After 2 months with the Nokia Lumia Windows 900 Phone, I’m coming to the end of my  posting period and not a wee bit happy about it. That pretty, little white phone has become a family friend. Here’s the latest on what I’ve been doing in my kitchen, with my cell phone, and with fresh peaches.

With a just-bought bag of farmer’s market peaches, I rushed home, stood over the kitchen sink, and sunk my teeth into the fruit. It got dribbly. Nectar all about my teeth and my fingers and even my chin. Perfection. I thought, immediately, in that very instance, “why do I cook recipes, when sometimes the raw, untouched, just-picked fruit is this gorgeous.” But then I saw my tin of brown sugar, sitting ever so coy in the corner of the cupboard and thought, okay. Game on.

So my bag of peaches was tumbled about the countertop, skins scraped clean, sliced in half, kerplunked into a mini pie crust, topped with chai-spiked crumble. As it slid into the oven, baking and bubbling, I realized I cook because it helps me hold onto the bounty of the season just a little bit longer. Rather than simply biting into the fresh yield of the harvest, I dance with it, play with it, kiss it into place, skip about the kitchen in my barefeet, imagining the moment when…I bite it, taste it, capture it in my bloodstream and pump it through my soul.

But not before I take pictures, of course. I’m a blogger, yo. My kids wouldn’t know what to do if we sat down to a meal and they could actually EAT it.

I captured our peach pie on my work camera, but also snapped a few pictures on my Nokia Lumia Windows 900 Phone because it’s so entirely fun to customize the Windows Live Tiles on my phone with my favorite pictures. And right now, other than all those bittersweet photos of the first day of school, Chai Peach Pie has taken a top spot, scrolling about the home screen as I go about my day.

How’s that for capturing and keeping the succulence summer?

For the last several months, I’ve been using a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone and sharing a few of the details of this experience. This is post 3 of 3.  Static icons are so over. Windows Phone shows your to-dos and must-dos all in one glance. See things in a whole new way with Windows Phone and Live Tiles. To see how your own customized living tiles would look, click on over to Windows.

Chai Peach Pie Tartlettes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

A perfectly ripe peach is heaven unto itself. But top it with a brown sugar crumble spiked with a touch of chai spice and you've got yourself a truly delicious dessert that can be pulled together in minutes!

Ingredients:

1 round prepared pie dough
3 small, ripe peaches
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon Earth Balance (or butter)
1/2 teaspoon chai spice
3 tablespoons honey (optional)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Fresh whipped cream, soy cream, or ice cream (if desired)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut pie dough into 6 3-4" rounds. Press pie rounds into 6 muffin tin cups lined with parchment paper baking cups.

Remove skin from peaches with a knife. Slice peaches in half, then place a half a peach in each cup.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, Earth Balance, and chai spice until crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of each peace. Drizzle a bit of honey over each peach. Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the topping is bubbling and golden brown around the edges. Remove and cool slightly. Top with whipped cream or ice cream. Serve and enjoy!