It's 'Eat Local' Month: Can You Rise to the Local Recipe Challenge?

Keith Mayson Sarasin puts the local in "local guy." Yes, he's from here. But he's also at the center of Nashua's newest dining trend, a summer series he calls The Farmer's Dinner, pairing local farmers with local restaurants to prove Sarasin's point: Knowing where your food comes from makes a difference, and every farmer has a story to tell!

With the success of the summer series, Sarasin has already gone ahead and started planning a fall series.

Not only does it feel right, but it helps keep the local economy chugging.
So the fact that it happens to be Eat Local Month has inspired Sarasin to offer two things:

1. A recipe for Blueberry and Peach Crumble, along with a bit of his philosophy of food and;
2. A challenge to our Patch readers to keep it going by posting your recipes, ideas, questions or ideas here, on our new Eat Local Board.

Blueberry and Peach Crumble

by Keith Mayson Sarasin

Summer is here and so are peaches & blueberries. I love blueberry and peach crumble. These summer fruits are a real pleasure to use in so many dishes. While I was at the farm yesterday I decided to pick some fresh blueberries and peaches. I wanted to put a dessert together that brought out the sweetness of both of these  fruits. I decided on a dessert that is simple but sure to please even the toughest critics.

The crumble (aka crisp) is actually British in origin and really became popular in American cuisine during the European colonization of the Americas. It is typically a sweet dish though savory varieties exist. I highly recommend you serve this with a scoop (or two) or all natural vanilla ice cream. A variety of toppings that make up the “crumble” exist but for this recipe I use brown sugar, wheat flour and butter as the basis.

Ingredients

6 peaches firm, ripe peaches (from the farm if possible)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 pint of fresh blueberries

1 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

A pinch salt

Crumble Topping

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

6 Tbsp butter, cold and chopped
A pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice water. Carefully drop peaches in boiling water and allow to boil 30-60 seconds. Places peaches to cold water. Peel peaches and slice into chunks. Place cut up peaches in a mixing bowl along with blueberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour and pinch of salt. Toss mixture to evenly coat. Pour mixture into an 8 by 8-inch baking dish and set aside while you prepare the topping.

Topping

Combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, butter, and vanilla, and mix with your hands or with a fork until the mixture crumbles with your fingertips. Spread over the top of the peach  and blueberry mixture.

Bake in preheated oven 40 – 50 minutes, until nicely browned. Serve warm with all natural vanilla ice cream.