What could be more summery than this delicious Peach-Blueberry Pie?

Just doesn’t get any more delicious—Peach- Blueberry Pie, combining the best of the summer garden—fresh peaches and blueberries. Preparing this essence-of-summer recipe, from my cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, has become a summer ritual for me. Thank you, ladies of Northlake Baptist Church in my hometown of Garland, TX, for tossing your summer book club covered-dish event featuring my book and for giving me an excuse to prepare this wonder again.

About a month ago I had spoken at a women’s banquet at this church; members had scheduled one of their summer book reviews to feature my book. Attendees were to consider bringing a dish featured in the Country Garden pages. What a treat for me to arrive at host Cindy Jones’ home and find on the counter dishes of Cheese Grits Casserole, Chicken Spaghetti, Pecan Pie Muffins, Strawberry Pretzel Salad, Garden Slaw, and others that sprang straight from the cookbook’s pages.

After dinner participants discussed such questions as: What particular food reminds you of your childhood? What are special or unusual traditions shared by your family? What is one of your favorite memories of your grandparents or great-grandparents? What do you most hope to share with future generations in your family? This was a terrific idea for a party activity and brought tales that alternated between the side-splitting and the tear-prompting. Wonderful evening.

When considering what I personally would bring to the covered dish, I didn’t have to look any further than to our backyard garden and the peach trees still bringing forth their gorgeous yield. Many people wouldn’t imagine combining peaches with blueberries, but I remember that the original recipe suggested peach/blackberry and peach/raspberry combinations as alternatives to this one. The crust was my time-honored Easy Pie Crust featured in my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country. It’s a never-fail recipe and easy enough for a young cook to make as his or her first pie crust (which is how it was first introduced in our house—as a summer learning activity when our daughter was young.)

Hubby almost wept when he saw this lattice-crust pie being toted out the door for the party. “Please try to bring home just one slice,” he sniffed piteously. Lucky him; a few slices were left. He was happy to see me return, but he looked past me to see that, thankfully, some pie indeed remained under the clear plastic pie-plate cover. He was grateful indeed!

Peach-Blueberry Pie

1 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

3 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon butter

pastry for double-crust pie (9-inch pie pan)

milk

cinnamon

sugar

In a bowl combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and allspice. Add the peaches and blueberries; toss gently. Line pie plate with bottom crust; add the filling. Dot with butter. Top with a lattice crust. Brush crust with milk; sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool completely. Serves 6-8.