Little Davy and the Giant Jar of Peaches

My mother has always been the frugal sort.  She had to be, what with raising four children on just my Dad's non-union construction worker salary.  But we never felt deprived, and we certainly never went hungry.  Part of Mom's frugality was a flurry of food preservation during the summer and early autumn.  Grandmother always planted a big garden, and local orchards offered lots of inexpensive fruit in season.  By the time winter was upon us, the freezer was full of corn, green beans, and lima beans, and the shelves of the cellar were lined with row upon row of Mason jars of home-canned tomatoes, tomato juice, pickles, applesauce, and peaches.  This story involves one of those jars of peaches.

I was about two years old when this story took place.  Mom and Dad had to go out for the evening, and they took me to the Shanks' home, where their daughter Mary Beth was going to babysit.  The Shanks are dear family friends, and Mary is about 11 years older than me.  She is one of the sweetest people in the world.  However, she did not always demonstrate a great deal of common sense, and had not had a lot of experience dealing with children.  Nevertheless, everyone has to start somewhere, and I was left in Mary Beth's care for the evening.  Mom also gave Mary Beth a quart jar of her home-canned peaches, so she could give me a snack.  "Give him two or three peach halves," Mom said, "but if he wants more, he can have more."  And off she went.

Several hours later, Mom and Dad came back to collect me.  The jar of peaches was completely empty.  "What happened to the peaches?" Mom inquired.  "Davy ate them all!" was Mary Beth's answer.  "You said he could have more if he wanted, and he kept asking for more until he ate them all!"  And so I had.  Little two-year-old Davy Sauder had eaten an entire quart jar of peaches all by himself.

I still love peaches, and still have the unfortunate habit of overeating.

This recipe is adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Ginger Peach Clafouti

3 cups sliced peaches (can be fresh or canned)
1/4 cup peach brandy, peach schnapps, or cognac (optional)
1 cup milk (1 1/4 cup if not using the peach brandy)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°.

Let the sliced peaches stand for an hour in the peach liqueur or cognac, along with 1/3 cup sugar.  Drain the peaches and reserve the liquid.

Put the drained liquid into an electric blender, along with the milk and the rest of the ingredients.  (If you have not used the peach liqueur, you should reserve 1/3 cup sugar.)  Cover and blend at the highest speed for one minute.

Lightly butter (or spray with cooking spray) either a 7-8 cup baking dish or a pyrex pie plate about 1 1/2 inches deep.  Pour about 1/4 of the batter in the baking dish, and put in the oven for a few minutes until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish.  Take the dish out of the oven, and arrange the peach slices over the batter.  (If you have not used the peach liqueur, sprinkle the reserved 1/3 cup of sugar over the peaches.)  Cover the peaches with the rest of the batter.

Put the dish back in the oven, and bake for about an hour.  It is done when it is puffed and brown, and a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

Let the clafouti cool down a bit, but serve while still warm.  Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.  If desired, you can also add a bit of grated fresh ginger when whipping the cream.

The next recipe is adapted from More with Less

Peach Melba Cobbler

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Cut in:
2 T. butter

To flour and butter mixture, add:
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray (or butter the dish lightly), and pour batter into dish. Top with:
1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 cups sliced peaches (fresh, frozen, or canned)

Bake for 40 minutes.

Here's a picture of Mary Beth along with her two sisters, taken at my parents' 50th wedding anniversary party 10 years ago.  Mary's the one in the middle with the big hat.