Real Food Has Curves

We're almost done. Here in rural New England, the peaches are almost finished. And what a season it's been! It was so warm early and so wet early and then so very dry now that the berries and stone fruits have been in ridiculous abundance, sweet and juicy, almost beyond belief. We'll see if this current dry spell bodes well for tomatoes in the weeks ahead. But for now, peaches are making their last fling.

Which means we're stocking up. When we see peaches, berries, plums, or cherries in the markets, we go for it, buying way more than we need, then freezing them for the winter ahead. (Stone fruits like plums, cherries, and peaches should be pitted--the larger ones, sliced. Berries can go into the freezer as they are.) None will then be worth eating on its own. But a peach crisp in December is a thing of beauty indeed!

While we're on the subject, let's just say that frozen fruit is real food, no doubt. In fact, frozen fruit is often a better choice. If the peaches in December have been trucked to the store from Chile or Morocco, you're better off buying the sliced frozen ones in bags. The ones trucked in were picked green and won't be worth much for their taste. The frozen ones were picked at the height of ripeness, even by large-scale growers, and flash-frozen, often right in the fields. These fruits and berries (and vegetables, too) retain more of their essential nutrients--and taste!--than those brought over thousands of miles.

In fact, frozen vegetables are often picked at a better stage than the fresh ones going to a standard supermarket. The ripe green beans and carrots, the ones ready to eat now, are culled for the freezer truck. The less-than-ripe veggies and fruits are then packed for longer shelf-life at the store. So if peaches are out of season where you live and you want to make this peach crisp, consider the sliced ones in the freezer case--provided there are no chemical shenanigans going on in the package. (Read those labels!)

OK, the crisp.

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Have I told you this? Besides being a cookbook writer and all-around eater, I'm also a news junky. I read several papers a morning, follow a whole host of political blogs of all persuasions.

So I was a little irritated by that grouchy op ed from E J Dionne in this morning's Washington Post. Yes, it's Memorial Day here in the U. S. And yes, it's about honoring our war dead. And yes, it's important.

But no, I'm not laying the bunting over graves today. I'm doing what most Americans are doing: enjoying the first taste of summer bliss, of the peace that passeth hot weather. It seems to me that's a great way to honor those who have died: I'm at peace in the world they helped to create. I'm not going to argue just wars or unjust wars today. But soldiers die hoping that those left behind will live in some sort of peace and contentment. Politicians and bureaucrats go to war for other reasons, many of them not worthy of celebration. But soldiers die for hope. And today, in the sunshine, enjoying the beautiful weather, gardening and working in the yard, I think I'm honoring that hope. The peace that passeth hot weather.

Bruce is about it his own way--which mostly means cooking great food, his peace, about like this rhubarb crisp, a fantastic treat this time of year.

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Now that you've got the Crème Anglaise on hand, you've got the "frosting" for this moist almond cake, with no standard frosting, but sandwiching a layer of blueberry jam. The custard sauce will get poured onto the plates, the slices of cake then set on top. Gorgeous, no? But I have to tell you: you might just want to try this cake on its own. It's one of Bruce's best confections from THE ULTIMATE COOK BOOK. (There are others in that tome. Ah, the Inside Out Black Forest Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting. That's something for a celebration indeed.)

One culinary note before we get started: there's no added fat to this cake, other than the almonds and the egg yolks. Strange, eh? (And you know I'm not opposed to fat!) But the lack of butter or walnut oil or what have you allows the cake to become a very light sponge, still quite moist, but almost Twinkie-like in texture. (I can't BELIEVE I just wrote that.)

So here goes.

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I promised lots of people who commented via facebook and email that I'd offer up that almond cake recipe I talked about this past weekend. And I will. But because it's a cake without a frosting, this happens to be the first step.

Which I can't BELIEVE is missing from this blog. Good grief, no crème anglaise. Are you kidding me?

It's my all-time favorite beverage . . . er, dessert sauce, I mean.

It's rich, creamy, delicious: melted ice cream for the plate. Best of all you can make it ahead. Here's how to whip up 3 cups of the stuff, a whole bowl of it, enough to put under slices of that almond cake, with some left over for. . . . Well, you use your imagination.

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