Garden & Orchard

Ingredients

• 4 medium tilapia fillets
• salt, pepper, dried basil, dried oregano to taste 

Salsa:

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, washed and diced
• 1 medium orange, peeled and chopped
• ½ small shallot, diced
• ½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 4 sprigs fresh mint leaves only, finely chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• Juice of ½ lime, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Salt to taste

Combine all salsa ingredients in a glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate for two to three hours to let the flavors blend. Serve over tilapia fillets that have been salted, peppered, sprinkled with dried herbs and then seared in a non-stick skillet for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Serves four. Note: use equal amounts of strawberries and orange.

Submitted by Larry Burton, Little Rock, Arkansas


Peach Trifle

This is an over-the-top dessert. With a variety of bold flavors and textures, it has a wow factor of 10. When I tested this recipe I made individual servings in wine glasses. The layering is key to the presentation, amounts of ingredients less so.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 cups peeled, sliced fresh, ripe peaches
• 1 small pound cake, enough for 8 thin slices
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ¾ cup apricot jam
• 7 ounces ginger snaps
• 1 cup Amaretto
• 16 ounces mascarpone cheese
• ¼ cup slivered almonds

Slice 8 half-inch pieces of pound cake. Reserve the remainder for another use. Cut each slice in half, make little jam sandwiches with about half the jam and press into the bottom of a trifle bowl or divide into 8 individual wine glasses. Process the ginger snaps to fine crumbs in a food processor. Reserve a few tablespoons for sprinkling over the top at the end, and sprinkle the rest over the pound cake jam sandwiches. Pour ½ cup amaretto over the sandwiches and ginger snap crumbs.

Heat the remaining jam with the lemon juice either on the stove or in the microwave and toss in the peaches to coat evenly. Heat briefly. Pour the peaches over the pound cake.

Add the sugar to the remaining amaretto, and stir to dissolve. With a handheld mixer, whip the mascarpone; add the remaining amaretto and whip until smooth. Spread the mascarpone over the peaches. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours (up to 24). Remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving. Toast the almonds in a skillet over medium heat until nicely browned. Cool. Sprinkle almonds and remaining crumbs over just before serving. Serves 6 to 8.


Plum Torte

One of the best parts of the plum torte is that it gets crisp on the top, but the inside remains extraordinarily moist, because the juicy plums sink into the batter.

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 12 pitted purple plums, halved  (See notes)
• Sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs; beat well. Line a 9-inch spring form pan with parchment paper and spoon batter into it. Place the plum halves/pieces, skin side up, on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on taste. Bake 50 to 60 minutes. Remove and cool to lukewarm; serve plain or with whipped cream. Refrigerate or freeze if desired. To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat briefly at 300 degrees.
Cook’s Note: You probably won’t need 12 plums, unless they are small. If medium sized, use fewer and cut them into fourths.

Submitted by Lee Whittier, Vancouver, Washington


Blueberry Pudding Cake

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups blueberries
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put blueberries and lemon juice in the bottom of a well-greased 1-quart baker or 8-by-8 baking dish. In an electric mixer, blend butter, sugar, milk, flour and baking powder. Spread batter over blueberries. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt; sprinkle over batter. Pour water over the top. Set baker on aluminum foil on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm, either plain or with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. Yields 6 to 8 servings.
Note: The tricky part is figuring out when it is done. The top should look dry, not unbaked and the edges bubbly. If the top is not dry looking, continue baking for 4 to 5 minute intervals until done.

Submitted by Lee Whittier, Vancouver, Washington