I’ve been playing stay-at-home-mom this week. School starts next Monday, so I took this week off to spend with my kids before the fall chaos begins again. My week has been filled with sticker art, the new Winnie-the-Pooh movie, moving Oliver into his first real bed (a bunk bed!), thoughts of Jennie and her girls, breaking up arguments, donating to the Goodwill, lots of snack time, a little bit of pool time, many time outs, building forts out of cardboard boxes, making pancakes, listening to whining and bickering, organizing and cleaning, lots of cleaning.

These are the little ones who have kept me on my toes all week:

And this little girl has gotten into her fair share of mischief, too. But she’s so cute, it’s hard to get mad at her.

Though the new school year will bring homework, probably more than last year, it will also bring some semblance of routine back into our lives. I’m looking ahead to some busy weeks for all of us in this house but I think we can handle it all. Besides the homework issue, swimming lessons for both kids will resume. I’m headed out of town at the end of next week for a few nights (I’m speaking at a conference), and then I’ll start a busy 2-week stretch of call in the hospital on September 1st.

I wasn’t ready for fall when I posted this a couple of weeks ago, but I think I’m ready now. The summer’s stifling heat and humidity have chased me off my front porch, and I’m ready to get back to my early evening habit of sitting in my rocker with my iPad and a glass of something cool and refreshing, listening to the neighborhood noises.

Though autumn doesn’t technically begin until late in September, I consider this the last week of summer. And to celebrate the arrival of fall – or perhaps to mourn the end of summer – I made a dish combining my favorite comfort food – grits – with fresh tomatoes and corn. A bowl of this is all I need for a complete meal, but it could just as easily be a savory side dish.

What matters most is that there are grits, and grits always make me happy, regardless of season.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

Creamy Grits with Corn, Bacon, and Tomatoes

These grits make a great savory side dish or a simple and comforting main dish.

Ingredients:

3 cups water
1 cup whole milk
1 cup white stone ground grits
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup fresh corn kernels (approximately 1 ear of corn)
2 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
2 slices crisp-cooked bacon, chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Kosher salt

Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Bring water and milk just to a simmer in a heavy saucepan. Meanwhile, cover grits with water in a large bowl and whisk vigorously. Let stand for 30 seconds, then, using a fine-mesh sieve, skim off any chaff that has floated to the surface. Drain grits well in the fine-mesh sieve and whisk into the simmering milk.

Reduce heat to low and simmer grits, partially covered, stirring often with a heatproof rubber spatula, about 1 hour, until grits are tender and thickened to loose-oatmeal consistency. Stir more toward the end of cooking to prevent scorching.

While the grits are simmering, heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add corn, tomato, bacon, shallot, crushed red pepper, and a pinch of kosher salt. Stirring occasionally, cook until the shallot is translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.

When the grits are tender and done simmering, stir in cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir the corn and tomato mixture into the grits, garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.

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Last week I made an impromptu trip to New York City – Brooklyn, to be exact – to be with a friend of mine whose husband died unexpectedly. My goal was to be there for her, to comfort her, to be of use in some way. I needed to do something concrete.

When I heard Jennie’s news, I couldn’t breathe. [This is a sentiment that I’ve heard repeatedly.] I went to work that Monday morning, last Monday morning, and I couldn’t focus. The thought that kept repeating itself was, “I need to go. I need to go be with her.”

On Wednesday night, I arrived in Brooklyn.

I hope I was a help. I think I may have been. I helped find important papers. I hand washed dishes when I could. I avoided loading the dishwasher, unless it was completely clear where something belonged, because she is a very much like me – we like our dishes loaded in a very precise fashion, and we reload it if you don’t do it the right way. Which means our way. I played with her sweet girls in the park. I tried to give her alone time when she needed it.

I listened.

I watched Jennie’s girls adjust to life without their dad. I watched Jennie adjust to life without her true love and best friend.

There were lots of little happy moments. We had lunch at a neighborhood spot, in the booth where Jennie and Mikey had their last date. I met some of Jennie’s incredible friends, people who are there for her every day, not just in times of tragedy. I giggled with her oldest daughter as we read bedtime stories. I learned that life in a Brooklyn apartment is often accompanied by blown fuses when the Florida girl tries to blow dry her hair. We celebrated a wonderful man’s life in a memorial service that may have been the most happening party in town that day, filled with great food, beautiful stories, and plenty of wine.

But I couldn’t help but feel like I was falling down on the job by not making a peanut butter pie when Jennie asked.

I needed to make one. For Mikey. For my husband. For my beautiful children who don’t know the first thing about loss – except for the loss of a cherished pet. I needed to make one for me.

I made this frozen peanut butter pie today. I made it with thoughts of Jennie in my mind, because she hasn’t left my mind for over a week now. Even though it was one of Mikey’s favorite desserts, I made it for her. I made it for all of us who care about her.

I made it with love and it felt good.

It felt right.

Yield: Serves 8 to 10.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

The beauty of this pie is that there is no baking required. I used a food processor to grind the cookies and a stand mixer to beat the whipped cream, but you can do this all by hand if you're so inclined.

Ingredients:

11 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos), ground fine in a food processor
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
4 ounces chocolate chips (semisweet, bittersweet, or dark chocolate), optional

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into the bottom and sides of a deep dish 9-inch pie plate. Chill.

In a heavy saucepan, dissolve sugar and milk over medium-high heat, stirring, and remove pan from heat once sugar is dissolved. Whisk in peanut butter and vanilla until well-blended. Cool in a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally.

In another bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Turn mixture into pie crust, smoothing the top.

For garnish (optional), melt chocolate chips using a double boiler: place chips in double boiler over a saucepan of simmering water so that the double boiler doesn't touch the water. Stir until the chocolate is melted; place melted chocolate into a plastic baggie and cut a small piece of the tip off. Pipe into swirls or other designs on top of pie.

Freeze pie, uncovered, until frozen hard, about 5 hours. Pie can be made up to 2 days ahead and frozen, covered with plastic wrap and foil after 5 hours. Let pie stand in refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to serving.

Adapted from this recipe from Gourmet, May 1995.

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I’m out of town right now, spending some time with a friend in need. While I’m away, someone quite talented is filling in for me for a day. I think you’ll like her.

Occasionally I’ll read a blog and immediately get sucked in for one reason or another. Prerna’s blog, Indian Simmer, is in that special group. Prerna founded her site in February 2010, the same month this one was born. In that amount of time, she’s established herself as a great writer and storyteller. But, one look at any of her posts, and it’s clear that her passion lies in photography. Her photos are simply beautiful, and they speak volumes without saying a word. I’m honored that she’s sharing some of her talents here with you today. In addition to her blog, you can find Perna on Twitter and on Facebook.

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Thanks so much Merry Jennifer for letting me take your place for a day. It is an honor to be writing for a blog like the merry gourmet!

A couple months back we moved to this town in the suburbs of San Francisco. California was the first place we called home after I and the husband got married. We started with a small one bedroom apartment that had these huge windows with tall sheer white curtains and a stream running outside, just a few feet away from our patio. We made so many memories with this place and so many friends here before moving to a different part of the country. We lived there longer than we did in California but I always felt this place was home and I knew I will come back. And I did!

Now we are here again, closer to the places we loved and also discovering new places that we never knew existed. One such place that I discovered and I am so glad I did is this cute little farm blocks away from our new place. It’s a tiny little farm, nothing fancy, run by a cute little family. They grow seasonal fruits and vegetables and sell it right outside their gate by the street under a small shade. And that fruit stand is like a godsend to me. I mean where else can you just drive up, ask the fruit seller for cherries and he steps into the farm, picks some straight off the tree and hands them to you? Taste of the produce increases manifold when it is still warm with the hot sun falling on the tree. To be honest, I never knew that peaches can be so juicy, plum and peachy!

These days the farm is loaded with fresh berries and so is my refrigerator and fruit basket. Bonus, the little one is crazy about them too. She can have them all day long seven days a week and still won’t get bored. So the perks of trying something new and just throwing berries in it are even more. And I have come to realize that berries make everything taste good. And when you add it to something as good as a rabdi then I can’t even tell you how good the result is!

When you cook sweetened milk at low temperature until it thickens to a creamy and rich texture, it becomes rabdi. To step it up a notch and to add another layer of flavor and aroma, cardamom powder or saffron is added. This is a hugely popular dessert in India and is usually accompanied with rasgulla (cheese balls cooked in a sugar syrup), jalebi or eaten as is.  A friend once told me how they add clementine wedges to it. So I started adding any fruit that had a bit of a tang to it and I have to say berries work best. It is rich and creamy, and saffron gives it the perfect warmth. The best part is that its super easy to make.

Yield: Serves 6.

Rabdi with Fresh Summer Berries

This recipe calls for raspberries and blueberries, but you can use just about any fresh berry you like.

Ingredients:

½ gallon (1.69 liters) milk
1 cup condensed milk
1 pinch saffron
½ cup raspberries
½ cup blueberries

Directions:

Cook milk in a thick bottom pan with a wide mouth. If a deep pan or pot is used to cook a lot of milk, the bottom layer sticks to the base while the top layer is still not hot enough. Bring milk to a quick boil, turn the heat to low and let it simmer stirring occasionally. Using a plastic or wooden spatula scrape the bottom occasionally, not allowing it to stick to the bottom. Cook it until milk starts to thicken and then add condensed milk.

While continuously stirring, add saffron strands and cook it until it reduces to a thick consistency. I personally like a pancake batter consistency.

Let the rabdi cool down and then you can either chill it or pour it mildly warm over fresh berries.

Prerna Singh of Indian Simmer.

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