Peaches

I love peaches. That means I love this time of year. Throughout August and September around here, peaches are ripening fast and furious on the trees and therefore it's the only time I can pick a peach up and know that it's going to be plump and juicy and sweet and flavorful and not a mealy, dry, cottony thing you find in grocery stores other times of the year. 

These are seconds so they are a bit bruised but with some careful peeling and
trimming this is my preferred condition of a peach since it's when they
are the most juicy and flavorful.

So what does one do with a bushel of peaches (seconds--got 'em for a steal!) from the farm market down the road? Some I slice up for the freezer to use in smoothies

Some I can for later use

But mostly, we eat them fresh and make pies. My mother's recipe happens to be one of those desserts you can take to a picnic and before dessert is even served, the dish has been licked clean and everyone asks you for the recipe.

Since I've been stopping by the farm market a couple of times a week lately and buying whatever seconds of peaches they have for sale, I've made this pie probably 6-8 times in the last couple of weeks.  Super easy recipe and the last time I made one, I decided to photo-document the process to proof it.

Start with a pre-baked 10" pie crust

Then slice about 8 cups of fresh peaches and add 3 Tbsp of lemon juice and 1-1/2 cups of sugar. Allow this mixture to sit for about 30 minutes to draw out some of the juices

Then drain the accumulated peach juice. You should have about 2-1/2 cups of liquid (add water if you need to reach this amount)

Pour the peach juice into a large sauce pan and add:

6 Tbsp of butter

3 Tbsp of cornstarch mixed with about 1/4 cup of cold water (make sure their are no lumps)

1 Tbsp of almond flavoring

1/2 cup of peach flavored Jell-o (you'll need about 1-1/2 of those little 3oz packages)

Bring to a boil and when it thickens (which should happen as soon as it's boiled)

Add the sliced peaches to the Jell-O mixure

Then pour into the baked pie crust and chill overnight or until set

This pie is divine on it's own but a little dollop of whipped cream doesn't hurt. :)