A Real Pickle (23 page)

For me, my family was everything to me, and I knew that I was blessed with grandparents and parents that loved me, as well as a husband I adored.

I knew that I’d never have as much money as Jeffrey had, but where it counted in the riches of those who loved me, I was the wealthiest woman on earth.

MOOSE’S PEACH COBBLER

We love to make peach cobbler at my house, especially in July when the peaches are in season.  In a pinch, you can use canned peaches if you have a craving for this dessert in winter, but nothing beats fresh!  The delightful aromas coming from the kitchen while this dessert is baking are enough to make it worthwhile in and of itself, but when you’ve had your first taste, wow!  Some folks like vanilla bean ice cream over this, but I like it plain, warm from the oven, along with a tall glass of cold milk.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Peach Mixture Filling

fresh peaches, 3 cups (about 3 large peaches) peeled, pitted, and sliced

lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons freshly squeezed (enough to coat the peaches)

white sugar, 2 tablespoons

dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons

cornstarch, 1 teaspoon

cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon

nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon

Cobbler Topping

All purpose unbleached white flour, 1/2 cup

white sugar, 2 tablespoons

dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons

corn starch, 1/2 teaspoon

baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon

salted butter, chilled, 4 tablespoons

hot water, 2 tablespoons

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Peel the peaches, pit them, and then cut them into thin slices.  Add the lemon juice and stir thoroughly.  In a separate bowl, add the sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix thoroughly, then add to the peaches, mixing thoroughly again to coat the peach slices.  In a small pan, spray with cooking spray, then add the peach mixture.  I like using small loaf pans and splitting this into two portions.  Bake for 8 to 9 minutes.

While the peaches are baking, in a separate bowl, add flour, white sugar, brown sugar, corn starch, and baking powder, and mix thoroughly.  Then add the chilled butter, incorporating with a pastry blender or a fork until little balls are formed in the mix.  Next, add 2 tablespoons very hot water, stirring just enough to make a paste.  

Take out the peaches at their allotted time and add the topping, spreading the mixture out onto the peaches.  Don’t worry about covering the top completely, it’s not necessary.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown on the top, remove from the oven, let it cool if you can wait that long, and enjoy!

This recipe makes enough to serve 4 people, or 2 very hungry ones!

MOM’S SOUTHERN SWEET TEA

This must seem too easy to need a recipe of its own, but a great deal of the outcome of making good sweet tea is in the process, and we’ve honed this one to perfection over the years.  The secret is that proper sweet tea must be sweetened while the tea is still warm.  A warning first, though.  It may be too sweet for your taste, but if you want to see what real southern iced tea tastes like, you could do a whole lot worse than trying this recipe.  Not for the faint of heart!

Ingredients

water, boiling, 1 quart

water, cold, 1 cup

white sugar, 1 cup (adjust to taste)

tea bags, 5 (we like Lipton, but some folks we know swear by Luzianne.  They use 6 tea bags instead of 5.)

Directions

Put the tea bags in a pitcher (1 1/2 to 2 quart size), something sturdy enough to handle boiling water!  Glass or thick stoneware is best; plastic can melt, and aluminum can add its own strange taste.  Bring a quart of water to a gentle boil, and then pour the water over the teabags.  Make sure that they are soaked in the process, and steep them for about an hour.  Around half an hour into the steeping process, add 1 cup of sugar and stir it in thoroughly.  Taste it, and then add more if you need to at this point.  After an hour or so of steeping, remove the tea bags and discard, then add about 1 cup of cold water and stir it in thoroughly.  Let the tea cool completely, since ice will dilute it enough so that you’ll notice it if you try to rush it.  After it is cool, drink up and enjoy!

Makes 1 quart sweet iced tea.