summer peach pie...on a snowy valentines day

I was leery to give this a try. A passion of mine is sweet, juicy summer peaches and if this did not work the waste of peaches would have brought tears for the loss of what could have been enjoyed in season. I was told this could not be done so I had to dig through my old cookbooks and found this in the Farm Journal. I must share my success with you! I must confess a shortcut...prepared pie crust that was taking up space in the freezer and had to be used...and easily sacrificed if it did not work. This pie recipe requires, obviously, that it be prepared when local peaches are in season. The photo is off the filling out of the freezer before being baked. http://www.weaversorchard.com/

4 quarts of peaches, peeled and sliced (9 lbs)

3 1/2 cups raw sugar (turninado or demerara)

OR

2 cups agave syrup

1/2 cup tapioca, grind to a powder in your blade coffee grinder (I have a spare for non-coffee grinding. If you must use one designated for coffee process with some toast to "clean" the coffee oils up...you don't want a hint of coffee in your peach pie)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp salt

prepare for freezing by lining 4, 9" pans with aluminum foil and then a layer of plastic wrap.

combine all of the ingredients. scoop the pie filling evenly between all 4 pans. cover completely and freeze. when they are frozen to the form of the pan you can then remove the filling and store for a chilly day. make sure the filling is wrapped well and freeze for up to 6 months.

to bake : preheat the oven to 425. remove the foil and plastic wrap and drop the unthawed filling into uncooked pie crust. I used an oatmeal crumble topping but use whatever you like (dough, crumb...nuts...sprinkle with nutmeg...). Bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes or until bubbly. cool for a bit

tip: I found that if I wrap aluminum foil under the pie pan and leave enough to wrap around the edge of the crust it prevents the crust from burning (sometimes the crust cooks faster that the pie)