Richardson Julie - Rustic fruit desserts: crumbles, buckles, cobblers, pandowdies, and more

First and foremost, thank you to Julie Richardson, whose recipes are the foundation of this book. When Ten Speed Press approached me about this project, I knew Julie would be a wonderful and talented person to collaborate with, and our experience working together on this book has proven me right. I give Julie (as well as the charming staff at Baker & Spice and her supportive husband, Matt) much of the credit for Rustic Fruit Desserts.

I would also like to thank my friends at Ten Speed Press. I worked with Ten Speed ten years ago when I wrote my first cookbook, and writing this book has meant reconnecting with some old contacts and meeting new ones: Melissa Moore, Nancy Austin, Aaron Wehner, Phil Wood, Jasmine Star, and Sara Remington, thank you for all of your work on this book.

Finally, I would like to pay special tribute to all of the fruit growers who tend their orchards and crops with great care, cultivating sustained growth such that their farms continue to feed our communities and preserve our land. Without these dedicated individuals, this book would not be possible.

Cory Schreiber

I enjoyed so many firsts over the course of writing this book. I am indebted to Cory Schreiber for the chance to even be part of such a project. Thank you, Cory, for having the faith in my ability to create the recipes you envisioned; it has been a true pleasure collaborating with you. To Joy Ellis, a thousand thanks for your humor and expertise (and the many late nights!) in tackling the recipes in their roughest form and translating them into desserts. Thanks for making me look so good.

My undying appreciation to the staff of Baker & Spice for allowing me the time away from the daily routine to work on this project and for reminding me that everything always runs smoothly in my absence. To my parents, for believing in me enough to invest in my dreams and for guiding me with your love and expertise.

Thanks to Lauren Holden for your insights, suggestions, and fantastic recipe testing. Many thanks to my recipe testing crew: Gina Fleschner, Stevey Conover, Nellie Hester, Phyliss Leonard, and Jo Newhouse. Thank you for fitting my crazy schedule into your baking lives.

Many thanks to all of the wonderful people at Ten Speed Press for the guidance, education, and understanding they have bestowed on me as a first-time author, with a special thanks to Melissa Moore. Thank you to Nancy Austin for your art of design and to Sara Remington for your beautiful photographs; you both truly know how to capture the elegance of fruit.

I have had the pleasure of working with or for so many creative and gifted bakers from whom I have gleaned much expertise. I have learned from reading many books by my baking heroes and from making a lot of mistakes of my own. Thank you to all of those who have shared with me your talents. I would not be the baker I am today without your willingness to contribute.

Finally, I share in Corys commitment to the family farms of our land. Thank you for all of your hard work in tending to the fruits and berries that I had the pleasure to develop into Rustic Fruit Desserts.

Julie Richardson

Corys Perspective

I first met Julie Richardson at the Portland Farmers Market in 1998. Back then, she sold handcrafted baked goods at a small booth called Baker & Spice. A farmers market was the natural place for Julie to sell her pastries and pies, as she made them with seasonal, locally grown fruit. Her rustic desserts were deliciously irresistible, and I became far too familiar with almost all of them.

Given the devoted Baker & Spice following that lined up in droves every Saturday morning, rain or shine, (this is Portland, after all) to eat a breakfast pastry or buy a dessert to go, Baker & Spice eventually outgrew its farmers market booth. It now has a home as a retail bakery in the Hillsdale community of southwest Portland. Even though Baker & Spice is no longer at the farmers market, Julies seasonal approach is still a mainstay of her baking. The bakery is committed to local foods and seasonal products, and its repertoire of classic fruit desserts, from pies and pandowdies to cobblers and crumbles, changes throughout the year to reflect the freshest fruits available.

In the Pacific Northwest, we are lucky to have a wide variety of seasonal fruits grown by small-scale farmers. This creates an abundance of delicious choices that can be baked into a vast selection of fruit dessertsmuch like the ones that keep customers queued up at Baker & Spice. No wonder Julie and her family have made Oregon their home! Julie grew up in rural Vermont, where orchards and berry fields were part of the summer landscape of her childhood. Turning fruit into dessert came naturally to her long before she engaged in professional baking.

This book combines Julies knowledge of baking and my knowledge of Pacific Northwest fruits. I have cooked professionally for more than three decades, and at least half of my career has involved cooking in the Pacific Northwest. My most formative food memories are from Oregon, and I share Julies passion for the quality of our fruit. I conjure up the seasons by thinking about various fruit desserts I have enjoyed: for autumn, it is a cobbler with blackberries bubbling in their juices beneath a golden cream biscuit; in the dead of winter, a comforting pear bread pudding made with brioche and lots of vanilla; for spring, a tart rhubarb compote over a scoop of vanilla ice cream; and for summer, a crunchy oatmeal crisp bursting with midsummers sweet nectarines and raspberries.