Peach Berry Crisp (filling)

Peaches and Blueberries, defrosting before adding Crisp Topping

I have an amazing recipe for Summer Fruit Crisp that makes a 13 x 9 pan of pure heavenly delight... except it sure has a lot of sugar in it! To cut down on the sugar, I revised the filling portion of the recipe to follow the crisp recipe from the cookbook The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook: Whole Foods To Nourish Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women - And Their Families. The result is tart fruit with a sweet crisp topping that goes well over vanilla ice cream. (I only make this a few times each summer for obvious reasons--calorie counters beware!)

I also reduced the size of the recipe to fit an 8 x 8 pan because my husband and I have very little self control around this dessert. Just double the quantities to make enough for a 13 x 9 pan.

Ingredients:

• 7-8 fresh peaches, quartered, pitted, and peeled
• 1 cup berries (I like fresh raspberries, or frozen blueberries if I don't have anything else on hand, or just add a couple more peaches)
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (or juice of 1 lemon)
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional: better for apples and pears)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir gently to combine. To freeze, dump the fruit and all the juices in a gallon size freezer bag and freeze until needed. To bake immediately, place the mixture in an 8 x 8 pan and top with Peach Berry Crisp topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream. Try not to eat the entire pan in one sitting!