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Tag Archives: almond

Oh The Places We’ve Been

19 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Summer Fruit Pie

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

almond, cherry, coffeecake

Ah, for the first week of March 2020. When the borders were open and you could have visits from international friends. When it was totally cool to kick around Downtown Los Angeles, when all our favorite little shops and historic buildings and beloved restaurants were open for business. When we really had no idea what the next month would bring.

I know we miss it.

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Now: Apolis is partnering with Baby2Baby and selling customizable printed face masks that help provide diapers to families in need. https://store.apolisglobal.com

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Now: Manuela is still open for takeaway and delivery.                                             http://www.manuela-la.com/takeawaymenu

That being said, I really don’t want to express anything but deep gratitude for what we do have, now. All the most precious gifts remain, the greatest of which is love (hope is a pretty close second). Another gift we have been enjoying lately is a wealth of amazing memories, and time to actually relive them. I’ve printed some photos lately, which I NEVER seem to manage in normal-paced times.

Before “Safer At Home”/”Quarantine”/Whatever You’re Calling It began, the Gelineau house guest room had been occupied by a succession of friends for several weeks straight (maybe one night or two empty). Soooo that was pretty amazing timing for us. I’m talking literally the day our last February/March guest left (our friend Amy from Ontario, Canada) was March 10th which is when things really started getting weird in Southern California. On Monday we were questioning why Amy’s boss would want her to work from home for a few days upon her return. By Saturday, life as we know it was canceled, canceled, canceled.

We had some really beautiful adventures that first week of March, including a short glamping trip to Morro Bay, In Which We Learned That Pippa Is Much Too Excited To Fall Asleep At Night In the “Big Car”. She liked breakfasting though.

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And picking ice plants on the beach. (Wait, is this blog about pie, or Pippa?)

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And visiting the town of Harmony, Population 18. Side note someone please get married in this chapel and invite me.

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On the last day of Amy’s visit, we took it easy. Watched Levi play softball, baked a pie, read books in the sunny backyard. See, you knew there would be pie eventually.

Sometimes Pippa wears both a seasonally-inappropriate apron AND rain boots when she assistant bakes. So, that’s really good news.

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Dense Cherry-Almond Coffeecake Pie was our pie of the moment; Amy had named cherries as one of her preferred pie ingredients. As fresh cherries wouldn’t have been available, we used thawed dark pitted sweet cherries to fill a pre-baked crust, then poured in a liquid filling made from ground almonds, eggs, sour cream, and almond extract (in addition to the usual suspects such as butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, salt).

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I am always quite pleased when I get to have the honor of being the first person someone has ever made a pie with. Everyone, it’s official. Amy Hill can bake pies now. I taught her everything I know. You’re welcome.

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The verdict? It’s delicious. Eat it with a little vanilla ice cream (or with a cup of coffee if you’re into the whole breakfast pie situation, which, who isn’t) but for goodness sake pay attention to the fact that this pie has the word DENSE in its title and cut reasonably sized pieces. (I’m talking to myself here in case you didn’t pick up on that.)

No joke, you can’t eat as large of a piece as you think you can. A slice of this pie is practically a meal replacement, thanks to the mighty almond.

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Amy, in retrospect, this Coffeecake pie really was the perfect choice, out of the 140-odd recipes we could have picked; it reminds me of all the times you ordered some kind of coffee ice cream and I ordered some kind of berry/cherry ice cream. I know coffee wasn’t an actual ingredient, but there’s some great symbolism in having the words “coffee” and “cherry” in the name of your first pie. Love it. ❤

P.S. To everyone else, yes, I really do mean “all the times”. We ate a lot of ice cream. She was here for a full week okay?

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Now: Salt and Straw shops have temporarily closed. Breaks my heart. They’re still shipping a limited number of flavors, with a delayed fulfillment time. https://saltandstraw.com

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Can’t wait for it to be time for some good old-fashioned in-person game nights again. Until then, I wish you all lots of virtual chats, socially distanced walks, hangouts, House Parties or whatever the cool kids are doing these days, as well as delicious things to eat in the comfort of your homes. Message me if you need anything at all. Lots of love. x

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Don’t forget…

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Pie Academy

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

almond, cherry, tart

about the Pie Academy!!

It’s a wonderful website started by a pie baker (Ken Haedrich, the author of the cookbook I’m baking my way through…) for pie bakers of all levels.

Check it out here: http://thepieacademy.com.

If you sign up to be a member (it’s free!), you will reap the benefits in the form of discounted bakeware, step-by-step how-to videos, and original recipes in your inbox. The latest recipe, Cherry Almond Coffeecake Tart, looks just fabulous. Now if only I had a tart pan…

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Friendly Competition

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Berry Pie, Summer Fruit Pie

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

almond, blueberry, nectarine

We had a dessert-off at our church.

A dessert-off is what it sounds like…a free-for-all contest in which any dessert may be entered. No parameters.

What kind of pie would you make in this situation, given 212 recipes to choose from? I was at a loss. Should I make a chocolate pie? Everyone likes chocolate…but then again, I was sure many of the desserts would be chocolatey.

Nectarines were in season (this was at the very beginning of September. California seasons.) I also like nectarines a lot. I decided that I wasn’t going to find one pie that would please everyone, so I might as well pick one that pleased me.

Added some blueberries, to please the hubby.

Now normally I don’t give away my secret ingredients so easy. But as this recipe is neither mine nor a secret, being as it’s published in Ken Haedrich’s Pie, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that the key to success here is almond extract. Don’t skip it.

Deep Dish Nectarine Pie with Almond Crumb Topping arrives at the dessert-off and nervously checks out the competition.

There are an array of other tasty and beautiful desserts around, from cupcakes to tarts to cheesecake and beyond.

But lo! What treachery is this? A decadent-looking Caramel Apple Pecan Pie made by an aspiring young pastry chef? What does this mean for poor Deep-Dish Nectarine?

It means that the competition will be stiff. Well done, young pie Jedi. I have my eye on you.

Although neither pie took home the prize, I should mention that they were both in the top four. Also, that they were delicious in my belly.

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Tie Dye Pie

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

almond, coconut

But not really, cause that would be gross.

If you have read my previous posts, think back to the aforementioned group of ladies I get together with once or twice a month and do fun things with. They feature again in this post. This time, we didn’t make mini pies together, but we did make something. And then ate pie. Almost the same story. (I can hear the jealous whispers…why do these girls get to eat so many pies? Right place, right time, my friends.)

So we had a lovely dinner together and then my friend Mimi stirred up some large smelly pots of Shibori dye and we had at it with dishtowels and white shirts from the Salvation Army. I claimed this tiny child-size shirt as my own.

And now presenting…Almond-Coconut Pie! A few quick comments about this one. First of all, as Ken had mentioned in his notes, this is a very cakey pie. I’d say almost about as cakey as a pie can get. But think coffeecake, not birthday cake. Second thing: It’s totally justifiable to eat the leftovers of this one for breakfast. I know this from personal experience.

Pie Features: whipped cream on top (the real deal, of course), All-Butter pastry, easy to make (all in the food processor, baby!)

Pie Feedback: texture surprisingly reminiscent of…cornbread? Yet not in a bad way. (Don’t take this the wrong way, little pie!) Also surprising, one friend who isn’t into coconut or almonds really liked it. Unless she’s lying. Or maybe she just loves cornbread. Ah, the mystery.

Here’s a badly-composed picture of the Almond-Coconut pie hovering mysteriously, UFO-like, over someone’s tie-dyed dishtowel, drying on a bush. In the night. Under a full moon. (Okay okay, maybe not that last part.)

If mystery isn’t your thing, how about history? Because my friend April send me this great link the other day with fun/shocking facts about pies in the olden days. Did you know that pie birds(decorative funnels used to let steam out of pies) are shaped like pies because bakers used to set full-on BIRDS on top of their pies to identify the contents? That song about four and twenty blackbirds wasn’t a joke. Ugh. Give me almonds and coconuts inside my pie any day over peacocks.

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