End-times pie

For the moment of this slice of pie,
we are happier than a bird with
a french fry.

Yesterday by the grace of God I made a peach-blueberry pie.  I have had this pie in mind for about a year.  Last year I had purchased canned peaches for such an endeavor but it never happened. Partly because I doubted that a pie made from canned peaches would match the platonic peach pie.

On Friday the Common Household Husband (CHH) and I made a trip in town to Penzey’s Spices, a place I had longed to go to.  I was delighted to replace some spices that had been bought about 10 years ago, just about when the current toddler-tyrant thought of riding the escalator to bring us all down with him.  Penzey’s is a good place to shop in defiance of that descent.  

Penzey’s reminded us that the CHH can’t smell much of anything these days.  He comprehends the stink of approaching fascism, but couldn’t register the heady aroma of garam masala, reminiscent of my Dad’s own delectable garam masala.  I bought a large jar of Penzey’s cinnamon, with current and future pies in mind.  The pie of the realm of God, if you will - already and not yet.

On Saturday I bought 12 not-quite-local peaches at the local farm up north. 

The peaches were from Chambersburg, PA, a spot dear to my heart because

my mother went to college there AND they produce marvelous peaches there.  

In one’s life one can hope to experience at least one delicious peach.  This year may be a calamity, but the peaches are marvelous this summer as we rage against the regime.  Some solace along the way.  On Sunday and Monday I had fresh peaches at breakfast and lunch.

On Tuesday the afternoon stretched before me.  All the ingredients were at hand.  The peaches were ripe.  I set to work.  Just as I finished making the bottom crust, with flour all over the floor,  the CHH arrived home unexpectedly early.  We both jumped with surprise.  Wisely, he beat a hasty retreat from the kitchen.

I defied the directions for this pie.  The recipe assumes there is peach juice, from canned peaches, and said juice is to be cooked on the stove with corn starch and cinnamon.  Nope, not happening.  Lattice crust?  Pfft!  No. I proceeded boldly with a spirit of non-cooperation, something that is required of me far more these days than I had imagined would be.

I asked the family if they thought the filling would fit in the pie pan.  Responses:  Older Daughter: “100%.  Anything extra will disappear.”  CHH:  100%.  The family are good estimators.  It fit just fine, but it was VERY soupy.  A bit did spill over during cooking but most of it was retained inside the pie.  Just as our Pennsylvania judges should be retained when we vote in November.

The juices are very near the top of the crust.
Think of the juices as PA judges.  We want
to retain them in the courts so that we can
continue to have the rule of law,
reproductive rights, fair elections, and
to avoid chaos.

Reader, the pie is fitting for our times.  It doesn’t look perfect, but provides a moment

to glory in the taste.  Things may feel like the end-times are coming, but for a few

minutes let’s forget the troubles of now and sit at the table with pie and steaming-hot tea. 

Stop by for a piece.  I predict it won’t be here for long.

Let us not die in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of good. (Job 21:25, in a chapter

bemoaning that the wicked go unpunished.)  Yes, the wicked go unpunished, but we

can rejoice that we have each other, that the earth continues to turn, and that there’s

a damn good peach crop this year.

The aftermath.
We ask the question: who will clean up this mess we are in?

​​Peach pie

(for peach-blueberry pie, add 1 cup blueberries, and perhaps subtract 1 cup peaches.)

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 to 7 cups sliced peeled peaches

Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or leave this out and put in ½ tsp cinnamon)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter

 

 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine sugars; add peaches and toss gently. Cover and let

stand for 1 hour (or for as long as it takes you to make the pie crust

and roll out the bottom crust). (In my opinion for a 9 inch pie you

need way more than 4 cups of peaches.)

Line a 9-in. pie plate or cast iron skillet with bottom pastry; trim even

with edge. Set aside.   

Drain peaches, reserving juice.

 

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt;

gradually stir in reserved juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until

thickened, about 2 minutes (OR LESS). Remove from the heat;

stir in lemon juice and butter. Gently fold in peaches. Pour into crust.

 

Roll out remaining pastry; make a lattice crust.  (OR use cookie

cutter to cut out shapes and place on top of pie, leaving spaces,

just like a lattice crust would have some spaces.)

 

Trim, seal and flute edges. Cover edges loosely with foil.

Bake at 400° until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly,

50-60 minutes. Remove foil. Cool on a wire rack. If desired,

serve with vanilla ice cream.

Please note: Blogger was behaving horribly for this post. It took me nearly as long to post it as it did to make the pie.  Maybe it's time to look elsewhere for simple blogging software.

First Lines: July 2025 edition

Below are the first lines of the nine books I finished reading in July.  During a lengthy forced wait at the airport, I was able to finish three of the four books I was reading at the end of the month. 

Of the nine, I rated two excellent, four very good, and one earned the rating “weird book of the Bible.”  Pretty good for one month.

 

 

Book 1

When I recall my birthplace, Zhucheng, Shandong, I think first of our shiheyuan, the traditional courtyard home that I grew up in.

 

 

Book 2

Chapter 1: Labor

New York, Methodist Hospital, November 28, 2005.  

I’m in labor

The pain comes in twenty-foot waves and Mà has disappeared. 

 

Book 3

Prologue: Chosen

Crossing the Long Island Sound in dense fog just before midnight on the night of June 11, 1880, the passengers and crew of the steamship Stonington found themselves wrapped in impenetrable blackness.

 

 

Book 4

When I was seven, I went up to a little boy in the schoolyard.  He was sitting alone on the swings, sucking on a jawbreaker.  He had black wavy hair and was a little on the chubby side.

“Davy, do you believe in God?”

 

Book 5

Mechanics Can Cook

Precious Ramotswe, creator and owner of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Botswana’s only detective agency for the problems of ladies, and of others, had never studied business management.

 

 

Book 6

In 1943, Mass Transportation magazine published an article entitled “Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees.”

Book 7

“What do you think?” asked Mariia, smiling, in her bright dress, as I ducked under the doorframe of her orderly little hut and stepped back into the sunshine and rubble.  “Everything as it should be?”

 

Book 8

Adonai’s message that came to Hosea son of Be’eri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash King of Israel.

 

Book 9

Introduction: More to be Shaped By

So much nature writing is about freedom and access to the vast spaces that provide crisp air and opportunities for fresh perspectives.  But this collection’s origins lie in a revelation that came to me while teaching nature writing in a prison setting, where participants didn’t have access to such liberative experiences.

 

The titles and authors revealed:

 

 

Book 1

Daughters of Shandong  

By Eve J. Chung

386 pages.  Published 2024. Historical fiction.

The narrator lives through extreme trauma brought about by the Chinese Maoist revolution, followed by refugee escape to Taiwan, all while also enduring the generations-long misogynist culture.  The viciousness of the grandmother, while over-the-top, also seems quite plausible.  The writing is good, if straightforward, with first person narration.  I liked reading about these characters.  The story is based on the author’s grandmother’s life.

 

 

Book 2

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir

By Thi Bui.

329 pages.  Published 2017.  Graphic book. 

nonfiction graphic history memoir 

A very fast read – I read it in a couple hours.  Engaging.  I rated it Excellent, my highest book rating.   There are some similarities to Daughters of Shandong – both concern war, including civil war, and immigration.  The art work is well done, evocative of the emotions and events portrayed.  I appreciated reading it, and so did the Common Household Husband.

 

 

Book 3

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard.   339 pages.  Published 2011.  

A non-fiction book about President Garfield’s assassination.  

Despite the subject, I really enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.  It’s very well told.  I would sum it up this way:  Hubris impedes humanity’s progress, especially the hubris of men seeking power and men who are medical doctors.  Still applicable today!

 

 

Book 4

Laughing All the Way to the Mosque

By Zarqa Nawaz

256 pages • first pub 2014

nonfiction memoir religion

An often funny portrait of a Muslim family, first generation Canadian.  Includes a very interesting description of hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.  In places it was a bit tedious, or I got the feeling the author was exaggerating.  But overall I enjoyed it and learned from it.  There is a Canadian TV show based on the book, available on Netflix.

 

 

Book 5

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #14

By Alexander McCall Smith

242 pages • first pub 2013

fiction mystery

A lovely sojourn in Botswana, peaceful but not without mysteries to be solved.  It features snakes, a snake-like aunt, an exciting addition to the character list, and interesting twists in the mysteries.

 

 

Book 6

The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II

By Maj. Gen. Mari K. Eder

400 pages • first pub 2021

nonfiction biography feminism history

These are meant to be inspiring stories of women who accomplished extraordinary things in difficult times.  And they are.  But I couldn’t help feeling that we are now taking 1,000 giant steps backward.  How many of these women, who waited a long time to be recognized for their service, have had their recognition erased by the current fascists in power?  I also spent time thinking about whether the word “Girls” is justified in the title.  Part of the theme is that these women started on their path while quite young, and the subtitle uses “Women” so I guess it’s not too egregious a fault.

I had vowed not to read any more books about German Nazis, the Holocaust, or World War II simply because I cannot stomach it.  But somehow this book came across  my radar.  I had to skim some chapters.   

Parts of the book are repetitive.   But it was well worth reading about these women, of varied background and skill, and what they accomplished.

 

 

Book 7

On Freedom

By Timothy Snyder

345 pages • first pub 2024

nonfiction philosophy politics

The dedication is crushing yet inspirational:  “For those who wish to be free.”

So much to think about here.  It was published before the 2024 election, and while it is all still relevant, it was bitter reading and thinking about what might have been.  I rated it excellent.

 

 

Book 8

Hosea, The Bible, perhaps by someone named Hosea 

and the “Hosea” portion, from Daniel and the Twelve Prophets for Everyone

(Old Testament for Everyone series)

By John E. Goldingay

Hosea was written between 760 and 720 BCE.  Goldingay’s commentary published 2016.

The Hosea portion is 40 pages, and includes Goldingay’s translation of the Bible verses, plus his commentary. 

It’s a weird book, and I didn’t gain much from it.  I guess it is about loyalty?

 

Book 9

A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars

Erin Sharkey, editor.

312 pages • first pub 2023.

These essays appealed to me, for the most part, and gave me new perspectives.  I bought this book (on kindle, through BookBub).  I started it a few months ago; it was good to read every so often, rather than straight through.    

 

Anybody else feel like this woman,
after this week and after this month?

Unexpected gifts of joy

A friend gave me three peaches, which she had received from an entity called The Peach Truck. A good peach is a precious gift.   I waited two days and then cut up one of the peaches into my morning porridge*.  Deeeelicious.  I saved one peach for the Common Household Husband, who is suspicious of fresh fruit not being up to his standards.  This one was.

Late last week I had, in a fit of ambition, bought a pint of fresh blueberries.  And then lost the ambition and didn’t do anything with them for three days.  Didn’t even add them to my porridge.

On Tuesday I was so glum at having to spend megabucks to fix my car (the biggest cost was for the parts, which makes me wonder if tariffs played a role) that I just had to bake something.  What could I make with one peach and a pint of blueberries?  A pie!

No.  One doesn’t make a pie when one is bereft of ambition.  

Peach Quickbread, enhanced with Blueberry.  Yes.  Easy peasy.  I have a half-recipe for peach bread which makes the right amount for just me (the CHH no longer eats things made from refined flour; I, however, would go insane if I tried to make it through our current times without refined flour).  

I hauled the all-purpose flour from the top shelf and found there was only ½ cup of it.  The project suddenly became less than easy peasy.  The only other flours in the house were old bread flour, old whole wheat flour, and old cake flour.  Oh, and self-rising flour, which the CHH bought when I asked him to buy all-purpose flour 8 months ago.  I found that the self-rising flour has an unpleasant metallic taste.   

The internet advised me to add a little extra cake flour to substitute for all-purpose flour.  My flour measurements were imprecise (which seems appropriate for our era, in which nobody wants to count or measure anything, even items and people of importance), but joyful (it felt really good to be baking).  

All people are of importance and ought to count.  This is a very difficult thing for our society to carry out.

The Common Household Husband arrived home while I was in the middle of my little project, and in shock said, “WHAT are you DOING?” because I haven’t baked anything in months. He wisely announced he was leaving the kitchen for safer territory.  Good.

There was almost too much batter
for my little loaf pans.

The original peach bread recipe calls for a glaze, but the unambitious baker opts to scrounge around and find the decorator sugar instead, you know, the kind with bigger crystals than table sugar.  Ain’t nobody got energy to make glaze, I mean, come on!

It turned out okay, I think.  And it’s stored in the freezer, pre-cut, for me to enjoy when glum times ahead call for a taste of summer.  I am grateful, even joyful, for the gift of three delicious peaches, the old cake flour, and the unambition to bake two tiny loaves.

* Steel-cut oatmeal.  My uncle, who was Canadian, called it porridge, and so do I sometimes, in remembrance of him, and of all things Canadian.  The very existence of Canada gives me hope.

Still life of peach-blueberry bread 
with sweet onion

Easy Peach Bread, recipe ingredients halved, 

to make 1 8x4 loaf or 2 3x6 loaves.

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

½  tsp baking soda

½   tsp baking powder

½   tsp salt

½   tsp ground cinnamon

¼  tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

½  cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar + 2 Tbsp

1.5 eggs

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 15-oz can diced peaches in juice, drained and juice reserved (OR about 1 ¼ cups fresh peeled and chopped peaches) - up to 1 ½ cups of fruit.

Glaze ingredients: 2 TBSP peach juice, ¼ tsp vanilla extract, ½ cup powdered sugar

Optional, if not using glaze. - decorator’s sugar (coarse sugar)

On July 23, made with a fresh peach given to me by S.M, and fresh blueberries from the grocery store. 

I didn't use the mixer. I had to use some cake flour because I didn’t have enough all purpose

flour.  I used 2 eggs because 1.5 eggs is a pain.  I used ¾ cup diced peach, and ¾ cup

blueberries for a total of 1 ½ cups.  It was almost too much fruit.  Sprinkled

decorator’s sugar on top before baking.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease two 6x3" loaf pans (or one 8x4 pan).

2. If using canned peaches, drain the juice, reserving it if you plan to make the glaze.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and (nutmeg). Set aside.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together vegetable oil and sugar on medium speed.  (Forget all that.  I stirred everything with a fork or a wooden spoon.)

5. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

6. Add vanilla extract and diced peaches, mixing to combine.

7. With the mixer still on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until fully incorporated.

8. Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. While the bread is cooling, prepare the glaze, if using. Begin by adding 2 TBSP peach juice and vanilla extract to the powdered sugar, whisking well. Add more juice as needed to achieve your desired consistency. Drizzle over bread that is still warm.

The original recipe for Easy Peach Bread.