Saturday, August 9, 2014

Celebration time!! Books, baptisms, and peach pot pie.

Hello everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is popping back in this weekend, taking a break from writing a new contemporary and all the craziness that summer brings.
 First, there's this!
On August 12th, a boxed set of historical fiction is releasing and I'm so excited to be part of it! It's been quite the learning curve and I feel so very blessed to have found this great group of historical authors. Everyone has pitched in with marketing, digital art, reaching out to reviewers/ bloggers/ magazines, etc. Instead of doing everything on our own, we divided and conquered! So, keep an eye out for TIMELESS, coming to an ereader near you!
 
But while getting this ready, we had another celebration.
Remember my MAGICAL babysitter, Cassey? She came to the cafe to help me make artisan savory pumpkin rolls way back in October 2012. 
Well, she had a baby (here she is, chillin') and Julianne is such a hoot!
Here's Robert, being the best big brother ever...
He's got mad skills at making the baby giggle.
 They asked us to be godparents and we were so thrilled! Here is Julianne in her baptismal gown. It was made by her great aunt and I searched her out at the reception so I could ask about it. She said it took her ten months and 25 yards of cotton batiste. The petal pattern is her own creation, and it has pintucks, lace inserts, smocking, and tiny pearl button. It was amazing!
I think is my favorite picture. Sure, the dress looks pretty but look at those CHUBBY BABY ARMS.
Robert was baptized, too, and it was so inspiring to see the entire family welcomed into the Christian tradition.
 Here's my husband holding Julianne over the font. (I spy a chubby foot!)
And of course, she started crying! (Looks like Fr. Dave is crying, too!)The water couldn't have been cold. It was about 105F in that little country church! It was way out in the farmland of Dayton, Wa. I'd show you a picture but there's really nothing much there but wheat and farmers and vineyards...
 And peaches! (See what I did there? haha) So, I had these peaches and wasn't sure what to do with them so I went to the source of all wisdom... facebook. I asked my friends what I should make and I got some amazing recipes! But one appealed to my almost (two days away) thirteen year old. So, peach pot pie it was!
This recipe is from Laura Weimer, and it is DELICIOUS. I'm just going to cut and paste her directions because I did it exactly as she said... which is really rare for me.

Peach Pot Pie 
Peach filling 
1 1/4 cups sugar 
1/2 cup cornstarch 
1/4 tsp. salt 
6 lbs ripe peaches (about 16-20 medium), 
peeled, pitted, and sliced 1/2 inch thick 
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice 
2 TBSP butter or margarine cut up 
 Biscuit Crust 
2 cups all-purpose flour 
2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/4 cup plus 
1 TBSP sugar 
4 TBSP butter cut up 
1 large egg, 
beaten 2/3 cup plus 2 TBSP heavy or whipping cream 
 Prepare Peach Filling: In large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add peaches and lemon juice; toss to coat well. Spoon peach mixture into 13" by 9" glass baking dish and dot with butter; set aside. 
 Preheat oven to 400 degree F. 
Prepare Biscuit Crust: In medium bowl, with fork stir together flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup sugar. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Or to make it easier, like me, put the flour, bp, sugar, and salt in a food processor and mix; add the butter (cut into small pieces) a few at a time and pulse while adding. Make sure the butter is COLD. turn on or pulse for about 5 more seconds, then continue.
 
(For some reason I have no pictures of this!)
                                          
Stir egg and 2/3 cup cream with fork and add to flour mixture. (do this outside the processor) The dough will seem like it is not wet enough, but keep working it together with your hands and lightly knead it and it will all begin to come together and that way it remains flaky. Once it is all together in a dough, divide this into 12 pieces and flatten each one into a roundish shape and place on top of peaches. 
 They will expand as they cook, so don't worry about them covering the whole thing. Brush dough with remaining 2 TBSP cream, and sprinkle with remaining 1 TBSP sugar. Place sheet of foil under baking dish to catch any overflow.
 Here's the biscuit dough sprinkled with sugar and brushed with cream. It's actually more like a scone, I think.
 Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until peaches are tender when pierced with knife, filling is bubbly, and crust is golden. IMPORTANT: You will need to cover the dish with foil about 1/2-3/4 of the way through to prevent the biscuit from over browning.
 Here they are, half-way done. My house smelled so good I could have sold tickets.
 Cool for 1 hour but is best served warm with whip cream or ice cream!
Each serving: 385 calories/ 13 g. total fat 8 g. saturated 66 g carbs.
 I put on the whipped cream but of course I didn't really let the peach pot pie cool down so it started to melt right away. Just imagine it fluffy and light!
It tasted sooo good. Like fresh scones with peach pie filling. 
I hope you're all having a wonderful August and enjoying the sweetness of friends, family, faith and the bounty around you!


22 comments:

  1. That dress is aMAYZing. Wow. And you didn't include instructions on how to make your own? And I knew Cruz was a trooper. But this seals the deal.

    But that peach recipe is just as Wow inspiring. YUM.

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    1. How to make your own gown? Lol. Let's see, the great aunt said it took her ten months and it was her own creation so I could TRY to post a cheater pattern but we all know how that would end up!

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    2. LOL! I wanna see you try, darling.

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    3. Oh, Ruthy, I'm always up for trying. Whether I succeed or not is a whole other question.

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  2. I love the chubby arms as well. What a cutie and while the christening gown is amazing, I think I like those cute little flowery pants the best. What a little fashion diva!

    Peaches...oh I'm hoping they are ready now. I'm heading down the street to the farmer's market in a bit. Hoping it's time up here. Plus I'm getting rhubarb to try a recipe I found over at Amishwisdom.com.

    Oh -- and happy almost birthday to the almost thirteen year old.

    And congrats on your group book project. That must have been quite the undertaking!

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    1. She says thank you! We went to the drive in last night and see going to a water park today. She's always the kind of kid that would rather do then have. :)
      I was really blessed with this group. Each person brought a unique talent to the table. One person has ten thousand Twitter followers, another makes book covers, another has ten years of marketing experience, another has a netgalley account, etc.

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  3. Congratulations on the release. Thanks for sharing the photos and the recipe. It was a walk down memory lane with people I don't know but think I do. And the food is amazing too.

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    1. The pot pie is delicious but sooooo sweet! I realized how little sugar I eat.... right after I fell into the sugar coma.

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  4. Sweet photos and a sweet recipe!! Very exciting about the boxed set. I love your historicals! Can't wait to read it.

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  5. I only see 4 biscuit thingies...I have a hard time holding into a kid when I can get a grip let alone with all that fabric! Stunning though and your poor hubby! Definitely a trooper!
    Susanna

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    1. I kept worrying he was going to step on the dress and she'd pop right out of it, haha! And hubby loves babies. Even the crying ones. He's a much more natural parent than I am. I love babies but I prefer the sweet and happy ones! And Julianne is about the sweetest and happiest baby I've ever seen!

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    2. Oops typo meant 11. Ind be afraid the baby would slide out too! People keep doing these minke baby blankets and I did one once but warned the parents it was slick lol!
      Susanna

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    3. I love the minkie fabric! Soooo soft.

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  6. Oh my stars, you had me at hello and the baby!!!! I just want to smooooch her chubby cheeks and kiss her, and hold her and whisper stories to her about fairies and saints and naught, mischievous leprechauns!!!!! She is that adorable!!!

    The dress. Oh, the dress. I feel like gollum in Lord of the Rings...."Must have the precious.... me needs the precious!!! Must... Have.... The .... Precious!!!!"

    Gorgeous, God bless auntie for that amazing labor of love. I love that kind of cherished hand-me-down!

    And I'm loving on the pot pie/cobbler. Whenever we do a biscuit topping over fruit here in Yankeeland, we call them cobblers, from the old New England style of cobbling fruit. This looks divine, better than strawberry shortcake, and I love hot fruit and biscuits. That makes this... books, baby, baptism and recipe a QUADRUPLE WIN!!!!!!! Must share on facebook!

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    1. I know! The aunt said she took an online class in heirloom sewing but she's been sewing since she was six. Her tip? Don't rush it! Lol. Which clears up why I could never sew anything from a pattern!
      This baby... thus precious baby has been such a gift of unification, of grace , reminding us all of how freely God grants new beginnings.

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    2. Oh, amen to that! God's grace, flowing. #happy! And a class in heirloom sewing????? Oh, that's going in a book. Love that idea!!!

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  7. So glad you liked it. And yes it is sweet and rich. You could probably cut a little of the sugar and it would still taste yummy!

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    1. Laura, it was gone that evening! Thank you again!

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    2. Hey, didn't Laura visit us before????? Hi, Laura!!!!

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    3. I'm not sure! We've just connected in facebook land.... otherwise known as the place we post food and swap recipes and ask for advice and lend a hand to the innocent (not-so-young) beginner cook.

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  8. Congrats on the book! I am so impressed by your culinary skills but mostly I am impressed by your ability to not lose yourself in fame. You are so real, so you. Love your posts and love who you are. Terri

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