Here is how the conversation went:
Conor: “Hey Sara, how are you?”
Me: “Im cool, how are you?”
Conor: “I’m good. Do you want to come up to my parent’s beach house on….”
Me: (Excitedly & rudely interrupting) “Hell yes! Whats the address? And, are you near a farmers market?”
And so my back seat got packed up once again with my well loved hippie style back pack, a large bag full of snacks (in the front seat) & several pages of directions thanks to Google maps. And Conor’s beach house on Lake Michigan was not only near a farmers market it was surrounded by farms. Acres and acres of apple and pear orchards, dairy farms and corn fields; nature at its finest.
The first morning there we awoke and hit the trail for a hearty 40 mile bike ride on an old railway turned bike path. Our half way point was a dairy farm and restaurant called Country Dairy & Farm Store in New Era, MI. The perfect place to re-fuel because with any food purchase you get a free bottomless glass of milk….there’s even a self serve dispenser!
Country Dairy & Farm Store…..they have bottomless glasses of fresh milk!!!
“Think you can handle the Brutus?” Well with a taunting question like that I’m sure many try, I however still had 20 more miles to ride and wrestling with a 1/2 lb of beef topped with 2 kinds of pork and 3 kinds of cheese didn’t quite sound like it would sit nicely. But Conor thought it would.
The Brutus Burger. Think you can handle it? 1/2 lbs beef, bacon, ham, cheddar, monterey and pepper jack cheeses.
The morning after an intense country bike ride one feels devoid of all calories & I personally feel the strong desire to consume everything that isn’t nailed down. So thats pretty much exactly what I did, but consciously of course. It was a delightful brunch, complete with a homemade gluten free oatmeal raisin muffin and cup of coffee – black. Yes everything in that picture is all for me and truth be told I could’ve eaten more but I needed to save room for that nights dinner and dessert. Especially dessert…who wants peach crisp spiked with cognac?
Ohio eggs, green beans, tomatoes and melon, homemade muffins, healthy avocado fats and a nice hot cup of black coffee. BLISS!
That evening Conor and I took a quick drive to get some provisions from a local farm stand. I didn’t have a concrete plan in mind, more like a “cook what looks good” kind of plan. And bless my eyes those Michigan peaches were ripe and ready and I seemed to recall an open bottle of booze that those peaches could go for a little swim in.
Putting it all together…don’t worry, the booze is in there, you just can’t see it.
This peach crisp is so simple and requires no cooking ability whatsoever. And frankly if I wasn’t going to blog about it I wouldn’t have measured a thing. The outcome is a crusty, crumbly, gooey, tangy dessert that will please everyone who takes a bite. Good luck waiting for it to cool before you eat it…its almost worth the scalded tongue, correction, its definitely worth the scalded tongue.
The gooey, sticky, crusty final product. Ooohhh yeahhhh….
I realize that in most parts of the US peach season has just ended and my apologies for a late peach dessert, however this can also be made with apples which are beginning to flow in with abundance.
Enjoy!!
Michigan Peach Crisp with Cognac
Filling:
6-8 ripe, but slightly firm peaches, sliced medium
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tblsp flour ( I prefer spelt)
1/3 cup cognac
Topping:
1 cup oats
1 tblsp flour (again with the spelt)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tblsp brown sugar
1/2 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces
Pre-heat oven to 350 degree fahrenheit. In a medium bowl combine peaches through flour and toss to coat. Add cognac and combine gently. Spray a 9×9 baking pan with non stick cooking spray or rub with butter. Pour peach mixture into dish.
In a medium bowl combine oats through sugar. Add butter cutting cross wise with 2 knives to break it into small pieces. Pour oat mixture over peaches spreading evenly.
Bake for 25-35 minutes until oats are browned and peaches are soft. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. This is killer with some whole milk vanilla ice cream…let it get melty on your dish..and then lick it up!