Nectarine Crisp!

For some reason at our local Super Target we are able to procure (even still in October) really inexpensive - and good - nectarines. As I like to make sure we are eating plenty of fruits and veggies ... unlike my posts may suggest ... it is always nice to give ourselves a little variety in those fruits and vegetables. So, nectarines it was. 

Now, we have eaten several of them cut up as sides to our meals and I thought it would be a nice night to have a crisp of some sort. With my lack of apples, and strong desire to use what I have at home between grocery store trips ... I thought, why not make a nectarine crisp. 

While the title of this dish does not flow easily from your mouth (it sounds sort of strange really) the crisp itself is sweet/tart, and very delectable.
 

Now, with that said, I decided the crisp would be even more delicious with a side of ice cream.

We of course had none.

I thought about running to the store to get some...but really why should I do that when I have plenty of ingredients at home, the internet to search for recipes...and what is at times, an overpowering obsession to prove to myself that I can, in fact, make anything from scratch. 

And so, after making dinner, then crisp, I made ice cream. 

Yes, I know I sound insane.

Here are the results:

Now, I realize that this picture is not as bright and beautiful as the nectarines themselves were...but hours had passed and the sun had stopped waiting up for me to finish all this cooking so I was forced to take a picture in our dark apartment. BUT the end product of both was wonderful, so it was well worth the effort. Here is a closer look at that ice cream:

I am not going to give an exact recipe for the ice cream because I only made a very small batch - just enough to eat with this crisp, but I will share the ingredients I used:

sour cream (yes I know that sounds odd), sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, water

I know that looking at those it does NOT seem like ice cream would come forth...but, with the right method, a little patience, and of course some love, ice cream with a very nice consistency is produced. My very shocked husband can attest to this...I think he thought I was going off the deep end when he asked what I was doing in the kitchen again and I replied, "making ice cream..."

Anyway...I am going to share what I came up with as far as the nectarine crisp goes - this is a small crisp which only contains about 4 servings. I made it in a small round glass pyrex dish.

Ingredients:

For the inside (or underbelly really):

Two Nectarines 

(a third could easily be added)

1/4 c. sugar

2 tsp vanilla (you could go with one if it is real)

For the top (the crisp!):

1/2 c. flour

3 tbsp butter (I use salted butter)

1/4 cup brown sugar

A sprinkle of in both layers:

cinnamon!

*** I also added a pinch of salt to the top***

Method:

Thinly slice nectarines. Stir in (white) sugar and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine flour and brown sugar. When blended, cut in butter until mixture is a consistent, yet lumpy texture. 

Pour on nectarines and bake in 350°oven for approx 30-40 minutes, or until topping is golden and nectarines are tender. 

The topping worked out better when I tested the nectarines several times allowing some of the juices to mix in and moisten the flour/brown sugar layer.

Besides dessert, earlier in the evening we had biscuits and gravy (utilizing leftover heart shaped biscuits) and cheesy hash browns:

 

I had quite the fun with potatoes while making the hash browns from scratch...but that is another story, and this post is looong enough already. 

Maybe we'll have something simple to eat tomorrow...

...maybe...