Nana’s Peach Cobbler

It’s 11:00 on a gorgeous 69 degree summer morning. We’ve picked our first strawberries out of our garden, cut a few roses and played some catch. We finally figured out how that one pesky chicken keeps escaping the coop and how Fiona the house pig keeps getting into it. We’ve planned the rest of our day around what we’ll eat and when. So I’ve got my windows open, fresh flowers by my bed, and an old moonshine jar full of lemon sweet tea trying to capture how much I’m loving this moment.

Now I’d be amiss if I didn’t admit, there have been constant requests for more milk, several Nerf re-configurations, 2^nd and 3^rd rounds of breakfast, bickering, tattling and at least 3 wardrobe changes thus far. Oh, and the pig got into the ice cream. It’s just about everything good and chaotic that a Southern Summer should be with a family of six.

So we broke out the big guns to start this day. Fried green tomatoes with southwest ranch and fresh peach cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream. Yep, you might as well just go ahead and unbutton your britches, and belly up to the picnic table.

The Peach Cobbler belongs to Mrs. Etha Curtis, my Nana. One of the best gifts I ever received was a handwritten recipe book that my Aunt Leann gave me. She must have spent hours collecting and re-writing each of these recipes. It’s full of Nana’s simple and depression era goodies, as well as, her own Cajun treats.

I remember lots of Saturdays walking with my brother down the dirt road to my Nana’s; stopping to moo at the cows and play on the oil well. She always had a freezer stocked with Schwann ice cream, Aquanet in the bathroom and a quilt hanging in the entry. She was always quick to butter a piece of toast for us and slather it with her homemade pear preserves.

When we needed a break from that Texas heat, she’d have a pad of paper to draw on or tell us to twiddle our thumbs. And when we got bored of that…she’d tell us to stop and twiddle the other direction. She had stories about picking cotton in that field we’d just played in, and stories about the war. I wish now I could remember more of them.

So this peach cobbler is just like I remember my Nana; simple, but divine. Enjoy it by itself, with ice cream, warm or cold. Just be prepared to want to go back for seconds!

Happiest summer days from our table to yours!

Ingredients:

1 c. Shortening
1 Tbs. Milk
1 tsp. salt
2 2/3 c. Flour
¼ c. Water
8 cups Peaches (or fruit of choice), washed and cut into bite size pieces
½ c. butter
1 c. + 1/3 c. Sugar

1. Mix shortening and milk until light and fluffy.

2. Mix in flour and salt until you have a crumbly mixture.

3. Add in ¼ cup of water to make a dough that can be handled easily.

4. Divide the dough in half.

5. Roll out the first half on a floured surface. This is going on the bottom, yall. So it’s more important to be even than it is to be pretty. Lay it gently in a deep 9×13 casserole dish.

If it’s not perfect, it’s no big deal to press in leftover pieces to make a solid bottom.

6. Spread peaches evenly.

7. Slice butter into pats and lay over peaches.

8. Sprinkle 1 c. sugar on top of the peaches and butter.