When I first read Margit Beerli’s story, I was instantly taken back. While she has some 60 years more life-experience than me, I couldn’t help but reminisce about when my grandmother would tell me stories about her mother as a child, or even her grandmother’s childhood! The phrase “patterns and rules” really struck a chord for some reason. Maybe it’s how sewing was an art on both sides of my family–my mother made her own lined suit as a teenager, along with most of her clothes; my great grandmother on my dad’s side was a beautiful quilter. Maybe it’s my own lack of sewing knowledge or remembering the stories of the women in my family making beautiful garments and bed spreads. Maybe it’s my understanding that times past are times past–something I’m just now getting used to. It’s funny how as we age time seems to literally speed up. As a kid, I remember hearing “one hour and forty five minutes” and thinking that was FOR-EV-ER! But I’ve realized that I enjoy getting older; I honestly wouldn’t go back in time for anything. I enjoy the process age brings us of learning, exploring, pushing, discovering, and understanding. Andrew and a lot of my friends joke with me that I’m an old soul. And you know what? I take that as a compliment and I hope that it’s true.
Margit Beerli, Rinky Dink Pie
My life is simple right now because I choose to live uncomplicated and because I am in the third third of my life. I have raised my family, tripped, stumbled and danced through my middle years and now I’m savoring my surroundings: blooming peonies, the quality of light in the morning on the mimosa tree, the surprise of gold finches suddenly taking flight in a cloud of yellow. In the kitchen, I’m searching, always searching, for deep deliciousness in what I prepare, for seduction and surprise. My pie draws from the past. It comes from my mother’s childhood where there were patterns and rules. Every Sunday, in the summer, the family would meet at the park for a picnic. Mrs. Nelson always brought Rinky Dinks, individual tarts with an ambrosial coconut custard filling. You were allowed to eat one. I will make my pie of the coconut filling and lace the top with a thin criss-cross of dark chocolate. Imagine it: the custard so delicious it makes you stop, close your eyes, and succumb to sensuousness rarely experienced. And then the little bit of crunch and the shot of chocolate toying with the pie. There you have it, simple and deep, calm and seductive, pure and delicious.
Rinky Dink Pie
2 cups granulated sugar
1⅓ cups water
4 ounces angel flake sweetened coconut
7 Tablespoons salted butter
7 egg yolks
Pie dough for one crust
Good dark chocolate, chopped and melted
Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook at a simmering boil for 15 minutes. Add the coconut and continue the simmering boil for another 15 minutes. Cool and add the butter. Beat the egg yolks until they are light yellow and stir into the batter.
Preheat oven to 350°. Roll out pie dough and cut into a circle larger than top diameter of your pie pan Carefully place the circle into the pan, pressing down along the sides and fluting the edge. Pour batter into pastry shell. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the pie is a lovely golden tan. Insert a knife into the center and it should come out relatively clean. Set on a rack to cool completely. Drizzle the chocolate sparingly across the pie. Serve at room temperature. If you are not serving immediately, keep in the refrigerator.
Phew! It’s not only a mouthful to say, it’s a mouthful to try. Another semi-finalist of Pietopia, this entrant’s story won the hearts of the food-writer judges for her honesty, clarity of feelings, and ability to relay her deep relationship to these specific tastes. The story is touching, the pie is a chocolate-caramel-banana flavor bomb, what better combination is there for a contest like Pietopia?
If you make this pie, you’ll instantly understand her story on a deeper and more meaningful level. This is what happened to me! Sure, I “understood” with my mind that banana’s, fudge, caramel, and kids were all a little messy and sticky–but I didn’t realize to what extent this could be taken to and how wonderful it all was together! You might even be surprised yourself.
Caroline Ford, Pietopia Semi-Finalist 2010
My younger brother has a spirited, cheerful three-year-old daughter and a giggly, flirtatious one-year-old son. Except, my brother is a drug addict and dealer and is in prison with a 20-year sentence. He has completely missed the exciting “firsts” of his babies and will continue to be absent for their early years. It breaks my heart, but I love the kids so much I can hardly stand it.
The little lives of my beautiful niece and nephew are like my Gooey, Sticky, Banana Caramel Fudge Brownie Pie. The soft, mushy bananas are the muddled circumstances and easily bruised emotions. Layered with salted caramel for all the tears along the way, a little chewy for my brother’s stubborn resistance. And the pie is oozing with dark, bittersweet chocolate for unexpected pregnancies that have brought two delightful babies.
The filling isn’t very stable. It is sticky and messy, but the combination is a sweet harmony. Each bite of the pie is happy and rich. The lush texture and comforting flavors make me swoon and grin and dive in for more. These two young souls have brought my family and the mothers’ families more joy than we could have ever imagined. They are perfect, adorable, laughing and smiling children surrounded by love, and they are exactly the delightful surprise we have all been craving. Sometimes messy is deliciously right.
Banana Caramel Fudge Brownie Pie
Crust: (makes enough for 2 single crust pies, save the other for later!)
2 ¼ c all-purpose flour
¼ c cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 T butter, chilled, cut into ¼” pieces
½ cup shortening, chilled, cut into 1/4” pieces
1/2 cup water, very cold
Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in food processor; pulse to mix.
Add butter and shortening; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal (pea sized pieces).
Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing just until mixture comes together.
Remove dough and shape into 2 equal discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
To roll out, remove one disc from refrigerator and place on floured surface. Flour disc and rolling pin; roll out dough to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8” thick.
Transfer dough to pie tin, press gently into pan. Fold excess overhang under and crimp edges.
Prick bottom and side of shell with a fork and chill for at least 30 minutes. While chilling, preheat oven to 375 degrees with a baking sheet on the middle rack.
Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights; bake on sheet for about 25 minutes, or until pastry is set and golden. Set aside.
Fudge Brownie Filling:
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
2 1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 cup flour, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
2 tablespoons ground espresso
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Beat eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow; add both sugars and combine.
Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Set aside.
Other Layers:
3 ripe bananas, cut into ¼” pieces
1 cup caramel chews, cut into small pieces
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
To assemble:
Layer cut bananas, caramel and chocolate chips in bottom of par baked pie shell.
Pour brownie batter over top in spoonfuls, gently smooth over filling.
Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until brownie is set. Insert toothpick into center to check for doneness.
Serve warm and gooey.
Leading up to the Pietopia event, I am going to share with you the six semi-finalists pies and their stories. The semi-finalists were the entries that made it from round one (the food-writer judges round) and have passed along to round two (the baker-judges). All the stories this year were absolutely fantastic! And it was a really tough decision for all the judges. As I post these pies and you read through the stories, I’m interested to know what you think about the food-memory-communication connection. How would you describe your life through taste? The pies take on a whole new flavor if you decide to make them–because you know you are tasting not just food, but someone’s story. Let me know if you do!
These pies represent a different type of nourishment we all need, something I call Primary Food. Primary food feeds us on a deeper level and includes our relationships, careers, and even spirituality. We can eat as healthy as we want, never skipping greens, and always getting the correct amount of vitamins and minerals each day. But if we are unhappy in our jobs or our relationships, the rest of our lives can be colored by those situations making us feel both physically and mentally drained. Having fun, enjoying your life, and those you spend it with are essential to feeling and being our best! What’s your primary food like?
Galaxy Pie, by Hannah Kane, Pietopia 2010 Semi-Finalist
There are at least 70 sextillion stars in the observable universe. Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. This boggles my mind.
Though I often daydream about being an astronaut, my job has nothing to do with space, or stars, or even science. I’m a project manager at a nonprofit. In my job I deal with details. Thinking about the vastness of the universe provides a little perspective when I get bogged down in the minutiae of my work. In recent years, I’ve developed insomnia – specifically, the kind where you can’t stay asleep. On nights when I find myself wide awake at 4:00am, I sometimes try to imagine the entire universe in my mind’s eye. I start with a mental image of me lying in my bed. Then, like a camera lens, I zoom out to my apartment, my street, city, country, planet, and on and on, until I’ve zoomed out as far as my brain can possibly comprehend. It has the opposite of the intended effect. Instead of feeling sleepy, my heart starts to beat faster. It’s the most thrilling feeling I can create for myself – imagining the scope of everything.
This pie represents the delicious feeling of being so very small, and the wonder I feel when I consider everything we don’t yet know about the universe. The ginger snap crust is unexpected and hot, like a star. The creamy filling is like the band of light in the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The sweetness of the caramel entwined with the richness of the bittersweet chocolate remind me of the choices I’ve made – I love what I do, but part of me will always wonder what other, more extra-terrestrial, paths I might have taken.
Stellar Gluten-free Ginger Snap Crust
2 cups ground gluten-free ginger snap cookies (around 40 cookies) (Trader Joe’s brand are the best!)
2 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Pulse the cookies and sugar in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Slowly add the melted butter until moist clumps form.
Press the mixture into a lightly greased pie plate.
Bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Cool, like the crust of a newly-formed planet.
–
Cosmic Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces heavy whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces sweetened condensed milk
Whip cream until it forms stiff peaks.
In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
Mix whipped cream with cream cheese mixture.
Pour the cream cheese filling into pie crust, almost to the top.
Freeze for at least 4 hours.–
Remove the pie at least 20 minutes before you serve it.
Make the sauces on the stove:
Caramel Swirl
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Slowly (and carefully) add the cream and the vanilla. Simmer until the sauce is smooth and thick.
Bittersweet Chocolate Swirl
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
Slowly melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot water.
Stir in sour cream, sugars and heavy cream.
When fully blended, stir in vanilla. –
When the caramel and chocolate sauces are still warm, but not hot, drizzle in a swirled pattern over the cream cheese mixture.
Throw a few pieces of a broken toffee bar on top if you like, to represent the randomness of the universe.
I’m a sucker when it comes to tropical fruits–mangoes, avocados, coconuts–I love them all. They make me feel like I’m getting sun when it’s actually raining (hailing, sleeting, or misting) outside, of which all four have been happening throughout the course of a day–every day–for the past week or so. However, the pay-offs of this manic weather are the ever spectacular spring blossoms, the constant greenness of the surrounding landscapes, and lots of quiet, contemplative time indoors.
It’s those quiet moments that ideas always seem to make themselves known by either slithering into the conscious mind from a deep, unknown place or, exploding right in front of me like fireworks. Either way, they are always happening–it’s just when I get quiet that I tend to hear them. When pursued, I inevitably think “yes, of course! this is what I’ve wanted all along!” but I tend to be a tactile learner, having to experience things for myself to fully understand why, how, or what.
(Pie crust cooling on the window sill).
These past few weeks have been an emergence of sorts for myself in many ways. But most importantly, this time has forced me to come to terms with a lot of things that I tended to have been unsure about in the past, (ahem…a more focused career path). But no more! If you look around Eating Is Art, you will see some of this progression. Narrowing in on writing, food styling & photography, and health coaching never felt so good. It was like the muscles in the middle of my chest, you know the ones that are right over your heart, relaxed when I decided that this was it–and then putting it out there. I’ve heard so many times “I can’t believe all the things you do”. I decided that while I am able to do many things, I do not enjoy them all, therefore, I am not going to focus my energies on them any longer (yes!). After talking with a friend of mine about career direction and life the other day, she said “well, what do you want to do? If you do so many things, how can you do any of them that well?” This was something I had thought of thousands of times before but for some reason had not been able to do something about it before now. I’m sure it had something to do with being afraid of giving up, or what I perceived as giving up, these other skills and persona’s that I have been known for.
It’s an enormous relief to finally let go of what has not been working and find strength in what is–to the point of the physical reaction of my chest feeling lighter! I think spring time can have this effect on people, spring cleaning in both the home and in the ‘ol brain.
Check out my new Writing and Photography Services page if you get the chance! And if you are needing a little spring cleaning in a nutritive sense, make sure to see Food Loyal–I’d be happy to answer any questions! But now, I am leaving you with a real spring treat–Leela’s Mango Pie. It is tangy, creamy, cool, and delicious–perfect for a mother’s day treat or just a warm summer day. It may fall under the category of vegan, but don’t let that scare you away–this pie is going to become a regular occurrence in my house especially the warmer it gets. Cheers!
For the Love of a Mango Pie, via Leela Cyd
2 ripe mangos, sliced in pretty half-moons
sprinkle of chili powder
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c water
For the lime cream:
2 c non-dairy milk (I like vanilla almond for this, but anything will work)
1/2 c flour
3/4 tsp corn starch
zest of two limes
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c lime juice
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c Agave nectar
For the crust:
1 c flour
1/2 c veg butter (Earth Balance is my preference)
1/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp cold water
To assemble:
First, make the crust (I like to do this a day before the pie is served, much easier to get it out of the way) – cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer, add flour, cinnamon and salt and gradually incorporate cold flour until rough pie dough forms. Stop mixing and gather barely holding together dough into large ball on top of plastic wrap. Shape into a large disc, wrap up in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours. After two hours, roll out on floured surface. Poke about 5 fork marks in the crust. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie or tart pan, place rolled dough into shell – folding over edges for double-thick sides. Wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until day of serving pie.
Meanwhile, make the lime cream – place non-dairy milk, sugar, and vanilla into a medium-sized pot and stir on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. Place cornstarch into small bowl, mixed with a splash of milk or water, whisk until starch is dissolved. Mix this starch slurry into the milk/flour mixture and cook for 5 minutes more, whisking the entire time (or else clumps will form). Mixture will thicken into a pudding-like texture. Take off heat and mix in remaining ingredients – lime zest, juice, Agave nectar. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic, and chill until ready to assemble pie (about an hour, at least.)
Now, back to the crust. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove frozen crust from freezer and grease the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and tightly cover crust, pressing into the sides so that it is directly on the crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 3-4 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
Remove lime cream from fridge, whisk it up if it has set into something a little too firm. Pour almost all the lime cream into the crust. Spreading it into the edges with the back of a spoon.
Arrange mango slices into whatever pattern you like, trying to fit as many as possible into the pie. Heat 1/4 c sugar with 1/4 c water over low heat to make a simple syrup. When mango slices are all in place, drizzle syrup over entire tart. Finally, sprinkle a tiny dusting of chili powder over entire pie. Garnish with lime wedges or lime leaves, as I had on hand. Chill for at least an hour or so, and then serve. Perfect for celebrating anything.
After my trip to the farmer’s market, I was inspired in so many ways. And one of the ways this inspiration manifested was through a pie. And not just any pie, but the first pie I made without using any measurements–I went with just the feel of the dough in my hands, taste, texture, and sight. Risky business, I know, but I was ready for the challenge. After all, I’ve been making pies for a long time now, wasn’t it about time I just trusted my instincts? I thought so, so I went ahead and gave it a shot.
I sliced up the fresh rhubarb–the seasons first–cut up two fresh pears, Bosc I believe, sliced a fresh vanilla bean down the middle and scooped out the insides with the blunt end of a butter knife, tossed it all together in a bowl with a few tablespoons (about 4-6) of sugar and let it sit while I made the dough. I like to let my fruit mixtures sit for a bit while I do something else, this gives them a chance to mingle, let their juices run into each other. They become better acquainted making your fruit dish (pies, cobblers, etc…) an even better experience.
I then set in for the dough. I scooped out what I thought looked like a quarter cup of earth balance buttery-spread, cut off what I believed was about 8 tablespoons of butter from the fresh brick of Kerrygold we had in our fridge, dumped in about 3 cups of flour, added a bit of apple cider vinegar, and ice cold water, then kneaded it with my hands. It was a pretty neat experience just trusting my hands to tell me if it was ready or not. It felt a little dry initially, so I simply added a little bit more water, worked it a little longer with my hands, and wa-la! Pie dough was ready to go. I gave it a rough roll out with my rolling pin–meaning I kept the dough pretty thick and was just trying to get it flat so I could lay it in the pie plate–filled the pie with the fruit, then realized I needed a topping. I used about a cup of oatmeal, some brown sugar, a bit of cinnamon, and a few tablespoons of olive oil, mixed it all together, and sprinkled it on the top. In it went at 400 degrees F and baked for 40 minutes.
People, this pie was fantastic! I would recommend trying to make a pie, or any dish for that matter, based on touch and flavor, then relying on the visual. It keeps you present, honest, and fully in the moment–especially if you want your food to taste good! I also used really good ingredients which definitely helped with the flavor. If you do try something like this, I’d love to know how it turned out–even if it comes out looking like and/or tasting like hell! The first try is always a little wonky, so don’t give up and give it a go again. Your thoughts are always much appreciated.
In other news, I’ve made some significant updates to my Food Loyal website. I’m excited the direction it is taking. It just makes so much sense to pair health coaching with eating design, bringing people a creative and holistic approach to their health and nutritional needs. I can not WAIT until I am certified in May and can start seeing clients then officially! I especially love working with small groups and families to find creative solutions to reach their goals and meet their needs–so much fun and talk about an interesting design challenge. Hope you are having a wonderful week!
Last week, I went to what can only be described as a magical dinner setting. It was a secret supper, where my friend Lauren was only clued into the place and time of the dinner a few hours a head of when we were to eat. Five of us biked to an unassuming house with what looked like from the street an overgrown yard. But once you stepped into the gravel driveway, you realized you were not in just an overgrown yard, but a fantastic, wild garden. You wound your way past an old wooden trailer from the turn of the century (like a gypsy trailer! so cool) that had been turned into dining inside to an outdoor bar where they were serving sangria blanco complete with fresh peaches that had been soaking up the sauvignon blanc for hours.
You wound your way through the back and side yards and found tiny nooks of tables, chairs, and cushions for people to cozy into. We sat on the front porch nestled into a raspberry, lavender, and nasturtium patch. It was incredible. The women who put it on made a five course meal + drink for only $10; this dinner was done completely out of their love and wanting to share their home and cooking with others. It was totally unexpected and such a nice break to be in someones garden and being served from the heart like that 
.
Also, talk of Pie is not over yet! That is, if you are in San Fransisco.
Key lime pies with a blueberry sauce on top
Special southern sweet tea with a mint twist served from the pie truck
A friend of mine who went to planning school with me has opened a night-time and weekend business with a few friends: The Pie Truck. Yes, it is every food cart goers dream: fresh baked pies wafting out of a truck that (if you are lucky) will park itself in your neighborhood for that evening or weekend day. Bill, Ji, and Aki, are the masters and makers behind this glorious gift to a city. Last month, Bill sent me a recipe to try that he’s been developing for the Pie Truck and dang was it good. You can also check out their flickr stream here.
The Pie Truckers–Bill, Ji, and Aki
Cuban Shepard’s Pie, by Bill Bogenshutz of the Pie Truck SF
3lbs Pork Shoulder
1 yellow onion
1 head of garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
1 12oz bottle Pilsner beer
Plantain mash:
4 sweet overripe (black on the outside) plantains
4oz unsalted butter
1/2 c heavy cream
Dough:
3 parts flour
2 parts COLD fat (unsalted butter)
1 part cold water
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 300F. Sear pork in oil on all sides in heavy bottomed roasting dish (dutch oven works great). Toss in sliced onion and smashed garlic cloves and sweat for about a minute or two. Pour in beer and let it simmer for a minute, then cover and place in oven for about 2 hours.
When pork is finished roasting, shred it with two forks, season with salt and pepper to taste, add about a tablespoon of flour and stir to combine.
Slice plantains on the bias and sautee in olive oil or butter until browned and beginning to caramelize. Combine still warm plantains, butter, cream and a pinch of salt in a food processor or blender and pulse only enough to get a nice creamy whipped texture. If necessary, add more cream and/or butter to achieve the proper consistency.
To make dough, place flour, cold butter chopped into 1″ chunks into a food processor. Pulse until butter is in pea-sized chunks. Add water and pulse until combined. Turn onto counter, form into a ball and double wrap in plastic wrap.
Roll dough out to about 1/4″ thick. Cut rounds and line bottom 2/3 of cupcake pan molds with each round. Fill each 2/3 full with roast pork and top with whipped plantains.
Bake at 350 for about 20 min.
If preferred, you can top with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.
Today is the day: Pietopia 2009 day, that is! If you are in town, feel free to stop by the Eastbank Farmers Market at SE 20th and Salmon between 330-630. You can talk to the winners and taste their lives via pie, pretty neat .
Our judges picked four winners this year out of many entrants–thank you to everyone who participated! The designs of the winning posters are spectacular this year too, I am so excited for them–they are beautiful. I will post event pictures and stories up sometime this weekend, now I’m off for some pie! Hope to see you there!
2009 Pietopia Winners:
Sabrina Miller–Unemployment may be {a} tart {cranberry,} but starting a new business is sweet {apple pie}
(Designer: Tricia Martin of eatingisart.com)
The ingredients in my pie are both tart and sweet . . . similar to the recent events in my life . . . and when combined, the result is unexpectedly sublime (and a force to be reckoned with, according to my husband)!
After completing a graduate degree in architecture two years ago, I found my first job in the field rather quickly. As the recession started to come on full steam this past winter, the design community was being hit hard and I began to wonder what I might do if I was laid off. I decided to pursue a long-time hobby, that of baking, and start a small business. In February I was laid off from a local architecture firm, due to a reduction in work, and I devoted my full attention to my new venture.
I have selected this cranberry apple pie as it resembles my life as I look to create something enjoyable from these rough times and move forward.
Cranberries can test a baker’s skills when making dessert due to their tartness. They often pose a challenge and adjustments need to be made when they are incorporated. Unemployment can threaten one’s stability and hopes for the future. It too causes a need for adjustment, but its incorporation may also make way for new beginnings.
Just as a baker may struggle to incorporate cranberries in their dish, I am taking my unemployment as a new beginning, a challenge I can and will face. As the cranberries gave me an opportunity to make my apple pie unique, my unemployment is giving me an opportunity to bring happiness to people through my baked goods.
I look forward to the sweet future in my baking business just as I hope others enjoy the sweetness in my pie!
Cranberry Butter Crust
2 ½ cups flour
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1 cup (or 2 sticks) unsalted butter (very cold, small cubes, or frozen stick if grating)
3 ½ T solid vegetable shortening (cut into small pieces)
5-7 T cranberry juice concentrate (can substitute with water for a plain crust)
Apple + Cranberry Filling
4-4 ½ pounds (5 big or 6-7 small/medium size) pie apples
(honeycrisp would be great, but Granny Smith are also good!)
8 oz dried cranberries
1 cup + ¼ cup sugar
1 cup water
¼ cup flour
½ t cinnamon
¼ t nutmeg
¼ t salt
lemon juice
3-4 T unsalted butter, cut into small pats
1. To make the crust, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Incorporate chilled butter either by (a) cutting into ½” pieces and blending into flour mixture with a pastry blender; or (b) freeze butter in one solid piece and grate using a box grater into the flour mixture, folding with a spatula to coat butter pieces with flour. Add shortening to flour mix, blend with fork or pastry blender until mix resembles coarse crumbs. Next, add cranberry juice concentrate and mix just until the crust begins to come together. You’ll want it just moist enough to make a ball with it in your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or as long as overnight). When ready, divide crust into two portions. Roll the first into a disc and place in the bottom of a 9” pie pan (deep dish works great), allowing some excess to overhang. Roll the second half of dough and cut into 1” strips for weaving the top crust.
2. Combine the dried cranberries, water and 1-cup sugar in small saucepot. On medium heat, warm mixture and dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer until thick and syrupy; most of the water will be absorbed.
3. Peel, core and slice apples, toss lightly in lemon juice to prevent browning, then set aside. Combine ¼ cup sugar with the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and then sprinkle over apples, tossing until evenly distributed.
4. Gently combine apple mixture with cranberries and evenly distribute in your pie pan. Scatter butter pats on top. Finish pie by weaving the second crust and crimping the edges together with the base crust. (Weaved crust can also be substituted with a crunchy crumble topping.)
5. Bake pie at 375 degrees F for approx 1 hour (depending on oven, you may need to reduce temp to 350 or adjust cooking time). When finished, apples should be tender when pierced. To prevent crust from burning, cover edges with aluminum foil once golden brown.
6. Allow pie to set by cooling for about 30 minutes (hard to do, but it will allow liquid to thicken once it is a bit cooler).
Kristina Baesler–White (wine) Rabbit Pie, “How crazy is life?! I’ve gone through the looking glass!”
(Designer: Derek Franklin)
Everything is a little upside down in my world. A little debt, a little regret, and a lot of wine. I should be baking pies all day instead of taking crap from people who are probably far worse at living life than I am. But, I followed a path that led down a rabbit hole of fake-smiles and endless passive-aggressive office banter…
So now I slap a grin on my face, raise my voice a couple octaves, and enter my office cubicle (represented via cubed potatoes) about 15 minutes late (I spend my mornings baking, one of the few things I have to keep the ol’ noodle slightly grounded in reality) every morning. I feel like I’m really late for a very important date with my true destiny. I continue each day on a seemingly endless journey to pay off my loans and begin my “real life” – outside of this freakish Wonderland. I feel bad for all my co-workers; mad as hatters and not helped in the least by the complete lack of passion I have for my job that leads to endless flakiness on my part – like so much puffy pastry.
The gold atop my White (wine) Rabbit Pie represents how good I make my life look from the outside. Shiny, polite and decadent on the surface, and deliciously politically incorrect on the in – I spend my day desperately wanting to scream what my pies say so naturally, “EAT ME.”
I’m ready for the next chapter!
* Puff Pastry in a square large enough that the corners are hanging well over the sides of the pie pan
* 1 lb. of rabbit meat (available at City Market, Zupans…)
* 1 bottle Chardonnay (or any white, drinkable wine)
* ¼ cup of chopped, fresh tarragon
* ¾ cup chopped celery
* ¼ cup chopped carrot
* 1 small potato (any variety), cubed
* 1 chicken bouillon cube
* 1 tsp of salt
* 1 egg (mixed with a Tbs. of water to brush pastry)
* 1 tsp pepper
* ½ tsp onion powder
* ¼ tsp garlic powder
* 3 Tbs flour
* 2 cups water (approx)
* 1 cup raw, fresh pasta (any variety)
* 1 Pinch of edible gold dust, flake or leaf
Pie Filling:
Add half bottle of Chardonnay, 2 cups water, bouillon cube and rabbit meat (cut into small pieces) to a medium sauce pan on medium heat and cover. Combine tarragon, celery, carrot, potato, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder in a mixing bowl. Sift flour over the top of the mixture and toss all ingredients, then add to the sauce pan. Bring sauce pan to a boil, then simmer partially covered on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes while stirring occasionally until the meat appears cooked through and the liquids boil down and thicken a bit (should still be slightly thinner than gravy). Add more salt and pepper to your liking and take mixture off the heat. Stir in raw, fresh pasta noodles immediately.
Refrigerate mixture for a minimum of an hour, so that it is at least room temperature or cooler.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Thaw puff pastry sheet to room temperature (or until pliable) and place over a pie tin/pan (I prefer making mini pies in muffin tins, but the method is the same). Be sure that the excess pastry is draped over the outside of the pan, the corners hanging well over the sides. Add the cooled pie filling starting in the center of the pastry and fill to just under the rim of the pan. Fold one corner of the pastry in toward the middle of the pie, continue with the opposite corner folding this one over the top of the first. Fold in the remaining corners and pinch together any holes, tuck excess crust gently into the pie pan and brush the top of the pie sparingly with an egg wash (1 egg stirred with 1 Tbs of water)
Bake for 1 hour. Top should be a light, golden brown.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Dust the crust gently with gold and stare in wonder and amazement at the edible art before you – then promptly devour while washing down with the remaining wine.
Elizabeth Massa-MacLeod–Cities of Roses Filbert-Chocolate-Coffee Pie
(Designer: Julia Perry)As a graduate student, I’ve spent the last year somewhat impoverished in York, England- the city of the white rose- after living my adult life in Portland, the city of roses. Appropriate, but not enough to overcome some serious homesickness. Oddly, a good deal of this homesickness was focused on food; all jokes about British cuisine aside, I did miss the freshness and intensity of not just American foods but of the local tastes of my native Oregon. Every time I would drink cheap watery coffee, I would haughtily inform my friends that it was nowhere near as good as Northwest coffee. Every time I could only afford a bland, fried meal from the chip shop, I would think somewhat longingly of the taquerias and the farmer’s markets back home. However, I made it through the year with the help of that best of British staples, chocolate. This pie, which in itself is an American adaptation of British cuisine, incorporates two of the local flavors I’ve missed most- filberts and coffee- with the somewhat bitter, comforting taste of dark chocolate.
Hazelnut and Chocolate Crust:
1 c flour
8 T softened butter
1/4 c brown sugar
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, grated
1 t vanilla
2 T milk
3/4 c finely chopped hazelnuts
Preheat oven to 425. Combine flour, butter, brown sugar and chocolate in mixing bowl or food processor and mix until well blended. Add vanilla, milk and nuts and mix until dough is damp enough to be cohesive. Add droplets of milk if too dry. Press dough onto bottom and sides of pan, making sure that you distribute the dough evenly and cover the entire pan. Prick all over with fork and press a piece of heavy duty foil snugly into pie shell. Bake at 425 for 6 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking for approx. 10 minutes, until dry and crisp. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350.
Filling:
8 T butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs
1 c sugar
4 T flour
1/4 t salt
2 t vanilla
Combine butter and chocolate and microwave carefully, stirring often and taking care not to scorch chocolate. When the chocolate is almost melted, remove, stir again, and allow to cool. When lukewarm, add 1/4 c Kahlua.
Beat eggs in mixing bowl until foamy. Add sugar, flour, salt and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture and blend well. Pour into the prepared pie shell at 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes. The center should seem gently set, giving a little to the touch, but not liquid.
Let the pie cool and serve with gently whipped cream and coffee crumbles.
Coffee Crumbles:
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c strong coffee
1/4 c light corn syrup
1 T baking soda, sifted after measuring
Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil, covering bottom and sides.
Combine the sugar, coffee and corn syrup in a heavy bottomed saucepan of at least 4 qt capacity. Bring to a boil and cook to the hard-crack stage, 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, add the baking soda and stir just enough to distribute baking soda. Quickly and carefully (mixture is very hot), pour mixture onto foil lined pan and allow to cool and harden.
When ready to use, tap the mixture with a heavy spoon, breaking it into irregular 1/4 to 1/2 in pieces. Store extra crumbles in airtight container for several weeks.
When ready to serve pie, top with whipped cream and sprinkle coffee crumbles on top.
(This pie is more of a ganache than a pudding, so it is very rich. Pip pip!)
Leela Cyd Ross–For the love of a Mango Pie
Nothing says celebration like mango dusted with chili powder – enrobed in a dove-soft bed of lime cream curd and atop a crisp cinnamon cookie crust – creating this dessert was a fitting Friday afternoon endeavor, as I had spent the morning putting the finishing touches on my last paper for graduate school (hooray!). This is a victory pie of sorts – the type of treat that has style, tang and an innate sense of PARTAY oozing through its nooks and crannies. Finally, after weekends dictated by homework and the stresses of becoming a special ed/art teacher, my life is this pie at this moment. It is achievement. It is happiness. It is very tangy. And I’ve even been called a mango by lovers and friends . . . oozing with sweetness, sexiness and lusciousness, I consider the nickname the highest of compliments.
You see mangos got me through my program – buying them bi-weekly; placing their soft little bodies on the windowsill to ripen, hurry hurry! They were my constant companion, greeting me when I got home, so smooth and soothing in shape . . . And, if I was lucky, one would give slightly to my gentle prodding, proving its ripeness and I’d dig out my sharp knife, a lime wedge, and some chili powder for a date with decadence (in the hammock, no less!) and a taste of my Southern California roots – when I was little, the Mexican community in my small town inspired my love of the sensuous snack – one taste and I was hooked for life.
Thus, upon completion of a major event– a graduate degree, I knew a pie should be spun from these perfect flavor partners. It indeed satisfied the love of my mangos, my past as a California girl and my future – hopefully tinted yellow from all the mangos I’ll eat in everyday indulgence and celebrations of milestones.
PS. I’m going to India for a 2-month mango-festival that occurs every April and May in Mumbai – that should be a good thing for me, eh?
Chile Lime Mango Celebration Pie
2 ripe mangos, sliced in pretty half-moons
sprinkle of chili powder
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c water
for lime cream:
2 c non-dairy milk (I like vanilla almond for this, but anything will work)
1/2 c flour
3/4 tsp corn starch
zest of two limes
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c lime juice
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c Agave nectar
for crust
1 c flour
1/2 c veg butter (Earth Balance is my preference)
1/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp cold water
To assemble:
First, make the crust (I like to do this a day before the pie is served, much easier to get it out of the way) – cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer, add flour, cinnamon and salt and gradually incorporate cold flour until rough pie dough forms. Stop mixing and gather barely holding together dough into large ball on top of plastic wrap. Shape into a large disc, wrap up in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours. After two hours, roll out on floured surface. Poke about 5 fork marks in the crust. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie or tart pan, place rolled dough into shell – folding over edges for double-thick sides. Wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until day of serving pie.
Meanwhile, make the lime cream – place non-dairy milk, sugar, and vanilla into a medium-sized pot and stir on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. Place cornstarch into small bowl, mixed with a splash of milk or water, whisk until starch is dissolved. Mix this starch slurry into the milk/flour mixture and cook for 5 minutes more, whisking the entire time (or else clumps will form). Mixture will thicken into a pudding-like texture. Take off heat and mix in remaining ingredients – lime zest, juice, Agave nectar. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic, and chill until ready to assemble pie (about an hour, at least.)
Now, back to the crust. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove frozen crust from freezer and grease the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and tightly cover crust, pressing into the sides so that it is directly on the crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 3-4 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
Remove lime cream from fridge, whisk it up if it has set into something a little too firm. Pour almost all the lime cream into the crust. Spreading it into the edges with the back of a spoon.
Arrange mango slices into whatever pattern you like, trying to fit as many as possible into the pie. Heat 1/4 c sugar with 1/4 c water over low heat to make a simple syrup. When mango slices are all in place, drizzle syrup over entire tart. Finally, sprinkle a tiny dusting of chili powder over entire pie. Garnish with lime wedges or lime leaves, as I had on hand. Chill for at least an hour or so, and then serve. Perfect for celebrating anything.
August is officially pie season in Portland. There are three major pie extravaganza’s that happen here this month: The Portland Pie Off, Pietopia (that’s me!), and the Oregon State Fair best pie. Today I went to the Portland Pie Off and it was incredible. At least seventy pies varying from different categories including savory, cream, stone fruit, fruit, nut, berry, mash up, and CPR. The CPR one was really clever–the American Red Cross helped sponsor the pie-off so they came up with a category where people had to use three ingredients starting with a C, a P, and an R. The judges went around and tasted every pie, chose the winners based soley on taste (there was a category for prettiest pie too), then everyone grabbed a plate and started tasting for themselves! Yes, that’s right. Seventy pies, me, a fork–it was dangerous.
Also, I will be announcing the Pietopia winners soon! I just recieved the final designs for the winning prizes and I am so impressed! They are stunningly gorgeous and I am so excited about them:).
Cheers!
My first year during my masters program I did a lot of projects concerning the meaning of home: what is it? where is it? is it a place? is it within? can it be created? is it physical or a feeling? It was wonderful having the [mental] space to be able to explore this and be able to break it down for myself. I was able to discern what I had learned (from urban planning) and what came from and resonated within me.
Home has always been of particular interest to me and I really haven’t strayed too far from that idea with everything that I do, particularly concerning eating. Home still has a lot of meanings and manifestations for me, but one of my favorites is being able to share the experience of home with others through food. Everyone has a different association when they think of home (as a place) and a food that is associated with it. You can literally take that ‘place’ with you anywhere you go and share it with others through taste. Personally, I believe home comes from within, a peaceful state of mind. Of course, having this peaceful state of mind can be helped along by creating a lovely and loving environment, someplace you can feel safe, even cocooned.
Coming home also has many different meanings for me. I’ve ‘come home’ many times, both in a physical sense after a trip or becoming ok with things. There was a period in my life where things were difficult and I made them more difficult on myself through negative thinking. Then someone said to me: you wouldn’t say those things to your best friend, would you? No! I thought, I never would! And this has stuck with me, helping me ‘come home’ to myself whenever I need it.
Tomorrow, I am helping my friend Lacy do a thank you meal for all the women in her life who helped her on the road to recovery from anorexia. Lacy is ‘coming home’ to herself more and more everyday which is apparent in every way. She is such a strong woman who has been through a lot, making strides every day. For the meal, one of the things we are going to have there is a braid made out of her tiniest clothes, the clothes that don’t fit her any longer and need to move on. The braid turned out to be about 15 feet long and will drape along the length of the table. Each guest will be able to cut a piece off and take home as a remembrance of the meal as well as helping Lacy move forward and lift the burden, lightening her load if you will. I will have pictures and more detail about the meal after tomorrow:).
Coming home to something homemade is a true expression of affection. I love filling the house with inviting scents and favorite tastes, especially for those I care deeply about. For me, Baking is an expression of love. Andrew was out of town for about a week hiking in southern Utah with his brothers and a few friends. The day he came back I made him his favorite pie, blackberry. Using freshly picked blackberries are best which you can find at a fruit stand this time of year! He liked it .
Home has many different variations for all of us. For me personally, it is being at peace and feeling safe with myself and with others; it is as much a state of mind as it is a place, the two go hand in hand. However, ‘place’ happens when more than just yourself is involved and that feeling of peacefulness and safety is extended to those you care about through an environment.
Welcome Home Blackberry Pie
Filling:
3 quarts blackberries (three cartons/containers)
2-5 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet the blackberries are)
1-2 teaspoons cloves
Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup earth balance (1 stick)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
5-10 tablespoons ice cold water
Cut butter into the flour and salt until crumbly, add the vinegar and water and mix until a ball forms (I use my hands, it really helps, the wooden spoon can be so awkward sometimes). Take half and roll out on a floured surface. When big enough, lay over pie pan and cut the edges so there is still a little sticking out over the sides. Do the same with the second half. Add the berries to to dough, cover with the second pie crust, pinch down the sides, and cut vents in the top. Bake at 350 for about 50 mins or until bubbling.
Bon Appetite!
There is an ever present battle with myself concerning change; both the word itself as well as the action it describes. Sometimes I find myself just more resistant to change than need be, other times, I welcome it with wide and open arms. Often, it’s those times I am most resistant that I find I’ve become comfortable with some not so great habits or where I’ve had my blinders up; these habits/blinders are usually unbeknownst to me (or buried and put on that list of I’ll-deal-with-this-later) only to quickly reveal themselves through the hard feelings I had towards making/doing/striving towards that new change.
And change always has two sides. While in the moment, it can seem like a door is closing: what’s next? Where do I go? Eek! But I’ve found that when one door closes, another one always opens; I just have to keep my eyes open enough (and look beyond the end of my own nose) to find that door.
I have a little note on my desk that I have tacked to the wall right above my computer (in the perfect location for an occasional glance, even with the slightest eye movement). It simply states: Don’t try, do! It has been an amazing mantra, one I keep in mind for all those hard moments when I feel myself resistant to change when I know change is essential. Keeping this in mind even lets me go so far as to flirt with a change that I am having a hard time with (as opposed to completely ignoring it, which sometimes I am tempted to do!) by weighing the possibilities of both sides, examining my gut reactions to each, and either going for it or deciding against it. And even that has the benefits of knowing oneself a little better.
Last year, the judges of Pietopia picked a pie by Leslie Wilson called the My-Life-Is-Changing-More-Quickly-Than-I-Can-Adapt Pie. Her description caused a ripple effect of my own reflections on change, as I ran across her entry today. Here is what Ms. Wilson wrote and her pie recipe. Enjoy!
The My-Life-Is-Changing-More-Quickly-Than-I-Can-Adapt Pie, by Leslie Wilson
Asparagus is refreshing, crisp and bitter and with some rough parts much like becoming an adult. Like the vegetable, whose best flavors are contained in its head, I am a woman defined instead by my stringy stalk. Finally, in this transition from girl to grown up, the scent of my urine has mysteriously and suddenly changed. This is perhaps the greatest mark of asparagus.
I have included eggs in the pie as a reminder of my fertile body: the monthly flood of relief that balances itself with that ever subtle ticking of my biological clock. Eggs in a pie, though a reminder of my sometimes questionable (often late-night) life choices, are also the very ingredient that holds the pie together, lending both substance definition.
Broccoli is an important element in viewing a life changing more quickly than one can adapt because it resembles nature. Logging, rapid development, landscapes inundated with impervious surfaces, forest fires destroying regional crops, peak oil lending itself to uncanny grocery expenditures. As I child I took advantage of broccoli. By throwing it away when nobody was watching, I thought that by beating the system I could capitalize on the opportunity to work my mealtime and accommodate my best interests. On the environment, kids didn’t know then what we do now. But finally, Honey, because it is important to make life sweet nevertheless.
1 bunch of fresh asparagus, approximately 18 stalks
1/3 cup chopped scallions
4 eggs slightly beaten
1-1/2 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups light cream
1 medium sized head of broccoli, approximately 1 cup
1 cup shredded cheese: goat and gouda and parm
1 pie crust
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg (preferably fresh if possible)
dollop of honey when served
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Steam asparagus and broccoli for five minutes then place in cold water bath to stop cooking. Reserve up to twelve pieces of asparagus whole and chop up rest. Chop broccoli equal to one cup.
Shred cheese into a bowl and stir in flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs; add the cream, chopped asparagus, chopped broccoli, chopped scallions and shredded cheese mixture in with eggs.
Place the mixture into the prepared pastry shell.
Take remaining whole steamed asparagus stalks and place on top of unbaked quiche artfully. Sprinkle the nutmeg on top.
Place unbaked quiche on the center of cookie sheet and place in oven on the middle rack.
Bake quiche at 325 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let quiche set for at least 10 minutes prior to serving.
Serve with a dollop of honey on top.
