Two out of three ...

... and Patrick will be home for Christmas.

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."
- Jean Baptiste Massieu

Easy, Flaky Pie Crust

As long as we're talking pie...
It's not that hard to make a good pie crust! People keep fiddling around with recipes, but the smartest thing to do, frankly, is to spend time fiddling around with your technique.

Pie crusts are 'short'. That means they don't like to be over heated or over handled. So cool it!

I learned my Mom's pie when I was a kid, and even (surprise!) won a pie contest with my blueberry pie, at the El Rancho restaurant, if anyone remembers that Flint area moment in time.

As a young wife, I over worked the task. tried variations, and even tripped myself up in the making of pie shells. For a while I'd forgotten the fact that although empty baked pie shells required pricking with a fork to keep them in shape, baked in the crust filled pies, like pumpkin for instance, do not need pricking.
And if fact, if you prick a raw crust and fill it, it will not bake properly. It was a head slapping moment when I realized my mistake after a few failures. Live and learn. Mom was "gone" by then, or I'm sure she would have helped me figure it out faster.

After 20 years or so, I taught my Mom's crust to Herb, and he'd taken it over. I rarely make a pie crust any more, but we have cut WAY back on the pie desserts, due to the cholesterol. It's nice Crisco has decided to make their shortening with non-trans fat, but a few years ago at a Slow Food workshop at Applewood (The Ruth Mott estate in Flint), the chef-owner of a Fenton restaurant, The French Laundry, shared some excellent locally sourced fruit pie, and his recipe, and it was mmmm. lovely.
His crust recipe was, by the way, a lot like mine with the emphasis on technique, only he uses half lard or butter. Can't eat that too often, but the flavor was a memory revived.

Here are the basics of Mom's piecrust:

Sift together:
2 cups flour (I like unbleached King Arthur A.P.)
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. baking powder

Cut in to crumbly crumbs:
3/4 cup cold shortening

Don't cut together too finely - that is overworking the 'short'.
Mix in a scant 1/3 cup ice cold water - don't overmix. With fingers, gather and shape dough into 2 flattened balls, put in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Roll one chilled ball on a floured pastry cloth with a floured rolling pin, to 1/8". Transfer to pie plate and trim edges.

For baked pie shell: Shape ruffled edge with thumb and fingers. Prick with a fork, and bake at 475 degree for 8-10 minutes. Cool and fill.

For single crust filled pie: Shape ruffled edge, fill and bake as directed in recipe. You can also prebake this crust but I never needed to do that.

For double crust (filled of course) pie: Fill, then roll second ball and fit top crust on top of filling. Dampen edges of bottom crust, trim both crusts to fit, and press together to seal. Shape ruffled edge. Bake as directed. You can sprinkle with granulated sugar before baking, I only do that with rhubarb pie. I never glaze with milk or egg wash either.

There you have it. Practice.

Pumpkin Recipe - Two Pumpkin Pies

Two! years ago, around Thanksgiving, I wrote my definitive comments on pie, pumpkin pie, and the coming holidays. But I never actually wrote out my pie recipe. So this year, I'll fix that sin of omission.
I've used the popular condensed milk recipe for many years, with a few personal additions (vanilla extract and molasses) - it's a foolproof recipe for a busy cook. Should I include it here? okay.

Creamy Pumpkin Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a single 9-inch crust pie shell, unbaked.

Blend together in a large bowl:
1 egg (or 2), beaten
16 0z canned pumpkin (2 generous cups of homemade puree)
1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1/8 cup molasses
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t each: nutmeg, allspice, ginger
1/4 t. cloves

Pour into a prepared pie shell. Bake 50 minutes or until done. Test with a dinner knife inserted 1" from the edge. If you watch carefully, pull the pie out just as the center is inflating. Wait longer, and the pie will be overcooked. Cool.
Best served still slightly warm from the oven. Refrigerate leftovers.

***

Well, that is a fine pie, but this year I made Mom's old evaporated milk recipe with my little variation, and I think it beats the other.

My Mom's Pumpkin Pie

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a single 9-inch crust pie shell, unbaked.

Beat together in a large bowl:
2 eggs (3)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
a good slurp of molasses
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. allspice
1/4 t. cloves

Stir in, blending well:
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (up to 2 cups)
1 1/2 cup Carnation evaporated milk

Pour into a prepared pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30-35 minutes, or until tests done (see above). Cool.
Best served still slightly warm from the oven. Refrigerate leftovers.

NOTE: This is different from the recipe on the can which, among other differences, adds flour (?) and only brown sugar. I've experimented by adding more pumpkin, but, if you do, remember it all has to fit in the pie shell, and the pie filling level does rise slightly from the action of the beaten eggs. So have a pyrex cup nearby to cook the extra in, just in case.

Nostalgia: Mom's recipe starts with a hotter oven, and the tradition was to bake the mincemeat pie first at the hotter temperature, and removing it and putting in the pumpkin pie. This is the first year in my life that we didn't have a mince pie for Thanksgiving. Times change and tastes change. My son brought a cherry pie with three kinds of cherries that he's been perfecting. We can have a mince pie for Christmas.

"It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not."
- W.C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman

"Winter is the season dominated by bare soil: the whole gardening cycle begins with the care and preparation of the earth during winter so that it will feed plants the following year. One of the things I enjoy about digging (and there are lots of things I enjoy about it) is the smell of the earth that is released by the spade cutting in and lifting clods that have been buried for a year. Not only does the soil itself have a real scent, but the roots of the crop or plant - even weed - that has been growing there will also contribute to the mix, creating something new out of the vague remnants of last season's garden."
- Monty Don, The Sensuous Garden, 1997

Along the same train of thought, some British scientists have found a physical basis for the effect that gardeners and poets have long observed. Getting close to freshly turned soil is elevating.

Soil Bacteria Work In Similar Way To Antidepressants
02 Apr 2007
by Catharine Paddock, Medical News Today

UK scientists suggest that a type of friendly bacteria found in soil may affect the brain in a similar way to antidepressants.

Their findings are published in the early online edition of the journal Neuroscience.

Researchers from Bristol University and University College London discovered using laboratory mice, that a "friendly" bacteria commonly found in soil activated brain cells to produce the brain chemical serotonin and altered the mice's behaviour in a similar way to antidepressants.

They are suggesting this could explain why immune system imbalance could make some people vulnerable to mood disorders like depression.

Lead author, Dr Chris Lowry from Bristol University said, "These studies help us understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health".

"They also leave us wondering if we shouldn't all be spending more time playing in the dirt," he added.

Dr Lowry and colleagues became interested in the project when they heard that cancer patients treated with the bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae reported increases in their quality of life. They speculated this could be because the bacteria were activating brain cells to release more serotonin.

(Here, I snipped a short bit about serotonin. If you want more info, Google the article:)

Apart from having a range of pharmacological actions, serotonin constricts blood vessels, sends messages between cells in the brain and within the central nervous system, regulates secretion of digestive juices, and helps to control the passage of food through the gut.

Different parts of the brain and the body need different levels of serotonin. In the brain for example, the hypothalamus (involved in mood regulation) needs a lot of serotonin while the cortex (involved in many complex processes like thinking, memory, attention, awareness and consciousness) only needs a little.

The brain keeps serotonin levels in balance using at least three mechanisms. One way is by releasing it, a second way is by inactivating it once it is released into the synaptic space between the nerve endings, and the third way is by absorbing it, a process known as "reuptake".

Low levels of serotonin are linked with a number of disorders including aggression, anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder, irritable bowel and fibromyalgia.

Antidepressants work by increasing serotonin levels in particular areas of the brain. One type, known as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors reduce the brain's ability to inactivate the free serotonin. Another type, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) work by slowing down the reuptake process.

The friendly bacteria in this study appear to be having an antidepressant effect in a third way, by increasing the release of serotonin.

"Identification of an immune-responsive mesolimbocortical serotonergic system: Potential role in regulation of emotional behavior."
C.A. Lowry, J.H. Hollisa, A. de Vriesa, B. Pana, L.R. Brunetb, J.R.F. Huntb, J.F.R. Patonc, E. van Kampena, D.M. Knighta, A.K. Evansa, G.A.W. Rookb and S.L. Lightmana.
Neuroscience Available online 28 March 2007
doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.01.067

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/66840.php

"An exercise in faith, it has been called, this consumptive pastime of ours, to believe that a bed, once more colorful with handwritten plastic than plants, would become a billowing border the following spring."
- Daniel Hinkley and Robert Jones

"In the sheltered heart of the clumps last year's foliage still clings to the lower branches, tatters of orange that mutter with the passage of the wind, the talk of old women warning the green generation of what they, too, must come to when the sap runs back."
- Jacquetta Hawkes

Whoooo. The remaining leaves all fell at once on one rainy windy day. The world looks as old as me, spooky for Halloween, not like last year's glorious last hurrah.
This evening I found a sweet little mouse in my kitchen; her name was Minnie.



And a beautiful purple fairy (with green woolies underneath her gossamer costume) was discovered in my living room, stealing candy, as fairies will do.

A walk in the woods

Our favorite cider mill was so crowded with tourists out for their once yearly trek to buy pumpkins and jump in the bounce house that Pa just drove right past, even though K does dearly love bounce houses.
I know, the business world is tough, and this is what brings in the spenders... sigh.
We'll be back when the bounce house is gone.

We went for a walk instead.


At the State Park, we hiked in the woods (two miles is a lot for little ones! SOME of us got carried part way) we collected pretty leaves, and we threw rocks in the lake.


We saw native Witch Hazel blooming, and found Sassafras 'mittens' shaped like Michigan.


After a snack in the pavilion, we played on the old swingset until thoroughly tuckered out.

October's flaming leaves 'lighting the way to winter', indeed.

The shame of it is, we saw a total of two other couples walking their dogs, during the whole afternoon. A few miles away, the plastic bounce house was jumpin' and shakin'. Do I worry about America? Yes.

Our Big Day

Ashley was already Family, this day made it official. She was a beautiful, earnest, optimistic, lovely bride. And Tony looked dreamily happy. I wish I had more photos to post... maybe I'll get some soon.

THERE IS LOVE
by Noel ‘Paul’ Stookey

- Wedding Song -
He is now to be among you at the calling of your hearts.
Rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.
The union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain,
for whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name,
There is love. There is love.
Oh, a man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home.
And they will travel on to where the two will be as one.
As it was in the beginning, is now until the end:
woman draws her life from man
and gives it back again and there is love.
Oh, there is love.
Well then what's to be the reason for becoming man and wife?
Is it love that brings you here or love that brings you life?
Or, if loving is the answer, then who's the giving for?
Do you believe in something that you've never seen before?
Oh, there is love. There is love.
He is now to be among you at the calling of your hearts.
Rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.
The union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain
for whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name -
there is love. Oh, there is love.

"October's poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter."
- Nova Bair

Pumpkin Recipes - Pepitas

As long as we are making squash for dinner, or pumpkin puree for recipes, or even just decorating with a carved jack-o'lantern, it seems silly not to use the seeds... they are so good for you! So, when you clean a squash - most* kinds have nice edible seeds - put the seeds in a colander to wash and toast them for snacks.
BTW, "pepita" means squash seed in Spanish.

*I have tried the seeds from various squashes. Not all are good to use. Pumpkin seed are well known taste treats, but, for instance, the seeds from the local farm stand's favorite squash, the Pink Banana, are huge... but they are all fiber-y shell and very little nutty center. Chew on a few of those babies and you'll end up with a mouthful of cardboard.

METHOD:
Wash the seeds, removing any stringy fiber and return to the colander. Dry with a kitchen towel. Place in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Sprinkle with the scantest amount of vegetable oil. I like sunflower or peanut oil for the nutty taste.
Sprinkle with salt and, if desired, with herbs or seasoning*, tossing with a spatula to coat, and returning to the single layer.
Bake in a slow oven, turning occasionally to brown evenly. I've toasted them at 200 degrees for up to an hour, or 350 degrees, turning often, for a half an hour.

*pumpkin pie spices, barbecue dry rub, Sazon Seasoning (achiote and culantro).

Pumpkin Recipes - Quick Bread

Pumpkin Quick Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line 3 loaf pans with waxed paper (a dab of Crisco will make it stick in place).

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine sugar and wet ingredients:
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (sunflower or safflower)
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, sift and combine dry ingredients:
3 1/2 cups a.p. flour
2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cloves
1 t. allspice

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Add about a half cup of water if the batter is too thick. Optionally, you can stir in 1 cup of chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, raisins or dried cranberries.
Pour evenly into pans, and bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick tests clean. (It usually takes at least ten more minutes.)

Note: You might have read recipes using more water. My recipe uses less water because I make my own pumpkin puree instead of using canned pumpkin.
Note: For a lower cholesterol recipe, you can use egg substitute for the eggs, and replace half the oil with applesauce. Frankly, the result is not as good (I'd call it rubber-y).
Note: I've also substituted our CSA spelt flour for the a.p. flour and loved the result.

Pumpkin Recipe - Pumpkin Pie Squares

I made these pie squares when the boys were living at home. They liked them and it was a change from the traditional pie, although I think they're a tad sweet. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut together in a large bowl:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup butter

Press crumbly mixture into a 9x13 pan. Bake 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat together:
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
pinch cloves

Pour mixture into baked crust. Bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut together:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 T butter

Sprinkle topping on hot 'pie' in oven and bake another 15-20 minutes.
Cool enough to cut in squares. Serve with a spatula. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pumpkin Recipes - Helen's Pumpkin Spice Bars

Have pumpkin, will bake.

Pumpkin Spice Bars

(A good way to use pumpkin - or any winter squash- from the kitchen of Helen E., who brought this nice sheet cake to the Genesee County Herb Society's refreshment table many years ago, and gave me the recipe.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a jelly roll pan (15X10X1").

Beat 'wet' ingredients in a large bowl:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (safflower or sunflower)
2 cups pumpkin

Add 1/2 cup raisins. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, sift together 'dry' ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves

Beat dry ingredients into wet. pour batter into pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
When thoroughly cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe follows) and sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped walnuts. Cut 4 X 8 = 32 2" x2" bars. Leftovers should be refrigerated.

NOTE: in this case, cutting the oil with half applesauce (to reduce the cholesterol and the cost) doesn't seem to change the texture enough to dismiss the idea.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Blend:
1 3-oz pkg. Philly cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
a dash of salt

Gradually stir in, then beat until smooth and spreadable, thinning if necessary with more milk:
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."
- Edwin Way Teale

Dealing with the Plethora, IV

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This recipe is my adaptation of a recipe in the G.M. Girl's Club Cookbook. It is probably best to use a stand mixer to put this one together.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease (well) and flour a Bundt pan, or a 9x13" cake pan.

Cream together in large bowl:
3/4 cup margarine (or butter)
3 eggs
2 cups sugar

Beat in:
1/4 cup orange juice (or lemon juice)
1/2 cup milk
2 t. vanilla extract (substitute coconut extract for a rich flavor)

Stir in:
2 cups grated zucchini (I've used up to 3 or 4 cups of zucchini, and it doesn't seem to be a problem)

Sift together in a separate bowl, then stir into wet ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon

Optional stir ins:
1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips

Spread evenly in pan, then bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until it tests done with a toothpick.
Frost the cooled cake, or not. I don't think it needs any additions, except if you really wanted to splurge on the calories, add ice cream and warm chocolate sauce.

NOTE: A great version I made years ago and jotted down included additions of raspberry flavored chips, 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped, and 1/4 t. peppermint extract.

Dealing with the Plethora, III

Zucchini for lunch?
Here's a great recipe for a zucchini bread that I love to eat spread with peanut butter. The added sunflower nuts (shelled seeds) make it special. For many years I made your typical zucchini bread with walnuts or occasionally with raisins, but I like this better!

(I started posting this yesterday, along with the other zuke recipes ... but then K and A arrived, and we went off to play. The girls loved sandwiches made with this bread. They spread their own peanut butter and jam, to the PB&Jelly song ... what fun!)

(Warning! A (gasp!) Political Note on my 'happy talk' blog:
I also appreciate the fact that this recipe calls for sunflower oil, a healthy alternative to the Genetically Modified - sourced oils such as soy, corn and canola that I no longer use. I believe in voting with my wallet, which is why I don't shop at Wallymart or eat at fast food chain restaurants. So kill me.)

Sunflower Zucchini Bread
Source: Country Living Gardener magazine (1993)

1 3/4 cup unsifted flour (I use spelt when I have it)
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan (I use a minimal amount of shortening to stick wax paper to line my loaf pans. Never have a problem with sticking.)

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine dry ingredients, then stir in peel, raisins and sunflower nuts.
In a separate measuring cup combine the shredded zucchini with the wet ingredients.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just incorporated.
Spread batter into the loaf pan and bake 55-60 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean.

Cool bread in pan for at least 10 minutes, then on wire rack until cool.
Enjoy.

Dealing with the Plethora, II

Zucchini for breakfast?
Sure, zucchini fritters are just another name for pancakes if you serve them with maple syrup or fruit jam.

A recipe? Just take your old favorite corn fritter or potato latke recipe and substitute shredded, drained zucchini for the corn or potato.
If you're making them to serve as a side for dinner, serve with a dash of salt and pepper, no syrup. When we ate hot, fresh Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes) on the street in front of the wonderful Medieval cathedral in Koln, Germany, they were served with applesauce.

Here's how I make Easy Zucchini Fritters:

Put a couple of cups of shredded zucchini (and/or summer squash), squeezed to drain well, in a bowl. Stir in an egg or two. Beat in enough biscuit mix to make it look like a very thick pancake batter.
Like any fritter measure by 1/4 cups into hot oil and fry on both sides.
Keep warm on a paper towel and serve hot.

Dealing with the Plethora

... of zucchini.

The best thing about using a microwave oven in the summer is that you can steam veggies in no time at all, and you don't add a lot of humidity to an already humid afternoon. Three minute corn on the cob? Wrap 1-4 shucked cob(s) in a sheet of paper toweling, wet it, place it in the microwave oven and cook on HI for 3 minutes.
No pot of boiling water, no humidity.
Believe me, if you have always lived in an air conditioned home, you are one of The Lucky, and you should count your blessings.
But on to the topic of the day, zucchini, a gift from the garden that keeps on giving.

We've been backyard veggie gardeners since before the days when it wasn't 'kewl', and after I finally relented to modernism and let the guys add a microwave to the kitchen remodeling plan back in the late eighties (after our third son was born and life was hectic) I adapted the following zucchini recipe from an old Flint, Michigan Junior League's cookbook.

Cheezy Zucchini Casserole
4-5 servings

2-3 cups zucchini, diced

Microwave zuke on HI in a covered bowl with a small amount of water (1/4 cup?) about 5 minutes. Stir and nuke again a few minutes if needed, until tender but not mushy. Pour into a colander and drain well.

Combine, in the bowl:

1 egg
1 Tblsp. flour (heaping)
1/2 - 3/4 cup sour cream (I use my homemade Greek yogurt, but don't tell Herb)
1 - 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese, your choice
1/2 cup bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

Stir it all together, then fold in the zucchini.
(At this point you can refrigerate it to finish later, but it will need another minute of cooking in the following step.)
Microwave on HI for 3 minutes. Stir lightly, then sprinkle with more crumbled bacon or buttered bread crumbs, and microwave for about 2 more minutes.
Enjoy!

And remember to pick your zucchini while they're still small!

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