Saturday, July 12, 2014

Peaches and Cream Pie

 We made some new friends and took a trip out to Hollins Farm to pick peaches, cucumbers, green peppers and some potatoes.

I've been reading tons of canning and preserving books lately, and feel an obsession with getting fresh fruits and veggies, but with just the two of us we can only make it through so much.

I was looking for at least one dessert with peaches, I'm not a huge fan of cobblers and crisps, because I love, love, love pie crust. I decided on peaches and cream pie from Cook's Country.

I then had to wait, patiently for the peaches to ripen. I may or may not have eaten a couple waiting for optimal ripeness. Here they are in their naked glory. I dunked them in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then in an ice bath for 10 seconds and the skin just fell off. Minus one peach, which I hand peeled and then just ate.

Here's the final product, which was so delicious I had to eat it for breakfast!



Although the recipe called for 2 lbs of peaches, I think I should of baked up some more. Mostly because I couldn't get them off of the stone. Which resulted in some pretty mashed up looking halves, which you then roast in a 300 degree oven with about 2 tbsp of sugar. Although that part didn't quite work for me, all the sugar dripped off the peaches and made a huge burnt mess on and under the foil. I was getting worried I didn't have enough peaches and that the lack of sugar would screw up the recipe but in the end, it was probably one of the best pies I've ever had. There's less than 1/2 a pie left, and I can guarantee it won't make it past the weekend.


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Almost the New Year!!!

I'm so happy 2013 is over, it was a year of hardships and not my favorite so far, so when the new year came around I was so happy. I know however that this past lunar year has been hard on my dad's family and I'm very grateful that it is also coming to an end. I'm looking forward to both new years, no matter how silly it is I enjoy the promise of new beginnings. With that in mind we've got some fun activities brewing around us, I also can't help but feel so giddy at the thought of spring coming soon, well soonish. 

The Chocolate Lovers Festival in Fairfax, Virginia http://www.chocolatefestival.net/

The Vietnamese New Year celebration http://www.edencenter.com/

Not sure if we'll go downtown to see the big parade but it's nice to know there is a good amount of celebrating in the region http://washington.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-ways-to-celebrate-lunar-new-year-in-washington-d-c/

Happy New Year!