Is it a Southern Thing?

Today is Lemonade Day. Now stay with me here. Lemonade made me think Lemonade Stand or better yet Sweet Tea Stand. Sweet Tea made me think Southern. Where did that lead?

Why, to Peach Cobbler, of course. Hey, it made perfect sense to me. Lately I’ve been feeling a strange sense of obligation – to take up the mantle for all that will otherwise be lost. Learning to make peach cobbler is one of those things.

I can remember way back when there were Family Reunions at the Family Farm. The peaches in the orchard were ripe for the picking. Sue, Dad’s wife, would make the best peach cobbler. It seemed an eternity waiting between when the cobbler was pulled from the oven and when the bubbling sugary juices had cooled enough for serving. It wasn’t officially summer until the entire family had gathered for a barbecue, some home grown water melon and that amazing peach cobbler.

Cooking was one of those things that helped to bring Sue and I together – to find common ground on which we could forge a relationship. That and a strong faith in God. While we don’t approach worship and Sunday prayers in the same way, she a staunch Southern Baptist and I a devout Catholic, we both believe. Like most Protestants, she sees much of what we do as strange – praying to statues, suppressing women with covered heads, believing that Christians don’t automatically get a free pass into heaven when they die. The statues and the veils she still can’t understand, but the concept of Purgatory is something that is beginning to make sense to her, so we’ve made progress over the last 42 years.

Now that the farm is being sold and Dad and Sue have called it quits in their marriage, we won’t be welcoming summer in the same way. I don’t want to let that go. It means something special to me – filling me with memories that are precious. So I’ll be recreating those moments as best as I can. This cobbler uses canned peaches simply because the farmer’s markets aren’t open yet and the grocery markets don’t have fresh peaches. When they do, we’ll be back again with some Fresh Fruit offerings. Until then, canned is the best we can hope for.

Peace be with you on this glorious day.

Dump Peach Cobbler
8 tablespoons Butter
1 cup Flour
1-1/4 cup Sugar, divided
3 tablespoons Baking Powder
3/4 cup Milk
2 teaspoons Cinnamon, divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 (15 oz) can sliced Peaches
French Vanilla Ice Cream for serving

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Melt butter in a 9-inch deep pie pan.

Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the vanilla in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. Pour batter over the melted butter.

Drain the peaches; retain a little of the syrup. Add peaches to the dish. Drizzle with a little syrup.

Sprinkle remaining quarter cup of sugar over the peaches. Sprinkle cinnamon over the sugar. Place in the oven; uncovered, to bake for about 35 to 40 minutes.

Let Cobbler cool for 20 minutes before serving. Serve with a scoop of ice cream and enjoy.

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Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day, says the Lord.