Isn’t it a miracle? Despite the heat, the drought, the floods, the wind, the grasshoppers and miscellaneous pestilence, gardens grow! The consolation for these heavy, humid, too-hot-for-a-dog days of August is to be found in a stroll through any farmers market. The vegetable variety paints a vivid and tempting tableau. And then there’s the mountains of mellow melons.

But for some of us, the best of the bounty is the Colorado peach. Harvested close enough to these parts to make the “tree-ripened” sticker a statement of fact, the peaches from Colorado are here and they’re heavenly. So juicy that if you eat them out of hand, you’d best have a chin-wipe ready. And so sweet that if you bake with them, hardly any added sugar is needed.

It’s worth turning on an oven in August, what happens when these peaches get crisped or crumbled or “pied.” Don’t have the time or patience to roll out a pie crust? These peaches are so good that you can put them in a frozen pie crust from the grocery, and the crust becomes irrelevant.

But pie crust worth eating (and worth the calories) is a few pulses of the blender away. And a free-form peach crostata, what our friend Patrick describes as “flattened pie” requires only a baking sheet and a rolling pin. No fussy crimped edges here, no peach peeling. Just fill the center of the crust with fruit, fold over the edges, and bake. And because it’s not as thick as regular pie, it bakes in less time, so less heat in the kitchen is another plus.

Free-form is the operative term here. As Rebecca, our recipe source writes, “I’ve improvised because I think the original called for too much fruit, but you could add more peaches if so desired.” And you can also adapt Pat’s food-processor quick “pie crust worth eating,” if you want a more healthy and more rustic effect, by substituting a cup of whole wheat pastry flour for all-white. Or you can sprinkle cinnamon over the top, leave off the extra butter dots, fold over the crust to cover fruit completely or leave the crostata partly open-faced (my preference.) Whatever you choose, it will be just peachy!

Peach Crostata

3 large peaches or 4 smaller peaches, pitted and sliced

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 tablespoons of sugar

1 piecrust (see below)

2 tablespoons butter

Options: 1/3 cup sliced almonds

2 teaspoons minced candied ginger

Preheat oven to 400. Coat baking sheet with grease. Toss the peaches, flour, vanilla, and sugar in a large bowl. (Note: You can also add 1/3 cup sliced almonds but I like it with just the peaches.) Place the crust on the baking sheet. Spoon the peach mixture into the center, then fold up the sides. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 45 minutes or until golden.

Pie Crust Worth Eating

2 cups flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)

2 tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

1½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes, put in freezer 15 minutes

Approximately 7 tablespoons ice water

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in food processor for 5 seconds. Add butter and using on-off turns or pulses, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water, and blend using on-off turns or pulses, until moist clumps form. Add additional ice water by ½ teaspoon if dough is too dry. Gather dough into a ball. Divide into two parts. Flatten each into a disk. Wrap and chill 1 hour, or up to one day. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 12-inch diameter. (If making crostata, rolling out on a lightly floured piece of baking parchment makes it easy to transfer to baking sheet and then to serving dish after baking.) Place on baking sheet or in pie plate, depending on your intention. Add filling. Bake according to pie directions. Note: This makes enough dough for a 2-crust pie. To make a single crust, use about ¾ of the ingredients above, to give yourself a little extra dough to mend tears, create a crimped edge, or throw on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake briefly.

—Adapted from Bon Appetit

Lynne Ireland lives to eat and welcomes comments and questions from others who do (or don’t). Contact her at savor@journalstar.com.

 Seasoned to Taste

Peach Crostata

Isn’t it a miracle? Despite the heat, the drought, the floods, the wind, the grasshoppers and miscellaneous pestilence, gardens grow! The consolation for these heavy, humid, too-hot-for-a-dog days of August is to be found in a stroll through any farmers market. The vegetable variety paints a vivid and tempting tableau. And then there’s the mountains of mellow melons.

But for some of us, the best of the bounty is the Colorado peach. Harvested close enough to these parts to make the “tree-ripened” sticker a statement of fact, the peaches from Colorado are here and they’re heavenly. So juicy that if you eat them out of hand, you’d best have a chin-wipe ready. And so sweet that if you bake with them, hardly any added sugar is needed.

It’s worth turning on an oven in August, what happens when these peaches get crisped or crumbled or “pied.” Don’t have the time or patience to roll out a pie crust? These peaches are so good that you can put them in a frozen pie crust from the grocery, and the crust becomes irrelevant.

But pie crust worth eating (and worth the calories) is a few pulses of the blender away. And a free-form peach crostata, what our friend Patrick describes as “flattened pie” requires only a baking sheet and a rolling pin. No fussy crimped edges here, no peach peeling. Just fill the center of the crust with fruit, fold over the edges, and bake. And because it’s not as thick as regular pie, it bakes in less time, so less heat in the kitchen is another plus.

Free-form is the operative term here. As Rebecca, our recipe source writes, “I’ve improvised because I think the original called for too much fruit, but you could add more peaches if so desired.” And you can also adapt Pat’s food-processor quick “pie crust worth eating,” if you want a more healthy and more rustic effect, by substituting a cup of whole wheat pastry flour for all-white. Or you can sprinkle cinnamon over the top, leave off the extra butter dots, fold over the crust to cover fruit completely or leave the crostata partly open-faced (my preference.) Whatever you choose, it will be just peachy!

Peach Crostata

3 large peaches or 4 smaller peaches, pitted and sliced

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 tablespoons of sugar

1 piecrust (see below)

2 tablespoons butter

Options: 1/3 cup sliced almonds

2 teaspoons minced candied ginger

Preheat oven to 400. Coat baking sheet with grease. Toss the peaches, flour, vanilla, and sugar in a large bowl. (Note: You can also add 1/3 cup sliced almonds but I like it with just the peaches.) Place the crust on the baking sheet. Spoon the peach mixture into the center, then fold up the sides. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 45 minutes or until golden.

Pie Crust Worth Eating

2 cups flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)

2 tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

1½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes, put in freezer 15 minutes

Approximately 7 tablespoons ice water

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in food processor for 5 seconds. Add butter and using on-off turns or pulses, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water, and blend using on-off turns or pulses, until moist clumps form. Add additional ice water by ½ teaspoon if dough is too dry. Gather dough into a ball. Divide into two parts. Flatten each into a disk. Wrap and chill 1 hour, or up to one day. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 12-inch diameter. (If making crostata, rolling out on a lightly floured piece of baking parchment makes it easy to transfer to baking sheet and then to serving dish after baking.) Place on baking sheet or in pie plate, depending on your intention. Add filling. Bake according to pie directions. Note: This makes enough dough for a 2-crust pie. To make a single crust, use about ¾ of the ingredients above, to give yourself a little extra dough to mend tears, create a crimped edge, or throw on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake briefly.

—Adapted from Bon Appetit

Lynne Ireland lives to eat and welcomes comments and questions from others who do (or don’t). Contact her at savor@journalstar.com.