Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm off to the West for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see my peeps!

Hope you all have a wonderful blessed Thanksgiving with your friends and family!

G

Thank You Alicia! Sour Cream Apple Pie; Pie of the Week #16 & Reading Mitts

I've been wanting to try this pie recipe for a while and finally did yesterday. Boy, am I glad I did. I found the recipe on Alicia's blog, and like everything she makes (everything), this is wonderful! This is probably my favorite pie since the Peach Custard or maybe the Strawberry Vanilla Cream (recipes linked in sidebar). Hmmmm, I think I see a fruity creamy pie theme here. Anyhoo, here's the link to her recipe (am I getting lazy here or what?), and like Alicia, I didn't have enough sour cream (I used light), so I used 1/3 cup of the low fat vanilla yogurt I had in the fridge -- worked perfectly.

Looks good even before baking doesn't it? And can you see that container of cinnamon next to the bowl? I got that at the little Mennonite general store near our house, and it was only $2.23 for 8 ounces! Everything they sell there is so reasonably priced. I must do a post about their store sometime -- charming. Seems like lately, I'm either too busy or too puny (the frustrating 'medical condition') to do anything other than these hit and run posts. Hopefully, that will improve soon . . . someday?

So, here's the finished pie (tea brewing nearby of course). It's sooooo good! I ate 1/4 of the pie all by myself yesterday (kept going back for just one more bite ;-). It's only sheer (or is it shear?) willpower that's prevented me from eating more so far today. I'm making myself wait til tea time.

I guess I'm a broken record here -- pie and knitting, pie and knitting . . . ? But I just can't help it. Here are some fingerless mitts I finished the other day. I ran across them on Kathryn Ivy and loved the pattern, however they were too big using the instructions found here. With the helpful advice of a nice Raveler (what would I do without Ravelry?), I changed from #5 needles to #3's and they fit perfectly.

Got to run -- a student awaits.

Blessings to you all,

G

Pie of the Week #15

A while back, I mentioned that my mom didn't like making pie crust, so she loved any pie recipe that got around that problem. Here's another one of her favorites that I remember her making when I was a kid. I think she got this recipe from her good friend (and great cook) Doris Dishinger -- lovely lady. Anyway, here's the recipe (look how neatly I used to write - wonder what happened?):

Although the recipe says use a heaping 1/2 cup of flour, don't. It will make it too cakey. Oh, and oleo? Guess that shows just how old this recipe is, doesn't it? I use butter these days.

And of course, you don't have to use pecans halves. I just happened to have some I got at First Monday the other day.

And, as always, we put whipped cream on top, but ice cream would be really good too.

Three of my favorite things -- pie, tea, & knitting (Monkey Socks).

Mystery Socks & A Hat

Finished my TTL Mystery Socks last weekend but haven't had time/energy (new job you know?) to post pics, but here they are.

Very pretty pattern, isn't it? And the Cherry Tree Hill yarn is such a pretty cherry red color -- feels nice too.

This is my Felicity. I wanted to make a hat like this after seeing Jennifer Aniston's in "Love Happens." Luckily, I saw this post over at Philigry where I found the link to this pattern. It is close but I want to try again with bigger needles and more increase and decrease rows for more slouch. I'm also thinking it would be nicer in a softer lighter yarn? Actually, it looks better on my Man than me. Maybe I'll leave it there?

Have a lovely relaxing weekend.

Pie of the Week # 14 & Whisper

Is pie anything you cook in a pie dish? I vote yes. Okay, I know I'm cheating a little here but too busy with new job, so I'm counting this celery casserole as my pie of the week # 13 . It's so good and is one of our favorite veggie sides dishes. "Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Cookbook" is one of my all time favorite cookbooks too. Everything I've made from it is really delicious - good old fashioned comfort food.

Here's the recipe (slighty blurry - sorry again). I usually divide it into two dishes and freeze one, and I cook mine at 350 degrees, not 325. Sometimes I skip the browning of the bread crumbs part too - if I'm in a non fiddly mood.



And I finally finished Whisper (raveled here). I think I like it, but it is kind of bosom enhancing ;-) (as another Raveler said), not my intention at all. Love this yarn though -- really lovely.

I'll try to be back with a real pie soon.

Have You Seen . . . .

I had a Dr. appointment in Dallas yesterday morning, so I thought while I was in the city, I'd do a wee bit of shopping (new boots to replace the ones I've recently sold on Ebay?), have lunch somewhere good (lobster bisque & a glass of bubbly @ McCormick & Schmick?) and then go see "Bright Star". Well, I almost reneged on the movie as I was getting a little weary but I didn't, and I'm so glad I didn't. This is the most beautiful movie I've seen, hmmmmm, maybe ever. The gorgeous ethereal textiles and costumes on their own were enough to recommend it, that is if you're a little over the top about such things like moi. Everything the actors wore (particularly Abbie Cornish who plays Keats's love Fanny Brawne), every curtain, napkin, table cloth, pillowcase, blanket and handkerchief were amazing -- the details, the quality of work -- amazing. Many of the shrugs, scarves, etc. appeared to be from the very talented and evidently very patient (all those teeny tiny squares!) Sophie Digard, whose work is shown very nicely here by the lovely Emma Lamb.

Here's a picture (above) of Abbie Cornish (Fanny Brawne) wearing one of Digard's creations -- at least it appears to be, don't you think?

. . . . lovely . . .

. . . . stunning . . .

And the cinematography was breathtaking.

And not to go on and on about the visual beauty of this movie, the love story of John Keats and Fanny Brawne was told beautifully as well. And of course, there's something so compelling about a great talent, like Keats, whose life was so sadly brief. Makes me think of Edna St. Vincent Millay's quote, "My candle burns at both end, it will not last the night; but ah my foes, and oh my friends, it makes a lovely light."

Well, got to run -- job interview -- very mixed feelings about this I must say. Never thought I'd be teaching again, but as the business of oil exploration here in Texas has come to a screeching halt leaving Mr. FC still unemployed, it looks as though I will soon. A local school district needs a teacher for their home bound students, so it seems I'll be dusting off my Special Ed. teaching skills again in the near future.

Pear Pie w/ Cheddar Cheese Crust, Pie of the Week #13

I was thumbing through one of my ridiculously unorganized over stuffed recipe/scrap books (do you have these too?) the other day looking for my sauerbraten recipe and came across this recipe for Pear Pie. Evidently, I found it somewhere years ago, thought it sounded good but just never got around to making it. Anyway, with all the good pears in the stores now, I decided I just had to make it and here it is:

Can you see the cheese in the crust? I tripled the crust recipe and froze two of them for later. Thought it would be good for another Chicken Pot Pie or Apple Pie sometime soon.





This is a seriously good pie! I love the taste of sweet and salty, don't you, and that's just what you get in this pie with the combination of the cheese in the crust and creamy sweetness of the pears with the yummy butttery/crunchy topping. This is a keeper -- kind of makes up for the "Transparent Pie", I think, I hope ;-)? Okay, I'm going to go eat another piece.


Oh, and I almost forgot (you know I can't leave a recipe well enough alone), I only had 4 cups of pears (one of mine was bad), and I used Bartletts. Also, I added 1/2 t. of almond extract.

Have a lovely weekend!