Peachy Keen

To Make One Fresh Peach Pie

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. almond flavouring/extract

5 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped

Combine flour, sugar, and salt; toss with peaches. Add extract, and pour into a pie shell (store-bought is fine!). Dot with butter, cover with pastry, and bake at 400 degrees for 40 min.

Nothing calls to mind my summer childhoods as much as the flavour and scent of fresh peaches. I remember peeling bushels of them for my mom to make peach conserve (my dad's favourite), and peach pie (my favourite)! Now, my kids get to "help"...

Last summer mom and I joined forces to make the most of August's peach bounty. We made 18 pies to freeze and enjoy through the winter. I may have ONE left in my freezer, but all the others were enjoyed with cups of tea and the company of friends, when the warmth and flavour of summer was but a distant memory. Keep in mind that making and freezing unbaked pies may result in a slightly soggy crust! That didn't stop us from devouring all but one.

As peach season approaches, I look forward to another pie-making day with my mom, and reflect on how much my kids have grown since last August. Margot was about 6 weeks past her heart surgery in these pictures...look at her here to see what an immediate difference her surgery made! Violet was a few weeks away from a self-inflicted haircut, and Jude was old enough to start Junior Kindergarten.

I remember this time as the BEGINNING of my life as a mother of three, as I'd been so mired in getting through the months preceding and immediately following the big surgery...this was one of the first "normal" days I'd had since Margot's birth. I treasure these photos and the memories they evoke.

The last bits of pie dough are used to make "petes de soeurs" (nuns' farts...sorry if I offend; I believe this funny name originated in Quebec)...just roll it out, cover with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon; roll up and slice, then bake till golden.

Here is my mom's peach conserve recipe, which came from my childhood best friend's mother's cookbook! This makes a very pretty Christmas gift, as it's very bright and peachy!

Anne Briscoe's Peach and Cherry Marmalade

15 peaches, peeled and chopped

4 oranges, thinly sliced and chopped (leave peels on!)

1 8 oz. jar maraschino cherries, cut into eighths

3/4 c. sugar PER 1 cup of fruit

Put peaches, oranges, juice from cherries, and sugar in a pot; simmer for about 1 hour.

Add chopped cherries and seal.

Makes 8-9 250 mL/1 cup jars.

*Remember to add cherries AFTER cooking, or they'll lose their bright red colour. I know maraschino cherries are probably carcinogenic. Omit them if you're concerned about the dye/chemicals in them. As for me, I figure if I eat half a maraschino cherry on my toast once in awhile, it's not going to do that much harm!