Fingerprints and Pineapple Cream Pie

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I’m gonna go ahead and show you today’s pie, Pineapple Cream Pie, before something crazy happens to that meringue. Right now, it looks just right. The meringue made an interesting design and behaved properly by becoming toasty brown in the oven set at 350 degrees.

But we shall see…

Making this pie was more of a process that I thought. I found the recipe on the internet–always a gamble. Even more risky was the fact that the original baker was unnamed, and while I’ve used anonymous recipes before, I always have a curious feeling about it–did they NOT put their name because it turned out really bad? So far, that has not been the case.

I chose this pie because I had crushed pineapple. We’re having company over tonight to watch a movie, which we do about once a month. One of the rules we have for ourselves is not to spend a bunch of money. We already have the movie, and we just make snacks out of what we have around. So Pineapple Cream Pie it is.

I prepared a homemade crust (again, had the stuff–didn’t wanna buy anything), and was reminded once again how I love the feel of that dough in my hands. It is a predictable recipe, so I can count on it feeling exactly the same way between my fingers each time. My fingerprints are all over it, but then they are gone again with kneading.

The filling is made on the stove top. It has crushed pineapple, butter (a whole big yummy stick of it), sugar, 3 egg yolks, cornstarch, and milk. Well, I set the kitchen timer to make sure that my crust had time to cool on the rack–30 minutes. I was thinking I’d have time to kill–wrong! Man, did I stir that filling. And stir. And stir. My sweet husband stirred for a while. I stirred some more. Definitely more than 30 minutes to thicken it up. Custard pies are funny that way–they’re runny…runny….runny….then SUDDENLY, hurry up and get it off the stove before it burns.

I poured the filling into the crust, which was plenty cool by now, and I had a bit left over.

So I ate it.

Warm, sweet, and delicious it was. Licking it off that wooden spoon gave me something to do while I whipped egg whites. And whipped. And whipped. And whipped. Until it was meringue. I spread the meringue carefully on top–all the way to the edges so it wouldn’t shrink up like some kind of awkward pastry beret on my pie. Then into the oven it went–me watching carefully to be sure it didn’t burn.

All the while, my 7-year-old (almost 8, sniff) was working on painting a bird house he’d built. It was a Christmas gift from my mother that we were just getting around to. I love it, because there are no screens. No noises (except for little boy noises). Just imagination and creativity. Perfect.

I complimented him from time to time, admiring his work. He asked me, “Mama, do you think I’m an artist?”

“Yes. Yes, you definitely are an artist.”

I want him to remember–to know–that if an artist is what he wants to be, an artist is what he is. Or at least that I believed he could be one.Fingerprints in dough go away with kneading.

The impressions we make on those we love make a lasting imprint.

Empty Plates: Ash Wednesday

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As I was preparing a homemade crust today, I started thinking about the terrific collection of pie plates I’ve accumulated during my recent days as a baker.These are just a few of them. I’ve gotten pie plates that are shallow, deep, clear, colorful, metal, glass, decorative, small, shiny, and plain. Today, I’m trying out a pretty one with pictures of apples inside–kinda funny for a Cherry Pie, but it was a recent gift, and I wanted to test it out. It’s a bit smaller than some, but I like it. It’s homey. It seemed just right for homemade crust and a simple fruit pie.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten Season. Today, and during all the days leading up to Easter, we pause to consider God’s love for us and the sacrifice that Jesus made when He died for our sins.

Many people observe this holy season by giving up–sacrificing–something in their lives. Maybe chocolate, Facebook, or another habit. Some will add an observance, such as scripture reading or prayer–perhaps acts of kindness.

I won’t share what I’m “giving up” this year, but I will say that I’ve changed my perspective.

For me this year, Lent is more about being empty. Open. Expectant.

Like each of those empty pie plates, we are open vessels. Each of us is different; in size, color, style, age, capacity. But I believe that in spite of our many differences, we can all be filled IF we are open.

Consider this Lenten season as a time to be filled–perhaps by service or sacrifice–a time to be open and expectant.

Taste and see 
how good the LORD is! 
The one who takes refuge in Him 
is truly happy!

Psalm 34:8

My Cheatin’ Heart

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All right. Confession time. I did not make a pie on Valentine’s Day. I love pie–really I do–but a clever combination of laziness and frugality caused me to “cheat” on pies today. But it was for a good cause. 🙂

I have a fond memory of Valentine’s Day when I was a child. My mom set the table on Valentine’s Day, and under our napkins (red, if I remember correctly–my Mom loves red any day of the year) were little gifts. Mine was a chalkboard book. You could turn the pages and write on them with the chalk that was included. I thought it was fantastic. Even more delightful was wondering what was under that napkin!

My Dad would also give us a small box of candy or a carnation. I’m so glad to have found this card in a scrapbook of mine:

I loved those Valentine’s Day presents. And I loved that my parents cared enough to give them. We didn’t have a ton of money (no one with 5 kids does!) and I know it was an effort to get cards/gifts for everyone. It was worth it.

Every Valentine’s Day, I remember that chalkboard book and the carnations, and I try to make Valentine’s Day special for my family. I want them to know I care. And I want them to know they’re worth the trouble.

Ever since my kids were tiny, I’ve tried to do a little something special on Valentine’s Day. We get out the same old heart tablecloth, and we eat chocolate and open small presents. We love it every year. This year, I even made a special lunch for my husband. He works at home, so I like the chance to spoil him when I can. After all, he spoils me. I made him some Red Hot Valentine Nachos and some Orange Sweetheart Cookies. 

The cookies are actually how I cheated. They’re not pie. They’re not even close to pie, so technically, they don’t belong in this pie-lady’s blog. They were so tasty, though, that I had to share.

BUT, to make pie feel better, I put the cookies in a pie dish and took their picture.

I had such success with those cookies that I wanted to share the super-easy recipe:

1 box of cake mix (any flavor)

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

Mix and drop teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees from 10-12 minutes.

I cooled them on a rack and then iced them with store-bought cream cheese frosting. So delicious.

Today, I cheated on pie. But I’ve also been on a mission to cheat on Valentine’s Day. Not to cheat on Valentine’s Day, but to cheat on Valentine’s Day.

What I mean is this:

Are we really gonna let the greeting card industry tell us when to show love to people?

How crazy. So cheat on it. Send a card with a big ‘ole heart–in JUNE. Buy some flowers for your spouse or your kids–ON A THURSDAY. Sneak around. Do someone else’s least favorite chore. Cook a favorite meal. Call your mother. Give a tiny present all wrapped up with a bow. ANY DAY. ANY TIME. JUST BECAUSE EVERYONE YOU KNOW DESERVES LOVE.

Today, and every day, do loving things with reckless abandon.

 

No skipping steps!

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I actually made two pies this evening. The first was good old Chocolate Chess Pie, which I’ve made five or six times in the last few months. It works every time, and almost everyone loves chocolate. I took it to a youth group thing that my daughter is attending this weekend. She’ll be staying in a host home, and I wanted to do something nice for the folks who were willing to have teenage girls hang out with them all weekend.

The second pie was one I haven’t made until today: Like Virginia Diner Peanut Pie. It really is called that–I guess it’s not exactly the pie, just like it. Whatever. This recipe was from my PIE cookbook that I ordered before I began my pie adventure back in September. I was drawn to it for a couple of reasons.

1. I had all the stuff. Since my pie making days are rarely planned–I just sort of suddenly want to do it–I have to use what’s on hand.

2. My hubby loves peanuts. A lot. It was a good chance to make a nut pie without it being pecan. He’s allergic to pecans.

3. The recipe is based on one from a Virginia restaurant. I grew up in Virginia, and I love the place, so making it feels like home.

I was tempted to skip the crucial first steps of freezing the crust for 10 minutes (to keep it stable) and pre-baking it with pie beans. These early steps take up almost 30 minutes before you can even begin to think about putting the filling in there.

The filling has corn syrup (I mixed light and dark because I didn’t have enough dark), sugar, eggs, salt, and plenty of chopped peanuts.

I probably could’ve skipped those first steps, but I knew what would happen if I did. If you don’t freeze the crust, it’ll end up falling in when you pre-bake it (especially if you’re using a deeper pie plate, which I was). If you don’t pre-bake the crust for at least 15 minutes, you’re gonna have a soggy crust on the bottom. Will the pie taste bad? Probably not. Will the pie be the best it can be? Definitely not.

 

There are a lot of things we can get away with not doing…or doing.

But there are consequences for sure.

Do you have to make a grocery list? Nope. Will you spend more and forget stuff if you don’t? Yep.

Do you have to book your vacation lodging in advance? Nope. Will you run the risk of staying somewhere creepy? Yep.

Do you have to train for a marathon? Nope. Will you keel over in the road if you try to do it without training? Yep.

Too often, I try to take shortcuts in life. Does it work sometimes? Yep. Is it always the best way? Nope.

Today, my extra efforts paid off in a big way. What a delicious pie! We added a scoop of vanilla ice cream to complete its awesomeness. It held together nicely and had a perfect contrast of sweet, salty and crunchy.

You may have heard someone say,

If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

I do think that’s true. And I also believe that when something good happens because of hard work, that thing seems even better.

Accomplishment is satisfying. No doubt about it.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might… Ecclesiastes 9:10

The Master Baker

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Even though I know in my head that baking and science go hand in hand–that it’s really chemistry–in my heart, I still think that it’s magical and miraculous to see what’s in the bowl turn into what’s in the pie plate. Just look at the plain old, ugly brown cocoa powder in the bowl. Nothing much to see or taste here.

 

It’s a wonder. To me, anyway.

Today, I prepared a Chocolate Chess Pie for a good friend’s 50th birthday. She’s a fine lady who cared for our son when he was very small. You can’t put a price on trusting your child with someone, and we could’ve never paid her enough. I’ve known her for over 10 years now. We’ve gone on trips together and worked together.Through some circumstances that probably neither of us could’ve planned, we’re co-workers again, and I’m so thankful! She is a sweet, sweet person, and the world is lucky to have had her for 50 years! I hope she’ll have another 50 full of blessings.

It’s so funny how things turn out. A recurring theme for me is WANTING TO KNOW RIGHT NOW what will happen in life. As I’ve said before…

Too bad.

OR too good. We’re just not always meant to know. As frustrating as it can be, I have to believe that there is a greater purpose. I know there is. Sometimes it just takes a while (maybe a long while) to figure out.

Here’s an example. Almost exactly eight years ago, my husband and I were struggling to know if we were meant to have a second child. We love being parents, and we had always pictured ourselves with more than one child. We wanted a sibling for our sweet daughter, and we thought we understood the timing for that wish. We didn’t. We had been hoping for years to grow our family, and it just wasn’t working out.

One Sunday, a friend of ours–who has since passed away–and his wife brought their new daughter to church with them. She was about to turn two. She was a beautiful, shy little girl from South Korea. I’ll never forget the impact that she has had on our lives. That very day, we knew in our hearts that we would adopt a child. Barely seven months later–shorter than a pregnancy–we brought home our precious son from Guatemala.

Now, you can be sure of this: When we were tired, disillusioned, anxious, and unsure about this very important decision for our family–when we thought we knew the way to handle things, we probably would not have guessed that things would turn out the way they did.

We are so thankful that God did not answer our prayers the way we wanted Him to.

God turned something uncertain into something beautiful, joyful, and precious. He does it all the time. I know I just forget to pay attention.

Right now, we have stuff to work out in our lives–just like everyone else. We are praying for a way–the right way. Our prayers may not be answered in the way we anticipated, but we trust that what happens will be even better somehow.

Turning the ingredients–however messy and disorganized they look–into something beautiful and delicious is God’s specialty. He’s the Master Baker.

Dry Spell Pie

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I confess: It’s been 10 days since my last pie. Time to get back in the apron.

I guess I was in a bit of a dry spell. Often when I bake pies, it gives me a chance to slow down and think. Recent days have been full of thinking, but short on slowing down, so I am thankful for the chance to bake a bit today.

The best thing about the pies I bake is giving them away, so when I go too long without giving, I start to feel weird. Too much time to focus on myself. I have certainly learned this as a central truth in my life:

If you feel down, look up.

If you feel needy, give.

If you feel lonely, love.

Someone must have known I needed perspective, because I got some today.

At church, I learned of a woman who is going through a hard time–AGAIN. She has been seriously ill for quite some time, and this week, her father passed away. I’m not close friends with her, but my heart felt so heavy for her. It wasn’t so long ago that I lost my Dad, and that’s big grief, for sure. But I wasn’t sick. Not a bit. I’m gonna be all right, and she is still sick. Fair? Definitely not.

Once again, I’m reminded of how fortunate I am. My problems may seem big on any given day, but they’re really quite small when you look at the big picture. It seems my gratefulness was having a dry spell of its own. Looking inward too much turns into a big dry, scratchy desert of selfishness. And when the gratefulness comes back–when finally manage to look outward and reach out to others–it’s like a much-needed rain for our souls. Thirst-quenching.

Since I don’t know a way to ease this woman’s pain, I took her a pie. She lives with her family, and I’m sure they, too, must be so weary from this endurance race they’re all in. I hope that a taste of something sweet will give a moment’s relief. And if it doesn’t, I pray that they’ll at least know someone cares about what they’re going through.

The pecan pie I baked was pretty standard. Lots of nuts, sugar, butter and corn syrup–recipe was from a church lady cook book. In the bottom of the pie, however, I added some chocolate and butterscotch chips. I know they’ll taste fine, but they’re sort of symbolic.

It’s about what’s underneath. The surface of some things, like pecan pie, seems predictable. We think to ourselves, “I know how this is going to turn out.”

But sometimes–not every time–there’s something unexpected underneath. Something sweeter. Something different. I pray that this family, and so many others who are struggling, will find something unexpectedly sweet underneath their circumstances.

Today, I wish you renewed thankfulness, and something sweet in the midst of your circumstances.

Pink Pie

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First things first, I promised a pie-follower that I would post the recipe for Good Pie. Here it is. Hope it works out for you!

Now on to today’s pie, Pink Lemonade Pie. We’ve got some fun stuff going on this weekend–company twice–so I wanted to make some yummy dessert that could be made in advance. This pie worked great. I love just being able to pull something out of the pantry or freezer and serve it up without any fuss.

I found the recipe online. I just don’t know what anyone does without the internet. We use it for everything around here.

Here’s what this tasty pie includes: a graham cracker crust, cream cheese, lemon extract, sweetened condensed milk, red food coloring and whipped topping.

The first thing I did was to make the graham cracker crust. I’ve only made one other one before, and the whole process brought up some wise words my Dad once said,

“Let your tools work for you.”

My Dad had tons of tools. Tiny tools, big tools, dangerous tools, homemade tools. The man could really make stuff work, and even when he didn’t have the right tools, he still found a way. But he took care of his tools. He didn’t leave them out, and when he sent one of us kids to fetch one, he usually knew right where it was.

Anyway, I started crushing up some graham crackers by hand when I thought, “DUH. You have a food processor.”

So I crushed up the crackers that way. Worked great. Use your tools!

I pressed the crumbs into a spring form pan with some butter and sugar. Hands, by the way, are the best tools for this job.

Then I mixed up the condensed milk, cream cheese, and lemon extract and added some red food coloring. This yielded the most gorgeous, creamy, pink stuff ever. I put the pie in the freezer and made the topping. All I did was to mix some food coloring into a tub of whipped cream. Then I spread it on the pie and sprinkled on some red sugar. That was it, and I put it back in the freezer.

I cannot wait to cut it, but I’m supposed to wait a day so it can harden, and I’ve learned my lesson on sloppy slices, so I’m waitin’.

Another tool I’m counting on is that spring form pan. My husband is really the master of it, because he is the Cheesecake King. He makes the most delicious cheesecake around, and somehow, it pops out of that pan perfectly every time. We’ll see if I’m as lucky when this pink confection springs forth tomorrow evening…I’ll try to remember to post a picture of the finished product.

A word about tools.

Most of us have plenty to work with,

but it seems like we just have to do it the hard way sometimes. We (and by “we” I mean “I”) just insist on doing stuff our own way, the hard way, the same old way, the stupid way. Often, if I just stop and think for a minute…pray for a minute…ask for help…look for tools…then it gets easier.

So a reminder to you and to me–Let your tools work for you.

 

National Pie Day!

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I was so pleased to peruse Facebook this morning and to learn that today is

NATIONAL PIE DAY!

It really does exist!

http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/NationalPieDay/

I didn’t plan in advance to celebrate, because frankly, this was the first I’d heard about it. But you just can’t let something like that go on by without any attention, now can you? So I didn’t. I made a pie–Good Pie, to be exact. I’ve made one version of this pie before, but I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I improvised. Today, I happened to have everything; oats, dark corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla, butter. It was a very simple pie to make. I just stirred everything up in one bowl and poured it into a store-bought crust. It cooked for 50 minutes and cooled for about an hour before my family shared it for dessert.

It doesn’t look like much when you’re stirring it up–sort of like cheap breakfast gone bad, but don’t be fooled. Simplicity works, apparently.

It came out smelling terrific and looking pretty good. Now, the slice was not so perfect-looking.

I don’t know what the heck happened, but it just did not come very agreeably out of the pie plate. Here’s the good news about Good Pie, though…

No big whoop.

Still tasted incredible. First, you get this crispy top crust stuff–a little bit like a cookie. Then, you taste a caramel-ish, creamy, can’t-put-your-finger-on-it kind of yumminess. Mmmmmm…..Everyone liked it a lot.

 

 

 

National Pie Day was a complete and wonderful accidental last-minute success.

That’ll preach for sure.

Celebrations don’t have to be perfect. They don’t have to be carefully planned out (though I’ve had some fun ones that were). If there’s something to celebrate–and let me tell you people, there’s something EVERY DAY to celebrate in this beautiful world–then just do it. Bake a cake. Whip up a pie. Use your crayons. Make up a song. Start hugging people. Dance with no music. Let out a WOO-HOO!

Do what you have to and get the message out there. Life is definitely something to celebrate.

I mean, gosh, think about all the stuff that people have said with just pie:

  • It’s your birthday!
  • I love you!
  • I’m so sorry.
  • You got a raise!
  • A new baby!
  • Will you marry me? (that really did happen to me, folks–key lime pie with a diamond ring :))
  • Look what I can do!
  • The blackberries are ripe!
  • It’s Christmas!
  • Grandma’s here!

And a million more. Don’t waste a single opportunity to celebrate. Pie Day, Friday, or any day at all…

CELEBRATE!

For the Cog in the Wheel

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I found this old cookbook in my kitchen cabinet. It was published in the late 1930’s, obviously by some sorority. I’m not sure who gave it to me, but I love a retro cookbook. The way the recipes are written really tells a story about the times. Take today’s recipe for Chocolate Pie. Thanks to Dorothy of Ohio, it was a thorough ingredients list. The only question I had was this: What do you mean by beaten egg whites? Beaten for a little while? Beaten to a pulp? Beaten until frothy? Creamy? Stiff peaks? Apparently, all women in 1939 knew everything there was to know about egg whites. Hmmm.

SPECIFICS, Dorothy! Please!

I just interpreted it as “for a little while.” It seemed to work OK, although folding it in didn’t turn out exactly like I’d expected. I am also very curious about the cinnamon. I’ve never used it in a chocolate pie, but I’m counting on Dorothy to come through with something delicious.

Today has really been a day of wishing for specifics. We’ve got a few things up in the air around here, and it sure would be nice if a very specific “recipe” would fall out of the sky to tell us what to do. We’ve had some crazy weather for a southern winter, but so far, no life recipes. Oh well….

We’ll just have to wing it. I guess in life, you just follow whatever directions you have and then hope for the best. If something flops, you just try something else. What more can you do?

As a planner, list maker, and control freak, this part of life ticks me off. I just wanna know what’s gonna happen.

Well, tough.

So on this what-the-heck-is-going-on-in-the-world kind of day, I made a pie for someone who always knows what’s going on–or at least is awesome at making the rest of us believe she does. She’s the cog in the wheel. You probably know someone like her. The Help Desk. The Answer Station. The One Who Knows What To Do. The One We’re Lost Without. The You-Have-No-Idea-How-Much-This-Person-Does-Around-Here lady. And I appreciate all that she does.

Earlier this week, this wonderful cog friend of mine threw out this wonderful question,

“Whose butt do we have to kiss to get a pie around here?”

Now, you might find that a little direct, but I find it stupendous. If you want something, just say so! She did. She’s a woman who’s always doing what others need, so I was thrilled to hear her ask for something she wanted.

Therefore, a chocolate pie is coming her way tomorrow morning. It came out looking pretty tasty. The good news for me is, if it’s not good, I blame Dorothy. SPECIFICS, PLEASE!

Pie: Check

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I am a list maker. I make lists of things to do, things I’ve done, longterm projects, groceries, people to contact, and on and on. Lists really do help me organize my thoughts and tasks, but most of all

I like checking stuff off.

I even use a list-making app called “Daily Deeds” to have another place to check stuff off. Why this obsession with check marks? Truth is, I’m kind of a control freak, and I like to keep track of what’s been accomplished. Also, when the magnitude or volume of jobs becomes seemingly insurmountable, I can sometimes find comfort in looking back over what I’ve gotten done.

One of the things I did this week was to make a 40th birthday pie for a friend of mine. She’s a great lady who does a lot of great stuff for her family, her community, and her church. Besides all that, I just turned 40, and I remember the distinct feeling of deserving a reward for getting there; a trophy, a plaque, a certificate….I guess a pie will do.

I baked a Chocolate Cherry Pie, which is very similar to a cherry ganache pie that I’ve made in the past. I chose this one because when I asked my friend what kind of pie she liked, she said, “chocolate’s always good…or cherry…” So I made both in one pie!

One of the things on my baking wish list is a double boiler. During the days when I was baking one or more pies every day, I used a makeshift one two or three times a week. I made it work, but it drove me nuts. The bowl was too big, the pot was too small, and I was too high maintenance. All that to say, lately, I’ve been melting stuff in the microwave. That’s how THIS awesomeness happened:

That’s right folks: BACON IN CHOCOLATE. I know it’s not an original idea, but it was so tasty. I had already gotten the pie ready to go in the oven, and there was leftover chocolate, and it was breakfast time, so….I “repurposed leftover ingredients.” Scrumptious.

The pie looked pretty tidy as I put it in the oven–the “40” was just right. Then I baked it, and it accidentally became a symbol of how time changes things. 40…just a little “cracked.” 🙂

So the pie was checked off my list. I delivered it to my friend, who enjoyed it later that evening and declared that the chocolate inside was “the bomb.” The chocolate was merely chocolate chips, half and half, and vanilla. I’m glad that it was good.

I got to thinking about those daily (and weekly, and monthly) to-do lists I love to make and I asked myself this question:

Do all these little things-to-do add up to accomplishing my BIG things-to-do?

Sometimes.

It’s worth inspecting the list, though. Sure, there are mundane tasks that must be done, but I’ve started adding other stuff to my list. For example, it’s hard to check off CARE MORE FOR OTHERS, but it’s not so tough to check off SEND A CARD TO SOMEONE. I’ll never check off BE A BETTER MOM, but I have checked off PLAY A BOARD GAME. Difficult to check off: BE HEALTHIER. Easier: WALK TO THE MAILBOX. And while I’ll probably never check off BE A BETTER FRIEND, today I can check off: MAKE A PIE.

So make a list. Check it twice. Celebrate what’s checked. And what’s not checked? Don’t give up. Make it smaller. Divide it up. Ask for help. OR….decide that it wasn’t that big of a deal anyway. One thing’s for sure–I’ve found that people always make time for what matters most to them.

Look at your list. Does it show what matters to you?