Home Sweet Home!

I am just relaxing at home after a weekend at my parents house...as we spent the vast majority of it painting the basement (not so fun) as they get ready to put their house on the market, but we managed to sneak in some good times too! We had a weekend with some really summery events: BLTs (or BELTS= BLTs+egg for me and my dad) for dinner with corn on the cob, ice cream from Cold Stone, the farmers market with fresh tomatoes and peaches (the second of which we turned into the BEST pie ever!) So, here are a few pics from the weekend; as I captured some of the non-painting moments, including the pie, and the recipe that we found randomly off the internet!

The peaches before....

All fixed up and almost ready for the oven....only took about 20 minutes to prepare...

I have to admit that we cheated and use Pillsbury pre-crusts (so easy)....my mom reminded me of the story about the time right after her mom passed away where she and my uncle thought a homemade pie sounded good, so they attempted to make one, including the homemade crust. My mom was in college and she says that my grandma was a fantastic baker but never really taught her all the tricks of the trade. The outcome was that the pie crust was so bad that my uncle decided it should be buried....so he went in their backyard and dug a grave for the pie crust. It must have been REALLY bad!!

The finished product= best pie ever!!!!

The recipe:

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) package pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie

1 egg, beaten

5 cups sliced and peeled peaches

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I think we used a smidge more)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmug

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450' F.

2. Line the bottom and sidess of a 9-inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts. Brush with some of the beaten egg to keep the dough from becoming soggy later.

3. Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently. Pour into the pie crust, and dot with butter. Cover with the other pie crust, and fold the edges under. Flute the edges to seal or press the edges with the tines of a fork dipped in egg. Brush the remaining egg over the top crust. Cut several slits in the top crust to vent steam.

4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated over, then reduce the heat to 350' and bake for an additional 30-45 minutes, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the vents. If the edges brown too fast, cover them with strips of aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Cool before serving. This tastes better warm than hot.

Here are a few pics of my parents house:


The tree ring my dad built in the front yard; very impressive!

The flowers my mom planted in it; they have really bloomed! So pretty!

My parents house- at least for another few months! This is where I grew up since the age of two!


This last shot is a really random one, but it's actually a picture of a picture that my mom LOVES and wants to frame from when Meg and I were little. If not already obvious, I am on the right with the mullet-ish hair and Megan is on the left. I know, very fancy outfits.....Anyway, the reason mom loves this pic is because it shows Meg and my true personalities. Meg, the introvert is clearly skeptical of the photographer, evident by the fact that her right hand is clenched into her thigh, while she holds on to my leg, as the big sister I will obviously protect her. Also note in this picture how amused I look; probably tried to start a conversation with the photographer! These traits still somehow hold true today, as I have rarely met a stranger and my sister is somewhat shy around new people.

So, that was the weekend all in all. Hope everyone else had a good one as well!