Becky’s Boyfriend’s Mom’s Peach Pie

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The above photo is my entry for September’s CLICK the monthy photo event hosted by the lovely Bee and Jai at Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is Crusts!

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Funny the recipes you come by through friends and family!-I don’t really know the history of this one except I got it from my Mum, who got it from a friend. I don’t know who this particular Becky is but I hope her boyfriend was as worth keeping as this recipe is. 🙂  I got this over the phone from my Mum yesterday afternoon- she was nice enough to read it out to me since I couldn’t locate the copy she gave me a while ago.

Rick said this is possibly the best peach pie he has ever eaten- high praise from a man who absolutely adores peach pie. When I promised to make him one this weekend he positively twinkled with happiness.

It is a sour cream – peach pie and the peaches and sour cream combine with the sugar and vanilla to make a custardy “peaches and cream” filling- positively addictive! I purchased some good vanilla ice cream to serve with it but decided it didn’t need it-the pie is creamy and rich enough without it. Mm-mm-mm!

Becky’s Boyfriend’s Mom’s Peach Pie

  • One double crust pie crust divided, I used my regular all butter crust  of:
    • 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
    • 1 Tablespoon sugar
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup cold butter cut into bits
    • 1/2 cup iced water
    • Mix the flour, sugar and salt together and cut the butter in until you have something that looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea sized pieces remaining. Drizzle in the iced water until it just starts clumping together a bit. Turn out onto a floured board and press together into two portions -one slightly larger than the other. Wrap each in plastic wrap, form the larger into a disk and the smaller into a square if you plan on making a lattice top to your pie and chill both until ready to roll out.  Preheat the oven to 450F, roll out the disk shaped portion and line a deep dish pie plate with it. Crimp the edge. Line with a sheet of foil and pie weights or some dry beans that you keep for this purpose. Bake in the preheated oven for 5-8 minutes. Remove and cool while you prepare your filling.
  • Filling
    • 3 cups peeled and sliced fresh ripe peaches (make sure they are good quality without bruises and that they smell like peaches -peaches picked before they are ripe do not continue to convert sugar and will never taste good- fresh ripe peaches usually slip out of their skins easily if you wash them in cool water and then cut in half and slip your knife under the edge of the peel- no need to use boiling water)
    • 1 cup granulated cane sugar
    • 5 Tablespoons all purpose flour
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup sour cream
    • 1 Tablespoon pure Vanilla extract
  • Topping
    • 2 Tablespoons sugar (I used my vanilla bean infused sugar for this
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon powder

Reduce the oven heat to 350F. Mix the peaches, sugar, flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Mix the sour cream and vanilla extract together in a small bowl and then add to the peaches. Turn into the prebaked bottom crust. Make a lattice for the top- I find it easiest to roll the pie dough out to a square or rectangle and cut with a pizza wheel then place a couple of pieces on the pie and start weaving it in. Since the bottom crust is prebaked you will need to turn the edges of the lattice under and press against the crimped edge of the pie crust without lifting it. Sprinkle the topping over the lattice and whole top of the pie once the lattice is in place. Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet to catch any spill over and bake for about 45 minutes at  350F or until the pie crust is golden and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store this one in the fridge due to the sour cream.

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Thanks for a fabulous recipe Mum (and Becky’s Boyfriend’s Mom whoever you are too!)

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The Garden Moves Toward Autumn

The garden is still going strong as we head towards Autumn. We are still harvesting tomatoes, zucchini and herbs while the blackberries and grapes ripen. Some plants, such as the garlic chives are just blossoming and there are new blossoms on our red raspberries. These days we glean the last golden moments of dining under the arbor and gather seeds for another planting come Spring.

Once the harvest is over I will be moving the herb bed to another location (hopefully with a knot layout) and preparing the current area for a new dining/entertaining spot under a small gazebo and new taller planting beds for easier access along the sunnier west side. We plan also to replace the bark paths with red sandstone. I am trying to save a spot for a cut-flower garden as well. So it’s a massive overhaul to add to our list of  to-dos. Rick is taking a welding class that should come in handy when it’s time to make the gazebo. (I’m getting away with taking an oil and watercolor painting class- lucky me!)

Here is a little pictorial tour…

Under the arbor is a lovely for place for sitting with a glass of wine or dining with friends

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The zucchini plants that take over the earth 🙂 The red sandstone beds will be recycled into pathways

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Ripening Blackberries amongst the violet leaves

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A bowl of Blackberries- what should I make now?

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Blossoming Garlic Chives

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Merlot grapes are ripe over the arbor

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Close up of Merlots on the trellis – a little behind the ones on the arbor as far as ripening goes.

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A “Johann Straus” rosebud

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“Johann Strauss Floribunda Rose in bloom”

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The never ending zucchinis 🙂

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Lovely jewels of tomatoes- BLT anyone?

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St. Francis watches peacefully over the flower garden

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Did I mention that we just tore out our master bathroom to remodel it? We are committed now – or maybe we should be!  haha  🙂

Scary isn’t it? The pink thing is half of the remains of the cast iron tub that had to be broken out with a sledgehammer and the lathe and plaster has now come out too.

This was the world’s ugliest bathroom- we can’t wait to make it pretty 🙂

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Out of the hole where the window used to be and to a much lovelier view right now-the grape arbor.

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Well that’s how things are around our snug little house and garden for now. Wishing you a lovely Autumn.

“Autumn

Autumn has come too fast she said

Her great green crown turning softly red

As slowly sets the Summer sun

My days of rest are now begun

I sadly watch the birds take wing

Who cradled in my arms last Spring

Now I turn to Winter’s sleep

My Season of solitude to keep

When once more the world turns round

My roots will stir within the ground

I’ll embrace with stretching limbs

The tiny ones whose songs seem hymns

They weave their ribbons in my hair

Sheltered nests high in the air

We live with joy while days are long

Every morning rich with song

But far too soon there comes the call

When each Summer turns to Fall”

Slow and Easy Sunday Pork “Spoon Roast”

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Recently I bought a cut of meat called a “Pork Spoon Roast” from Harmons, my favorite local grocer. It was tender cuts of pork roast (evidently so tender you can cut it with a spoon- hence the name) marinated and wrapped in baking paper and a net. The butcher indicated that you could just roast it in its wrap, but I preferred to use the crock pot and add some root vegetables for a nice Sunday dinner roast. This is my contribution to lovely Naomi at Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried ‘s Go ahead Honey-It’s Gluten Free for September with the theme of “Slow Food“.

This is easy , so easy:

Pork Spoon Roast up in a Crockpot

  • a two pound pork spoon roast or other pork pot roast

  • olive oil to coat the vegetables

  • garlic salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

  • 3-4 large carrots, peeled, trimmed and chopped into 1-2″ pieces

  • 4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths

  • 1 large, sweet onion, peeled and cut into largish chunks

  • 3 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and smashed slightly but left whole

Remove the wrap from the pork spoon roast. Pour a little olive oil into the bottom of the crockpot and put the onion chunks in, add the roast. Since it’s marinated pat it dry.   Add the potatoes, carrots and garlic, sprinkle some olive oil, garlic salt and black pepper over then all and stir a bit to coat. Leave the roast in place and just stir the vegetables around it. Set the crockpot to high- 4 hour cooking time- and cover. Now go to a movie* or do something else you like and let it cook away for a couple of hours. After you return, turn the cooker down to the next cooking level and vent the cover so some of the juices evaporate and it will make your house smell heavenly and GENTLY stir the veg up from the bottom where it should have browned a bit. When all is tender and the roast is cooked the way you like it- serve and make sure to pull off any brown bits sticking to the sides as they are the tastiest parts I think. Completely delicious!

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(click on poster for some clips if you like)

*While this cooked away we went to see “Tell no One” (“Ne le dis a  personne”, 2006) directed by Guillaume Canet it is finally in release here in Utah, U.S.A. We thoroughly enjoyed this French film -an engrossing murder mystery with a brilliant cast including one of my favorites, François Berléand.  We highly recommend  it!

Hope you enjoy!  Thanks to Naomi for hosting this event!