The moment you've all been waiting for: my first ever pie with a double crust, and it was homemade crust, to boot! OK, maybe saying you've all been waiting for it is an exaggeration, but I'm entitled to a bit of poetic license, right? Please?
This needed a little thinking ahead. I'm excellent at planning ahead, but I don't like to do step 1, then stop for a while. Nonetheless, I do believe my dearly beloved wants this again. Soon.
SHAKER LEMON PIE
1 double pie crust
3 lemons, unpeeled, sliced paper thin (toss only the very ends)2 cups sugar
4 eggs
Combine the lemons and sugar in a bowl. Let it sit for a minimum of 2 hours. After that time has passed, preheat the oven to 425F. Beat the eggs well, and stir in the lemon mixture. Pour into an unbaked crust, and add a top crust. Cut slits in the top crust. 
Put in the oven at 425F for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350F without opening the oven door, and bake another 40 minutes. Put a knife through one of the slits in the crust to check; when it comes out clean, the custard inside is done. Let the pie cool before cutting, and serve with very sweet whipped cream.
I still don't know how pie plates are measured: top or bottom, outside or inside diameter. I do know that this didn't really fill my pie plate, so next time, I'll be using 4 lemons and 6 eggs, along with about 3 cups of sugar. I do have to say that everyone was enthusiastically pleased with this. And, finally, who can complain about a 3 item ingredient list?
Remember this picture of my hydrangea, taken 10 days ago?
Well, I don't know what happened, other than we had a rainy, cold weekend, but look at it now. From whence came the color?
(And, yes, Buff, I know it's overgrown. But I love it.)
In the real garden, I have baby pea pods. I'm a dope, and initially planted 2 pea plants. How was I to know they produce next to nothing per plant? This is my second try; they're looking promising.
Sadly, given the cold summer, and the fall turning cold again, I won't have time for a second planting of much of anything.
See you tomorrow with that pie!
This is what you need to know about dessert in our house: It's the fault of my dearly beloved and his mother, or to their credit, depending upon your viewpoint. You see, he explained to me many moons ago that while his mother was an adequate (but not good) cook, she was a great baker. That, in his opinion, is what gives children fond memories of meals at home. Since I have no fond memories of childhood meals, I have to take his word for it.When I started making dessert every night, I used a lot of boxed mixes. I still think highly of boxes; they are one of mankind's greatest inventions. It's just that sometimes I want something else. 
And, since I bought a pie and pastry cookbook at a used book sale this spring, I've been timidly inching toward trying my own pie crust. (Don't you just love old cookbooks with other people's notes in them? It makes you feel like you almost know the previous reader!) 
My dearly beloved adores pie above all other desserts. And with fewer people in the house, I can make pie. Let's face it, with 9 or 10 or 11 people in the house, if I don't have 2 pies for one dessert, people are going to be seriously honked off.
Lots of you left me helpful suggestions and encouragement last week. So, remembering that Paula was put in charge of pie crust as a little girl, and Linda said to use the food processor, and skip the fool pastry cutter, and Annette said butter can be used, I happened upon this pie crust recipe. Trust me, it's worthy of its own post.
HALF & HALF PIE CRUST
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature1/2 cup shortening, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 cups flour1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
In the food processor, pulse together everything except the lemon juice and milk for a few seconds. Then, with the processor running, drizzle in the lemon juice and milk. Let it form into a ball. Roll it out. This recipe makes 2 crusts - top and bottom, or 2 glorious pies.
Of course, I had issues in rolling out the crust - sticking, lack of symmetry, lack of roundness, stuff like that. I tried to beat it to death at one point. 
But I persevered, and made two decent pies, and one that I considered a failure (although there were no leftovers). All of this leads to the question, from whence is the size of the pie plate derived? Outside diameter? Inside diameter? Top or bottom? Believe me, I have 4 different measurements on one pie plate, and I don't like this. The engineer in me is searching for precision in this endeavor.
Oh, and my dearly beloved, the world's greatest fan of pie? He hates pie crust. And he ate every bit of this, declaring that it is the best pie crust he's ever had. High praise, indeed.
Here's a hint as to what my first pie was. See you then.
Well, school is started again. I've had the curriculums since late June, and never opened them until last weekend. Because Calvert School was changing their eighth grade reading selections, and I wanted to retain the classics, I ordered at the end of "last year".
My baby is doing Calvert fifth grade with 6th grade math. *sob* Where has the time gone? I want the tiny squalling pink creature back! That's not to say that my baby isn't brilliant and wonderful; of course he is (and I'm sure all of yours are, too). But the time passes too swiftly.
Included in Calvert's fifth grade course are several novels, including Shiloh (the first one we're reading), The Secret Garden, Sing Down the Moon, Sign of the Beaver and American Tall Tales. We're also studying US History and Geography. Science expands on what we've done in past years, Grammar and Composition are givens. Art History is a wonderful course. For fifth grade, it's the study of the history of painting. It's funny, but Ryan recognizes styles and many of the paintings he learned about in this course. I hope Mark enjoys it as much.
Eighth Grade will be intense. We're studying Algebra for Ryan's math course this year (I read through the tests, and am happily stunned at how much I remember). Science starts with the study of cells, and will progress through 5 books. Ryan, too, is studying US History and Geography. If we get sunshine early next week, I'm going to send the boys out to draw a US map in the driveway. If you can't have fun, what's the point of school? Grammar and composition will doubtless be increasingly intense, as is spelling. There is a separate vocabulary study course, and, of course, reading. The course starts with Johnny Tremain. Other novels include David Copperfield, the Hounds of the Baskervilles and The Prince and The Pauper. We're also reading "story" poetry this year, such as Casey at the Bat. Hopefully we'll enjoy that more than "sissified" poetry like Emily Dickenson.
Of course, the Lesson Manuals for Calvert School can't be beat. I don't have to think so much as read and talk to the kids. I couldn't do this without the manuals.
I may be crazy, but I also ordered a Civics in America course for the two boys, along with Discoveries in Art and Latin I. We've started the art course (and we'll see if I can stick with it), I want to start Civics next week, and I don't know if I'll fit Latin in this year. I've been known to take on more than is humanly possible, and this just might be such a case.
I hope you've all enjoyed your preview of my school year. Now, off to some sewing, and pie crust making (I'm trying, I'm trying!), and whatever else happens in my little corner of the world. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
From The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto:
"Because of its geography, its population, and the fact that it was under the control of the Dutch (even then its parent city, Amsterdam, was the most liberal in Europe), this island city would become the first multiethnic, upwardly mobile society on America's shores, a prototype of the kind of society that would be duplicated throughout the country and around the world. It was no coincidence that on September 11, 2001, those who wished to make a symbolic attack on the center of American power chose the World Trade Center as their target. If what made America great was its ingenious openness to different cultures, then the small triangle of land at the southerntip of Manhattan Island is the New World birthplace of that idea, the spot where it first took shape...."
I will never forget the unspeakable horror of that day, when innocent people were killed by those who do not like us. We survive and thrive; we will never forget.
Well, the boys started school on Tuesday. Thor wanted his picture taken for the first day of school, too.
Notice that Ryan has passed the 6 foot mark on the height chart. Mark's right at 5 feet, and the kid is 2 months short of his 10th birthday.
Later, Thor helped Ryan read his vocabulary lesson. (Lucky kid, being able to lay over a chair to read! Who else says, "My teachers would have had a conniption over that!!"?)
And Gaylen's Beau is home and recovering nicely from his emergency surgery. Thor is sending him arfs of empathy.
Happy Thorsday, everyone!
It's the time of year when we need to send our kids off to school (and ourselves to work) with good, healthy lunches. Indeed, that was the subject of the primary column in the lifestyles section of our paper last Wednesday, "food day". Now, while I don't stuff my kids out the door the way others do, I do enjoy all of those interesting lunch containers out there. Aren't they inspirational?
Yes, my older kids tell me I'm a dork all the time. Thanks for not joining in.The basic rectangular container is perfect for the 24 year old's grinder. He bellowed at me when I suggested it would be better with lettuce or tomato. I offered to hit him with a stick.
The little boys like to take lunch outside while the weather is nice. Of course, I like letting them package up a lunch the night before. Not only does it teach them to plan ahead, they learn about a well balanced meal. And Thor gets a peanut butter sandwich in the little flat container.
For an adult or a bigger kid, check this out. Filled with a small chef's salad, hard boiled egg, bread and some crackers, it's plenty of food. Of course, you know I would take "real" flatware instead of the plastic, but it's nice that it comes with a built-in fork and knife. You could also put a big helping of pasta salad, some fruit and a nice dessert in this lovely lunch box.
The container with 4 little sections is really 4 removable containers. It's a dieter's delight. The size dictates that unless you fill it with sugar and frosting, it has to be low-calorie! Filling each of the 4 sections with something like tuna, cottage cheese, carrot sticks and crackers would be plenty to keep you occupied. Of course, I didn't fill it; I really don't need to eat two lunches, do I?
All of these cute lunch containers came from Target. Lunch is a whole lot easier to imagine with them, isn't it?
Well, the tomato plants in the garden are looking a little scrawny. Late blight is attacking them, sadly. The good news is that the local agricultural co-op says blight will be killed off during the winter, as long as I don't plant blighted potatoes. Since I never got to planting potatoes this year, it won't be a problem! Sometimes procrastination pays, after all.
And on the other side of my house, my hydrangea retains some of its pink color. Hydrangea is a strange plant; naturally white, they turn pink or blue depending upon the fertilizer applied. Some of you may remember that during an income tax day 2008 snowstorm, we lost a couple of giant arbor vitae, which we had stood back up a couple of days later by our lawn service, and they put plenty of tree spikes around them. One was near enough this hydrangea to change its color, and the aftereffects linger yet!
See you tomorrow for discussion of packing lunch.
I love almonds. I love pound cake. So, of course I would want to put the two together, right?
I'd been thinking about making pie. You're probably tired of hearing me say that pie is not in my DNA, but it's the truth. My mother never made pie crust, and I really have no idea how it's done. I think there are some things we need to see to understand, and rolling out crust and fitting it into the pan is one of those things, at least to me. Go ahead, think I'm a chicken; I understand. But over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try to figure it out. Really. I have a pie idea I want to try, and for it I will need a crust. But, that's another week.
Last night's dessert was almond pound cake and strawberry frozen yogurt. The cake is 3/4 gone this morning, before anyone's attacked it for breakfast, so I do believe it was a hit. Try it, if you are an almond lover; it's good even if you're not a huge fan!
ALMOND POUND CAKE
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
4 eggs
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp almond extract
slivered almonds to top
Bring the butter and eggs to room temperature. Beat the butter for about 30 seconds, then add the sugar 1/4 cup at a time, beating a minute after each addition, until the mixture is light. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat until light. Add the almond extract, then beat in the flour, powder and ground almonds. Beat well. Pour into a loaf pan, top with the slivered almonds, and bake 55 to 65 minutes at 350F (325 for glass pans).
So, this weekend, I'm going to finish the last of my book and then sew, between enjoying the sunshine. What do you all have planned for the holiday weekend?
Funny how a bunch of foods combined together often lose their individual colors. That was the case with this rice, although it tasted wonderful. Inspired by those "sides" you see advertised, it was named in they style of Pam from Sidewalk Shoes (and my own kids). Of course, she is right. You can't forget what's in a dish if the name essentially contains a list of ingredients, right?
BROCCOLI CHEESE RICE
2 cups rice1 tsp salt4 cups water
1 bunch broccoli, cut into itty bitty florets
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese1/2 stick butter
Start the rice, salt and water to cooking. When it has 7 minutes to go, add the broccoli and let it simmer merrily along. When it's just about done, stir in the butter, and then the cheese. Hide veggies from the kids and enjoy good food, too. The biggest problem is that the colors all tended to fade together.
And, for Gaylen, I only cut out, and did not finish, a princess seamed spaghetti strappy dress last weekend. The problem is that I got my hands on a book called The Island in the Center of the World, about the Dutch settlement at New Amsterdam, and can't put it down. It's wonderful, but, how could you not love a book that says the "17th century Dutch distinguished themselves by being Regular Guys," and "King James I had been an awkward monarch - he tended to drool and was given to crude mannerisms."?
Interesting note: the boys next door started school today, and were very eager to come over and play with my boys and Thor after school. 
Do you see Thor supervising? No? Look more closely. 
I'm happy to have a big doggy to referee games of kickball!
Well, we finally have tomatoes ripening. Sadly, tomato blight got to some of my plants; I burned them in my fire bowl.
This little beauty is one of many we've gotten from our Taxi Tomato plant. These tomatoes are less than 2" diameter, and my dearly beloved says they're funny looking (because of the color), but they taste wonderful.
More zucchini are coming. Can you see the one balanced on the cage? And did you notice Woodland Wilf, the red spot at the bottom of the plant? Yeah, we haven't seen the garden gnomes since May or so.
This is a Minnesota Midget Melon plant. We planted those because the name was so funny. They've grown very slowly. I don't understand! After all, if they were bred to grow in Minnesota, they should have been able to stand this cold, rainy non-summer we've had!
Next weekend is Labor Day already. I'm so not ready for summer to end....even though we had a high of 61 yesterday, and it's only 65 degrees today at 3PM!
Put in the oven at 425F for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350F without opening the oven door, and bake another 40 minutes. Put a knife through one of the slits in the crust to check; when it comes out clean, the custard inside is done. Let the pie cool before cutting, and serve with very sweet whipped cream.
