Day One Hundred Twenty-Two

Sometimes I realize that I'm going to regret a thing before I actually regret the thing. That is the case with the outstanding Bunny Promise that I have going with Mila.

In case you hadn't noticed, Mila is a wee bit obsessed with animals. See also, she called a probably rabid bat "my precious" and was legit very sad when it left.

WAIT! I have a very small Rainbow Marshmallow update. Rainbow Marshmallow returned on Saturday, flew laps around the yard, and then dove into the pool AGAIN. It was rescued AGAIN, but then placed in a tree. Rainbow took off after sunset and then stayed away for an entire day. But! I saw Rainbow Marshmallow again today. It was around noon and the damn thing was flying around the yard again. It didn't nose-dive for the pool this time, which we're going to accept as a victory. Basically I'm now a person who looks out the window every half hour or so to confirm that there is not a bat in the pool. So that's fun.

Annnd ... back to that Bunny Promise. Mila is obsessed with animals. She has been obsessed with catching a bunny in our yard for basically her entire life. The good news is that she has never managed to make good on her commitment to chasing one down and making it live with her forever. That is the promise I made her, though. Should Mila ever manage to catch a bunny, she can keep it as a pet.

I half-assedly made the promise about two weeks ago. Mila was chasing a bunny through our yard, as usual, and decided to ask. "If I catch a bunny, can I keep it?"

It's such a simple question. It fits right in with the "pick your battles" style of parenting that mostly works for me. I figured there was no way she will ever catch one, so I agreed.

She hasn't caught one yet, but I realized how this is going to go this evening. This evening Mila failed again to catch a bunny, but then said she needed to find a BABY bunny.

You know, those creatures that tend to nest in yards. You know, that thing that she could plausibly catch because they're sleepy and slow and not ready to be terrorized by short-statured hurricanes.

THAT IS HOW THIS STORY IS GOING TO END. Mila is going to happen upon a bunny nest, find about six babies she wants to rescue, and I'm going to be stuck in this really awkward pet-having situation.

I just had to say yes.

Day One Hundred Twenty-One

There is a thing that I have a 50/50 chance of having work - blanching peaches. Half the time it's a complete fail. The other half of the time, it's magic. I don't know why - I consistently dip the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds AND YET. I inconsistently deal with the results.

Anyway, Pecan Peach Cobbler. Peaches are juuuust about in season, so there will be a ton of them around for the next several weeks. We'll be making all of the things with peaches, including this old favorite.

You should probably make this because it's really very good.The recipe is based loosely on one I know for making homemade Bisquick. Don't buy Bisquick, by the way. You can make it super easily.

Pecan Peach Cobbler

Filling:
6 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Pull out a glass dish. I used a 9" x 13" Pyrex dish.

3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and vanilla extract for the filling. Mix everything up well.

4. Place your sliced peaches in the bottom of your pan. Throw the sugar mixture in there and use a spatula to gently turn things until the sugar/cinnamon is evenly distributed.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Use a whisk to mix them all up.

6. Toss your chopped up butter into the large mixing bowl with the flour and its friends. Mush everything up with your hands until the butter is more or less distributed. It's OK if it's a little chunky. In fact, it's desirable.

7. Pour your buttermilk into the large mixing bowl and use a spoon to mix it all up.

8. Spread the buttermilk/flour stuff over top of the peaches. It's OK that it doesn't want to spread evenly. Just sort of push it around until the top is mostly covered.

9. Sprinkle the pecans over top.

10. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the top.

11. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the crust/cobbler stuff is a nice golden brown.

12. If you decide to serve it warm, know that it won't stay gorgeous. It's going to want to run a little, so just let it. If you want it to stay pretty, you need to refrigerate it until it's super cold, which takes about an hour.

I don't want to wait an hour. I'll take yummy and warm over pretty any day.

By the way, it's perfect served with vanilla ice cream.

Day One Hundred Twenty