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.

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.)

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.

Here's the recipe.

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

French Silk Pie

This was a delicious pie. I just found the recipe online, since I invited some family over who is quite picky but loves chocolate.
I did encounter a problem, though. This is my first pie that required a prebaked crust. I didn't have pie weights or even some beans to prevent crust bubbling, so I just pierced it well. So, the bottom of the crust didn't bubble up, but the sides kind of crumpled, leading to unpretty pie.

Obviously, it didn't affect the flavor, but I'm trying to go for tasty and pretty here. And I really don't know what to do about it. Even if I had official pie weights, they wouldn't counteract the forces of gravity. I'm going to have to do some research.
Ratings:

Flavor: 10

Execution: 7-the filling was great, but the aforementioned cascading of pie sides disappointed me.

Difficulty: Moderate

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

Camp Cupcake: Cherry-Almond Teacakes

It's been awhile.

I have discovered that, with finishing the dissertation, packing up, prepping classes, and trying to find a place in Utah, the thing I struggle with is not the baking. Rather, it is taking pictures of what I have baked.

There are no pictures of the honey bee cupcakes (they were bad), the iced pistachio cupcakes, the pistachio raspberry cupcakes, or the date-nut mini cupcakes. I am divided about whether or not to even do a post about any of these.

But these tiny teacakes I thought were worthy of a post because they were a big hit, and because they were a little unusual.

As you can see by the picture, Martha recommended baking a whole cherry in each one, with the stem left on and sticking out of the batter. In fact, if Martha had her way, I would have left the pits inside the cherries and just warned people that they were there. I thought that was a bad idea. Sometimes I just leave cupcakes places and don't have the opportunity to give people instructions about how to eat them. Some of the people I give them to have prosthodontics. So, I bought this guy:

I'm sure more dignified cherry pitters exist, but every time I look at this one, I smile. You put the cherry in his mouth, push down on his head, and the pit shoots down into his leg area. I can't even describe it without giggling. But it worked.

Tiny Cherry and Almond Tea Cakes

Pie Are Squared: Key Lime Pie

This was a departure from the Sweety Pies book; I saw a different book at the library and checked it out. It is Bubby's Homemade Pies. It has endorsements by Billy Crystal and Jon Stewart. You might think that such facts would indicate some exciting, unique pie, but you'd be wrong. I still tend to choose a recipe based on what ingredients I already have on hand. That is kind of boring. But I did happen to have some key limes, so we went with it.
I was in a hurry to get it chilled and cut before my brother left, so it didn't have the perfectly set texture to it. But it was delicious. I added the cream, blueberries, and leaves for effect.
This is the first pie in my series that called for a graham cracker crust. You'd think that a graham cracker crust would be way easier than a pastry crust. I think there's probably a smaller margin of error, but it still takes some skill, I think. Getting it all pressed into the pie plate at a uniform thickness is difficult. For me, anyway. The recipe book recommends making your own graham crackers instead of using store-bought ones. Apparently, they're way better. I didn't do this for two reasons: 1) I had limited time. 2) It seems ridiculous to gather ingredients and bake them simply to crush them into a fine powder as soon as they're ready.
So a little tip for those of you using graham cracker crusts someday: bake it (empty) for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. It makes it a little crispy and prevents sogginess, even the next day. It's way better.

Ratings:

Flavor: 9

Execution: 9-The picture doesn't look great, but I took it before it had totally cooled and set. Today, the texture was perfect.

Difficulty: Moderately difficult

Overall rating: **** 4 out of 5 stars.

Shape Shifter: I ran my 5K!!

I guess that with anything, sometimes you just don't know until you give it a try. So the experience of running in my first 5K was great...but I know much more of what I will do for my next race. Here is the list of things learned:

#1. If the race ends at a destination other than where we began, there WILL be someone there to pick me up at the finish line. We had to wait for over an hour on the buses that were transporting the racers back to the starting line. Of course, there were those who just turned around and ran back to the starting line...show offs! :)

#2. If the race is in the morning...which most all of them are...it might be prudent to train at least a few times in the morning. All of our workouts were completed in the evening. Since it is the summer and I don't have to be worried about being at work early...I have decided to try training in the morning. I just did not feel like I had the same energy I was used to running with.

#3. Must eat something more substantial before racing. Sadly, I must confess to eating a package of powdered donuts before my race. We stayed with my sister in Aubrey, which was an hour away, and had to be there by 7:30a.m.---so we just stopped at a convenience store real quick. The donuts were not a great source of lasting energy.

#4. If it is humid where I race...I should train with a humidifier attached to my face! Seriously, it was SOO humid and there was absolutely NO breeze...I thought I was going to die!

#5. Since they attach a device to your shoelace that keeps track of your time, there is absolutely no need to start off with the rest of the crowd. Call me a little anti-social, but I do not like people in my space...and there were so many people invading. Next race, I think that I will just hang back for a bit and start at the end of the crowd. The crowd was a good experience...now I know what to expect.

#6. Not everyone runs. This is totally fine---not a problem. However, I don't like being the basis for someone deciding to run. Meaning that there was a group of ladies that would walk, until I started to try to pass them, then they would haul off and run...at a faster pace than I was going. Then once they got up a ways, they would start walking...that is until I got close and started to try passing them again...so they would run. More than a little annoying. I am thinking of taking a taser next race...that should take them out. hehe

#7. Need some form of water while running. Usually while running, I don't require water until after I am finished. However, I am usually running when it is nice and cool. They had water at mile marker #1, which I drank...but there wasn't any more until the end of the race. Needless to say, by the time I made it to the finish line, I was parched and frothing at the mouth. Not very appealing sounding, but even more unappealing to experience.

#8. Smile at the dude taking the pictures as you run. They e-mailed pics of each of us running and I look more that slightly perturbed. I look flat out pissed. Which really, if you haven't gotten the gist by all of the many things I have learned from this one race...I wasn't exactly exuberant. However, pissy does not make for a cute keepsake photo. Fortunately my running buddy took one with her phone...so I will probably just use that one.

All in all, I had a blast. It was a great experience and I am glad to have completed a goal that has been on my New Year's Resolutions for probably about 8 years. I am also glad that I completed it before my birthday this summer. I am turning 29...perhaps I will be able to run a marathon before I turn 30! I will take that goal one step at a time. For now, I will just begin to train for a 10K. My goal is to run a 10K Labor Day weekend. I am also going to run in another 5K in a few weeks close to here...I want to keep up the progress I have made.