Everything's Peachy: Peaches and Cream Pie

The hot summer days continue, and sometimes it seems too hot to enjoy eating. I never thought I would say such an outrageous thing, but it has been uncharacteristically hot for a typical Asheville summer. As usual, though, my attitude changed when I started thinking about pies. Fresh peaches abound, and peaches have always been my favorite summer fruit. I had already made several tasty peach pies, and then decided to try a different take on the usual peach pie. I flipped through my pie book,The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by the Elsen sisters, and there was a picture of an unusual pie called the "Peaches and Cream Pie". This had fascinated me for quite some time, not to mention I needed to continue my quest to make every pie in this delightful book, so I got to work.

This pie uses fresh peaches, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, as is common for most peach pies. However, added to this is cream cheese, sour cream, allspice, and egg. The mixture is spooned on top of an oatmeal crumble crust,instead of  a regular butter crust. This pie is baked in a metal pan, as opposed to the typical glass pie plate. It is recommended that this pie can be served either at room temperature or chilled. The cream cheese/custard mixture is a nice, refreshing topping for the sweet peaches. Although it does not have the succulent flavor of other pies in this book, it is a nice light pie that is particularly good when chilled, and is easy to make. The allspice really stands out as a great taste with the peaches. As usual, the pie was eaten quickly, so I would make it again! The book recommends using other fruits, such as nectarines or berries, when peaches are not available.

Because good peaches are so abundant now, I decided to make another pie, this one with peaches and fresh blueberries, which are also in season now. This recipe was one that I created myself, combining parts of several recipes. I love the peach/blueberry combination, and this pie was was a hit with my out of town guests. In fact, it was so popular that I only got one piece! Vanilla ice cream was the perfect companion. I plan to make another of these as soon as possible! One piece of pie baking advice that I am sharing with you  is that I prefer using ground arrowroot instead of corn starch for fresh fruit pies. The corn starch often overwhelms the fresh fruit, while arrowroot provides just the right amount of thickening.

Now that I have made several good pies, I have an appetite again! Of course, fresh vegetables from my husband's garden have also been delicious, and something that I can look forward to in this steamy weather. I will continue my pie making, including a re-do of a limoncello cream pie that was not so successful. I have developed a strong liking for this after dinner liqueur after my Italy trip. If at first you don't succeed, try try again, particularly if it involves limoncello!

Secret Gardens

This summer, it seems as if I have been spending half of my waking hours in my garden. While I love picking my flowers and making arrangements, this summer has consisted primarily of watering my plants and chasing hungry rabbits that want to eat them! Yes, gardening is a combination of fun activities and maintenance. So I sometimes ask myself why I go to such lengths to have a plant-filled landscape. Last week after spending an hour or two watering my thirsty plants, I sat down in one of the private areas in my yard and I enjoyed the scenery. And then I had my answer as to why I garden: I love the private or secret gardens in my landscape.

I appreciate curb appeal, and I strive for that, and love growing plants whose blooms I can enjoy both outdoors and indoors in arrangements. I also grow herbs to use in my cooking. But after years of being an avid gardener, the part I most enjoy is creating private retreats or areas where one might not expect to see a garden. The idea of "secret gardens" has been discussed and written about for years. I decided to experiment with a secret garden in my previous landscape. We had an acre of land,and had planted pretty much all of it, except for the woods. The woods primarily consisted of white pines and understory trees. I kept thinking about how awesome it would be to have a path through the woods that led to a secret garden. It was all shade, so that my range of plants was limited. (ferns, bamboo, and moss). The idea of a moss garden fascinated me, and 10 years later, the moss had filled in beautifully.

My husband originally laughed at my idea of creating a garden in the woods, but he actually made a bamboo fence for the entrance of this Asian inspired private garden. A flagstone path let to a stone bench and Japanese lantern. Visitors to my garden often commented that they thought that they had seen all of my garden until they looked beyond the bamboo fence! The mysterious nature of secret gardens is perhaps the best part!

My current landscape is much smaller and I was wondering where I might make a private garden space. A side alley made the perfect spot, and I cleared some ivy, placed a bistro table and two chairs, and added containers and plants. This area is cool and shady in the morning, and is a great spot for coffee, reading, and resting! Oh, it is also a good place to eat a piece of pie!

A less private but meditative space is inspired by the Asian gardens I have visited in Portand, Oregon, Singapore, and China. My goal is to create a space for reflection, and to have another moss garden. I already have a Japanese pagoda that is a focal point, and will continue to add special plants, such as a Japanese maple and several evergreen conifers, so that this garden will have something of interest throughout the year.

I am already considering another part of the yard for a secret garden. This is a woodland area behind our stone wall. Admittedly, I am crazy about secret gardens. Wanting to make new ones is one of the motivations for my spending so much time in my landscape. In the meantime, it is back to watering and keeping rabbits from munching away on my treasured plants. Unfortunately, though, the rabbit thinks I am playing a game with him when I chase him, so he will probably create his own secret garden in my yard!