Sacramento Digs Gardening: Mix and match fruit in this summer cobbler

Fruit for cobbler in a glass measuring cup — Cherries and peaches make a good pairing.

This cobbler makes the most of summer stone fruit and berries. It mixes and matches what’s on hand. For example, I used two yellow peaches and a pound of late cherries. Colorwise, the peaches tended to blend in with all the red cherry juice, but their flavor and texture added their own distinct plus.

The crust is like sugary drop biscuits. Make sure your baking dish is deep enough for the bubbling fruit as it cooks. When serving, drizzle some of the fruit syrup over the topping. Ice cream or whipped cream is optional.

Summer fruit cobbler

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 cups fruit (peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots, strawberries, berries, etc.), pitted

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter

1/3 to ½ cup buttermilk or sour milk

Butter for baking dish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Casserole with baked fruit cobbler — After baking, let the cobbler cool.

Prepare fruit. Peeling is optional. Cut larger fruit into 1-inch pieces. Halve cherries and strawberries. Mix fruit with brown sugar; set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Chop butter into small pieces, then blend it into dry ingredients with a fork, pastry blender or two knives. Add just enough buttermilk or sour milk to form a thick sticky dough.

Butter a 2-quart casserole dish. Pour fruit mixture into the buttered dish.

With two spoons, scoop dough into six golf ball-size pieces and place them on top of fruit, spacing dough pieces evenly apart.

Bake cobbler at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until crust is golden and fruit is bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool at least 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream, of desired.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

Sacramento gardening recipe recipes peaches summer fruit cherries baking cobbler farmers markets orchard fruit produce management backyard produce dessert

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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