There are any number of fruit pies that you can make with packaged, frozen fruit and expect good results – berry pies, for instance – but peach is not one of them. Let’s just say frozen peaches are lacking where it matters most, and leave it at that. Which makes a really good peach pie as elusive as the season itself. It’s a window that opens briefly early to mid-summer, letting in the pure taste and fleeting aroma of peaches…

Winter is starting to get on my nerves, a rather peculiar statement from someone who survived twenty years in New Hampshire and now resides in the moderate climes of coastal North Carolina, but there you have it. A few extra decades can turn a fellow into a real sissy. It just goes to show you that cabin fever is not unlike annoying political advertising in an election year: almost impossible to avoid no matter where you live. And it can…

I get a lot of questions about freezing fruit pies but, truth be told, I just don’t freeze fruit pies very often. When I have extra, I simply give it away while it’s still nice and fresh. This makes for happy neighbors and saves room in the freezer for essentials like ice cream, coffee, and bacon, which I’ll be needing even more room for since they just announced last week that bacon gives you cancer. A really big sale can’t…

As a child of children of the Great Depression, I come by my frugal DNA honestly. We weren’t poor growing up, but my parents watched their pennies and taught us to be grateful – and respectful – for what we did have. This explains why I have little tolerance for food waste, I’m religious about using up leftovers, and – every time I see someone carelessly toss food into their cart at the supermarket – I want to give them…

I know it’s a little late to reflect on such matters, but I’ve often wondered who came up with the bright idea that pie should be baked in a round, deep pan. I mean, what were they thinking? Indeed, you could easily make the case that your typical pie is much too thick and yields – by necessity – acute triangular wedges whose pointy tips can barely support their own weight. For the generous amount of filling they contain, round…

I was reminded the other day of summers past when I dropped by my sister’s home and her grandchildren, Adah and Owen, were in the backyard picking blueberries. In my New Hampshire summers of yore, berry picking was a regular pastime with my own children and it was heartening to see that the rules had changed little in the past three decades: two berries in your bucket, five in your mouth, wipe hands clean on t-shirts, shorts, and in hair….

What’s your idea of the perfect summer pie? A glistening fresh strawberry pie with a hint of spice? A jumble of mixed berries in a flaky butter pastry? How about sweet peach, apricot, or nectarine? They’re all wonderful, aren’t they? But there’s another summer pie you should add to that list, not a fruit pie but one that any of your favorite summer fruits can happily share the spotlight with.  It’s called lemon chess pie and if you’re not already…

It’s May – hallelujah! – and depending on where you call home, local strawberries have either arrived or they’re close enough, at least, to ponder the age old bakers’ question: what’s the best way to make a strawberry pie? Seems simple enough on the surface. But faced with a finite window of fresh berry opportunity, us pie makers will fret about things. Things like, do I halve the berries, quarter them, or use them whole? Should I cook them first,…