Hey, Y’all!

So this weekend was a busy one.  I think everyone I know was out running around for some reason or other.  Rooster and I spent a good part of Saturday in Columbia looking around, shopping, and just being silly.  Sunday (Happy Mother’s Day, y’all!) was spent cooking and playing video games.  Tiring, but fun.

I also sat back down this weekend with my books on Nordic mythology and wikipedia.  I think I’ve come up with a game plan – mostly – for the rewrite of the novel (still called Loki’s Game at this point), and I’ll actually be able to salvage large portions of what’s already written.  I’m blaming Lexxx, Lucy, Tally, and Rooster. They took me to see Thor Friday night, and it turned my brain to mush.

But seeing that movie helped me to figure out exactly what’s wrong with the story.  It deals with the Old Gods, but we don’t get to see enough of them.  Plus the plot was a little on the contrived side.  So I have an outline to work from, I know what scenes I can save and edit, and what needs to completely go away.  I’m going to be leaning very heavily on the myths, but I promise I’m not just rehashing old news.

More to come on that when I actually start the rewrites.

~+~+~+~

Now… in honor of Mother’s Day, I’ll leave you all with my very own Peach Cobbler recipe. The crust is very cake-like, and the whole thing is really rich and really, really sweet.

Enjoy!

Siobhan’s Southern Style Peach Cobbler

FILLING:
2 – 29-oz cans peaches (preferably raggedy-ripe) in Heavy Syrup, drained & syrup reserved
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
2 tsp corn starch
8 tbsp salted butter, cut into 8 pieces

CRUST:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c white sugar
1 c packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 tbsp salted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup peach syrup, warmed but not boiling
3 tb cinnamon
1 tsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 450.  In a large bowl, mix together all filling ingredients EXCEPT THE BUTTER, then pour into a 4-quart baking dish.  Bake uncovered 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt.  Add 12 tbsp butter, and mix until crumbly (use your fingers or a pastry cutter).  Slowly stir in the warmed syrup, adding until mixture is moist, but can still hold its shape.  If you have any syrup left over, stir it into the warmed peaches.

3. Take 8 tbsp of butter and drop into the cooked peach mixture, making sure each slice is completely covered.  Drop teaspoonfuls of batter over the top of the warmed peaches, making sure to cover as much of them as possible.  (You can also flatten the dough on top of the peaches, but the syrup can’t get through this way and it takes longer to cook.)

4. Bake uncovered 15 minutes. Mix together cinnamon and sugar.  Set aside.

5. After 15 minutes, remove foil and sprinkle top of crust with cinnamon sugar.  Bake another 15-20 minutes, until browned and bubbly.    Let cool 10 minutes.

Serve hot with Vanilla Bean ice cream.