200 pie crusts, more or less

Jen here!  First, a quick lesson …

Essential Gear

12. Patience

It’s a quality and not a thing, but it’s essential so we’ll include it here.  Forget perfection on the first try.  In the face of frustration, your best tool is a few deep breaths, and remembering that you can do anything once you’ve practiced two hundred times.  Seriously.

That essential wisdom is found on page 1 of The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz.  This is the companion book to The Dangerous Book for Boys.  We have both books (the Girls book is mine, and the Boys book is my husband’s – the kids do get to read them, though).  I think they’re wonderful.  Great read-alouds at bedtime.  All sorts of interesting things can happen upon reading them, such as spontaneous karate demonstrations, pajamas and all.

I have a goal.  I want to make pie crust, easily and flawlessly.  I don’t have much experience with pie crusts.  I don’t even generally care for fruit pies.  But, I am learning to can fruits and preserves this year, and realize the value of variety.  Also, you can do a lot of things with pie crusts:  fruit pies, custard pies, cream pies (I realize I will never match up to my mother-in-law’s chocolate pie), chicken (or beef or turkey or fish) pot pies, quiches, turnovers, Cornish pasties (or pumpkin pasties as my Hogwarts fans have been requesting), and even (or especially) pie crust cookies.

To begin with, I had to assemble the right tools:

• a French rolling pin (or a regular rolling pin; I, luckily, found my French pin at T.J. Maxx for about $3; more about a French pin here),
• a pastry mat (we have tile counters and small cutting boards – I didn’t have room for 12″ circles; I would love the Tupperware one; mine’s from Bed, Bath and Beyond, and cost about $6 after using my coupon (which won’t expire in California)),
• and pie pans (probably the easiest thing to come up with; I think I just picked mine up from Target).

Now, I’m just working my way through all of my various pie crust recipes.  I understand that a food processor makes a good pie crust, but I don’t own one right now.  So I started with the recipe that came with my KitchenAid mixer.  It’s a basic recipe, and I found I had to add almost twice as much water as it called for.  The pie is cooking right now.  We’ll see how it comes out.

I’m going to work through this book from the Prepared Pantry.  I’m enjoying having these eBooks around as reference.  I’m also going to work through various books and their suggestions, including The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (and I know they have a baking book, but I don’t have it), and I’ll look at some of my other “fat” cookbooks, like Joy of Cooking and books by Marion Cunningham (the new “Fannie Farmer”).  I think the closer to 200 pie crusts I get, the less the recipe is going to matter.  It will be my experience that will make the better pie crusts.

I open to suggestions and will try to let you know how things go around here.  I’m going to try things like grinding my own whole wheat pastry flour using the soft white wheat I picked up over spring break.  We’ll be using butter and shortening.  I’ll try the mixer again, and the pastry blender.  Looking at the overgrown chard in my garden, I think a vegetable quiche is probably up next.

So anyway, do any of you have pie crust suggestions?  (I just thought of Mary Poppins saying, “That’s a pie crust promise; easily made and easily broken.”)

Here’s where we are today, halfway through, using Amanda’s peach pie filling from last year:

Pie crusts 1 and 2, same recipe

I think this is probably a good time to ramp up my family’s activity level.  Time to get the kids off the computer and outside for summer running and playing.  (And did you know that after today we’re on the downhill slide to Christmas?)

If I could be famous …

Maybe I was the only one (yeah, right) that wanted to be famous when I was younger. I’m sure my reasons were deep and profound, like, I want to be popular and not be the weird one, I want to have a lot of money and a giant house and great cars.

I see famous people now and I wonder what ridiculous thought process had gotten me to want such a thing. Really? That life? I’m pretty much over it now. I still sometimes wish I could have a little more cash, so now my thoughts tend toward the thing that will make me my millions. But even that, I’m pretty much over by now based on my attempts at realism and practicality.

But if there was any one thing in my repertoire that could do it, it might be these muffins. I have never had greater praise from anything I’ve made, nor has there been any other food I could handle as well and as often and still WANT as much as these muffins. After my half-marathon, these were the only food I could eat. While I was pregnant, these came to my water law class every Tuesday and Thursday with a glass of milk. Everyday, about 4:00, these are my go to midday snack. My son will even eat these like nothing else, but then again, he consumed these during gestation by the dozens.

This batch was a sad one, though, to make. It was the last bag of frozen pumpkin from last year’s crop, and now it’s waiting time. Our buttercup plants are growing quickly, but I’m not sure they’re growing quickly enough. Hope and pray I don’t have to supplement with canned pumpkin – blech!

This may seem like a fussy recipe with a lot of things you may not have on hand. But believe me, by the time you finish eating the first batch, you make sure you always have them on hand. My only concern is whether or not you’ll be able to find the chocolate and caramel swirl chips from Tollhouse. I bought a bunch on clearance at Target and haven’t seen them there since, so best of luck on those. I also recommend the ice cream scoop with the trigger to put these in your muffin pans. Try these. You will love them. If you don’t, I will never please you.
And I guess that’s okay.

Amanda’s Favorite Pumpkin Muffins, adapted from the Joy of Cooking
(for a double batch – 24 muffins)
* works best when everything is at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350, or 375 at high altitudes
Either grease muffin tins, or line with muffin papers (way easier than greasing)

Whisk together:
3 c. flour (recommend half whole wheat pastry and all purpose)
1/3 c. freshly ground flaxseed (buy pre-ground flaxseed or grind your own)
1/3 c. oat bran
1 T. ground cinnamon
2 t. baking soda – although reduce to 1 ¼ t. at high altitudes (where I live)
2 t. salt
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground nutmeg (I use fresh and eyeball it)
½ t. ground cloves
½ t. baking powder

Combine:
2/3 c. milk
1 t. vanilla

In a large bowl, beat until creamy and light:
¾ c. (12 T.)unsalted butter

Gradually add and beat on high speed until lightened in texture and color:
1 ½ c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
* I have successfully used half the sugar and they’ve been fine

To the butter, add one at a time:
4 large eggs

Add and mix until just blended
2 c. pumpkin puree

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed or folding with a rubber spatula. Finally, fold in 1 bag equivalent of chocolate chips. I really like the swirled butterscotch/chocolate and the white/semi-sweet chocolate that Tollhouse makes.

Fill muffin cups. Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Makes 24 muffins and they freeze superbly. Excellent breakfast on the go, with a glass of milk.

Corn Chowder – 3 ways (and The Prepared Pantry)

Jen here!  I don’t know about most of you, but much of our “summer” so far has been overcast and cooler.  Definitely a grey June.  I’ve heard about Utah’s rain, so I’m guessing it’s been similar other places too.   Soup weather, in June!

Anyways, last night, we enjoyed a lovely, easy corn chowder that went together very quickly.  It’s simple and food-storage friendly, but includes amounts for fresh from the cob corn, as well.  I’m sure there’s lots of room for dressing it up too, if you enjoy adding flavors (hot sauce or additional veggies or different herbs).

Corn chowder with bacon (and Saltines and dill)

The recipe is from The Prepared Pantry, and I’ve discovered lots of wonderful eBooks available here.  You can also sign up to receive a chapter a week for a 250-page “How to Bake: Your Complete Reference Book.”  We’re going to be working our way through some of these eBooks this summer.  I have a goal to learn to make a decent pie crust . . . once I get myself a pastry mat – I need a place to roll out those crusts.  We’ll be making dessert pies, quiches and pocket sandwiches over the summer.  My kids will also learn the joy of pie crust cookies (scraps brushed with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and then baked).

Well . . . back to the soup.  I made the soup as written, using milk, canned corn and bacon.  I found that it needed salt (unless you crush half a dozen Saltines into your soup the way my family does), and it was tasty with a sprinkling of dried dill.  It probably would have been excellent with fresh dill, but we didn’t go out and get any from the garden.  I’m really going to have to move the herbs right outside the back door . . . I’m sure I’d use them more if they were right there.  Also, the potatoes cook the first 10 minutes in a small amount of thickened liquid, so they needed a lot of stirring to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Once the soup’s all put together, I think there would be room for more potatoes or other veggies if you’d like a chunkier soup.

Three-Way Corn Chowder

This corn chowder can be made three ways: with just corn, with ham, or with bacon.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 15-ounce can chicken broth
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups half and half or 2 cups milk
2 15-ounce cans corn, undrained or two cups cooked corn cut from the cob
1 1/2 cups diced ham (optional)
6 strips bacon, cooked to a crisp and crumbled (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley or one tablespoon dried

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently.  Add the flour and stir to make a paste.  Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring frequently with a whisk to avoid lumps.
2. Add the potatoes.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until potatoes are barely tender.
3. Stir in half and half and both cans of undrained corn. Cook uncovered for six to eight minutes.  Stir in ham or bacon if you are using these and the parsley.  Reheat if necessary.

Oh – and my kids?  My daughter (7) loved it – had seconds.  My son (2.5) picked out a few pieces of corn, all of his bacon and may or may  not have had potatoes . . . he was having more fun with his two trucks driving on the table.  He did eat all of his peaches and a “This fig walks into a bar” bar from Trader Joe’s, so he didn’t starve.

Still around . . . and feeding my kids

Jen here.  Seems like we all needed a bit of a hiatus.  Life happens.  Gardens and family take over.  Meals simplify way down (quesadillas and burritos are happening a lot around here).   Over Memorial day weekend, I processed over 30 pounds of cherries (thanks Dad and Melanie) – I’ve never done cherries before, except as a reluctant helper when I was much younger.  Thank goodness for the extra day off . . . I lost very few by the time I was done.

Smells so good - Danish Cherry Sauce

More than that, though, I wanted to share in the joy of my kids eating well!

Fresh from the garden

Mmmm-mmm good

“What do you want for lunch today?” “Pancakes!!!”

Helping

Happy to be helping (no nap today – he got lunch instead)

Make it yellow

Keep stirring.

So proud to be making his own lunch.

Even the compost pile looked pretty

Smells so good – Danish Cherry Sauce

The end results

What every chocolate Easter bunny should become

Matt declared that all Chocolate Easter Bunnies should have this fate.

I might agree. That said, you have just discovered what HORRIBLE FAILURES we are at eating holiday candy in the appropriate season. Our babysitter has helped us and yet we continue to fail. That is until I prepared the appropriate accompaniments for said chocolate.

I learned that living has more to do with homemade marshmallows and backyard grills than trips to Cancun and big screen televisions, but I think I learned that awhile ago. I now have proof.

Life is better with homemade marshmallows. I also made graham crackers, but I am less than impressed with them. Matt and the boy like them but I think they’re too soft. I’ll have to get back to you with a better recipe.

BUT, for things like marshmallows, my go to guy is Alton Brown, who once again, pulls through.

This is his recipe, totally unchanged, but I will add my notes so you don’t feel as backwards and lost as I did. And sorry I didn’t take pictures of the process, but I’m not doing as well with that as I ought to. I did succeed on the pictures of consumption. This is going to be a good summer.

First – marshmallow making is VERY messy, and there is a good chance that most of the marshmallow “batter” will stick to your mixing bowl. That’s okay, you will still get A LOT of marshmallows.

Second – this cleans up like rice krispy treats. Put everything in the sink in soapy, hot water, come back in an hour and very likely, everything will have dissolved.

Third – you probably want a stand mixer for this, but you can try with a hand mixer. Just know that for 10 minutes you need to be whipping on high.

Fourth – when you add this to your prepared metal pan, the “batter” will probably not fill the pan, but make a blob that fills about half the pan one inch tall. That’s okay.

Fifth – the pizza cutter as the cutting tool is genius. This may be the stickiest thing, next to a two year old – that you have ever dealt with.

Sixth – I’m sorry to say it, but you probably won’t save money by making, rather than buying, marshmallows. But, really the difference in $1 and $3 for sugar filled ecstasy isn’t worth mentioning.

If you follow the directions, you SHOULD end up with real marshmallows. It may not seem like it at the time, but it will probably work. And square is an okay shape for them. Or whatever shape you can get them to cut out in.

Homemade Marshmallows
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007
Prep Time: 35 min
Inactive Prep Time: 4 hr 0 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: approximately 9 dozen marshmallows or 1 1/2 pounds miniature

Ingredients
• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray
Directions
Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.
For regular marshmallows:
Combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners’ sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
For miniature marshmallows:
Combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners’ sugar mixture.
Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.
Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners’ sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Strawberry Shortcake

One of my favorite summer desserts since childhood is Strawberry Shortcake. Typically I have just made the individual portion shortcakes using the Bisquick recipe. Well, I ran out of Biquick while having a plethora of strawberries and I decided to break out of the mold. (I know, living on the wild side.)

Not only is this shortcake from scratch, it makes a single HUGE one (I’m sure you could make it into smaller portions too, but where is the fun in that?)  I completely botched up the whipped cream by over whipping it and it was way too heavy.  I poured milk over my portion for added moisture.  But the shortcake and strawberries were delicious.

Strawberry Shortcake

3 Pints Strawberries
1/2 c. sugar (I used agave nectar instead)
2 1/4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbl. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening (I used butter)
1 egg
2/3 c. milk
2 c. whipping cream

Slice strawberries and toss with 1/2 c. sweetener.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grese and flour 8 inch round cake pan (I used a glass pie dish.)

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Cut together until resembes coarse crumbs.  Make a well in the center and add beaten egg and milk.  Stir until combined.

Spread batter into pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool on wire rack.

Slce partially cooled cake in half, making two layers.  Place half of the strawberries and whippin cream on one layer and top with other layer.  Garnish with extra cream and berries.

Ain’t Skeered!

In law school, a friend of mine was from Texas. She loves Texas, but never seemed to have an accent, the way some Texans do. Apparently her brother picked one up, and I don’t even know what the story entailed, but the punchline was that he responded with “Ain’t Skeered!” Well, that is how I feel about these.

I love scalloped/au gratin potatoes. The idea of thinly sliced potatoes coated in cream and butter and topped with a little cheese sends me into a tailspin. But seriously? Me and a knife trying to get potatoes sliced evenly and thin? NO WAY!

I’d like to take a moment to thank my husband for my Christmas present this year. It started out as a Costco version, but we returned it and replaced it for a higher rated version from Amazon. Thanks for not being offended by my switch, love. It has instilled courage in me to try new things.

Like scalloped potatoes. And they are delicious. And they are thin and creamy and cheesy. Next time I will look a little harder at my V-slicer and use the thinner blade. Don’t get me wrong, the thick ones were good, but the thin ones would take me to the gourmet level. I might even start getting a little street cred. But then again, probably not.

Scalloped Potatoes
from the America’s Test Kitchen

2 T unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
1 T minced fresh thyme, or 1 t. dried
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
1 1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes (5 medium), peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. heavy cream
2 bay leaves
4+ ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 c.)

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme, garlic, salt and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, broth, cream, and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Discard the bay leaves. Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch-square baking dish (or equivalent). Gently press the potatoes into an even layer and sprinkle the cheddar over the top. Bake until the cream is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

To Make Ahead (what we did):
Once the scalloped potatoes have been transferred ot the baking dish and pressed into an even layer in step 2, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, add the cheese, cover with foil, and bake in a 400-degree oven until the mixture is hot and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook until the cheddar begins to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Watermelon “Cake”

Last year I just didn’t want cake on my birthday. All wanted was watermelon! We got a little creative and this is what we put together.

Slice watermelon in stackable circles, about 1 1/2 inch thick.  Slice parts of the rind off to make decorative edges.  Attach assorted fruit with skewers and push in candles. Light and eat.  Yum!  A hit with both kids and adults.

Wednesdays with Erika

After a two week hiatus, I’m back and functioning. Here are a few ideas for the week….

A local Utah based online company called Deals to Meals has a great downloads page. Listed are food storage inventory sheets, mean planning tips and forms and food storage tips and recipes. If you are interested, they also have a program where they scour the grocery ads and create meals plans using sale items (for a yearly fee.) http://www.dealstomeals.com/free_downloads.cfm

Another local Utahn who is crazy over grocery savings is the Grocery Guru. He even has spots on the radio (wow, some people are hard core.)
Check him out here: http://www.utahcityguide.com/new/guru/index.asp

And FYI, the Dollar store has been carrying green cleaning supplies sold at other grocery stores for three times the price.

Happy Shopping!

Barbeque Pork

Soooooo easy and soooooooo good.

Ingredients:

One pork roast
One bottle of BBQ sauce (natural and recognizable ingredients preferrable)

Directions:

Put the pork roast in the crockpot, pouring water half way up roast. Cook on low for 8-12 hours (I threw it in at 11pm). Pour out excess water.  Shred meat with a fork- it will literally fall apart.  Add barbeque sauce. Let simmer on low for 2-6 hours and voila, you are done (at 6 hours, that made dinner at 5pm).

We served it on fresh tortillas with cheddar cheese and lettuce. I think the BBQ would be quite heavenly on homemade rolls too. Whatever you like.

Not only did this turn out to be an easy meal but also inexpensive. Costco carries pork roasts 3 for $10, about 1.5 lbs. each. One roast served our family of four.

Happy cooking!

PS- Sorry for the lack of pics. The laptop died and we are transitioning to a new one.  Thanks for your patience!