HAPPINESS IS ...

Happiness is my mother's homemade peach pie.



I came home from work yesterday and the most pleasant aroma met me at the front door. At first I just thought, "OK, mom cooked". Then I recognized the smell. I followed my nose into the kitchen to investigate. It was too good to be true! A GIANT peach pie was cooling on the counter. I don't know if you can appreciate the size in the photo, but that dish is oblong and a little more than a foot from end to end.

Lest you think I am off my rocker, my mother's peach pie is, without a doubt, the best pie on the planet. All of her baked goods are scrumptious, but peach being my favorite and my mom's pie making skills being superb, this is one awesome pie. Mom only makes peach pie in the summer when she can get fresh, cling free peaches from the local farmer's market, so it is a rare but coveted treat in our house. The last time I had it was the night before the bar exam last summer, so it has been over a year!

The peaches were succulent and juicy without being mushy, the crust was extra thick, moist and crumbly with just a touch of sweetness. Normally when you buy a pie from the store the crust is pretty much disposable since it is dry and tasteless. On this pie the crust was one of the highlights. The filling was sweet without being too sweet, with just the right amount of nutmeg. If you are not a baker you might be confused here. People think of apple pie when they think of nutmeg, but seriously, any decent peach pie has it as an ingredient. See for yourself. The crowning touch was the dusting of nutmeg and raw sugar over the top. [Can you tell I have been reading a few food blogs recently??]

This pie made a crappy day a whole lot better. If you think I am exaggerating about how amazing this pie is, then consider this ... I just devoted an entire blog entry to it.

Non-sequiter: THANK YOU to the manager at Staples for the change. I had exactly 21 dollars in my wallet, having just emptied all my change out to use for tolls, and my purchase came to $21.38 and the manager who happened to be ringing me up dug into his own pockets to get the change for me. THEN he gave me the 12 cents that was left over with my receipt. That was mighty nice of you and I really appreciate it. It's things like that which give me hope for the human race.