...or How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Use the Turkey Baster.

So! I am a proud member of Locavorious, which is run by my friend and fellow lady food blogger, Rena. My girl loads us up on fruits, which is great because I don't really preserve fruits except in jams. I've slacked on the fruits this winter, and therefore have a boatload of frozen goodies living in my freezer. (A wonderful story that I won't tell right now is about the day that Homeless Dave bike-delivered my freezer from Big George's to my house). The freezer lives in my basement near my washer and dryer, and whenever I go and do the wash, I see it there, reminding me that I have to use the frozen fruit within.

As it happened, the freezer's most recent psychic message to me coincided with our Slow Food book club/pot luck. Huzzah! I seized upon the opportunity to feed my friends. I found a recipe for a fruit cobbler in the Joy of Cooking that I inherited from my mom. (I should add that - as far as I know - my mom is alive and well...she was just sick of cooking all of those years and passed it on to me). Please read after the recipe to see how the turkey baster fits into this puzzle.

1) Pit 6 peaches, cutting them in half. Place them in an ungreased 11 x 7 pan. Add 2 cups of fresh or frozen berries (I used strawberries).

2) Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the fruit.

3) Mix 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt.
4) In another bowl, mix 4 tablespoons of softened butter, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 egg. Add 1/4 cup buttermilk (don't sweat it if you don't have it - put some lemon juice in the milk, and it will be fine).
5) Mix the two mixtures together until smooth. Drop spoonfuls of the batter over the fruit. Leave about 1/2 inch border around the pan, as it will spread.

6) Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Mmmm, mmmm! Time for pie crumble. I cut a slice for Jeff so he could eat some with the dinner I thoughtfully got started for him. To my horror, the bottom of the crumble looked like a peach and pink Lake Huron. Crap. I tasted some and it was goo-ood but too lake-y. You will recall that I am a public school teacher and therefore must be creative. So I grabbed my turkey baster - which last saw the light of day of Thanksgiving - and went to work. I was able to siphon much of the liquid away, leaving the crumbly top and the yummy fruit. It looked nicer, too. I guess I should have better defrosted the fruit before I used it to bake. Oops.

My potluck friends said it was delicious and Jeff liked it too. So you see, fret not when you have a dessert that looks like it came from the bottom of the Huron River...grab your baster and have at it. Or just better defrost your fruit in the first place like a normal person...I guess that would work, too :)

Patti Smith blogs about beer and food at The Palate of Patti.