Summertime!

This week school was out, I spent a few hours watching my daughter play in the hose, we went swimming at our new house, I bought fresh peaches at the farmer's market, and devoured more cherries than I can count . . . it's definitely summer! I know that the official date for summer is June 21st (actually, I just looked it up), but in my book, summer has begun.

The other night my husband got home late from work and we ate dinner outside by ourselves while little girl was in bed. It was so relaxing and the food tasted so good (grilled salmon, green beans, coconut rice) we commented how it was as good as having a babysitter and going out for the evening.

I made a spur of the moment dessert to end the meal - individual fruit crisps with fresh peaches. The peaches tasted so awesome . . . anyone have a good recipe for peach pie? I promised my husband I'd learn to make that this summer.

This is a pretty loose recipe and I handwrote it on a scrap of paper from my own trial and error years ago and I make versions of this every summer. So, take some fresh fruit, what you already have in the cupboard, and give it a try. The proportions are are equal parts flour and oats, equal parts butter and brown sugar (half as much as the flour and oats), nuts if you like them and want a little more crunch, and some spices.

Here's the amounts I used for 2 (7oz) ramekins:

Individual Fresh Fruit Crisps (serves 2)

1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. oats
2 T butter (either melted or diced in small pieces)
2 T brown sugar
2 T toasted chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
About 1 cup of fresh fruit or berries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter or spray the bottom of two ramekins. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the fruit. Mix until it's crumbly.

Put half of the mixture on the bottom of two ramekins. Top with the fruit, and then put the rest of the mixture on top. You can sprinkle the very top with a little more sugar or with some more butter if you want. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly.

Filling ideas:
This week I used 2 peaches, peeled and diced and about 1/2 cup fresh blueberries for the fresh fruit filling. One of my husband's favorite fruit fillings is blackberries with a little cream cheese. I bet cherries would be good! You can eat it plain, eat it with vanilla ice cream, or pour a little milk or cream over the top.