Tag Archives: berry

The Days Turn Into Months

16 Tuesday Sep 2014

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A peek back at our beautiful Memorial Day meal this past May!

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Emery is walking these days!

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A trio of delightful salads: fruit, Fava Beans with arugula, lemon, and garlic, and Bobby Flay’s creamy coleslaw.

IMG_3270Zoe just keeps getting cuter.

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A bountiful table; we are blessed.

You’re allowed to put barbecue sauce, grilled jalapeños, grilled sage, cheese, AND coleslaw on your burger. We promise.

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The pièce de résistance: Mascarpone Ice Cream Pie with Sugared Berries.

IMG_3292 IMG_3298 IMG_3300 IMG_3301I call this photo “Baby Food or Pie; an Obvious Choice.”

IMG_3305Loved spending time with Ruth Ann and James, Drew and Kelley, Zoe, Erin and Dave, Emery, Janine, and Alyssa. A very happy beginning-of-summer memory!

 

The Secret Life of Pies

06 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by in Berry Pie, Original Pies, Summer Fruit Pie

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I mentioned in my last post that there is often not enough pie to go around at the Camp. And it’s true. If I had an abundance of time and fruit trees, I’d feed pie to everyone every day. Since the sad truth is that I cannot produce pies at this rate, the distribution of available pie sometimes turns into a rather covert affair, including late night rendezvous, fork-fights, and sometimes even bribery. IMG_1151

I was lucky enough to get to stay in my friends Rachel and Vinnie’s cabin during Operation Onesimus again this year. For more explanation on what that is, you should jump back to this post from last year regarding the Onesipies. I once again faced the same challenges to pie baking, including the lack of a proper rolling pin (see above.)

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I didn’t follow a recipe for either of the pies featured in this post. This first one featured a combination of delights from the local farm…blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. (The rolling pin was from the farm too and was also a delight when mixed with sparkling water and limes, for the record.)

Can I just say that it is extremely difficult to keep pie crust from browning in a very tiny and very hot oven? And can I also say, I’m getting pretty proud of my lattice-weaving abilities. A little crooked, yes. But steadily improving.
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This pie was also largely berry-based, but had a healthy helping of white peaches in it too.IMG_1212IMG_1214

I got fancy with the top crust here and grated it with a cheese grater, the way Ken taught me how to when I made his Rainier Cherry Pie.IMG_1217

This is Rick Szabo. Pie is his self-proclaimed favorite thing.

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True love.

I guess the secret’s out now. Onesimus attendees, you now know something that you may have suspected and feared already…namely, that your teachers and cooks don’t go to bed early. They stay up and eat pie. Without you. Sorry about that.

(Hey, at least now you know so that next year you can try to sneak into the secret pie parties…right?!)

(Warning: the picture below may contain graphic violence.)

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Suffice it to say that this pie did not survive the night.

Now, let’s turn our attention to Mr. Grated Crust. He was being enjoyed a sneaky slice at a time by various friends and relations.

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Sometimes when you leave part of a pie in your cabin, you come back to find that it has greatly diminished in size. In this instance, the pie thieves left a thoughtful payment of pocket change wrapped in a paper towel, placed neatly in the then-emptier pie pan.

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What kinds of things have you done to get your hands on some pie?

Small Packages

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in Berry Pie, Mini Pie

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Okay. Get ready. There’s a lot going on in this post.

Main topic is: Mini Pies. Pies-in-Jars. Back in March, I did this post where I talked about how I’d recently fallen in love with the concept of pies in jars and had made some for a bake sale and they were fabulous and adorable. I told you all to leave comments and I would randomly choose a few to ship pies to. Then, back in April, I announced who those lucky few would be. 

So I made them. I made these mini pies. The last time I made Pies-in-Jars, I made up the recipes. Not this time. This time I used Ken Haedrich’s Orange-Berry Pie recipe. (I have to say, I’ve gotten into a terrible habit this summer. Once I realized that I could make pretty great fruit pies without following recipes, I started getting creative all over the place. You can imagine that this does absolutely no good in helping me towards my goal of baking all 300 pies in Ken’s book.) Never fear. I went back to my book on this one.  I just slightly altered it by turning it into multiple little pies- one destined for Thamar, one destined for Eric, and one destined for Jen.

IMG_0997I used a regular pastry crust, which I slightly rolled out and then basically pressed it into the bottom and up the sides of the jar.

Holes: they happen. It’s no biggie. Just patch them up with your fingers.

IMG_0998Before I started making these pies, I found out a bit of an ironic situation had come up. My international tester (Jen) was heading to the USA for the summer, while my domestic tester (Eric) was heading to Brazil. I’m told the postal system in Brazil is kind of a joke. I knew I’d be away for most of the summer myself, so I went ahead and made the pies, planning on freezing Jen and Eric’s unbaked.

IMG_0999IMG_1001Putting a crumb topping on Pies-in-Jars is great because there ends up being a high crust to filling ratio in the jar situation. So it’s nice to have something besides more crust on top.

IMG_1002These three got baked right away, while the other two aforementioned went straight to the freezer to await the return of their owners to their respective places in the world.

IMG_1003I mentioned these labels before in my original Pie-in-a-Jar post and this time I actually used them. Shout out and thanks to LollyChops!

IMG_0996Adorbs.

IMG_1004I packaged this little friend up with some bubble wrap and a box and probably took other precautions I have forgotten about now.

This was Thamar’s email to me the following week:

Dear Jess,
More pie photos!

We were so eager to eat the pie that we forgot to take a picture of ourselves with the pie! We paired it with a local vanilla ice-cream and it was delicious!

We had lightly covered the pie with tin foil and then warmed it in the oven at 350F for 30 minutes (I had put it in the refrigerator for a day after receiving the pie). Perfect pie for two!
Thank you again for such a lovely surprise! It was just what we needed!
Love,
Thamar
SONY DSCYou are wondering how this story ends for the two pies in the freezer. Jen and Eric, you will still get pie, all being well, but it will not be those two. A few weeks ago, something tragic happened to some of my best friends. It was (and is) the type of thing that there are just no words for. There was (and is) no way to talk about it. There only was (and only is) shock and disbelief. I am bad at talking in the best of times, and so when I had the opportunity to make a meal for these friends (because, strangely, we still need to eat) and they asked if there would be pie involved, the best thing I could think to do was pull these jars out of the freezer.
photo(18)Even when the small things I can offer (hugs, tears, pie) seem so ridiculously inadequate, I am glad to have something to offer all the same.

Pie-in-a-Jar!

27 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Apple Pie, Mixed Fruit Pie, Summer Fruit Pie

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Pie-in-a-Jar is as exciting as it sounds.

  • They’re pies. In JARS.
  • They’re so super cute.
  • I think they would hold up really well in the mail. Big question is whether they’ll hold up internationally. Now taking domestic and international volunteers to help me test this theory out.

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A year ago, I send some normal pie pies (as opposed to pie-in-a-jar pies) to a bake sale in Palm Springs benefitting the school I teach at. You can read that post here. This year, I was asked to contribute again to the same sale. I decided to make mini pies in jars this year after pondering the following key points.

  • What’s better than a slice of pie? A whole pie to yourself.
  • What’s more socially acceptable than eating a whole pie? Eating a whole mini pie.
  • What’s easier to transport than a jar with a lid?…Nothing.

(My points just seem to be rolling out in groups of three this evening.)

This post from Our Best Bites provided me with some inspiration, and even comes with some rather adorable labels to top your jars with. It’s worth checking out if you’re interested in making your own pies-in-a-jar. For my part, I did what I usually do…read some blog posts on the subject at hand, then decided not to follow any of the recipes after all. So, in all accuracy, I probably couldn’t replicate these exact mini pies ever again.

(Awkward silence as you ponder how unhelpful of a blog writer I really am…)

I made two types of pies-in-a-jar; a pretty basic apple pie with lots of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, lemon and lemon zest) and a pear and mixed berry pie (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, almond extract).

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I love how they look here, all packaged up and ready to travel!

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Have you ever tried baking pies (or anything else) in a jar? I would love to hear:

  • Stories about YOUR mini pie experiences, or questions about mine.
  • Interest in being a mail-tester for a pie-jar (depending on the number of comments I receive, I’ll put your name in a drawing.)
  • Which of the two above flavors you would have purchased had YOU attended the bake sale?

Memorial Day Memories

09 Saturday Jun 2012

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**Blackberry Sour Cream Pie, made with blackberries and raspberries.

 

The hardest step of the recipe (as usual) was allowing time for the pie to cool before eating. 

Credit to Jen and Chris Wubbels for creating the epic menu, having all of us over at their home, and cooking most of the food. Maggie, your Strawberry Rosewater Cobbler was wonderful. Look for a rosewater pie…very soon.

American Pie

01 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Berry Pie, Freeform Pie

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Summer is upon us. In California, the only real difference is that you can go to the beach and sit on the sand and not actually freeze to death (though you’ll still do that if you attempt to venture into the water). The sun is a little sunnier, people are a little happier, and the end of the school year is in sight, meaning that there will be more time to bake lots and lots of pies.

If pie is the ultimate American dessert, than a berry pie is the ultimate American summer dessert. One weekend in May, Levi and I decided to preemptively celebrate the coming summer by having an Americana-steeped weekend. We spent time at the Simi Valley street fair, purchased and consumed some summery brews, grilled hamburgers on our barbeque. To go along with the theme, Levi decided that it would be a good idea to listen to country music on Pandora. (I’m still trying to figure out what possessed him.) And of course, I made a berry pie.

Patsy’s Mixed Berry Freeform Pie is unique for several reasons.

  1. The crust contains several unusual ingredients such as cottage cheese, a good amount of sugar, and baking powder. The texture of the finished pastry is fluffier and stickier than your average crust, and the baked end result is rather cakey and delicious.
  2. It has a gooey cream cheesy layer underneath the berries. What a nice surprise!
  3. It’s freeform (as you might have already ascertained by its name). If you don’t know what a freeform pie is, you’re in luck—I just so happen to have some pictures to show you!
To make a freeform pie, you don’t need a pie pan. Just a foil-lined baking sheet will do. This pastry dough is sticky to the point of annoying, so the foil is a necessary step. The rolled out crust goes on the baking sheet, and then a sweet cream cheese mixture is spread over the center in a circle. Like so.

A very hopeful Bear.

Then the berries get dumped in the middle. I used blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries…the more the berrier! Har har har.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the fun part…rolling up the edges. You just fold in one section at a time and the dough forms pleats. I used a spatula for a little extra help.

Bake until the crust is golden brown, top with vanilla ice cream OF COURSE, and share with friends.

Andrew and Marjorie are cute pie models.

Happy almost-summer, all.

The Love of my Life

30 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Berry Pie, Chocolate Pie, Cream Pie, Nut Pie

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….is not pie. It is my husband, Levi.

We’ve been married for three years today. Three whole years! It’s both hard and easy to believe.

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If you’ve read the “Why Pie?” section of my blog, you already know that I received my now well-worn Pie cookbook as a wedding present. What you may not know is that Levi and I opted have pies instead of a wedding cake…much to the initial chagrin of my very traditional Italian relatives. (Although I happened to look through my Nana’s wedding album shortly after our wedding and discovered that she and Pop-Pop had a big heaping platter of Italian cookies instead of cake at their wedding. Needless to say, I drew her attention to this incriminating fact!)

Our reasoning for this decision went something like this:

1. We really like pie.

2. We don’t like wedding cake.

3. Wedding pie it is.

A decision that was less easy to make was, “What KIND of pie should we have?” So we had five kinds. Pecan, Berry Medley, Key Lime, Chocolate Chiffon, and Coconut Cream. Something for everyone. (If you were in attendance, what kind of pie did you choose? If you weren’t, which one would you pick today, three years later?)

Levi and I sampled every pie, I’m not ashamed to say. Each was as wonderful as the last, just as the years of our marriage have been. Three years later, I’d still pick you, Levi. You’re my favorite, favorite one, my very best friend, the love of my life. Happy Anniversary.

(Professional photographs taken by the incredible Elisabeth Millay. Her blog is super gush-worthy.)

Summers, Falls, Winters, and Springs

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Berry Pie

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I really miss seasons.

I know there are some who would argue, “But California does have seasons…they’re just different!” And they’d be right, technically. But, I must say that the vague, mild “springtime” of southern California is no substitute for the full resurrection glory that East Coasters experience yearly.

My parents are moving to Georgia. This is big news, as I’ve never known them to live in a house other than the one I grew up in. I’m sure most kids are somewhat attached to their houses, but I think I surpassed most. When I was about eight, I took a pencil and drew a square on the wall in my closet and pretended that it was a portal into a secret planet of my own creation. (The continent had several countries, including Girl Land, Starland, and Heartland….Heartland was the most important one, FYI.) Every time I heard rumors that we might move, I would write anxiously about the repercussions of this dreaded idea in my journal…journals…(I went through them pretty quickly.) The gist was that if we moved, some other inferior child would figure out how to enter my secret world!! Oh the indignity.

So now my parents really are moving, it looks like, and this may have been my last visit to the old house. Even though I’ve lived many other places (at least five) since moving out six years ago, it will still be a little bittersweet to hear that this house has been sold. I hope some other little girl can find magic there.

My mom and I made a pie with the last of the frozen raspberries from their harvest last summer. We didn’t need a recipe. We used an olive oil based crust, some honey, nutmeg, sugar, flour, and lemon juice.

Thanks, Mom, for all of the other long-since-eaten pies that have been made on this same little round table!

“hadn’t given it much thought

hadn’t been back here for a while

everything looks so small

seen through the memories of a child

who would dream and stare

from that second story window

that was my whole world,

it was all I knew

like the hull of a seed this old house cracked wide open

and I flew”

~Sara Groves, This House

Love Language

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

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A couple of years back, we were into these books by Gary Chapman…The 5 Love Languagesones. You may be familiar with them. In case you aren’t, the premise is that individuals communicate their love for others/want to be communicated to in a certain way…for example, physical touch. (From my experience, people either really like this concept, are really annoyed by it, or just really don’t care. My apologies if you belong to one of the second two groups, I promise this won’t be a lengthy dissertation.) My point is that when I read the original book (as you do when you’re dating and you’re curious if you speak the same love languages as your significant other) I was of the opinion that if your love language was “Gifts” instead of “Quality Time” or “Words of Affirmation,” you were probably pretty shallow. So naturally, when I took the little quiz the book gives you, I scorned any answers that made it sound like I would prefer gifts to any other type of lovin’. I guess I cheated a little, because years later I have come to the conclusion that–alas–I am, in reality, a GIFTS PERSON…a hoarder of wrapping paper, a maker of handmade cards, and a pie-baking fool. Don’t judge me! I like hugs too. And I’ll love you if you mop my floors. I just generally find that I show love by giving physical things to my friends. And since I like to bake and cook, if I love you, chances are high that I’ll try to feed you.

(Side note: I think I’m turning into my Nana.)

Some of our best friends, Todd and Abby, were just out from New Jersey for a short visit. I made a pie. Truth be told, there are very few people that I love more than Todd and Abby (and their stinkin’ cute kids, Benjamin and Verity.) And I know Todd loves apple pie. Here’s the thing…I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I’m running out of berry pies. I’m kind of running out of apple pies too, and I think it’s because every time I see Todd these days, I make him an apple pie. This is his fifth one. Love language.

Happy birthday, Todd!

Liz Smothers’s Sugarless Apple-Berry Pie, eaten with vanilla ice cream so as to totally negate the sugarless part. For any readers who actually avoid sugar fo’ realz, I really enjoyed that this pie doesn’t use any artificial sweetener…it’s just the fruit with apple juice. No, it’s not super sweet, but I also wouldn’t taste it and think that there was something missing. I used blueberries, but I’m thinking raspberries might be even yummier.

And now, for my final trick, I will sneak into my post pictures of adorable children!