How to make healthy choices every day

Peachy Keen Raw Cobbler

Oh dear friends, it is so good to be back! And if you could only see where I have ended up – a place worthy to be called a Sarah B-style paradise. Tee hee.

I am on farm in northern Califonia wwoofing for the next month or so, getting my life bearings, exploring, learning, and surrendering to all the beauty that is the natural world. It feels incredible to be surrounded by organic gardens bursting with fruits and vegetables, beautiful animals, and exceptional people. I have been in the kitchen for many of my hours here so far, as we have so much food coming in from the garden that needs to be made into something! Sigh. Tough life. Needless to say I am in my element, and on my knees with gratitude for ending up in such an abundant place.

The peaches here are literally falling off the trees, so heavy with juice, and crying out for a special purpose (although eating them straight off the branch works for me too). We’ve been harvesting them daily and using them in everything from salads to relishes, chutneys, sorbets, pies, dressings, and we even threw a whole bunch in the dehydrator to have peaches in the winter. Having this much of one type of produce breeds creativity, some interesting experiments, and a lot of delicious food.

Late Beta Carotene Bloomers
Perhaps it’s just the delicious anticipation, but having to wait all year for that extraordinary, bright first bite of a ripe peach is like an epiphany. It is on those occasions when I feel pretty stoked that peaches are actually healthy, because I eat them like, well, they are going out of season. The orange colour of peaches is thanks to beta carotene, the same phytonutrient responsible for giving carrots their pigment, as well as sweet potatoes, and winter squash. Beta carotene protects your cells from free radical damage, which causes cancer, heart diseases, arthritis and other diseases related to aging. It is also responsible for good eyesight and formation of the mucous membrane of the urinary, digestive and respiratory tracts.

Beta carotene is fat-soluble, meaning that it requires the presence of dietary fat in order for your body to absorb it. Bonus! I sneakily made a crust out of healthy-fat nuts so that you can be assured to take in all that beautiful beta carotene and your cells can bathe in orange, healing goodness – at least that is what I picture going on.

Today, the peaches wanted to be eaten raw, but I was also looking for a “comforting” way of serving them. Seeing as I am in the great U.S.of A. I thought a cobbler was in order – nothing says America more to me than cobbler (except maybe chicken fried steak). A cobbler is traditionally baked, but to highlight the ridiculous juicy-goodness that the peaches possess, I figured out a way to keep all the ingredients out of the oven. Success.
This recipe is pretty flexible. Use the number of peaches available to you, and try to buy locally if possible. I realize that in many parts of the U.S. and Canada peaches are on their way out, so use up the last of this season because it sure will be a while before we see them again.

Peachy Keen Raw Cobbler
Ingredients:
Filling
• 8 ripe peaches
• juice of ½ lemon
• 4 soft dates, soaked
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• dash ground cinnamon

Topping:
• 2 cups nuts (I used half walnuts + half pecans)
• 1 cup soft dates
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
• pinch sea salt

Directions:
1. Wash and cut up five peaches into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.
2. Remove the pits from the remaining three peaches and place them in a food processor with the rest of the filling ingredients. Blend into a smooth sauce. Pour over cut peaches and gently fold to combine.
3. Rinse the food processor and add the topping ingredients. Pulse until a chunky crumble-like consistency is reached, or blend to your liking.
4. Pour peach filling into a pie dish. Sprinkle topping over the filling, garnish.
5. Serve to hungry farmer friends.

Copyright 2012 My New Roots at mynewroots.blogspot.com


31 thoughts on “Peachy Keen Raw Cobbler”

  • This is delicious! Peach season came early this year in California and I was so happy to find this recipe. I had leftover topping but it was not a problem. Love your new cookbook too. Some of my favs are Socca and salt n pepper chocolate chip cookies. Genius!

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  • Yep, this is amazing and super simple to put together. Just made it for a dinner party last night. The end result is way more than the sum of its parts, so just reading the description or the ingredients in the the recipe does not do it justice.

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  • Made this today and had to post that this is a flawless perfect recipe! Delicious! Thank you for sharing : )

  • Holy wow. I just made this and it is so, so lusciously delicious. The sauce alone is a discover but the texture of the peaches with the sauce and crumble is wonderful. I was short a peach so I added rasberries to the sauce and it gave it a nice hint of tartness. Thank you!

  • Very inspiring post, hope you are enjoying Wwoofing, sounds like you have found a nice place. Peaches falling from the trees sound overwhelmingly wonderful!

  • Hi, this is Sarah, i am eleven years old, almost twelve. I am a libra. You probably don’t know me but i’ve figured out we have many, MANY things in common. such as, i have great intrest in art, food, and animals, as i said earlier, i am a libra i have blonde hair,I blog about food, and the freakiest thing that we have in common… you have the same last name as me…

    ~ Sarah Britton

    P.s
    I sent this message earlier, i’m just saying it again because i would love it for you to reply
    P.p.s
    It may say wendy britton but that is just my mom, i manage my own blog on hers…(what does p s stand for?)

  • I am so jealous. I have wanted to do that for some time. I am so envious and jealous. I couldn’t agree with you anymore that its my element as well and I crave leaving NYC everyday to pursue it 🙂

  • Hi Lizalopoli!

    It can be very overwhelming trying to find a farm to wwoof on, but try narrowing down your search into the things that interest you most. Maybe that’s biodynamics, or animal husbandry. You can even search “yoga” or “vegetarian”…the list is endless. I had a hard time deciding where to go as well. Take your time, do your research, and contact as many farms as you can to get a feel for the people you will be living and working with.
    Good luck!

    Best, Sarah B.

  • Hope you’re enjoying Northern California! I’m a native, so I’m a bit biased in thinking it’s awesome. 🙂

    I have been thinking about wwofing…how was the process for you? I always get a little overwhelmed when I look at their site. Any advice you have would be awesome!

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