Fresh Peach and Blueberry Pie

Tis the season here in Oregon! Berry and peach season! Here is my family's favorite summer pie recipe along with my best flaky pie crust recipe.

Gary and Danny enjoying the finished product!

Pie crust

2 cups unbleached flour

6 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

6 tablespoons regular crisco, cut into cubes

5-6 tablespoons ice water

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

Place flour, butter, shortening, and salt into food processor. Process on medium until crumbly. Add the ice water and process until mixture forms a ball. I love my very old but reliable food processor it makes a great crust every time!

Place dough into a sheet of wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Then flour your surface and your rolling pin and roll the dough out!

You all should be so blessed to have an amazing spatula like this ( my husband made this many many years ago) it makes lifting the pie dough into the dish a piece of cake! 

Flute the crust. We had a hard time doing this because it was so hot! So it did not come out as pretty as it should have but I decided to go ahead and post it anyway. Cooking is always an adventure and although it wasn't pretty it still tasted good. Poke holes in bottom and sides of the dough and bake in a preheated 425degree oven for 15 minutes until golden brown. Cool

Now on to the filling!

4-5 cups fresh blueberries divided

6 cups fresh peaches

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

squeeze of fresh lemon

Take 2 heaping cups of fresh blueberries and place them in a medium sauce pan. Mash with the 1/2 cup of water

Mix together sugar and corn starch add to the mashed blueberries. Cook on medium heat until bubbly and thickened stirring with a whisk constantly, this will take several minutes. Continue cooking 1 minute longer. Remove from burner add a squeeze of fresh lemon. Cool. 

When the glaze is still slightly warm, peel and cut up  6 cups of peaches. To that add  2 cups of fresh blueberries. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon, pour on the glaze and lightly toss. Refrigerate the fruit and glaze mixture.

 Just before serving add the fruit and glaze to the baked pie shell. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!!!

A very special thank you to Uncle Danny for his help with this blog!!!

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..." Galatians 5:22-23

Lord, thank you for the great blessings of family and friends. Thank you for the food on our tables and the joy of sharing it with others. Truly you are Jehovah Jireh, the one who provides. Amen

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits!

These biscuits are a family favorite. I took several recipes and blended them together to make one heavenly buttermilk biscuit! I have made them with sausage gravy, served them with fresh berry jam and local Oregon honey, made them jumbo size for bacon, egg and cheese sammy's or added just a little more buttermilk and used them as my dumplings for you guessed it chicken and dumplings. Which is a recipe I plan on sharing this fall when the weather turns damp and cool...oh wait we are unseasonally damp and cool now...well you will still just have to wait for that one.
   Please follow the directions carefully and you will have a tender and flaky biscuit that will have your loved ones asking for more. I realize now that I have started posting recipes that I have a few kitchen essentials that  I would have a hard time doing without and one of them is my 10" cast iron skillet. I use it for a variety of recipes but probably the most for this recipe. I suggest if you don't own  a cast iron skillet that you shut down your computer right now and go buy one. Trust me you won't be sorry that you did! 


Old fashioned Buttermilk biscuits
1 stick butter (it will be divided)
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7/8 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 9" or 10" cast iron skillet. Set aside.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Take the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter and using a cheese grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture. Lightly toss butter into the mixture.

4. Add the buttermilk and stir lightly with a fork until the dough is free from the sides of the bowl.
5. Dump dough onto clean counter and knead gently, 10-12 folds. (Do not over knead or biscuits will be tough).
6. Roll or pat out the dough into a 1 inch thick square. Cut dough into 9 squares.

7. Place biscuits in cast iron skillet with the melted butter.
8. Bake 12-15 minutes. Enjoy warm from the oven with with additional butter, jam, or honey.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. " Psalm 34:8
This is very similar to my dad's favorite grace~ "Bless us O Lord, for these thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Help us to be mindful of all our blessings, and to be mindful of the needs of others. In Jesus name, Amen

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

This white clam sauce is simple to make but tastes like you've spent hours cooking. It is good for a quick weeknight meal. 

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch green onions, diced (don't use the very end pieces)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, grated

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1 can minced clams

1 can chopped clams

8 oz chicken broth

1/3 cup white wine (Chardonnay preferred)

squeeze of lemon 

a dash or two of red pepper flakes

1 pound linguine

1. Start heating a pot of salted water for the pasta, following package directions.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the green onions, carrot and garlic. Saute until limp. At this point, make sure the pasta is cooking.

3. Add the clams with the juice, and the chicken broth.

4. Boil gently for a few minutes, so the clams are barely poached.
5. Add the wine, fresh parsley, red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon. Simmer for five minutes.

6. When pasta is al dente, drain and return to pot. Pour clam sauce over the pasta and simmer for 1-2 minutes, toss.

7. Serve with additional red pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Crusty italian bread is great for mopping up the sauce!

Firm Embrace,
The Adopted Italian