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| 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.
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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