Monday, July 26, 2010

Miss Viola Tresvant's Blueberry Pie with the Crumb Topping


This was a yummy pie. I am really enjoying the berries of summer allowing me to make delicious berry pies fairly inexpensively.
I realized that I really hadn't been giving Ms. Patty Pinner the recognition she deserves with some of these recipes; the stories she shares about the women who provided the recipes have been all but forgotten on this blog. So I share with you the story of Miss Viola Tresvant:
When Miss Viola began going through her middle age "womanly time," she found herself having frequent crying spells. They became so frequent that her husband started just ignoring them, when all she wanted was for him to pay attention to her and soothe her. So she starting serving sparse dinners when he'd ignore her and bake this pie when he'd baby her. He quickly caught on, and both partners were happy.
Some might call it passive-aggressive, but if you tasted the pie, I think you'd agree it was worth it.
This is the first pie I've made this year that was actually gone in the first day. It might have something to do with the fact that we had two different couples stop by that night. They must have smelled the pie.
I just want to inform you of the butter count in this recipe:

Crust-1 stick
Crumb topping-1 stick
Berry filling-2 tablespoons

You read that correctly: 2 sticks+2 tablespoons butter in one pie!

I think the pie would have been just as good with half of the crumb topping; it took some deft piling to get it all to stay on top. But two of the friends who came over--completely independent of each other--both mentioned that the topping was wonderful and how they wished there was more. So. Bring on the butter.

Here's the pie, prebaked.

Ratings:

Flavor: 9

Execution: 9-the fluting just wasn't working for me.

Difficulty: Easy.

Overall rating: ***** 5 out of 5 stars.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Mother Bird: Four New Recipes!

I could give some excuses for not posting on this blog as much as I had hoped to, but they would all be a big, lame waste of time. So instead, here are four recipes I've tried that I would make again. There have been more recipes that I have tried that I would not make again, but I think posting about those ones would be pretty dumb, considering how long it has taken me to post about the good ones.
I found this Asiago Garlic and Herb Bread on the Pioneer Woman's community recipe sharing site, Tasty Kitchen and I have to say, it's definitely my new go-to for dinner bread. I've made it several times since my first try and have had lots of requests for the recipe. It makes two loaves, so we usually eat one with dinner and save the other for ultimate grilled cheese sandwiches the next night. It makes great panini sandwiches.


Here are a few notes, in case you want to try it:
- I use Parmesan cheese instead of Asiago (because I usually have it on hand) and I don't think I've ever used the full amount. I just grate until I'm sick of grating and call it good.
-I only use half of the crushed red pepper. My kids are wimpy when it comes to spicy food.
-Instant yeast is a must. It won't rise right if you use active dry.

This Ham and Potato Soup was also a Tasty Kitchen find. It was super fast, kid-friendly, and used up leftover ham. Win-win-win! I thought mine was a little on the salty side (I think my chicken bouillon is extra salty) so next time I make it, I'll add the bouillon and extra salt a little at a time, tasting between additions.








I thought it would be fun to make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's day and this recipe looked like an easy and popular one. It was good but not fabulous. I only have one corned beef and cabbage experience from a long time ago for comparison, so I guess it's possible that I'm just not wild about it no matter how it's cooked. Also, there was no room for the cabbage in my crock pot, so I would have had to cook it separately if I hadn't been too lazy to do so.


This last one is a definite keeper. My sister-in-law Robin had these waffles and syrups at a church function where they were enjoyed so much that the recipes were later distributed to all of the women who attended. Both of the syrups are good, but the Hawaiian Coconut Syrup is my favorite. I could just eat its liquid gold goodness all by itself. And I did.

Oatmeal Waffles

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
2 cups rolled oats (I used quick oats)
3 cups milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil

Combine dry ingredients. Scramble eggs with milk and add to dry mixture. Add oil. Mix lightly and bake in a waffle iron. Hearty enough for dinner. (I had to spray my waffle iron after every single waffle or I had major sticking problems. I tried making it again without the sugar and it seemed a little better and tasted just as good.)

Hawaiian Coconut Syrup

1 cube (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring or coconut oil (I just used imitation coconut extract)

Combine butter, sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Mixture will foam, so be sure to use a large enough pan to prevent overflowing. Remove from heat and add coconut flavoring.

Apple Cinnamon Syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3-1/2 cups apple juice

Sift together brown sugar, cornstarch, allspice, and nutmeg. Add apple juice and cook until bubbly. (This one is really good but doesn't keep super well in the refrigerator. I would make a half batch or less and plan on not keeping it for very long.)

Friday, July 2, 2010

Camp Cupcake: Pistachio Raspberry Teacakes

You know what I love about summer? Fresh fruit.

These cupcake recipes are starting to come out of order based on the fact that I have some time to kill in the Albuquerque airport and I am just posting those recipes that I can link to Martha's website.

My friend Allison is currently housesitting for a senior missionary couple in our ward. In the front of their house, they have several raspberry bushes that have been in season the last few weeks. She invited me to come over and pick as many as I needed. However, the day I needed the raspberries, the owners of the home came back in town-

I need to interrupt this post to let the blogosphere know that, right now, in the airport, a couple is demonstrating swing dance moves to a friend.

-and I chickened out. For this reason, the fresh raspberries in this particular recipe came from the store.

It was still good.


I left out the pistachio slivers, though. I feel like it is overkill on the pistachio.