Tickling Our Tastebuds

by Denise Valentine My Mother’s Fruit Cobbler Hello, everyone. It is with a heavy heart that I send this Mother’s Day message. As I look forward to spending some quality time on Mother’s Day with my own children and their families, I am deeply saddened by the recent passing of my Mom. She taught my sister and I how to prepare good, old-fashioned food. There usually wasn’t anything too fancy except, for dessert sometimes.  Mom was a full-time farmer’s wife, working at the barn right beside my Dad, and a homemaker. When she made it back to the house, there wasn’t time for a lot of prep work for a meal. But no matter what she fixed, it was good. I can say that now, but as a kid, I’m sure there were a few things that I just didn’t like. One of my all-time favorites was her fruit cobbler. Mom used to can fruit in half-gallon jars. It was a simple, easy, and delicious dessert. She would dump the peaches (about 7-8 cups) into a large baking pan. In a separate bowl, she would mix together 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, then mix it together with the fruit. The topping was made with Bisquick. Mom made it a little thinner than the package directions, and spooned it over top of the fruit to completely cover it. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. The fruit cobbler would bake while we ate dinner, and then we would have a warm dessert—sometimes, topped with ice cream…Yum! Please refer to any Betty Crocker cookbook to see what adjustments are made to ingredients and flavorings, depending on the type of fruit you use. You will also find the recipe for homemade cobbler topping, but the Bisquick is a delicious and time-effective shortcut. I hope you enjoy your Mother’s Day.