Backyard Mint Ice Cream

Back at GAW, Cheese Pusher was complaining about having too much mint and not knowing what to do with it.  I promised to post the recipe Mr. Kluges uses for mint ice cream and now I'm finally getting around to it!  This comes from a recipe book called Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, which contains a lot of unusual ice cream recipes, like Brown Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream and Beet Ice Cream with Mascarpone, Orange Zest, and Poppy Seeds. Note: like many ice cream recipes, this is not a quick one. :)

Backyard Mint Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart

2 c. whole milk
1 Tbl. + 1 tsp [or 4 tsp, if you only want to dirty one spoon] cornstarch
1 1/2 oz. (3 Tbl.) cream cheese, softened
1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
2/3 c. sugar
2 Tbl. light corn syrup
A large handful of fresh mint from your backyard or farmers' marker, leaves roughly torn into small pieces

PREP: Mix about 2 Tbl. of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.  Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.  Fill a large bowl with ice and wtaer.

COOK: Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat.

CHILL: Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the mint.  Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.  Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.  Refrigerate to steep for 4 to 12 hours.

FREEZE:  Strain out the mint.  Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.  Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.  Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Easy Chocolate Truffle Cake

You will love me for this recipe.  Or hate me, I guess, if your New Year's resolutions including losing weight.  This cake is the richest, most compact chocolate delivery system I think I've ever had.  Cut yourself a small piece... and a strong coffee with it is divine.  This recipe is originally from some chocolate cookbook I checked out of the Blarney library... and then had Mr. Kluges photocopy the recipe. The cake should be made at least one day before glazing.


Easy Chocolate Truffle Cake

250g/9 oz. plain chocolate, chopped [Use GOOD quality chocolate from a real chocolate shop, not just some semi-sweet chips.  Seriously.]
225g/8 oz. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
75g/ 3 oz. sugar
120ml/4 fl oz. whipping (heavy) cream
15ml/1 Tbl vanilla essence (vanilla)
6 eggs
[a bunch of boiling water for step 4]

Chocolate glaze:
175g/6oz plain chocolate, chopped [see previous note]
50g/2 oz. butter, cut into pieces
whipped cream for decoration
rose petals for decoration [optional]

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Generously grease a 9" by 2" deep round or scalloped spring-form pan (23cmx5cm deep).  Line bottom with waxed paper and grease waxed paper.  Wrap bottom of pan in foil.
2.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate, butter and sugar with cream, stirring frequently until smooth; cool slightly.  Stir in vanilla.
3. With electric mixer, beat eggs lightly, about 1 minute.  Slowly beat chocolate into eggs until blended.  Pour into spring-form pan and tap gently on work surface to break any large air bubbles.
4. Place spring-form pan into larger roasting pan and pour boiling water into roasting pan, about 2 cm/ 3/4" up the sides of the spring-form pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until the edge of the cake is set, but the center is still soft.  Remove spring-form pan from water-bath, and remove foil.  Cool on wire rack competely; cake will sink in center and may be cracked.
5. Remove side of spring-form pan, and turn cake onto wire-rack placed over baking sheet to catch any drips.  Remove pan bottom and waxed paper.
6. Cake should be made at least one day before glazing.  Prepare glaze.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.  Pour over cake, tilting rack slightly to spread glaze.  If necessary use palette knife [or spatula] to smooth side.  Leave to set.
7. With palette knife, carefully slide cake onto serving dish.  If you like, pipe whipped cream border around edge. [Or sprinkle designs with powdered sugar or whatever.] 
8. Note - we've never attempted the sugared rose petals, but here are the directions if you're feeling especially fancy & brave!  Dip the rose petals in lightly-beaten egg white, then in caster [super-fine].  Allow to stand on greaseproof [waxed should work or parchment] paper in a cool place for about 2 hours.  Place iin center of cake.  Serve with softly whipped cream on the side.

Frost Pumpkin Pie

For Pumpkin & Other Hard/Winter Squash month, I'm pleased to share with you another one of my mother's recipes. It's refreshing and unusual and a great way to have "pumpkin pie" on Thanksgiving if your oven is just too dang full, but your freezer's got some room. Or maybe if you're living in a warmer climate than Wisconsin and Minnesota! Basically, it's pumpkin pie filling swirled with softened vanilla ice cream, refrozen into a graham-cracker pie crust. Yum!!!! Thanks, Mom, for a delicious recipe!

Frost Pumpkin Pie

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Beat the above together until smooth, then stir in
1 quart softened vanilla ice cream.

Pour into a 9-inch graham cracker crust.*

Freeze 8 hrs or more.

Remove from freezer 15 min before serving.

Optional: sweetened whipped cream, walnut halves or candy corn for garnish.

* To make your own graham cracker crust:

1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

Combine and press into 9-inch pie pan.

Optional: bake for 10 min at 350, then cool before filling.

White Chocolate-Candy Cane Cheesecake

I just made this. My sister-in-law made it for Christmas and I could not stop thinking about it. I have been wanting to try making cheesecakes and tried this one first. Brought it to the Vikings Game on Sunday and it was GONE!! Have been asked to make another one this weekend. (I might try another kind.) Will post if it is good.

What you need

1 cup HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs

3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3 eggs

4 squares BAKER'S White Chocolate, melted

1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

1/2 cup chopped candy canes

Make It

PREHEAT oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch spring form pan (or to 300°F if using dark nonstick 9-inch spring form pan). Mix graham crumbs, 3 Tbsp. of the sugar and the butter; press onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in chocolate and extract; pour over crust.

BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Top with the whipped topping and chopped candy just before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator. (I topped with the whipped topping and put Andes peppermint candies on top.)

Margarita Pie

Margarita Pie

This is one of those recipes that gets slightly altered each time I make it, so I've included some of the variations.

For Crust: 

• 2 cups  crushed pretzels 
  
• 1/4 cup  sugar 
  
• 2/3 cup melted butter 

Pulse pretzels and sugar in food processor (or blender) until fine crumbs. Add butter, process to blend. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and sides of pie plate. Freeze while preparing filling. 

Note: Personally, I like the salty crust, it's unusual though. Some people prefer to use a standard graham cracker crust, still good, just makes it sweeter. 

For Filling: 

• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
  
• 1 tbsp. grated lime peel
  
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  
• 1/4 cup tequila (if you use this amount you will taste it a bit.  You can cut back to 2 tbsp. or eliminate) 
  
• 1/4 cup Cointreau (or other orange liqueur, you can cut back to 2 tbsp. or use orange juice)
• 2 cups  heavy whipping cream (you can use cool whip if you want, but it will be sweeter)
  
• 4 drops green + 2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
  
• Garnish: lime slices
  

Procedure: 

Stir condensed milk, lime peel, juice, tequila, Cointreau, and food coloring in a small bowl. Beat cream with mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually fold in the lime mixture until well blended. 

Pour into crust, freeze 4-6 hours or overnight. To serve, let pie sit at room temp for 10 minutes, or refrigerate for 20 min.  Re-freeze any remaining pie. 

Variations: 

• Strawberry- omit lime peel, add 1 cup fresh sliced strawberries, use red food coloring 
  
• Virgin- omit tequila, add an extra 1 tbsp. lime juice, use 1/4 cup of orange juice in place of liqueur.
  

Ok, that is not as many different ways as I thought! Oh, I think I did use Triple Sec one time too, but I can't remember if that was in addition to the Cointreau or replaced it...

Dutch Apple Pie

Another family recipe & this one's a favorite of mine. I'll do the crust as well, but feel free to substitute your own favorite crust recipe. The one I learned from my mom isn't the flakiest or the most buttery. It is, however, about the fastest & easiest I've heard of. Enough so that I'm not ever tempted to get fancier. Also, it works well for savory dishes like quiche.

Dutch Apple Pie
(And yes, I'm half Dutch, so it totally counts!)

6 medium apples, peeled & sliced (I dunno - more or less as you'd like to fill your pie pan. You should end up somewhat level to the top.)
Combine with 1/2 c. sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, maybe a sprinkle of cloves & a sprinkle of nutmeg. Mix well. Arrange slices (or just dump & level) in unbaked pie crust*.

Combine 3/4 c. flour & 3/4 c. sugar. Cut in 1/4 c. butter. Include some spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, if you'd like. (I like!) Sprinkle over the apple in the pie crust.

Bake at 375F for 50 minutes or until golden and tender.



*My Mom's Easy-Peasy, No-Fuss Crust
For a single bottom crust: Mix together 1 1/3 c. flour & 1 tsp. salt. Then add 1/3 c. oil & 3 Tbl. cold water & mix with fork until it sticks together. Press into a ball. Let it rest for a couple of minutes. Roll between wax paper.

For a deep dish pan or to have a top crust, too: Mix together 2 c. flour & 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Then add 1/2 c. oil & 1/4 c. cold water & mix with fork until it sticks together. Press into a ball. Let it rest for a couple of minutes. (Divide into two if top/bottom crust.) Roll between wax paper.

Apple Cinnamon Turnovers

We make this with the kids and they enjoy helping. Everyone get their own little "pie".

Ready in 30 minutes or less

1 medium tart apple, peeled and chopped
½ cup applesauce
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
Dash ground nutmeg

1 tube (7 – ½ ounces) refrigerated biscuits or large crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
In a bowl, combine the apple, applesauce, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg. Separate biscuits; roll out each into a 6-in circle. Place on greased baking sheets. Place a heaping tablespoonful of apple mixture in the center of each. Fold in half and pinch edges to seal. Brush with butter. Combine sugar and remaining cinnamon; sprinkle over tops. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Serve warm.

Wednesday Fun #87 - Cheesecake Toppings?

Ok, so I kind of had an idea, but then I read Pusher's recipe for cheesecake that she just posted, and it completely went out of my head in a flurry of cheesecake fantasies. *drool*

So, um, how do you like your cheesecake? Plain and simple so you can enjoy its absolute perfection? Topped with strawberries? Raspberries? Everything's better with a little chocolate drizzled over the top? Chocolate and caramel? Got a strong crust preference - traditional graham cracker or vanilla wafers or that chocolatey graham cracker kind? Tell us!



(Me? Any/all of the above... now make it magically fat and calorie-free, but still real food and tasty!)

Cheesecake

The anti-salad? Puck sent this recipe to his brother-in-law. Since he went to all the trouble of transferring it to electronic format, I thought I should post it up here as well. This is a lighter, fluffier cheesecake than is currently en vogue, but it's also pretty much my favorite ever. (Despite the fact that it never seems as good as when mom makes it.) It's originally out of the 1960-something Betty Crocker cookbook.

Mama B's Cheesecake

5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 lb cream cheese (room temp) in pieces
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. Flour
1 tsp. vanilla

crust mix
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Butter 9" springform pan. Dust bottom and sides with crust mix then dump the rest.
Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored, gradually adding sugar.
Add cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Add sour cream, flour, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
Gently fold whites into cheese mixture.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 275 for 70 minutes, then turn off oven and leave in 1 hour without opening door (make sure it's done before you turn off oven).
Remove from oven and cool.
Remove cheese cake from pan just before serving.

Nutella Cupcakes

Ok, I know this is not a quickbread, but every once in awhile I come across a recipe and I know that I must share it with you all right away. This is one of those times.

Nutella Frosted Cupcakes
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup, 12 oz) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners or grease the cups with some butter. Alternatively, butter an 8-inch round cake pan.

Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full (or pour all the batter into the cake pan). The batter will be thick. Top each cake with a dollop (I used about 2 tsp per cupcake and about 1/3 cup dolloped in tablespoon measures for the cake round) of Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella.

Bake cupcakes for about 20 minutes and the round cake for 25-30.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12 cupcakes or 1 8-inch round cake.

Ok, who is making these first? Call me, I will come over and help you eat them. :)

Bananas brulee

The other night Puck and I were watching Iron Chef America, Battle: Figs!, and Mario Batali made a fig brulee. At the judging table, he commented sort of offhand, how it was good with bananas too.

Puck looked over with an unholy gleam in his eye (if you've met Puck, you know the one I mean), and I knew this dish would be appearing in la Casa de P&P in the near future. Sure enough, tonight he trotted out to the garage for the propane torch. Wow. Can I just say, YUM!

Bananas brulee
Peel and split a banana the long way
Sprinkle it with sugar
Torch it to golden, caramel perfection

Puck thought it would be even better with a dusting of cinnamon on the banana before the sugar was added, and I think he's right. I also think it should maybe be served with a teensy scoop of good vanilla ice cream. But for a 2-ingredient, 30-second dessert that's 90% fruit, this is phenomenal. Enjoy!

7 Layer Bars

Made these for a party last night and I was shocked at how much folks loved them. Despite being one of Wog's favorites and tasty, they are so simple, everyone back home has this recipe type of recipe. But, if you don't here you go. Super easy.

1 - 1 1/2 c crushed graham crackers (about one package of crackers out of a box)
1/2 c melted butter.

Pat this onto bottom of 9x13 pan. Will be a very thin layer, don't worry.

On top of crust put ingredients in this order
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips
1 c. flaked coconut
1 c. chopped nuts (I use walnuts, but nuts altogether are optional)
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk poured/spooned over the top. You do NOT have to evenly spread it, but try to avoid putting a lot right at the edge or the edges will be hard to get out of the pan.

Bake at 350 for 30 min.

The first bar you take out will probably crumble a bit, but after that you should be able to take them out no problem.

Apple- Raisin Breakfast Bread Pudding

Apple- Raisin Breakfast Bread Pudding

You might call this baked French Toast ... you might call it Breakfast Bread Pudding ... but it's simple and delicious. Plus it includes our friend, Heavy Cream, yay! Great for brunch.

Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 45
Servings: 12

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored (and diced, but don't dice until next morning to keep it from turning brown)
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together cinnamon, brown sugar and melted butter. Toss sliced apples in mixture to coat.
Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Arrange sliced apples on the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer.
In another large bowl combine eggs, nutmeg, milk, heavy cream and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Stir in bread cubes to coat with egg mixture. Let bread and egg mixture sit for 5 minutes for the bread to soak up the eggs. Pour over the sliced apples, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees (F). Remove dish from refrigerator, dice the final apple and sprinkle the apple over the top of the bread pudding.
Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Remove foil, turn on broiler and broil for 5 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Molten Lava Cakes

Ok, this is actually from All-Knowing Jen, but I pulled it out of a comment so that it'd show up on searches with labels and such. Yay for chocolate!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I made Chocolate Lava cakes last year -sooo yummy!

Molten Lava Cakes- Recipe courtesy Paula Deen/Food Network

Ingredients:
6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur (I left this out, didn't have any, they were still good!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

Cakes, good and bad... or awful and AWESOME

You might already know about Cake Wrecks, which are good for a laugh or wince of disgust.

But here, HERE is a cake that is way awesome - the Indiana Jones Temple of Doom Idol cake by Clever Cake Studio.

(via Accidental Hedonist)

No Crust Pumpkin Pie

If you're at all like me, you find that the crust of your typical pumpkin pie kind of, well, sucks. It's just too thick for that style of pie, gets soggy etc. I think it's the only time I only eat the filling of a pie. So, here's a good solution. This pie makes it's own "crust" on the bottom which is very thin. Much more enjoyable in my mind. Plus, this is a very simple recipe. Double win.

4 eggs
1 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 can pumpkin
1 can 20 oz, evaporated milk

Combine ingredients and put in 9" pie pan.
Bake 45 min at 375 degrees.
Enjoy.

Wednesday Fun #57 - Pumpkin!

I was torn between two topics this week- both of them Halloween-ish even! But in the end decided to go the obvious pumpkin route and I will save the other one for next week. (I know you are on the edge of your seats now!)

I want to know, What is your Favorite pumpkin (or other squash) recipe? Pie? Soup? Ravioli? And then, once you tell us what it is, you should dig out the recipe and post it sometime this week. That way we can all try it! Neat, huh?

Here is mine:

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Squares

Makes 24; Prep time: 30 minutes;
In addition to keeping the cake from sticking to the pan, lining the pan with foil makes it easy to lift it out after baking.

2 C. All-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 Tbl. Pumpkin-pie spice (Note: If you don't have pumpkin-pie spice, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon cloves (all ground).
1 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp Salt
1 C. Unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C. Sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 CUP Canned pumpkin purée (Note: Not the whole can! Just one cup!)
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin purée (mixture may appear curdled but it's not, it's ok). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

4. Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.

*I got this recipe from a message board I belong to, so I am sure it is someone's somewhere, but I'm sorry I don't know who to give credit to. All I know is that I never would have thought to mix pumpkin and chocolate chips together but it is seriously yummy and delish.

Candy Corn Cookies

Candy Corn "Log"

Uncooked cookies

ENJOY!!

Candy Corn Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Yellow and orange food coloring

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Tint one portion yellow. Divide remaining dough into two-thirds and one-third portions. Color the larger portion orange; leave smaller portion white.

Shape each portion of dough into two 8 in logs. Flatten top and pinch side in at a slight angle. Place orange logs on yellow logs; push the sides in at a slight angle. Top with white logs; form a rounded top. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 4 hours or until firm.
Unwrap and cut into ¼ inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire rack to cool

Yield: about 5 dozen

Tip– I rolled the logs a lot longer. I thought the first time I made them they were too large.

Wednesday Fun #54 - Bring something to share

I want to know, when someone tells you to bring something to the office pot-luck or to some other get-together, what is your go-to dish?
Do you always bring dessert? Do you always bring appetizers? Do you use it as a chance to try a new recipe on a captive audience? Or do you bring an old stand- by? Do you throw together something easy? Or do you go all out and make the complicated recipe you don't usually have time for?
I know some people who will make dishes they LOVE - because then they are forced to share and not eat it all themselves in the cozy seclusion of their own home. And I know some people who make things they know their co-workers like, but they don't really care for themselves. What do you do? Please to discuss. Share recipes too if you like!

Peaches with Cava and Lemon Verbena

Okay, I haven't actually tried this recipe. I'm posting it here because I want to try it, and this seemed like more fun than just bookmarking it. Colorado peaches are still in season, and my lemon verbena plant is currently sprawling across 3/4 of the front walk. Oh well. At least it smells nice when the poor people coming to my door have to wade through it. (If any of the Recipeeples in the T.C. want some lemon verbena for this, lemon cake, tea or potpourri, stop by! I have way more than I can use.)

Peaches with Cava and Lemon Verbena
10 (3-inch) lemon verbena leaves
1 (750-milliliter) bottle Cava or other sparkling wine
1/2 cup sugar
6 cups sliced peaches (about 2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon minced lemon verbena leaves

Combine whole verbena leaves and sparkling wine in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 15 minutes). Remove and discard the whole leaves. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add sliced peaches; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover and chill. Stir in minced verbena leaves just before serving.