2 peaches-ripe and fragrant ("free stone" peaches are easiest to work with)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
¼ cup pecan halves, roughly chopped
¼ cup mascarpone cheese (vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, sour cream can be substituted)
1/4 cup black berries or raspberries for garnish-optional

1. Slice the peaches in half and remove the pit.  Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Divide and sprinkle on top of the peaches.
2. Place the peaches in the air fryer basket and air fry at 350 for 10 minutes or until the fruit is browned and the sugar is caramelized. 
3. Divide between two plates. Top with mascarpone and sprinkle with pecans. Serve immediately.

Add any of the following fruit to the air fryer with the peaches. Cut in half and remove pits. : fresh figs, nectarines, plums

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup water
¼ cup granulated sugar-add more or less depending on how sweet your berries are
Zest of ½ lemon or orange 
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup blueberries
Pinch salt
Optional: 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
                ¼ teaspoon dried lavender
 

1. Combine the blueberries, water, sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until the blueberries burst, about 5 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water to create a slurry.
3. Slowly stir the cornstarch slurry into the blueberries over a low flame. The sauce will thicken immediately. Continue to cook while stirring for 1 minute.
4. Remove the sauce from the heat and gently stir in vanilla, lemon zest, ½ cup blueberries, and optional herb if using. Let the sauce cool down and refrigerate until ready to use. Store the sauce in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.

​Serving suggestions: 
Topping: Serve over ice cream, yogurt, cake, French toast, or pancakes. 
Soup: Add heavy cream and/or sweet wine to create a cold blueberry soup. Add additional berries (raspberry, black berry, strawberry).
Savory Sauce: Heat the desired amount of sauce in a saucepan with 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over pork, chicken, or fish. 

FOOD52 is my go-to recipe website. Here is another of my favorite recipes. Visit FOOD52 any time you are looking for a new way to prepare any favorite or new ingredient that comes your way.

Roasted Rhubarb and Strawberries
By LADYSTILES via Food52

​Serves 4

2 cups hulled strawberries, cut in half
3 cups roughly chopped rhubarb
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet or large cooking dish with parchment paper, this is a juicy dish and you don't want the delicious juices running all over your oven.
   
   
2. In a large bowl mix the strawberries and rhubarb. In a small bowl whisk together the maple syrup, sweet vermouth, balsamic vinegar and salt. Pour this over the rhubarb and strawberries, gently tossing until coated. Spread the fruit out on the baking dish in a single layer, drizzling the juices over the fruit and slide into the oven.
   
   
3. Roast the fruit for about 40 minutes, the juices should be thick and the rhubarb tender to touch. Transfer to a bowl once out of the oven and still warm. Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to one week Serve spooned onto ice cream or a slice of sweet bread, a biscuit, oatmeal or french toast.

Serves 4
2-3 cups strawberries, stemmed 
¼ cup sugar, plus 2 Tbs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract or rose water (if using rose extract use ¼ tsp)

1. Slice half of the berries and set aside. Crush the remaining berries gently with a fork in a bowl. Combine all the berries with ¼ cup of sugar and let them sit for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes. The sugar will draw out the berry juices. 
   
   
2. In a separate bowl, combine the cream, 2 Tbs sugar (or less if you prefer), and vanilla. Whip the cream until soft peaks form.  
   
   
3. Gently swirl the berry mixture into the whipped cream - do not mix it so thoroughly that it looks like pink yogurt, it should look “marbled”.  Spoon into glasses so you can see the marbled effect, decorate each one with a sprig of mint.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

 
For a zesty addition add 1/3 cup Greek yogurt. Add the yogurt tablespoon by tablespoon into the whipped cream, whipping after each addition to keep the cream fluffy.

Nigella Lawson is still the queen of food television for me. Her recipes are wonderful and her style is sexy as hell! I've discovered her website and so should you. www.nigellalawson.com 
This ice cream recipe is amazingly easy and so delicious! No more store bought ice cream for me. You may feel the same way too.

1 1/4     cups heavy cream, well-chilled
2/3       cup sweetened condensed milk (1/2 of a 14 ounce can)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon rose water

1. Whisk all the ingredients together just until the whisk leaves trails of soft peaks in the bowl. 
2. Fill two 1-pint airtight containers, and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Serve straight from the freezer.

To add a fruit swirl, gently swirl 1/3 cup of a fruit puree into the soft peaks then fill your containers and freeze. I use my Blueberry Sauce.

1 1/4     cups heavy cream, well-chilled
2/3       cup sweetened condensed milk
2          tablespoons instant espresso powder
2          tablespoons espresso liqueur

1. Whisk all the ingredients together just until the whisk leaves trails of soft peaks in the bowl, and you have a gorgeous, caffe-latte-colored airy mixture. 
2. Fill two 1-pint airtight containers, and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Serve straight from the freezer.

 
Variations: 
Go to Nigella Lawson’s website for 6 variations for her One-Step, No-Churn Ice Cream
 https://www.nigella.com/recipes/no-churn-ice-creams

My chocolate peanut butter cups are a lower carb version Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.  They are just sweet enough to keep my sweet tooth happy. The recipe gets plenty of healthy fat from the coconut oil and peanut butter and they are so easy to make. Be sure to store them in the refrigerator because the high coconut oil content allows them to melt at room temperature. In the photo below you can see that I sprinkled them with chopped rose petals and flaked sea salt. The rose petals are from my garden and dried in a hanging drying rack. I ground them in my spice grinder. 

​¼  cup creamy, natural peanut butter or almond butter
½ cup coconut oil
2 ounces dark chocolate (85% cocoa), roughly chopped-chocolate chips are fine too
Optional Toppings: 2 teaspoons Ground rose petals, Flaked salt

1. Put peanut butter, coconut oil, and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir. Add 30 seconds more if needed to melt all the ingredients.
2. Line up your mini muffin cups onto a baking sheet. Pour the mixture evenly into the muffin cups.
3. Put the tray of chocolates into the refrigerator or freezer to set for at least 2 hours. Keep stored in the refrigerator or freezer. If left at room temperature, these chocolate cups will melt!

 

• 
  If topping with crushed flower petals and flaked salt, heat your oven to 300 degrees.

Have your toppings ready. You are just trying to soften up the top layer of the chocolate cups-to just barely melt them so your toppings will stick to the top.
Place the pan into the oven for 10 seconds-keep the door open. Sprinkle on a pinch of rose petals and then a pinch of flaked salt. Refrigerate for ½ hour. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. 

I was inspired this week to create a few things using the edible flowers I had been drying throughout the summer. I was inspired by Loria Stern's Instagram posts of her beautiful flower cookies. She opened my eyes and my imagination to new floral ingredients and edible ideas. 
I went into my storage of bee balm, calendula, blue bachelor buttons, chive blossoms, and lavender. Here are some photos of a recreated "Confetti Cake" from my cookbook "Beautifully Delicious", flowered shortbread cookies, and homemade ricotta with my Herbes Salee and chive blossoms. I've also included some photos of my drying racks. 

 The homemade ricotta is so easy and MUCH better tasting than any store bought brand. I added a variation to the traditional savory ricotta and prepared a dessert version with the help of my favorite food website FOOD52.com. Try them both!

Makes 2 cups
 
4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 Tbs white wine vinegar
 

1. Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth. 
   
   
2. Pour the milk and cream into a stainless-steel or enameled pot such as Le Creuset. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey). 
   
   
3. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth.  Save remaining whey for later use (see below). Use ricotta immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.

Honey Ricotta Mousse-Food52.com
​By Flirty Foodie (https://food52.com/recipes/34754-honey-ricotta-mousse)

9 ounces sheep's milk ricotta (or cow's milk), drained -I used 1 cup of the Homemade Ricotta above
1/2 cup whipping cream, well chilled
5 tablespoons honey, divided
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
zest of 1/2 lemon
 

1. Using an electric hand mixer, whip cream in a medium bowl until it forms firm peaks, about 3 minutes.
   
   
2. In a separate bowl whip together ricotta, 3 tbsp honey and lemon zest until smooth. Carefully fold whipped cream into ricotta mixture. Cover and refrigerate for approx. 30 minutes so the ingredients firm up a bit.
   
   
3. Gather two serving bowl/cups. Spoon a layer of whipped ricotta into each bowl. Followed by a layer of honey, approx. 2 tsp to a 1 tbsp honey per dish. Top with remaining whipped ricotta. Garnish with chopped walnuts. Serve and Enjoy

 I was just chatting with a reporter from The Hippo Press and he asked me for some ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers. Its an interesting idea to design recipes that will help to use up those little bits of leftover sidedishes and turkey. Here is a great idea to use up everyone's favorite mashed sweet potato casserole. If your's is on the sweet side (with or without marshmellos), use the leftovers to create these mini apple pies. 
​

Makes 12 mini pies, baked in a mini muffin tin
·       Any basic single-crust pie dough or a single-crust from a premade pie dough from the grocery store.
·       1 large sweet potato
·       3 tablespoons unsalted butter
·       1 Granny Smith apple, diced very small
·       1 Cortland apple, diced very small
·       3 tablespoons brown sugar
·       ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
·       1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
·       ¼ cup dark brown sugar
·       ¼ cup quick oats
·       ¼ cup flour
·       1 teaspoon cinnamon
·       3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Roll out the dough and cut into 12 rounds using a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter. Place each round into a mini muffin tin. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. For mashed sweet potato, roast a large sweet potato in the oven until soft and easily pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Discard the skin and mash with 3 tablespoons of butter and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
4. To make the apple filling, combine diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vinegar. Set aside.
5. To make the crisp topping, combine the brown sugar, oats, flower, cinnamon, and butter in a food processor or by hand until it forms crumbles.
6. Remove the muffin tin from the refrigerator and fill each crust half-way with apples. Top with 1 teaspoon mashed sweet potato.
7. Place in the oven and cook for 12 minutes.
8. Remove minis from oven and top with 1 tsp crumb topping. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before serving. 

Let me begin this post with a big THANK YOU to my friend Kaaren who gave me this recipe years ago.  It has become a favorite dish on my Thanksgiving table and a favorite recipe at my cooking demonstrations.  I make batches and batches of this tart-sweet sauce to freeze and have long after fresh cranberries are no longer available at the grocery store.  I'll even buy bags of cranberries and freeze them to assure I have this sauce all year long.  I use frozen raspberries which are sweet and economical.  
On the sweet side, I serve this sauce for dessert draped over pound cake and ice cream.  I also use it the breakfast table served on oatmeal, yogurt, and cottage cheese.  To add a savory side to the sauce I've prepared it with 1 Tbs of chopped fresh rosemary to compliment chicken, pork, and roasted vegetables.  I'm sure once you try it you'll love it too.

​Makes 3 cups
 
1 12 oz package of fresh cranberries
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup water
1 12 oz package of frozen raspberries
 

1. Combine water, sugar, and cranberries in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat.  Cool the cranberries to room temperature.
   
   
2. After the cranberries have cooled gently stir in the raspberries.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 
*Make this a savory sauce by adding 1Tbs of fresh chopped rosemary and ½ tsp of salt while cooking the cranberries and sugar.  

Recipe inspired by Food & Wine
This truffle recipe offers an less fussy way to create a delicious, delightful, creamy bite of heaven.  You will note that these truffles are finished without the classic chocolate shell on the outside.  Simply prepare your ganache, cool, scoop and roll in a topping.  Done!
PS.  Having fun with the camera for this post!

Every year the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts (GCFM) holds a forum that invites professional speakers to present themselves to garden club program committee members.  As a speaker and presenter this is a wonderful opportunity for  me to introduce myself and my cooking and gardening programs to more than 200 Massachusetts garden clubs.  
My goal is to make myself memorable as I entice the club members to my table so I can give my 30 second "elevator speech" sales pitch and get each visitor to remember me.  How do I do that?  First, I try to dress up my little 3 foot table space with pretty fabric and a laptop slide show of my gardens. 
 Second, I smile...a lot!  
Third, I bring out my secret weapon...food.  Each year I bring a tasty dish for visitors to sample.  Each recipe needs to be quick to hand-out, not too fussy or messy to eat, and include ingredients that relate to my cooking demonstration topics.  This year I offered my favorite herbal treat.  My rosemary shortbread cookies are always a winner and are so easy to make.  The best thing about this recipe is that I can make the dough ahead, freeze it, and then thaw out the dough just before I'm ready to bake.  The dough will hold well in the freezer for 3 months.  Enjoy!
 

Cookies:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp fresh rosemary 
½ cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
Optional Herbs: lavender, thyme, basil 

Icing:
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tsp lime juice and ½ tsp lime zest or 1/8 tsp lime oil
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon milk

 Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

1. Combine the rosemary and sugar in a  food processor turn on for 30 seconds to allow the herb oils to flavor the sugar.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together with a paddle in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth but not fluffy.
3. Add the flour all at once and mix on low speed until the flour is incorporated and begins to form the dough.
4. Roll the dough out on a floured board into two 8-inch logs that are 1 ½ round.
5. Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes...wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 3 months if desired.
6. Cut the logs into ¼-inch slices and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake the cookies for 22 to 25 minutes.  Do not let the cookies brown or they will be over baked.
8. Allow the shortbread to cool on the pan for 5 minutes.  Remove to a cookie rack and cool completely before icing.
9. While the cookies are cooling make the icing.  Combine the icing ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth.  Drizzle the icing in streaks over the cooled cookies (I use a fork).  If the icing is too thick add more milk 1 tsp at a time.  Be careful not to make the icing too runny.  Allow the icing to harden before serving and storing for later use.