Do you ever crave a good ol’ fashion pie?  I do and this is one of our faves!  If you have never had a Peach & Cherry pie, you don’t know what you are missing folks.  This is a cowboy fave as most pies are……oh, and I love pie plates…*ahem*

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Large ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
• 3 cups pitted fresh or frozen pie cherries
• 1/4 tsp. Almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 or 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• pastry for double pie crust (store bought or from scratch)

DIRECTIONS:

Put prepared fruit and almond extract into a large bowl.  Combine sugar and flour; sprinkle over fruit, tossing to mix.

Prepare pastry and fill bottom crust with prepared fruit.  Cut butter into small pieces and dot top of fruit.  Place top crust over fruit, trimming to allow 1/2″ to tuck under edge of lower crust.  Pinch and crimp edge.  With a sharp knife, make slits near center of pie.

Bake at 400′ oven for 45-55 minutes or until crust is brown and filling bubbles up through slits.   Allow your pie to cool before serving!   YUMMO

See that ice cream on the right? Coming in Spring….

This is a guest post by belhoste.

I fell in love with chilled soup at a French restaurant many, many years ago. I didn’t want to have to travel out of state every time I had a craving for it, so I started trying out my own versions. Honestly, a few of them turned out more like smoothies than soup, but I kept on trying. I know it sounds strange to call this a soup when it is cold, but it would sound even more weird to call it a smoothie in a bowl.

For the record, there are versions of this out there that you cook and then chill. I prefer to go the easy route and avoid the need to cook anything (especially in the summer – which is when this tastes best).

If you serve this to other people, you will want to warn them that it is a cold soup. Otherwise, they will think that you forgot to cook it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 pound small peaches (peeled, pitted and sliced – set aside some small slices for garnish)
• 1 1/2 cups ripe pears (diced)
• 1 cup apricot nectar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chilled blush champagne or sparkling juice

PREPARATION:

In a blender combine peaches, pears, nectar, yogurt, and lemon juice until smooth. Add more nectar and lemon juice as needed. Chill at least one hour before serving. Immediately before serving stir in chilled champagne/sparking juice (do not use a blender to do this or you will make it flat).

This is best served with a warm honey glazed croissant and a glass of champagne.

*Tip: This can be made up to one day in advance – just make sure to keep refrigerated and mix well before serving.

Prep time: 25 minutes
Chill time: 1 hour
Cook time: none

Makes 4 servings