Perfect peach pie…

We’ve enjoyed a looooonnnnnnggggg hot summer, and even though its officially autumn our weather station informs me that its still 27 C right now – and its 6.30pm! I’m not complaining though, I know winter is just around the corner so I fully intend to remain in summer mode as long as I possibly can.

Of all the fruit and veg our garden has provided this summer, the golden queen peach has been my favourite. So sweet, juicy and so, so peachy… it’s like biting a little bit of summer each time I sink my teeth in. Nothing at all like a ‘brought’ peach; homegrown golden queens really are the royalty of peaches.

Ours are now almost at their end, brown spots are appearing and skins are wrinkling, so tonight I cooked up a simple pie with the last of them.

A crusty crispy crust….

Sweet and juicy center, with a hint of lemony tang…

And the smell which fills the kitchen? Heavenly!

A perfect end of summer food… this pie really hit the spot.

With maybe just a smidgen of hokey pokey ice cream! Yum!

Raewyn’s Perfect Peach Pie

Crust:

• 1 cup flour
• 60g cold butter
• 1/4 c iced water

Pie filling

• 6-8 peaches (peeled and sliced)
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and zest of a lemon
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Make the dough using a food processor – cut the butter into the flour, then with the motor running add the water in a slow stream. Keep blending until the mix all comes together to form a ball. Roll the dough on a lightly floured board and transfer to pie dish (I like to cook the pie and trim the extra pastry from the edge later).  Peel and slice the peaches and arrange in dish.Heat together the sugar, lemon juice and butter until melted/dissolved, cool slightly, then beat in the egg and pour over the peaches. Transfer to hot oven and bake until set and the pastry is golden… about 30 – 40 minutes- perhaps slightly less than this one, but those crispy edges were deliciously caramelized!

Enjoy! How’s your week going? Are you cooking up anything delicious you really just HAVE to share with me? – Jxo

In the garden

How has your week panned out? It’s been a lovely week here, the weather holds. It’s still nice and warm, and although rain was forecast this weekend, it has not arrived. School and after school activities are now in full swing, and the pace of life has picked up to match, as have I – needs must.

Today I’m going to share a little more of my garden, but Ill be back in a day or two with some crafty progress and other happenings from around the place.

My vege garden has found a new lease of life, consistent watering and the continuing long hot summer has given it a second wind. We have water restrictions so I’m getting up at 6am every second day and turning on the sprinkler for an hour or two.  I’ve got another round of summer crops in, the tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers are still going strong and many autumn crops are beginning to take off too.

Here are some garden shots taken over the last week…

Leeks, interspersed with coriander, silverbeet and zinnias:A second crop of potatoes… hope there are lot’s of lovely taters under those leafy heads!

A golden courgette flower:

Bee on the wing, they love these borage flowers:

Cinnamon basil, the first time Ive grown this variety, it seems to be very abundant… must make pesto this week before the basil all turns the corner:

A drooping sunflower head in the late afternoon sun. If you’ve figured out an easy way to harvest the seeds please let me know:

The second crop of raspberries, even better than the first!

Marigolds, basil and tomatoes, wonderful companions, all have thrived this summer:

Dill seed heads… one of two herbs I never plant but always have in abundance due to self seeding (or lazy gardening!) – the other is coriander:

I think they are so beautiful too…

We’ve an awesome crop of golden queen peaches this year – YUM:

Finally the perfect antidote to these hot afternoons… a little sprinkler action:

What’s been happening in your neck of the woods? Do tell… Jxx

Heavenly hydrangeas

After a somewhat sedate start to the new year, things really have picked up to the point that I now feel like I am constantly running to keep up. From early morning till (sticky hot!) evening, life is more than a little chaotic and I feel like I’m racing from one task to another… there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day! I took a few minutes this afternoon to ‘just breathe’, and wandered around the garden taking photos – while the children were playing under the sprinkler!

I couldn’t resist sharing these hydrangeas with you…

They are, of course, past their best. In a day or two the petals will start to brown and curl… but for today I feel happier that I took a few moments and I reveled in their beauty.

So do tell, how is the new year treating you? Has 2014 hit it’s stride and racing along at your place too? I’d love to hear! Janette xx

Making progress and more sunny days

I’m loving these late summer days…
Amazed by the talent of a clever face painter at a birthday party we went to this weekend… Can you tell we went to see Frozen recently? So impressed I got a little arm art painted on myself…Wondering about Maia’s desire to have a barbie photo shoot!

Scoffing lots of delicious homegrown tomatoes (these ones are Black Krim)… They are especially good on toast for brekkie!
Visiting the Hamilton gardens, and especially enamored by the kitchen garden this year…

Inventing loads of healthy juice concoctions since I got a juicer a couple of weeks back, my current favourite combo:

Working away on my cheery throw….

So pleased with the way it’s turning out, love the grey… It really makes the colors pop!
Still sipping my nightly sleepy tea. The tags may be my favourite part! Preserving plentiful plums, everyone loves this plum sauce…

Licking lots of ice creams… Purely to cool down of course. Don’t sprinkles make everything better? Hoping you have a lovely day tomorrow! What’s happening in your world this week? J xox

Orange you glad I shared these photos?

It’s been so hot here this week, and I’ve been working away (perhaps more accurately I should say sweating away) under my crochet throw. I’m now about half way through joining the squares… the progress is making me happy. However the decision to crochet a heavy woolen throw mid-summer is making me question my sanity. I’ll share some photos over the next few days.

In between the crochet I’m still sewing up a storm…This time new chevron cushions to matchy match my new orange mat…My blue crochet cushion, adds wonderful contrast. I still have an urge to add some more turquoise blue cushions into the mix so I may have to return to the fabric store and see if I can find something suitable. This beautiful phalaenopsis orchid also blends right in.Slowly the room has been overtaken by orange… I wonder if my family will notice?So what do you think… orange, fan or no? Jxox

This and that

Here are some photos from the last few days, it’s a bit of a random update I’m afraid. The weather has been so nice and we have been so busy I haven’t been spending any time near a computer. The children painting, and (in the foreground) our stupendous grape crop. We are patiently waiting for them to ripen… the color is just starting to turn so they shouldn’t be far off.

The last of the summer roses, Ill be sad to see them go. I will dead head the bush this weekend, but I don’t think it will bloom again before autumn sets in.

After a week trawling wool shops (both online and around town), I’ve finally purchased the yarn to complete this cheery throw. I love the bright circles, and spent a long time trying to decide what order to place them in so the colors are balanced. I think I’ve settled on what’s shown in the pic above.Im still sewing up a storm, including these new PJ shorts for Maia and Carter. Carter is so not into having his photo taken right now… shame, I love taking photos of them! This was the best of a bad bunch: Billy the cat playing with the crochet mouse family (ok maybe not playing, more tolerating Carter annoying his nap time). A poppy head (random 🙂 )These guys are growing up so quickly… and they are so cute, but it’s a battle of wills right now. They are convinced the best place to hang out is on our deck. Unfortunately we don’t agree with them…Eating so many cucumbers I may well start to look like one…Still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen, they were planted a little late this year and so the wait seems extra long!

While the heat lovers (like grapes and tomatoes) are thriving, the flower garden is looking far from its best… although these dying hydrangea blooms are still quite beautiful. How’s your week going? Jxox