If your imagination is anything like mine is, you are already smelling the title of this post before you’ve even read it. Mmmm. Close your eyes for just a second and imagine them, if you haven’t done it already! Now picture yourself in your kitchen with both of those items. Think of fresh air, clean counters, no dishes, newly changed towels and apron waiting for you to come in and make some culinary magic.
Fresh flowers. They brighten my kitchen with their vibrant colors and wafting scents.
Fresh baked dessert–any kind, really, but today it’s delicious, homemade peach cobbler.
These kitchen comforts are simple and basic, but oh so comforting. I love to display fresh flowers in my kitchen because it reminds me of older times when most people had plenty of flowers in their yard that could be collected for an elegant display right on the table or counter. They are cheerful. They are bold in color. They bring joy to those who gaze upon them. Do you have some favorite flowers? I do! Here’s my top 5 list of kitchen flowers to arrange:
- daffodils: When they are in season, I buy them every time I go to the store.
- roses: well-balanced and beautiful
- sweet peas: homegrown and freshly picked off the trellis-they smell so good.
- orchids: preferably a live plant in a potted planter that will continue to bloom over and over
- sunflowers: even a single stem looks bright, cheery, and welcoming
I love these ones for varying reasons, but all of them bring me back to my childhood. I have always had a propensity for daffodils. I loved them as a little girl, and I love them now. My mom always grows roses, and she would make the most gorgeous displays for the counter. Sometimes, I would come home from school and find that she had even placed a rose in a small vase in my room. It made me feel so special. Sweet peas were often growing in our yard, and my grandparents’ yard. I remember pretending that each color had its own scent (to the best of my knowledge, they all smell the same, but it was fun to pretend). I love orchids because they have an exotic flair to them…the purple ones are my very favorite. Orchids remind me of the many trips to Maui that we were blessed to go on when I was younger, and those are memories I treasure. Sunflowers are a happy flower; one can’t help but smile when studying one. When I think of joyfulness, they are always part of the picture I see.
As for the peach cobbler, well I think it goes without saying that the smell of this particular dessert baking in the oven and then cooling on the counter just makes my mouth water instantly. We don’t always do dessert at our house, but when we do, it has to be awesome and it has to be gluten free. Low-sugar is a plus, too, but it’s nearly impossible to get a low-sugar cobbler recipe to “gel” without adding in extra ingredients I don’t want to eat. So, smaller portions, but big taste is key for this one!
It’s funny, I didn’t grow up eating a bunch of cobblers. From time to time, my mom would make a tasty berry cobbler that was scrumptious, but it wasn’t very often. To be honest, I was so busy as an older kid and teenager, I was seldom home early enough to have time for both homemade dinner and homemade dessert, so mom chose to feed me dinner…she was (and is still) so wise. When I got married, my husband requested that I make a peach cobbler like he had grown up having, so I learned how! It’s pretty darn good now, I dare say, with almost 20 years of practice under my belt. I bet you might have some recipes like that. The old faithfuls. The trusty, never-let-you-down, could-make-it-in-your-sleep recipes. They’re comforting in a way, aren’t they? You know they’re always there as options when you’re so tired (or rushed) that you can’t think of anything else.
Today I’m sharing my recipe for Gluten Free {QUICK} Peach Cobbler. No, it’s not 100% healthy, and yes, I use canned peaches. But it comes out so good. So take your self out to the store, grab the ingredients, buy some flowers that make you smile, and get cooking! Your family will be so surprised, and you will be too! Enjoy your day and the beauty and joy it brings!
Gluten Free {QUICK} Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose 1-1 gluten free flour
- 1 T baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 T ground cinnamon
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter (I often use vegan butter)
- 1 cup almond milk (can substitute cow milk or other nutmilks)
- 1 T lemon juice
- 3 cans of sliced peaches in light syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour in almond milk and stir.
- Melt butter, and add it to the bowl, stirring until incorporated.
- Open cans of peaches.
- Pour off half of the syrup from each can.
- Add peaches and remaining syrup to a saucepan.
- Add lemon juice.
- Bring almost to a boil, being very careful not to scald the syrup.
- Grease a 13X9 glass casserole dish.
- Pour batter from large mixing bowl in to the casserole dish.
- Pour peaches and their syrup over the batter.
- Place into preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden.