I've recently joined a Homesteading Circle, and I'm still on a high about it.

For our first meeting, we picked a plum tree clean, ending up with huge bowls and buckets full of plums that we converted into plum chutney.

Projects like canning large quantities of fruit can be tedious alone (pitting all those plums!), but are perfect to do in groups. It's what our grandmothers did, right? Hours later, the kitchen smelled like cloves and condensation ran down the kitchen windows, and we had jewel-like jars of deep-purple goodness.

But I actually want to tell you about the peaches.

A friend from my Homesteading Circle tipped me off to a peach tree in a vacant lot near Ashby BART that she hadn't been able to harvest before she left town. I was excited enough that, despite the blast-furnace heat, we decided to head over with our improvised fruit picker - a long wooden pole with a basket at the end, with a claw made from twisted-wire to grab the fruit above it. It works ok. But a real fruit picker is definitely on my Christmas list.

It was the end of the season for this tree and at first, we thought we had come too late. We gathered more than 20 in the end and their smell kept wafting up at me all the way home. Foraged fruit is likely to be less perfect than what you'll find in the supermarket, but if you're willing to overlook a few blemishes, you'll be richly rewarded. We ended up with more than enough for a pie.

After we cut off the bruises, we had a disagreement about whether you can leave the skins on for a pie. I was shocked to hear it was a possibility - I remember my mother skinning peaches growing up, and I'd never thought to do it differently. My partner convinced me that peach skins will basically melt during their time in the oven and it would be silly to spend the time peeling them, especially when there are more nutrients in the peel anyway. Still skeptical, I decided to go along with it.

The result? Well, I wouldn't say the skins "melted." While the texture was perfectly acceptable and the taste was great, it wasn't what I think of as a peach pie. I want loose, golden peaches slipping out from under the flaky crust. While very good, this was ... different. Next time, we'll do it my way!

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Looking for a great crust to go with your fruit? Here is one of my favorites - Wanda Sue's Cuisinart Pie Crust. Wanda is my mother-in-law and she rocks. This is the easiest, most fool-proof crust recipe I know of ... and it's still delicious.

2 1/4 c. flour (if you use whole wheat flour, add 1/2 or 3/4 c. wheat and the rest should be white flour)

1 tsp salt

3/4 c. shortening. I either use the organic, no trans fats shortening or just butter - usually a bit of both.

4 Tablespoons cold water

Put the first three ingredients into the Cuisinart and mix. Then add the water, all at once while the machine is still on. As soon as a ball of dough forms in the machine (maybe 10 seconds), turn it off. Dough is ready to be made into two pie crusts (or a top and bottom of a pie, if you're making a peach pie like the one pictured). Divide the dough into two equal balls.

Put the dough in the freezer for half an hour before you roll it out (it will be way less sticky). It's nice to roll the dough onto waxed paper or parchment paper because you can just flip it over into the pie pan and peel it off. So easy.

About Jess Watson

Jess Watson is a North Oakland resident interested in the links between art, sustainability and cooperative living. She is a graduate student and a freelance grantwriter. In her free time, she makes mosaics, cans plums and forages. Check out Jess' blog at quirkyurbanite.blogspot.com.