Peach Crisp

DRIVING ALONG M-22 IN LATE SUMMER allows many opportunities to discover small roadside produce stands. Their homemade signs announce the availability of fruit and my watchful eyes are trained to seek out those free-form hand painted signs in late summer. This week the one spelled out P-E-A-C-H-E-S.

Hooray!

When peaches are in season that means one thing to me. It is time to make a Peach Crisp.

My toppings have changed over the years and I now settle for a rolled oat & pecan mix that begs for a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream after it has cooled from the oven for just a bit. A dessert does not get much better than this. In fact, it is even better than a cold slice of day-old pizza.

Bob’s Peach Crisp

Use a quart-size ramekin that will hold about 6 peeled and sliced peaches.

In a mixing bowl combine the peaches with

1 TBS of lemon juice

1/3 cup of sugar

1-2 TBS of cornstarch

¼ tsp of vanilla extract

Dash of salt

Place the processed peaches in the bottom of a buttered ramekin

In the now empty mixing bowl make the topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup of all-purpose flour

¼ cup rolled oats

1/3 cup chopped pecans (any nut works!)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of salt

½ stick of soft butter

Process with a spoon and your fingers making a mixed crumble and sprinkle over the peach slices.

Bake the crisp for about 40 minutes in a 350 F oven until the topping is golden brown and the filling bubbles. Remove from the oven, and cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Bob’s note

This photo was taken by me while I was waiting for a young family to complete their purchase at a stand in front of Greystone Perennials outside of Empire. The stand is small and social distancing dictates having the whole place to yourself. I wandered into the nearby orchard with my iPhone in hand and captured this shot of hanging peaches. This photo captures the farm to table movement that we are so thankful to be part of in NW Michigan.