It doesn't take much....

....to get me started on a collection.:-)  That is, if it is something with pink in it.:-)  Most of you know of my affinity for things pink.:-) 

Anyway, my sister, who follows this blog as "Unknown," will remember this from our childhood.

The "berry set," as it was called by our mother.

I have always enjoyed using these dishes.  They are Pink Dogwood Depression Glass, and I remember Mother mentioning them being a premium from  Jewel Tea.  There were four smaller bowls with the larger one.

Now we have these....

...and these.....

and a cream pitcher and sugar bowl!

I particularly enjoy using these for breakfast when we have the family home.  The bowls also are good to use as salad bowls and coordinate very well with other dishes.

We had that much-needed rain last night - almost 2 inches in the rain gauge! 

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.  Return!  There will be another post coming.:-)

Blooming....

I hope you have had a good Monday.  We've managed to find more than a chore or two to keep us busy here today.:-) 

I have taken time to take a couple of pictures to show you some blooming that is going on here.

Crepe Myrtle in the front.

Crepe Myrtle in the back.

The chives are even joining in.

The Crepe Myrtle is actually in the first full year of growth, and they are both rather small.  It is really a pleasure to see them doing as well as they are doing.

We have three clumps of chives, and they are all about to burst into bloom. 

Not pictured are the new blooms on the few strawberry plants we have.  They are ever-bearing, so I am looking forward to just a few berries in the next little while.

Currently, we are really in need of rain.  There is some in the forecast, so perhaps there will be some relief soon.

Thank you for reading.  I truly appreciate your comments.  Not too sure about the next post, but there will be another.:-)

Have a good evening!

A busy one....

Before this past week's events completely unfolded, I had known it would be a busy one.  Our UMW Conference School of Christian Missions was held from Thursday-Saturday, and this was the first time for me to fulfill my responsibilities as Interim Secretary of Program Resources.  That involves ordering the mission study books, books for the reading program, and the free materials that are useful to local UMW Units.  Once they are delivered to the site they are needed, it is my responsibility to unpack them and display them for those who might have interest in purchasing some of them. That means I had planned to arrive on Wednesday afternoon in order to have the room set up before registration began on Thursday.  As things unfolded, I learned that I would need to arrive before the morning was over on Wednesday. 

Books for the three studies offered.

The three studies offered were: Poverty, Immigration and the Bible, and Haiti.  There were 130 who were registered this year, and everything went well. 

As you know, there were some difficult times during the week as well.  As the host church was located in a town not far from where services were held for the little boy, The Husband went with me, and we were both able to attend and visit with the family.   This has been the most difficult time I've ever had.  I'm not sure there is anything that compares with the grief of losing a child.

I thank all of you for your kind comments of comfort and understanding, and I appreciate you for continuing to follow this simple little blog.  I truly enjoy your comments.

I'm back....

For those of you who are reading, thank you very much for coming back after I've had a rather long absence from the blog.  I am several days behind in any blogging activity and don't know when I'll be able to even halfway catch up.:-)

The Knock-out Roses in their second blooming.

 

 

Crepe Myrtle with buds.  I don't understand the blurriness.

Blueberries still on the bushes.

Lima Beans  

Second planting of corn.

First planting of corn has been harvested, and partly cut down.

A cantaloupe!  Yay!!

This one is still green.

The asparagus patch in mid-summer.

I hope you have enjoyed this little walk around our garden.  We have harvested a very small cantaloupe, but the second planting of corn needs another day or two.  It would be good to have some rain at this point.  Things are fairly dry around here now, though some parts of town have received rain this week.

Hopefully I'm going to be able to resume some kind of schedule at this point, so I will be back very soon with something for  you.

Thank you so much for reading.  I truly enjoy your comments.

Briefly....

I just want to take time to express my gratitude to those of you who have left comments of prayers and support during this time of sadness for those of us who were fortunate to know this wonderful
little six-year old boy. 

The week ahead is going to be a very full, challenging one.  I will see how much time there may be for that post about our garden's progress.  The rain and lower temperatures we have had have been beneficial. 

I wish each of you a good Monday, and thank you for reading along.  I find your comments to be very helpful and affirming. 

Not today, either....

We have heard today of the sudden and unexpected passing of the 6-year old son of college friends of our daughters.  We are all deeply saddened by this news.  The family is especially close to Machoman, Munchomom, and the Munchkins.  This is a difficult time for all of us.

I will be back at some point in the future.  I hope you will return.

A change of plans....

This is a change from my planned post today.  Rather than proceed as I had intended, I just want to offer prayers of comfort and healing to all those who have been affected by the overnight events in Colorado.  My simple, little pictures of what is growing around here seem a bit trite considering what so many people there are experiencing.


I will be back another day, and I hope you will return as well.

Enjoy your week-end!

Found in an antique store....

I hope you have had a happy Thursday.  It is one day closer to Friday and perhaps a different routine than we have during the week. 

As I mentioned in the last post, I enjoy "exploring" antique stores.  I'm really not looking for anything major at this point.  I do, on occasion, find something that has been on my "mental list.":-)  I definitely have a preference for pink, and after I came home with the dishes that were featured in the last post, I wanted to find a pink tablecloth, if possible. 

Napkins included!

This tablecloth with four matching napkins caught my eye.  Although it isn't as large as I would have liked, it will serve very nicely on this particular table, which is the table I had for my first apartment more than a few years ago!  The table is often used for appetizers or beverages when we entertain.  You have seen it before with different cloths as I try to change them to suit the season.

I was thrilled when I also found the other two napkins!  I attempted to take a picture that would show them opened, but the light just wasn't right for the picture to show up well enough.  I'll keep them in mind and work on another site for a picture and a different view.  There is a lot of outside light in our house, which we enjoy.

The second planting of corn has done well, and some should be ready in about a week.  I'll catch you up on growing things around here in the next post.

Thank you so much for reading!  I appreciate  your comments.

Those dishes....

Happy Wednesday to you!  I hope it has been a good day for you where you are.

As promised a few days ago, this post is about those "new" dishes that have been spotted in a few of my recent posts. 

My sister, and any of my other family members who may be following this blog, will be able to attest to the fact that dishes are not in short supply around here.:-)  There are some that really catch my eye, and that was the case when I made a week-day stop at church a few weeks ago.   I had stepped into the office of one of the staff members when I spied a box with an appealing (to me) set of dishes on the floor!  They had been brought for selling at the church rummage sale awhile back, and the person who was in charge just couldn't bring herself to set these dishes out for what would have to be a "rummage sale" price.  Therefore, they were still in her office.  Well, some of the proceeds from this sale are used to help finance the youth summer mission trip.  Other calendar conflicts had prevented us from being present for this sale, so it was a real pleasure for me to make a donation for this event.

Also known by my family members is the fact that I have a liking for dishes with a strawberry-related pattern.  Now, not all strawberry-themed dishes appeal to me, but these definitely did!  I readily knew how I would  enjoy these dishes by Johnson Brothers, pattern Strawberry Fair!  My biggest question had to do with where they would be stored once I got them home!:-)  They are not all perfect, of course.  Many of the pieces have chips; however, I have been able to work out acceptable place settings for six.

Dinner plate, bread and butter, and cup and saucer.

I love how the cups have an image on the inside!  Sterling above is Rondo by Gorham.

Serving pieces!

I have never seen a platter as large as this one!  There are two round vegetable bowls, and the one in the middle is oblong.

Cereal bowls.

I really need to work on my photography skills.  These bowls are not the same size, although they appear to be in the picture.  There are two of the smaller size bowls, and four of a larger size.

As is the case with many china patterns, this pattern has been discontinued.  We will truly enjoy using what we have of it.

Our homegrown tomatoes have been simmering on the stove today for marinara sauce.  The Husband seems pleased with the results of his efforts with the tomatoes, and I have lots of ideas for the sauce.:-)

If I find I have a little extra time when I am out on those seemingly-endless errands, I have a couple of favorite antique stores I like to wander through.  The next post will show something I brought home from a recent "wandering.":-)

Thank you so much for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Keeping cool....

Happy Monday to everyone!  I hope your week-end was relaxing and that the week is off to a fine beginning for you.

Keeping cool.  That seems to be what is on everybody's mind this summer.   I have mentioned earlier that we have had temperatures that broke our all-time high temperature for two successive days a couple of weeks ago.  Currently, we are out of the triple digits, thankfully, and we have enjoyed some good rainfall recently.

We have lived in this semi-rural location for eight years.  We have a little over an acre, and The Husband has truly enjoyed being able to have a garden the size he had wanted, I hope - 30 x 60 feet.  One of the first things I noticed after moving here was the visibility of stars in the sky at night.  There was an absence of that "light clutter" from the ground since we were rather out of town.  We have actually watched airplanes cross the sky in the evening!  We are able to be in the middle of "civilization" with only a 15-minute trip in a couple of directions.

It is on the route that I prefer that I have found one of those "keeping cool" places this summer.

Up a hill on a winding road.

It is driving on this shaded road that has given me a feeling of coolness.

You can see what appears to be a "tunnel" of tree branches.

While this direction is taking me away from our rural setting and will soon set me right in the middle of great hustle and bustle, it is always a refreshing feeling to drive on this road.  This is not the only shaded portion of it.  In fact, as I return home, driving this route actually will lower the temperature reading at least by three degrees on the car thermometer!  I open the car windows, and there is always a cooling breeze. 

Once home, the utility company is very happy that we are keeping comfortable in the house!:-) The A/C has been active for many, many weeks.  

I hope you are able to find a cooling, refreshing spot for yourself during this hot summer season!

It was a good week-end here.  We attended a baseball game of a minor league team in the area on Saturday night which we enjoyed.  A lightning bolt in the second inning delayed the game for 30 minutes!  The players didn't hesitate to leave the field when that happened!

I believe I mentioned telling of some dishes you may have noticed in recent entries.  That will be the topic of the next entry.  I hope you will return.

I notice that I have added another follower - welcome - and have lost one.  Thank you to all of you who are reading along.  I really appreciate your comments.

Perfect with a cup of coffee....

The week-end is finally here!  I hope  you are enjoying a good Saturday, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

This recipe would be perfect with a cup of coffee.  It comes from Betty Crocker's Old-Fashioned Cookbook from 1990, and is one more delicious way for us to enjoy those blueberries.:-)

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE COFFEE CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blueberries
Crumb Topping (below)
Glaze (also below)

 - Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease square pan, 9 x 9 x 2 inches, or round pan, 9 x 1 1/2 inches.  Blend flour, sugar baking powder, salt, shortening, milk, and egg; beat 30 seconds.  Carefully stir in blueberries.  Spread batter in pan; sprinkle with Crumb Topping.  Bake 45-50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Drizzle with Glaze.  Serve warm.  9 servings

Out of the oven, waiting for the Glaze.

 

 

CRUMB TOPPING

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

Mix all ingredients until crumbly.

GLAZE

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons hot water

Mix all ingredients until drizzling consistency.

Ready to serve.  Would you care to join me?

The Blueberry Buckle is served on a cake plate designed by Susan Branch for Lenox.   The plate and cup and saucer are Strawberry Fair by Johnson Brothers.  There will be more about them in another post.  The stainless flatware is Chateau by Gorham.

There are ways we are able to find refreshing spots on a hot summer day.  That will be part of the next post.

Thank you so much for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Blueberry time - again....

Happy Friday to everyone!  Just one more day until the week-end!:-)

We are having a very good blueberry harvest this season.  While we freeze some of them for enjoyment in the off-season, we also enjoy them fresh.  Of course, they are always good on cereal for breakfast - or mixed in with Greek yogurt - or even in a smoothie!  The options are endless!

Here is one way we enjoy these little gems - Blueberry-Yogurt Muffins.  This is from the Weight Watchers Five Star Recipes cookbook, edition 2005.

BLUEBERRY-YOGURT MUFFINS

2 cups all-purpose flour (I use half whole wheat).
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (8-ounce) carton vanilla low-fat yogurt
1 cup fresh - or frozen - blueberries, thawed
Cooking spray
1 Tablespoon sugar

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup; level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.  Combine orange juice and next 4 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.  Gently fold in blueberries.
- Spoon batter evenly into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle 1 Tablespoon sugar evenly over batter.  Bake at 400 degrees F. for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.  Yield 12 servings (serving size: 1 muffin)  I used foil cupcake liners, so I was able to skip spraying the muffin pan.

A dozen?  Wait a minute! Didn't I get the picture taken in time?

The Husband is particularly fond of these, and three disappeared before the morning was over!:-)

The serving dish is designed by Susan Branch for Lenox.

The light rain continued yesterday, and the forecast is for more through today.  Along with it are some cooler temperatures which are very welcome!

Come again for another blueberry recipe to be featured!

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

That corn....

I hope everyone is having a good Thursday.  If you have some special week-end plans, you are just one day away from the week-end!

We had that long-awaited slow, steady rainfall yesterday.  It is probably a bit too late to help some of the farmers with their corn crop.  I've heard and read news reports about how the drought and heat has affected many of them.

However, here at our place, The Husband's corn planting has given us some rewards!  As I mentioned a few days ago, he had pulled over 40 ears of corn while I was off on my UMW meetings.  Of course, we enjoy it just as plain corn-on-the-cob, but that didn't take care of all that he had picked.  He even shucked it and scraped it off the cob, so it was ready and waiting for the next step.:-)

Cream-Style Corn!

Cream-Style Corn is a favorite around here!  Boy Munchkin LOVES it, so we try to have it as part of the meal when he is visiting.  That means making it and storing it in the freezer.  The recipe I use is one from the Southern Living Cookbook from the early eighties.

CREAM-STYLE CORN

2 cups corn (6 ears)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup half and half (I use fat-free)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

- Cut corn from cobs, scraping cobs well to remove all milk.
- Combine corn, butter, and water in a heavy saucepan.  Cover and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until corn is done, stirring occasionally.
 - Combine remaining ingredients, beating with a wire whisk until cornstarch is blended; add to corn, stirring well.  Cover and cook three minutes or until thickened and bubbly.   4 to 6 servings

I usually use a large skillet for this since I make more than two cups at a time.  Those ears of corn didn't yield as much as we would like, so we have a later planting that we hope will produce since we have finally had that rain.

There are still a lot of berries around here!:-)  Perhaps that will be the focus of the next post.  I hope you will return.

Thank you so much for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

Enjoying the garden....

I hope everyone is having a good Wednesday.  When I was teaching, I was always glad to have a Wednesday.:-)  That meant we had only two more days left in the week!  I certainly looked forward to the week-end, just as the students did.:-)

As I have mentioned in previous posts, we have been enjoying the produce from our vegetable garden.  I believe I covered just about everything one could want with zucchini in it - and I still have more recipes using that vegetable!  Usually, yellow squash are ready at about the same time; however, this year our yellow squash just didn't perform as well as in the past.:-(  Nonetheless, we were able to have enough to prepare a couple of our favorite dishes. 

The following recipe is one that I made for the 4th of July.  Munchomom, Machoman, and the Munchkins stopped by for lunch on their way to visit City Girl, so I was busy with lunch preparations that morning.   This recipe appeared in the Youth Cookbook from my church over 30 years ago.

SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE

2 lb. sliced yellow squash
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 stick butter (I used half this amount).
1 can cream of chicken soup (I used cream of mushroom soup).
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup (or more) Pepperidge Farm flavored herb bread crumbs

- Cook squash in water until just tender; drain.  Cook onion in butter.  Add remaining ingredients except bread crumbs to squash and stir in onion and butter.
- Pour into casserole and sprinkle bread crumbs on top.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30-40 minutes, until browned and bubbly.  6-8 servings

I sometimes will add the chopped onion to the pan of squash while it is cooking, enabling me to skip the step of cooking the onion in butter.  This will cut some fat from the dish.  Also, I use Campbell's Healthy Request soup.

Ready for the oven!

The baking dish is by Longaberger and comes with a cover. 

Also, I have posted pictures showing the potatoes that The Husband dug from the garden.  We have been enjoying them in several ways - cooked with green beans, baked, roasted, mashed - and I'm sure you have your favorite recipes for potatoes the way you like them.  We have no problem deciding what to do with any leftovers.:-)   They are always good heated in the microwave another day.

A bowl of mashed potatoes!

Since I am a Lifetime Weight Watcher, I have arrived at a few adaptations of the usual mashed potatoes.  You will, of course, notice that there is no addition of butter on the top of these.  I will determine how many servings the potatoes will make, then measure the appropriate amount of olive oil in a small saucepan.  I then add garlic cloves which I simmer until soft in the oil.  This is added to the potatoes as they are being mashed and beaten.  Also, I use evaporated skimmed milk,  fat free half-and-half, or regular skim milk in them - no full-fat cream.

One thing I like to do with leftover mashed potatoes will be mix them with crumbled bacon (we use turkey bacon), put them in a baking dish, and cover them with shredded cheese.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and potatoes are hot.

This has turned into a rather long post, but I do want to include something else that someone has mentioned - the recipe I use for deviled eggs.   There is no picture to go with this one.   It is found in that trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook from the sixties! 

DEVILED EGGS

6 hard-cooked eggs
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing

- Boil eggs, drain, cool, and peel.  Halve and slip out yolks with a spoon.  Mash yolks with other ingredients until desired creamy consistency is reached.  Replace cavity in egg halves with spoonful of egg yolk mixture.  You may sprinkle the tops with a little paprika, if desired.  12 halves

Little Munchkin LOVES these!  She ate four halves for lunch!:-)  Oh, if you use salad dressing, the flavor will probably be a little sweeter.  Some people mention adding vinegar or juice from pickles, but this is the way we like them, so I have never done any alteration of the recipe. 

There are still some other garden recipes, and they will be forthcoming.:-)  I hope you will come back!

Thank you for reading.  I really enjoy your comments.

Blueberries....

Of course, the first thing we think of when we pick fresh blueberries is baking a blueberry pie!

Just out of the oven!

So, one morning recently, when it was still a little cool, I baked our season's first Blueberry Pie! 

And - here's the first slice!

The recipe I use isn't difficult to find.  It comes from Betty Crocker's 1986 edition.  The following recipe is for a 9-inch pie, though I baked a 10-inch one.  The Longaberger pie plates are a really nice size.:-)

BLUEBERRY PIE

Pastry for a 9-inch Two-Crust Pie
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, if desired (I always include this!)
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons butter

- Heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Prepare pastry.  Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Stir in blueberries.  Turn into pastry-lined pie plate; sprinkle with lemon juice.  Dot with butter.  Cover with top crust that has slits cut in it; seal and flute.  Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning;  remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.  Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, 35 to 45 minutes.  8 servings.

I apologize for the lack of pictures in the Potato Salad post.  As I was serving 20+ people, I doubled the recipe.  I had potatoes, relish, onions, and eggs all over the kitchen!:-)  Since I was taking it to church for serving to the adult day care participants and staff, I immediately placed it into the container for storage, rather than showing the finished product in a serving bowl.  Time was a factor, and I have discovered that my kitchen isn't the best place to take a good picture, so I thought I would take a picture of the plate as it was served.  Then, I left my camera behind! 

The next post will continue with our garden harvest.  While I was involved in two days of UMW Committee meetings last week, The Husband picked over 40 ears of corn!  He was good to shuck it and scrape it from the cob, and we have enjoyed some corn on the cob.:-)

Thank you so much for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Potato Salad....

I hope you are having a pleasant Monday thus far.  We are waiting on the rain that has been predicted beginning today for about the next three days.  So far, we only have clouds.

One of my favorite things for summer is potato salad.  Well, actually, it is one of my favorite things, regardless of the season.:-)  I have made potato salad for years, and it has included the very same ingredients as the recipe I am going to share with you.  However, when I followed this recipe, the result was some outstanding potato salad!  Susan Branch includes the recipe in her book which is titled "The Summer Book."  If  you don't have this one, I recommend you go out and buy it!:-)  Or, you may go to her website and order it online.  There are several other tasty recipes in this appealing book with a blue plaid book jacket! 

POTATO SALAD

7 large Idaho potatoes
7 eggs, hard-boiled
2 cups mayonnaise
1 3/4 cup minced red onion
3/4 cup sweet pickle relish, drained
3 - 4 celery stalks, diced
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
lots of freshly ground black pepper

- Peel potatoes, halve them, and drop them into a big pot of boiling water.  Cook till fork tender.  Meanwhile, peel the hard-boiled eggs, put them in a big bowl, and mash them with a potato masher to the chunkiness you like them to be.  Drain potatoes, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and add to bowl along with other ingredients.  Stir gently.  Chill.  Serves 10-12.

This makes a generous amount that fits into my Longaberger All-America bowl very nicely.:-)  I am glad there are usually some leftovers.:-)  The Munchkins haven't quite developed a taste for this delicacy.:-)

I am a bit behind on my picture taking.  I didn't ever photograph my dishes/table setting for the 4th of July.  I don't have everything put away at this point.  Perhaps I will arrange things and take a picture for the blog for the next post.:-)

The Husband has been outside picking blueberries and blackberries.  The next post will feature how we enjoy these wonderful berries!

Thank you for following along.  I really enjoy your comments.

What was on the menu?

Hello, friends!  I have had a lot going on lately, and I haven't been able to pay attention to the blog.:-(  Perhaps I will get myself back on schedule for the next few days. 

The menu I mention is the one I had for the adult day care at my church last Tuesday.  I wanted to make it something that might be typical of summer, so my first thought was potato salad, deviled eggs, and watermelon.  As we  have had such hot temperatures recently, I decided to rely on the deli at our friendly neighborhood grocery store and ordered chicken tenders!  That turned out to be a popular choice.:-)  I baked flag-shaped sugar cookies to go along with ice cream for dessert.

Generous size.:-)

Unfortunately, I left my camera behind and wasn't able to take a picture of the plate as it was served, but everyone had a chicken tender, potato salad, deviled egg, and a wedge of watermelon.  I also included whole wheat deli rolls for those who wanted bread.  They kept the cookies and ice cream for an afternoon party.:-) 

I have posted the recipe for these cookies earlier on the blog.  They are called Mrs. Jones Sugar Cookies.  The potato salad recipe I follow is the one Susan Branch includes in her Summer Book, and the deviled eggs come from Betty Crocker, many years ago. 

The next few posts will feature some of these recipes, plus some from what we are working on from the garden.  The Husband has been hard at work with what has been growing there, and we are enjoying the fruits of his labor.:-) 

The weather is still hot here, and storms last Thursday afternoon left many downed trees around the area.  Fortunately, we were spared any damage where we live. 

I really appreciate you for following along, and enjoy reading your comments.  Stay cool, and return next time.:-)

Are there still more peaches?

Well, the answer to that question now is, "No!"  However, there has been much enjoyment of those peaches while they lasted.  Actually, we were able to maintain their life a bit by refrigerating some of them.  Munchomom and family came through today on their way to visit with City Girl, and we sent along the rest of the peaches for them to enjoy for the next few days. 

There was one more bit of baking in the early morning that used those peaches, and that is a Peach Pie!  The Husband has been enjoying it, and today it was one of the offerings for dessert for our lunchtime "company.":-)  The recipe I use comes from one of Betty Crocker's cookbooks.

Cooling on the rack.

 

PEACH PIE - This is for a 10-inch pie.

Pastry for 10-inch Two-Crust Pie
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 cups sliced fresh peaches (about 6 medium)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 Tablespoons butter

- Heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Prepare pastry.  Mix sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Stir in peaches and lemon juice.  Turn into pastry-lined pie plate.  Dot with buter.  Cover with top crust that has slits cut in it; seal and flute.  Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

- Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, 35 to 45 minutes.

Ready to enjoy!

This has been a really hot summer here.  Record-setting temperatures were reached last Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with the highest ever temperature reading of 105 degrees on Saturday, then again on Sunday.  Finally, after three weeks, we received some measurable rain on Monday night!  Our rain gauge measured almost three inches!  What a blessing!  Temperatures have lowered a bit, but there are still some areas desperately in need of rain - and we could use some more.  We lost power for about an hour on Monday evening, certainly not anything like the inconvenience many are still experiencing from those Friday night storms.

I appreciate you for reading, and I really enjoy your comments.

Next post - What was on the menu?