Dinner in the Summer Time / I have missed my Kitchen

After lounging about yesterday playing on the computer I could think of only one thing I wanted to do and that was cook. I don't know if it was all the cooking blogs I had just read or the pictures of food that friends had posted on my many face book cooking pages or maybe it was from reading recipes in my recipe web sites, what ever the reason I was compelled to get in my kitchen and create. I had been missing my long sessions in the kitchen. I just didn't realize how much until I walked in the room and took a long look around at my hanging pots and pans, my antique bowl collection on top of the fridge, and my cluttered counter tops and something inside of me sighed a breath of relief and whispered " home at last."
  The weather has been cool and a little wet so yesterday was a perfect day to make a pie. I wanted to make a peach pie but I only had 3 peaches so I pulled out strawberries we had frozen from the garden earlier this summer. I was about to make a strawberry peach pie with a rustic crust. Before I post the pictures and links to this delicious pie I made let me just say this. When a recipe calls for fresh strawberries don't use frozen,even if you totally defrost and drain them. Using frozen strawberries didn't hurt the taste of my pie it is just that the liquid didn't thicken up as it should. Before I put the pie a way last night I drained a little of the liquid off and the cold of the fridge over night helped. Now I a slice of have pie last night it was more like pie soup. The pie cooled for more then an hour before I served it so I am pretty sure that using frozen rather then fresh was my down fall. I used two different recipes to put the pie together only because I didn't have enough peaches otherwise I would have used the recipe for the pie filling that went with the crust. I give both recipes the highest rating. 
Rustic pie crust
 This pie crust was so easy to make and had the best flavor.  It is not the flakey pastry pie crust we normally use,it is denser and richer and as the name says rustic. This has so many possible uses and I can't wait to try a few out.

The pie filling recipe came from Allrecipe.com it was quick and easy to use. Old Fashion Strawberry pie The hint of cinnamon in the mix just enhanced the flavor of the fruit so much. Even soupy as my pie was it was still out standing. I loved everything about it.

Last nights slice with a little liquid removed

My breakfast this morning!

All day I had been thinking dirty rice with spicy sausage for dinner. A favorite dish of mine and the perfect comfort food on a rainy day. Well my mind was changed when Bill comes walking in with a nice looking egg plant from the garden. I already have an egg plant on the counter that needs using so I think for a second or two and then settle in my kitchen for some more fun.
 I peeled,sliced, dipped the egg plant in heavy cream and coated my slices in seasoned bread crumbs. I put them on a cookie sheet and baked them until a toasty brown on both sides. Then using crushed canned tomatoes,frozen spinach leaves defrosted and drained, spicy sausage cut into 3 inch pieces, and sliced provolone cheese I made a layered casserole I backed that in a hot oven 425 or so, for just short of an hour until the meat is cooked through. I served it by it self there was no need for salad or a side dish. Besides we wanted to have room for PIE! 

It looks so pretty in the dish like that and it tasted so good to, but for the life of me I could not get a flattering picture of it as a casserole.

This was the best I got. I was such a tasty dish so I guess it doesn't matter that it is not a pretty dish.