Comments

[Cindy]

I'll be getting some peaches this weekend. Can't wait.

Our pears are just about ready as well. Not quite sure what I'll do with those yet.

We also had some grapes to harvest. Would have more if I had ten foot arms. They grow wild up in the trees you see. From them I made grape juice. Not enough to make jelly but enough for breakfast!

You can check out my grapes here: http://pagardening.blogspot.com/2008/09/grapey-goodness.html

[A Cowboy's Wife]

Wow....look at all those treats:) This is gonna take me a while to get through!

Thank you for sharing mine as well.

[Andrea]

This all sounds so delicious and perfect for the season. A friend of ours dropped off a bag of fresh-picked peaches a couple weeks ago, and we turned them into roasted peach ice cream.

[Willi @ DigginFood]

Wow, you talked about so many good recipes, I'm not sure which one to try first!

Berries are in season in my backyard right now and I've been buying tons of stone fruit at the farmer's market. Last night I grilled up nectarines, tossed them with a lemon verbena simple syrup, and served them over Greek yogurt with a few blackberries for dessert. It was a big hit!

For something a bit fancier (but still super easy to make ), I like to pull together my Blackberry Tart with Mascarpone Filling:

http://www.digginfood.com/2008/08/blackberry-tart-with-mascarpone-filling/

[FoodieTots]

So many tempting choices here! I've made savory corn & peach crepes, peach berry sherbet, amaretto peach pound cake, peach & blackberry sangria, and peach salsa thus far. Peach ice cream is on the agenda for the weekend. We're just about to the end of our peach season here in DC, so will be on to apples soon!

The sherbet recipe: http://foodietots.com/2008/08/18/peach-berry-sherbet/

[Kathy from Cold Climate Gardening]

Here's a cornmeal cake that's great with berries from the bush--or the freezer: http://www.coldclimategardening.com/2008/09/04/a-berry-good-cake/

[Sarah Caron]

Yum. I love a good apple cake in the fall with fresh picked apples from a local orchard. Delish!

[napa farmhouse 1885]

these recipes all sound delicious..i confess, i have been making tons of pear recipes this week due to a gift of 30#s of the suckers..but i am not ready to give up on peaches yet..this weekend..grilled peaches on the menu for sure!! and peach smoothies, and peach cobbler, and peach preserves..and, and, and...

[napa farmhouse 1885]

these recipes all sound delicious..i confess, i have been making tons of pear recipes this week due to a gift of 30#s of the suckers..but i am not ready to give up on peaches yet..this weekend..grilled peaches on the menu for sure!! and peach smoothies, and peach cobbler, and peach preserves..and, and, and...

[napa farmhouse 1885]

these recipes all sound delicious..i confess, i have been making tons of pear recipes this week due to a gift of 30#s of the suckers..but i am not ready to give up on peaches yet..this weekend..grilled peaches on the menu for sure!! and peach smoothies, and peach cobbler, and peach preserves..and, and, and...

[Karen at Pecked by Ducks]

These look amazing! I think I am going to have to start with peaches. Although none of the peaches look good here yet. The nectarines smell amazing though so maybe I'll have to substitute.

Anyway, I have a Vermont variation on Apple Crisp that is wonderful and can take any variety of crisp apple, if anyone is interested:

http://tinyurl.com/5cxl2m

[White On Rice Couple]

I agree with you that a ripe fig plucked off the tree is the BEST way to eat figs! But when you're a farmers market fig pig hoarder like me, it's good to have a back up for left over figs.

I made a fig balsamic reduction that tastes marvelous on strawberries and ripe, soft cheese. This is one of my favorite desserts!

Fig Balsamic - http://whiteonricecouple.com/blog/?p=462

[Dave Beatson]

Mulling over the UM-MTSU barnburner this Saturday night with a refreshing bowl of freshly picked nectarines. Any thoughts on how the two-headed QB monster (Turner&Portis) will perform?