Fresh Peach Cobbler

I went to the farmer's market at the Queens Botanical Gardens on Friday and bought way too many peaches.  They are absolutely delicious, so perfectly ripe and juicy.  I highly recommend anyone who lives in the area to make their way to the market on Fridays.  Anyway, I had too many peaches to eat.  Worried that they would go bad before I could finish them all, I made the most delicious peach cobbler.  

Free image courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

I love making cobblers.  They are super easy, super cheap, and super flexible.  You can use pretty much whatever fruit you have laying around, even frozen fruit will work.  You can also make it as big or small as you need.  I made a pretty small one today since I knew there weren't many of us to eat it, but I've doubled the recipe with no problems.  Just use a 9X13 inch pan to double this.

Yummy goodness with grandpa's bananas in the back ground

I also could not find my 9 inch square pan, so I cheated and baked it in a 9 inch round pan.  Came out perfect.  I've also made this gluten free for my best friend by using a gluten free flour mix.  Also came out perfect.  I use White Whole Wheat flour when I bake, but if you are not a fan, feel free to use All Purpose.  (Seriously though, learn to like Whole Wheat.  It's filled with good things for you.)  The peaches might sink to the bottom depending on the kind of flour you use.  This time the peaches were on top.  When I made it gluten free, they were on the bottom.  Either way it was good.


Peach Cobbler

The crispy outside bit is the best part!

1 stick butter
3/4 cup milk
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup Stevia or 3/4 cup sugar
2 cups peaches - peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices (about 6-8 peaches)


Melt the butter and pour it into a 9-inch square or round pan.  Mix the milk, flour, vanilla, baking powder, and sweetener in a bowl.  Pour over the butter.  Put the peaches over the flour mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until flour is cakey and light brown.


Serve warm and with whipped cream for the nicest of treats.

Custom Orders

Me mixing away while making lip balms

Last night was kind of a big deal for me.  I started working on my first custom order, 50 lavender lip balms for a local sorority's fundraiser party.  Because they ordered so many, we were able to give them a really good price and now the girls are going to resell the lip balms to make some money for charity.  Drew even designed custom labels for them.  Everyone involved has been really excited and happy with the whole process (including me).  I can only hope that more custom work will come my way.  I'll post pics of the final product when they are all cleaned up and labeled.


If you have any custom products you'd like made, the best way to contact me is through our facebook page.


I thought I'd share a little bit of our behind the scenes process with you.  This video is from a previous batch of lip balms, but the process is always pretty much the same.  Measure ingredients, melt ingredients, pour lip balms, let solidify.  Let me know what you think!

All Natural

I've always been very sensitive to certain things, mostly cosmetics and medications.  It's not unusual for my face (especially my brow area) to randomly swell and flake.  My skin is incredibly sensitive and I'm starting to wonder if my diet might be playing a part in that.

Image:Suat Eman 

A few years ago, a very dear friend of mine discovered that she was gluten-intolerant.  She had suffered from debilitating stomach cramps for years, but things got better when she changed her diet.  Not long ago, my boyfriend discovered that he is sensitive to soy and that it might be contributing to his own health issues.  The more I hear, the more I read (and I'm a public health student.  I read the real science), the more I find myself thinking that a lot of our health issues as individuals and as a country have more to do with our diets that we are willing to admit.  And I'm not talking obesity and diabetes.  The link between food and being fat is obvious.  I'm talking more subtle things, like kids with behavior problems that may be triggered by artificial flavoring, like studies showing links between trans fat and Alzheimer's disease. These are real health concerns.


And then there is our complete reliance on  soy and corn products.  Soy and corn are in pretty much everything you eat.  If it's not fresh produce or diary, chances are it contains soy or corn.  The other day I went on a mission to buy a salad dressing that had no soy in it.  I picked up a bottle of "Oil and Vinegar".  Soy.  I picked up "French".  Soy.  I picked up five more bottles and finally gave up because they all had soy.  It makes no sense, especially given the large amounts of research showing that many of us are highly soy sensitive and that it can cause everything from high blood pressure to thyroid conditions.


So I'm making a change.  I don't know if my skin will get better.  I don't know if anything will get better, but I do know that no one ever died from eating more fruits and vegetables and that cutting out processed food can't be bad for me.  So I'm trying.  One day at a time, I cutting more and more processed food from my diet.  I'm slowly making the switch to as close to an all-natural diet that a girl living hundreds of miles from the nearest farm can switch to.


Wish me luck because I'm really really gonna miss cookies.