Georgia Peaches and Tennessee Blackberries

Early Summer is HERE!  Today we went to Hendersonville Produce and stocked up on Organic Georgia peaches for only $1.59 pound and local organic Blackberries--$5.00/quart. 

We sat on the deck and roasted our Avalon Acres sausage over the fire pit and ate a full quart of Blackberries to go along with it.  The dogs had a full day of play (though Susie is way too over-wound up, and having a hard time settling down tonight). 

For our relaxation, we sat out by the pond and threw a line in.  We have several enormous bass in the pond, and we know we have to catch some to keep the eco-system in the pond balanced.  After about 30 minutes we caught this big guy, who we named "One-Eyed Jack" on account of him only having one eye.  We were fully prepared.  Joel had brought out a flat stone and his hatchet.  I had a scaler and filet knife.  I found a good recipe for a gluten free fish fry.  However, with 'ole Jack in front of us we just couldn't do it.  We put Jack in a bucket of water to try to emotionally prepare ourselves to give him a swift end, but after much deliberation, we returned him to the waters from whence he came more or less unharmed.

So, with Jack safe, Susie finally resting, and lots of good fruit in the kitchen, I picked out some recipes for some baking tomorrow.

First, I am going to make a grain free peach cobbler trying out this recipe which I modified just a little bit from the original:

Ingredients:

Filling:
8 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced thin
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Crust:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp honey
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 1/2 tsp coconut oil
6 egg whites

Prepare filling and put in baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare crust by mixing together flours and coconut oil and put in freezer.  Whip egg whites until frothy.  Add egg whites to flour mix, and mix in remaining ingredients.  Crumble crust over filling.  Return baking dish to oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Serve alone or with Vanilla Ice Cream or So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream.

Also, a Blackberry pie with this recipe:

For the crust:

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup Earth balance buttery sticks or coconut oil
• 6 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• 5 cups fresh blackberries 
• 3/4 to 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup sorghum flour
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel/zest or lemon juice

The hands-down, easiest way to make a gluten-free crust is in a food processor. Begin by mixing together flour and salt. (You can add a tablespoon or two of sugar if you like a sweeter crust.) Add in Earth Balance, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, and sticks together when squeezed.

While processor is running, add 6 tablespoons cold water quickly into the feed tube. Pulse two more times and work dough into a ball; divide in two.

Roll dough out into a circle; keep it between two sheets of parchment paper so you don’t have to add any extra flour or worry about sticking. Since the traditional method of rolling the dough onto the rolling pin doesn’t work well with GF dough, you can transfer the crust  into the pan with one layer of parchment paper still on.

In a separate bowl, mix berries with sugar, flour, and lemon peel. Mix gently until flour is absorbed. Pour into prepared crust.

Roll out top crust between parchment paper and cover pie, tuck in and crimp edges. Add several slits on top for venting.

For extra browning, brush on almond milk and sprinkle with sugar. Cover edges with foil, or a handy edge cover as shown below. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes; remove foil. If you’re using a edge cover, you can leave it on as desired.

Bake for another 25-30 minutes, until filling starts to bubble through the crust, and done!    

Cool for at least 2 hours on a wire rack. If you cut this pie warm, the filling will ooze out.
Let it set until the bottom of the pan is cool, and if you have the patience, let it cool overnight in the fridge.