Peach Raspberry Buckle

Whatever you call it: cobbler, tart, pie, torte, pandowdy, grunt, slump, buckles, crisp, croustade, bird's nest pudding or crow's nest pudding, it's bound to be delicious. My dear friend was visiting last weekend-she was on home-leave from her work in West Africa. She opened up the local magazine Sophie and read the peach buckle recipe. We just had to make it. At the store, only one peach wasn't rock hard, so we combined peach and raspberry for this delicious and easy dessert.

This versatile recipe will work with almost any fruit, or combination of fruit.

Sous Chefs hard at work

Peach Raspberry Buckle

adapted from Sophie Magazine

serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 cups mixed fruit (I used a combination of raspberries and peaches)
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or coconut oil
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk (lactose-free works fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together fruit (for the peach, peel and chop into 1/2 inch dice) with 1 tablespoon flour and 2 tablespoons sugar, set aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Add shortening or coconut oil (or butter, if you can eat it) in an 11 x 7 glass baking dish. Place in oven until melted. Meanwhile mix the remaining batter ingredients in a medium bowl. Once shortening is melted, pour in batter (you do not need to stir). Add the fruit in one even layer. Bake until browned, 40-50 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

A Scoop of Buckle

Curry Spiced Ribs

I discovered this curry spice blend while making Country Captain Chicken. I knew it was good on poultry since that chicken was delicious, and I also used it on a simple roasted boneless turkey breast. But, I was interested to see how it did on pork. What yummier way to enjoy ribs than with an Indian spice twist? The curry rub is a Bobby Flay recipe, so it already has a twist: southwestern flavors. I love the play of floral spices, smoky heat, and fragrant exotics. I'll be making this rib dish over and over again.

NOTE: This curry mix recipe makes a good amount-plenty to make several recipes worth of meals. Feel free to double or triple the amount of ribs without having to make a double batch of the curry mix.

Curry Spiced Ribs

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 rack of babyback ribs
• kosher salt

Curry Mix

• 3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground fennel
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground chili de arbol
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 F. Mix "curry mix" spices together and set aside. Rinse and dry the rack of ribs. Remove silver skin from the bottom of the rack. This will help the spices penetrate the meat. With your hands, firmly grasp one end of the silver skin and pull, it should pull off in one piece). Cut the ribs into 4 or 5 sections (2-3 ribs per section), and place on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil.

Salt both sides of the ribs. Liberally dust both sides of the ribs with the curry mix. Rub the salt and curry mix into to the meat. Using another piece of aluminum foil, make a sealed packet for the ribs to cook in. Cook for 2 hours.

Remove from oven and open foil packet. Let meat rest for 15 minutes. At this point you can either throw the ribs on the grill, or under the broiler to crisp up. You can also eat immediately.