little happy apple

mountain cabbage

"cabbage is the physician of the poor." ~dr blanc, 1881

everybody likes pie

so now you made a crust- what to fill it with? i wasn't going to leave you hanging. this pie just came out of the oven... so in case you are interested, here is what i did today with those scrumptious peaches, all twelve of them. after our drawing lesson, we washed, peeled and sliced the peaches about 1/2" thick. unlike apples (which i like super thin) i prefer peaches cut a little thicker; it just tastes better. then i poured a little lemon juice over them and tossed. then i looked around and saw that i had a couple of tablespoons of Chambord :) in a tiny bottle in the pantry so i poured it over them as well (like a peach melba in a pie) added a hint of ginger and cinnamon, and a little bit each of brown and granulated sugar...mixed that baby up, but gently so as not to break the fruit. smells heavenly.

next- preheat the oven to 450 with rack on lowest position. this prevents the crust from browning too quickly and it also helps the filling come to a boil- very important.next, i made a streusel topping. this is going under the lattice top. also another reason i don't add much sugar to the fruit. 1 stick butter, 1 c. brown sugar, 2 c. flour, cinnamon to taste. i also think some finely chopped pecans would be yummy but my kids won't eat 'em... now i mush it all up with my hands until it makes a nice streusel. check to make sure it isn't too flour-y tasting.

roll out your dough and lay it in the pie dish. now pour the filling into the crust, mound it to the center. put the streusel atop and press down gently in place. make your lattice strips from the other dough you rolled out and overlay them in a cross pattern. i brush it with milk and sprinkle sugar on it for that extra crunch.

now, put it on a cookie sheet - in case it leaks and makes a mess of your stove - turn down the oven to 350 and put the pie in the oven. do not open the door for at least 40 minutes and then check on it; if it is golden then it is probably done. i usually turn the pie at this point and let it cook another ten minutes.
when it is done, be sure to let it rest a good two hours to let the fruit set up. yum. i will let you know how it tastes. but i already can tell its a doozy. after you've made a bunch....you can just tell. now i have to decide if i want to bring it to my neighbors tomorrow...
or have pie for breakfast.

dough re me

playin' some woody guthrie on a misty morn making a pie crust while the scent ripe peaches fill the air, sun coming up slowly, birds a-singin'. this is the essence of country livin' boys and girls.... and moments like this remind me that this is why i left the big city.

i must say that after seeing this peach cobbler recipe from fluffy flowers who makes the most adorable little creatures from recycled knits. you have got to see her little gnomes and kitties . really cute stuff. i was very tempted to make that instead...but i have a dozen peaches for a bit fat juicy peach pie. yum. there will be more peaches; its just about harvest time here in the carolinas so i will make that cobbler soon enough...

so i am finally onto the peach pie crust. the thing about crust is that all of your ingredients should be cold as should your work surface and room temperature. today is indeed a perfect day to bake a pie because it has been fairly cool here in the hills. on hot sticky summer days (when you don't want to turn the oven on anyway) the pie crust is always too sticky because one can't keep the ingredients cool enough.

now, there are also many many variations on pie crust, pate frisee, a german cookie like crust, buttery flaky crusts... so one should consider the filling and one's personal preference. for example, i use a graham cracker or shortbread crust for key lime pies, maybe a crust of gingersnaps with ground pecans for a pumpkin pie--but for fruit pies, i always use a basic pie crust that is part butter, part shortening, sugar, salt and flour. if you can use pastry flour even better. just don't overwork your dough. this is the key to a nice crust.

the recipe i use is the "new basic pie crust" recipe. that's what i use and have used since i have been baking pies and it is perfectly light and flaky every time. you may already have the book: the new basics cookbook (it's red and white)...it's one of those that may just sit there if you don't know what a gem it is- i find every recipe in it to be very good, so far. it is filled with great information, tips, wine lists, menu suggestions, tool listings, etc. etc. and has every "basic" thing in it with new variations on old standards. everything is simple and delicious. i highly reccommend it for your cookbook shelf. (i do not work for workman publishing this is just the cookbook i use a lot).

the new basic pie crust recipe calls for:
2 1/2 c. flour
3 T sugar (if making a sweet filling)
1 t salt
1 stick butter
6 T shortening
5-6 T ice water

here's how it goes down: follow along with the video...

so first you mix the flour, salt and sugar together (i use the pastry blender)
then cut the butter into teeny tiny pieces and add it along with your shortening into the flour
working quickly and using two knives, your fingertips or a pastry blender work the dough until it resembles course crumbs.
then add the ice water one tablespoon at a time until it can stick together (usually 5-6T)
turn onto a floured surface into a mound
using the heel of your hand smoosh down the down pushing away from you...this creams the butter and shortening together and makes the crust really flaky
now ball it up, cut it in half, pat down into rounds, wrap in wax paper and chill at least 2 hours.
you can freeze it, but wrap it up well in plastic wrap.

one of the reasons (and there are so so so so so many) i love mary poppins is all of the wise little pearls she slips in here and again, like this one, when she is saying to Michael as he is asking her to promise not to ever ever leave.... "oh, michael, that's a pie crust promise- easily made and easily broken". true enough.

voila. and there you have it....pie crust. and you thought you couldn't do it. it's as easy as pie. (sorry)...

perfect scones

making scones is an art. when you go somewhere for some pastries or baked goods, you never know if your scone will be like a brick, dry, stale or just plain icky. fortunately, i have the best scone recipe ever; foolproof; delicious every time. the recipe was given to me by my dear friend, valentine...a wonderful cook- (actually she is one of those people who are good at everything). sometimes the children wake up and they must have dreamt about them, for the first words out of their mouths are...."mommy, can you make chocolate chip scones?" now, you don't have to make them chocolate chip (although they are quite delicious in a pain au chocolat kind of way)...you may add anything you like to the basic recipe...i like to do cheddar and raisins. delightful with fluffy scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh grapefruit and an iced coffee~ a perfect sunday menu~ da-lish.

here's how it goes down, it really is quite simple...

cup of tea + scone = pure bliss.

have a heart

stuffed artichokes are a treat. i made some for father's day and created a step by step slideshow for anyone interested in giving it a go. they are delicious and a meal all their own. please email me if you have any questions or need a basic stuffing recipe. i couldn't put type into my slideshow, but you will get the idea.

ideally, you will soak the artichokes for a few hours upside down in cold water with a heavy dish on them to keep them submerged. then mix up your stuffing; as you like it, a little dry because when you steam them it moistens up a bit. then prepare them as shown (cut the tips, the top & bottom, wash thoroughly, stuff and put them in about an inch of water (i add lemon and wine and garlic) cover and bake at least one hour or until the leaves pull off easily. you can also steam them in a large pot- this works well too.

every leaf is delectible and brings you closer to the heart in the center~ the best part.
yummy.

bon appetit!

feeling crummy

when i was a kid, my dad would always go to the bakery on sundays. he would go to stork's in whitestone and get donuts, crumb buns and maybe some salt horns. when we lived in astoria, he would go to hepp's bake shop on 23rd avenue... i have many fond memories of sundays full of fresh warm rye bread, soft sweet butter and linzer tarts. crumb buns are a fine art though, and there are two kinds: the yeast based bready ones with crunchy cookie crumbs, and the cakey ones which use heaps of butter, (usually a pound) that are the perfect balance of moist spongey dough and big crummy yumminess- not too sweet though.

the crumb cake i made sunday was the latter and it was just right. with coffee, it's my favorite next to the cake bible's sour cream coffee cake. the recipe is from the foster's market cookbook- claiming to have been created for new york transplants and homesick duke students. the white cake was the perfect texture, light and not sweet, and the crumbs were dense and melted in your mouth. like i said, just right. it bakes in a jelly roll pan and yields a very generous amount of buns. dusted with powdered sugar, it is a perfect accompaniment to coffee, a breeze to make and cooks up in a jiffy. foolproof. (email me for the recipe.) i highly recommend it for a sunday morning or rainy day: coffee, a cozy blanket, a book or the paper and maybe some old jt or joni; the perfect recipe for comfort.

eggstraordinary

we did our annual egg dying spring ritual with the children and as usual a good time was had by all. now that they are getting older there is a lot less crying and cracks and a lot more cool color combinations. we sang easter songs like "in your easter bonnet"....and "here comes peter cottontail"... the only thing that would have made me happier was if mom had stayed- she went home earlier than planned and i was sad to not have her around for all the egg-hunting-basket-finding-chocolate-eating-excitement.

i really like to cook. i really really like to cook. a lot.
especially for folks i care about. everybody has different ways of showing love; for some it is buying gifts, or showering affection or love notes, and for some it is food. i fall into that category. holidays are no exception. easter isn't big around here; for us it is more about the celebration of spring, renewal and new life... i like bunnies and chicks and yellow green and stories about rebirth. we were surrounded with some of our most favorite people and the food, wine and company was divine. a most scrumptious easter brunch consisted of crabcakes with roasted red pepper sauce, deviled eggs, corn muffins, spinach salad (and i got to use a really groovy tupperware salad dressing maker from barb- thanks barb!), prosciutto with melon, fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice right from mom's tree! and crumbcake. there were mimosas and bloody marys and coffee and chocolate galore. it was really so yummy. and there i stood looking around at all the beautiful people whom i adore and treasure -watching them smile and laugh and run and play and it made my heart grow ten times that day...
hope y'all had a hoppy easter!