Heavenly Peach Pie

Heavenly Peach Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

We’ve been having quite a heat wave up here on the mountain lately. As hot as it has been here, I feel sorry for all you folk living off the mountain in the lower altitudes and cities having to survive hotter temperatures. Each day I’ve been making sure that my hens and dogs have plenty of water. I do my outdoor chores early before the heat escalates outside. One thing hot summer days are good for is hanging out wash. It doesn’t take long for clothes to dry on hot days. I hang my clothes out in the morning and then keep an eye on the sky for any scattered afternoon showers. My ducks love it whenever a shower comes by flapping their wings and doing a hop and ducky dance around in the dust as the raindrops fall announcing the good news to the rest of the livestock that dashes for cover. The hot temperature is also ripening my raspberries and peaches. On warm days I love something cool for a dessert so this week I made up a Heavenly Peach Pie.

Peaches are a classic sign that summer has arrived and are quite a versatile fruit. The peach is a member of the rose family, originated in China, was considered symbol of longevity and immortality, and mentioned as early as 79 A.D. Known as “Persian apples” the peach was developed in Persia, went to Europe, and then came to America with the colonist. The first peach orchard noted in Florida was in 1565. There are over 700 varieties of peaches- some Chinese peaches are flat- with two main popular classes: clingstone and freestone; white flesh and golden. Peaches are sometimes referred to as “stone” fruit due to their pits. Most peaches are cultivated by grafting different combinations of rootstocks. Nectarines are peaches without the fuzz. The season for fresh peaches is June to the end of August. China is the largest worldwide producer of peaches followed by Italy. The peach blossom is Delaware’s official state flower, South Carolina is known as the “Peach Capital of the World”, while Georgia is considered to be the peach state. The world’s largest cobbler is made every year in Georgia measuring 11 feet by 5 feet. Peaches do not gain flavor with cooking. One large peach has fewer than 70 calories and is a good source of vitamin A and C. The saying, “you’re a real peach” originated from the tradition of giving a peach to your loved ones.

My Heavenly Peach Pie with its light fruity peachy taste is quick and easy to make year round using canned or fresh fruit. You can substitute the regular crust for a graham crust or even use the peach filling as a salad instead of a pie. Preparation time for my Heavenly Peach Pie is around fifteen minutes (not counting cooling time) and this recipe makes one 9-inch deep dish pie.

Heavenly Peach Pie

1 (3 oz) box of regular or sugar free peach jello
1 c boiling water
1 (15 oz) can of slices peaches or 1 c peeled diced fresh peaches
1 c cold water or peach juice
1 (8 oz) cool whip
1 9-inch deep dish baked pie crust

Combine the boiling water with the peach jello in a medium sized bowl stirring until dissolved. Dice the peaches and add cold water or peach juice mixing well. Refrigerate until set. With a Wisk thoroughly blend the cool whip and jello. Pour into the pie crust and chill. Garnish with sliced peaches and serve!

Weekly tip: How to tell if a peach is ripe- the flesh should have a slight give using your entire hand to give a light squeeze only as the fruit bruises easily while checking for an even coloring!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com