Peachy, Just Peachy

I feel like I'm a season behind.

Apples.  I should be doing something with apples.

Instead, I'm wrangling a case of peaches.

In the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" file, I bought a case of peaches the week that school started.  I had SO many good ideas for peachy things.

Like peach pie.

And..........................................................

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I don't think this case was necessary.




Help.




Yeeaaaahhhhh, ummmmmm, a case of peaches is a LOT of peaches.

What to do, what to do.

My wandering eye has been roaming through Pinterest, pinning APPLE things.  "I'll just bake the pie and maybe something else and the case will be done and the next day I can get at the apple things", she said.

She says, today, after the peachiness of the day today, tomorrow we rest for we all have need of a Sabbath.

At the end of the day today, I have a beautiful PEACH PIE to eat, one lovely cookie sheet of PEACH SLAB PIE to freeze and 6 glistening jars of PEACH JAM to remember these sunny summer autumn days in the cool of the winter.  I'm pretty happy with that. 

However, that's only half the case of peaches.  That means tomorrow I have to think of something else to do with the other half case.  I want my mommy. 

There's a good chance the rest will end up in freezer bags, a.k.a., "freeze-it-and-forget-it" until it is unearthed in the next freezer defrosting episode, in approximately 5 years.  I must do better at that.


For someone who's as violently opposed to making pies ungifted in the pie world as I am, I have really enjoyed making this following pie version. It is a recipe that I found on "Mennonite Girls Can Cook" and the dough is really forgiving.  And, ahem, in all fairness to me, I can make a pretty decent pie crust, I just don't enjoy the process.  Anyway, here's....

Peach Slab Pie 

Pastry:

• 1 1/2 cup margarine
• 3 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg yolk and milk to make 1 cup (reserve egg white to use as glaze)

Peach Filling:

• 6 cups peaches (about 9-10), peeled, pitted and cut into thin slices.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Combine flour and salt. Cut in margarine to obtain coarse crumbs.
2. Mix egg yolk mixture into flour mixture until dough holds together in a ball.
3. Roll out half the dough on floured work surface....slightly larger than 12 x 16 inches.
4. Spray 12 x 16 inch pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the long sides.
5. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Trim edges of dough...leaving 1/2 inch to hang over edge.
6. For filling, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add sliced peaches and lemon juice and stir. Pour peach filling into prepared baking sheet.
7. Roll out remaining dough. Place on top of filling. Trim edges of dough to hang over sides slightly. Fold edges under and pinch to seal.
8. Beat egg white until foamy and brush over top crust.
9. Bake at 375°F for about 45-50 minutes...or until golden and filling is bubbling.
10. Allow to cool completely on wire rack (several hours). Then pull up parchment paper to remove.
11. Cut into 20 pieces. Freezes wonderfully.

By the way, the pie is delicious!  Why don't you come over and have a slice with me?  My address is $#%^^ $%^%^$%FDGHGHJ%$%^^&$%#^&*((*^$.