25 | August | 2015 | mulberryshoots

national peach pie day! . . .

Someone said that today is National Peach Pie Day.

So, here’s our contribution, made with a shortcrust lattice edging and woven top; no bottom crust; peeled fresh peaches from our local Concord farm stand, Verrill Farm. To sliced peaches, added a tablespoon of flour, heaping teaspoons of cinnamon and nutmeg, 1 tablespoon of agave nectar, dotted with unsalted butter before weaving lattice top (like a potholder when I was 7!)

Shortcrust pie crust made this a.m. in small food processor: 1 cup flour, 1/3 stick cold butter, 2 Tablespoons cold lard; 4-5 tablespoons ice water. Whirred dry ingredients until blended, then added ice water until blended into a ball– wrapped and refrigerated until ready to use.

These lattice strips were cut with a vintage handmade wooden pastry wheel. Brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with turbinado sugar. Baked at 375 for 15-20 minutes until brown and bubbly. Will serve with a scoop of Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream on warm pie after supper tonight.

living the good life . . .

I’ve just finished reading “Loving and Leaving the Good Life,” a memoir written by Helen Nearing after the death of her husband, Scott Nearing (at the age of 100.) She died in 1997 and their books remain classics of the “back to the land” movement before others lived a life of self-sufficiency in a modern culture.

Their books are not just a chronicle of hard labor to be self-sufficient, theirs is a story of a deep partnership between two individuals who also happened to be married. Together for fifty years, they homesteaded in Vermont, building nine stone buildings and maple sugaring for income. She selected and placed the stone while he mixed the concrete to hold them together. Then, they relocated in Maine along the Penobscot Bay where they raised blueberries as a cash crop.

In today’s fast-moving culture, brutal politics and anything-goes environment of people wanting their 10 minutes of fame, it is refreshing just to READ these books, “Living the Good Life” and “The Good Life.”

Makes me want to think about what’s really good about our lives and to value it by improving relationships, simplifying food, playing and listening to music and reading books.