Take Me There (and Pie of the Month!)

The April/May issue of ReadyMade magazine features an article about a place I thought could only exist in my dreams - an actual pie-shaped piece of land devoted to producing crops for making pies and other baked yummies . . . all tended by students and all trucked to Mission Pie in San Francisco (yet another pie themed destination to add to my list.)

The owner of both Mission Pie and Pie Ranch, Karen Heisler, sharing her bit of pie wisdom says, "Pie means community." The article goes on:

". . . pie always tastes richer when it's served with a scoop of
metaphor. Pie signifies the good life . . . it's an edible embodiment of nature's bounty and the reassuring comforts of domestic life. Pie brings people together; no one bakes a pie without plans to share it."

I'm truly inspired - what great seed for my pie book!


And speaking of pie (rarely am I not speaking of pie), I'm actually going to introduce May's Pie of the Month before the 31st!!

Rhubarb Pie

with Lemon Scented Almond Frangipane

unbaked pie crust
about 6 or so stalks of fresh rhubarb, chopped
3/4 # unsalted butter, room temp.
1/2 # almond paste, room temp. - the best you can find
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 TBS all purpose flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp lemon juice
about 3-4 TBS melted butter
about 1/3 cup granulated sugar

In a food processor, cream the butter and almond paste until it is completely smooth. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, lemon juice and zest, and salt and process until mixed together. Fold in the flour. Spread the frangipane filling in the bottom of your chilled pie crust. Toss the chopped rhubarb with the melted butter and sugar to coat. Press the rhubarb in to the filling, covering the top of the pie up to the rim. bake for about 45 minutes until the frangipane is brown and the crust is golden ( once again, nice to have glass pie plate so you can make sure it has browned thoroughly on the bottom.)

I'm serving this as an individual crostada at the restaurant - with a buttermilk panna cotta and rhubarb sorbet. I think it would be awesome with a buttermilk ice cream so I'll search for my recipe and include that on my next post. I know some of you think you may not like rhubarb much, which is exactly why you should try this recipe because I'm convinced you'll change your tune. That tart rhubard marries perfectly with the rich almond flavor and the bright lemon zest.
Say asta la vista to the standard strawberry rhubarb pie (I think cooked mushy strawberries in pie filling is just all wrong) - go for a nice fresh strawberry sauce or ooh maybe strawberry buttermilk ice cream. Oh yeah.

Random Monday

Having finished Finn's quilt in a tizzy, I've come to realize that it doesn't do much good to rush through something just to feel satisfied in having it done - it inevitably doesn't turn out how I want it to (same thing happens when I'm baking . . . um, yeah you'd think I'd have learned this truism by now). Not that I hate it - and luckily Finn likes it - I'd just rather not look at it too much you know? But onward ho and time to to get on to other WIP.

This month seems to have flown by, even with our sometimes miserable un-Spring like weather. I'm getting very excited about working in our yard again. Bought some new gloves today so I can start attacking our weeds in the back.

I know you're thinking, why Helen, these are such delightful little purple flowers why would you want to yank them up? Well, yes, we thought that too for a couple of years and finally figured out that these little buggers are responsible for our goathead problem. If you're not familiar with goatheads count your blessings, because to step on one (or ten) packs a painful punch. Why does Nature sometimes wrap up our grievances in such a pretty package?

The kiddos have been quite busy in the dirt lately, constructing miniature worlds for their animals complete with lakes of mud, the occasional bridge, and various other inexplicable contraptions. I love watching them at "work." Their faces have such profound looks of concentration.

And then of course, if I'm lucky, they'll collapse from exhaustion and fall into a surprisingly deep sleep. Wow, they look so sweet and innnocent - my heart goes all a flutter gazing at them like that.

Or like this.

I love the brother thing.

Pie of the Month -- April!

Last week we invited my lovely cousin Stephanie over for Andy's Green Chili Stew as well as her new "friend" Scott and his almost 5 year old daughter Sylvie - the perfect opportunity to try out my mom's recipe for Lemon Chess Pie (which she actually got from one of her friends but I can't remember who so as far as we're concerned it's just Grammary's pie recipe.) I was considering trying it out for my Spring menu at the restaurant but I ended up with another rhubarb dessert that turned out great too - I'll share that one later. But back to our Chess Pie. It was awesome; we devoured it! I think Scott ate four pieces, but who's counting? And the rhubarb was an excellent accompaniment - so fresh and tart, yet earthy mmmmm mm!

Lemon Chess Pie

• 9 " unbaked pie crust
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 TBS all purpose flour
• 1 TBS cornmeal
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 4 oz melted butter
• 2 TBS lemon zest
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 50
-60 minutes until set. Best served at room temperature.

My pie took the full hour of baking time and although it is set, it will still jiggle a bit. The top should be nicely browned and it's nice to have a glass pie plate so you can see that the crust has browned as well. Definitely dish it out at room temp - I thought my leftovers got a little too sticky in the fridge and the cold makes it lose it's comforting quality.

And please try the compote if you can find some really good rhubarb. It would also be delicious with any fruit that you enjoy with something lemony.

Vanilla Bean Poached Rhubarb

• 4 stalks rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• zest of 1/2 orange
• 1 cup water

In a small sauce pan, combine the sugar, vanilla bean, orange zest,
and water. Bring to a boil and immediately toss in the rhubarb. Lower the heat
to a simmer and cook rhubarb until it is just tender but still retains its
shape. Remove the rhubarb from the pan with a slotted spoon and allow to cool.
Reduce the leftover syrup until it thickens slightly. Cool the syrup and then
pour over rhubarb.

Hope everyone likes this one! Thanks for being patient with me this month - we've had alot going on. Feels good to be writing again, though. And thank you for your thoughtful comments about Lu dog. Feels strange to not have her lying out in the grass while we were playing just now. Finn, without saying a word about it, has started carting around all the doggy stuffed animals we have. Funny how kids have their own way of expressing themselves.

Goodbye my Friend

Thank you for being at my side for over twelve years - I love you Tallulah with all my heart and will miss you everyday.

Ta Da!!

Halleluiah!! I finally finished a quilt - I mean actually completely done, washed, laying on the bed. I tell you, making quilts is a very long process but I like that there are so many different steps from cutting and piecing to spray basting and quilting to hand stitching the binding.

I'm especially proud of my binding because I learned how to do it from a great little tutorial at www.crazymomquilts.com. I thought I would have to take another class and I still might when I start to care more how perfect things should be. I'm at a point now where I'm just so happy to be doing this that I'm not to worried about the details.
I'm just about finished with Finn's quilt too; just have to complete that binding as well. Finn's was an exercise in speed quilting because I must admit I'm ready to be done with these so I can get back to the fabrics I truly adore.

It's finally warmed up a tad in the last couple of days which has really lifted my spirits. Life is just better to me when it's warm and comfortable outside - front door open, no shoes, kids running around with their shirts off, neighbors popping by for a chat. Things take on an easier attitude it seems to me - I for one feel more alive and able to move my tired old self. I'm feeling better than I have in weeks, which is largely due to the fact that Gram has allowed me to get a full night 's sleep for the past few days. But partly it's me coming out of my winter hibernation.My folks arrive tomorrow to spend Easter with us. Looking forward to the company - I miss having more family around.