Fall=Pie Baking Time!!

Last Sunday was a beautiful fall day here in Michigan. My daughter and I decided to spend the afternoon baking pie. We started with a tart cherry pie. My daughter thought it would be fun to paint on the crust with food coloring. I think it turned out really nice. It was delicious. The recipe follows at the end of the pictures. Next we decided on a fresh peach pie. I was at the farmers market to get ready for Judy's Farmers Market Challenge http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-farmers-market-challenge.html#comments this weekend and I picked up some fresh peaches there. We made a fresh raspberry sauce to go on it. My daughter did the crust and again I think she made it look pretty.

Cherry Pie:

2 (16-ounce) cans tart cherries

1 cup sugar, divided use

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Pie crust for double

Line a pie plate with 1/2 crust rolled out or use already made pie crust.

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Drain cherries, reserving 3/4 cup of liquid; set cherries aside.
In a saucepan combine reserved cherry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cook until glossy.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and almond extract. Gently fold in cherries; allow to cool.
Spoon mixture into unbaked pie crust. Cut remaining pie crust into strips and form a lattice on top of pie. Seal and flute edges; cover edges with aluminum foil. Brush lattice top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. You can also just leave a full top as above and decorate it.
Bake 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350°F. Remove aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown and cherries are nice and bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy with ice cream or just by itself.

Peach Pie:

7 cups peaches, peeled, cored and sliced( I mixed white peaches and nectarines with regular peaches for variety)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 large egg, beaten
Crust for a double pie

Line pie plate with 1/2 rolled out crust.

Mix peaches, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Pour into pie shell and dot with butter.
Make a lattice top or full crust whichever you prefer. Brush with beaten egg and if you use the full crust be sure to make some slits in center for venting.
Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until crust is golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before.
Enjoy.

Have a nice week everyone and bake some pie!! Anne

True Colours Thursday 7/16/2009 Peach

http://poopsiestruecolours.blogspot.com/
Peach Blossoms by Carl Sandburg

WHAT cry of peach blossoms let loose on the air today
I heard with my face thrown in the pink, white of it all?
In the red whisper of it all?

What man I heard saying: Christ these are beautiful!

And Christ and Christ was in his mouth, over these peach blossoms?



James Whitcomb Riley - The Ripest Peach

The ripest peach is highest on the tree --
And so her love, beyond the reach of me,
Is dearest in my sight. Sweet breezes, bow
Her heart down to me where I worship now!
She looms aloft where every eye may see
The ripest peach is highest on the tree.
Such fruitage as her love I know, alas!
I may not reach here from the orchard grass.
I drink the sunshine showered past her lips
As roses drain the dewdrop as it drips.
The ripest peach is highest on the tree,
And so mine eyes gaze upward eagerly.
Why -- why do I not turn away in wrath
And pluck some heart here hanging in my path? --
Love's lower boughs bend with them -- but, ah me!
The ripest peach is highest on the tree!

Homemade Fruit Sauce

Any time of the year I love to make applesauce. I can't stand to buy it at the store. It just tastes so much better when you make it yourself. It doesn't take that long and the results are worth it. I start by peeling and coring the apple, I like to use gala apples, but there are many varieties you can use. I clean 6 regular size apples and put them in a 2 quart pan, adding 1/2 cup water. Cook them down for about 30 minutes or until they are soft and mushy. I also like to add other fruits to the apples, pears work well, I love peaches. You can peal, core and add a few to the apples. Strawberries are also great and taste so good but I don't add them while the apples are cooking until the last few minutes. After they cool you can either use a potato masher or just a fork if you like the sauce a little chunky. I like to put it in a food processor to get it smooth. Depending on the sweetness of your fruit, you can add sugar to the water before cooking. My husband is diabetic so I don't add any and honestly sometimes it doesn't need any, but if it does I add some sweetener after it is done according to taste. My family loves it, there is never any left, now matter how much I make. It is a comfort food you can feel really good about because it is comforting to know you are giving them healthy and homemade and they love it. How can you beat that??

OOPS SHOWING OFF DAUGHTERS ART AGAIN