Cobbler...my first pastry love.

When I was nine or so my great grandmother took me to a "Pot-luck Supper" for her church. I remember thinking, "I can have anything? As much as I want?" That day I learned how to over-eat. I remember it clear as yesterday...hitting the wall and thinking there is no way I could eat more - and then the gorge opens up and it can fit endless amounts of food. I got fat after that. Not immediately of course but steadily after.

Food is wonderful. When thinking about it, on the way to get it, preparing it, smelling it, savoring it...it's an experience and like anything there can be overindulgence. I came across "Half Ton Teen" on Discovery Health Channel (pretty sure that's the channel) and I watched the mother of a 19 year old wait on her 850 lb. man-baby catering to his every need - and she was happy to do it. It's her child, she loves him and gives him whatever he wants. She said she thought that is how life would be forever - her baby would be with her and she'd take care of him. I don't even need to describe the menu but he was consuming upwards of [no exaggerating] 30,000 calories a day.

That's how one reaches that kind of weight, said his doctor, by eating far over what your body needs and then beyond what it can handle. It's unfathomable to see yourself grow past 300 onward to 850. It's scary. I topped out at 270 in 2002. At my height I should be 175 (average). I'm down to 190 and still have fat that reminds me of the "270-Days"...note I made the cobbler the night before I saw this special and it got me thinking. I don't want to babble about weight issues but I want to make issue with what people put in their bodies! Rational portions! Delicious food that loves you back! Memories of feeling fulfilled and not full! Saying that - it's OK to have rational portions of cobbler every once in a while. When that time comes around - this is a fantastic recipe that goes great with ice cream - as all cobblers do......

The needs:

(for deep dish/ 9 X 13 dish)

Topping

1 1/2 cup AP flour

1 cup Whole Wheat flour

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

zest of a lemon

3/4 - 1 cup milk

1 stick cold butter diced

Filling

Three bags frozen fruit (around 3 lbs)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. flour

juice of that lemon from earlier

1 tsp. vanilla

Bake @350 degrees for 45 - 1 hours

I used both types of flour because it makes it that much better for you. In this, compared to biscuits, I think it would be totally acceptable to use all whole-wheat flour and it would be delicious. I used a large aluminum loaf pan (I know better than to use aluminum - which is bad for you and your food) which is my second choice to a 9 X 13 that I don't possess. Go ahead and get it oiled up...that's what she said.

I chose peaches and blueberries - my first cobbler was all blueberry and it was completely amazing. This can be almost any berry or fleshy fruit. Strawberries have a lot of water so it can be mushy. When filling your dish with this fresh fruit it should be very full. The fruit will cook down considerably and the topping is thick in design so make it big or go to Cracker Barrel and get it there.

That orange bracelet there is for my friend Cameron who just beat Leukemia at St. Jude's in Memphis. He's a total bad ass. There's no denying it. The stuff in the bowl is the filling ingredients we were talking about earlier...come on...you should know that! Toss it around and then into the greased pan/dish.

This is just a "zest visual". It really makes the topping better than anyone else's. Your welcome for the secret.

The topping is prepared like a biscuit, but I was excited and lazy and didn't cut in the butter, I just diced and threw it in. You'll see the difference.

Pre-oven: Spread topping over fruit. It should be sweet and delicious when licked off a spoon. There's no egg in there so you can eat it all and not be a paranoid lunatic about salmonella.

**BEST TO ALWAYS BAKE COBBLER ON A PARCHMENT LINED SHEET PAN BECAUSE OVERFLOW WILL HAPPEN! When it settles you'll be glad you put so much in though!

If you made biscuits then you'd be able to compare this to biscuits with butter cut in too much. The flavor is there but it's not flaky.

The color is not well represented as I had to use my camera phone for this whole entry...anyway...I like to serve it topping down and with vanilla bean ice cream. Ugh. So good.

Briefly back to responsible eating, I want to be an example for what I preach so I will focus more on healthy things that are surprisingly delicious and occasionally include some butter. I am NOT saying people shouldn't eat butter, but in seeing others in realization of what they want to achieve (the obese teen), I have been reminded of why I wanted to do it and how close I've gotten. Time to get back in gear and tell the dude at the drive-thru, "I changed my mind, I don't want to eat that crap."

HEALTHIER FOOD!!! In and around your mouth.

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