Men Praise This Fruit Pie

Cherry PieMaybe it's the warm comfort of summer, or the fact that the fruit in the farm market looks so good so that I buy too much and then have to cook it before it rots, or simply that I love pie, but I've been baking a lot lately and I'm not a baker.  I recently made my favorite pie, cherry.  I know from experience that men (and women) do praise this fruit pie, but I have to share a few more baking tips from my 1965 edition of the Farm Journal's pie cookbook:

• Take a thimble from your sewing basket.  Wash and use it for a pattern to cut steam vents."
• Today's farm homemakers usually bake at least a couple of extra pies while they have the rolling pin out and the ingredients handy.
• Every neighborhood has a few women experienced in cooking who are locally famous for their crusts and pies.  Some beginners (often brides) believe these homemakers are born with special talents.  They don't realize how many of them learned by the discouraging "trial and error" method no longer necessary with up-to-date recipes and directions.

Apricot, Peach, Maple MuffinsBesides pie, muffins are great for summer.  They are easy to make, and tasty.  I hate really heavy muffins.  I prefer the breading to be a conduit for the fruit.  It's July and local peaches and apricots are already plentiful, so I created a delicious recipe based off a King Arthur Flour Muffin Recipe, using maple syrup and lots of spices.

I'll conclude with some more entertaining advice from the Farm Journal.  "Remember that Pies please men.  Since men are the great pie eaters and promoters, let's give a rancher friend the last word--his definition of his favorite dessert: "A triangle of pie is the best way ever discovered to round out a square meal."  Now to find my sewing basket...