“There are no whole truths; all truths are half- truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that plays the devil.” ~ Alfred North Whitehead
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, and sometimes some photos of family fun. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
This year is only the 6th time since the first Minnesota State Fair in 1859 that this annual event has been canceled… in 1861 and 1862 due to the Civil War and U.S.-Dakota War, in 1893 because of scheduling conflicts with the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, in 1945 due to federal government travel restrictions during WWII, in 1946 due to a polio epidemic, and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our family usually attends on opening day… our matching red HomesMSP.com t-shirts made it easy for us to spot each other in the photo above from 2017.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
In honor of the time that would have been the State Fair John and I made the grand champion winning raspberry peach pie recipe of Carol Marsh of Duluth. It has more peaches than raspberries so I would have called it peach raspberry pie, but it was fabulous regardless of what you call it! She said to use your favorite pie crust recipe, but did say she usually adds 1 teaspoon vinegar to help keep it flaky, and chills everything, even the flour. I used a pie crust recipe from from Sally’sBakingAddiction.com. I expect our peaches were juicier than Carol’s because the filling was more runny than expected. I learned to adjust the amount of tapioca based on the juiciness of the peaches next time.
MN STATE FAIR GRAND CHAMPION RASPBERRY PEACH PIE
PIE – Carol Marsh
- 4 cups sliced peaches
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tapioca
- 1 tablespoon butter
CRUST – Sally’s Baking Addiction
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 3/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
- 1/2 cup ice water
MAKE CRUST
Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening. (I chilled the whole bowl.)
Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter and shortening into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
Measure 1/2 cup of water in a cup. Add ice, stir it around, then measure 1/2 cup of water. Drizzle in cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it forms large clumps.
Transfer the pie dough to a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats. Form it into a ball. Divide dough in half and flatten each half into a 1-inch disk.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. Roll, starting from the center and work out in all directions. Visible specks of butter and fat in the dough are perfectly normal and expected!
MAKE PIE
Roll out half of dough and place in bottom of 9 1/2 inch deep glass pie plate. Chill while preparing the filling ingredients.
Fold raspberries evenly into peaches. Sprinkle lemon juice over fruit and toss lightly. Add sugar and tapioca. Put fruit mixture into cooled crust and dot with butter. Add top crust. Seal, flute edge and vent top. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 55-50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling begins to bubble. Cover edges of crust with foil as needed to prevent excessive browning.
