it’s all about the pie
So this past Saturday I had committed to working at a bake sale for a local charity that I’m involved with. Well you can’t go work a bake sale and not bring something baked to sell! I knew others were bringing cookies so that was out. What’s even easier than cookies? Pie. Pumpkin pie is way easier than cookies! Apparently other people don’t think so though.
I brought six pies and I got a number of comments about how ambitious that was. More ambitious than dozens of cookies? No way!
Cookies have to be portioned out evenly on the pans so they all look the same. They have to be watched carefully as they cook or they’re likely to burn. They have to be baked in batches because there’s never enough room in the oven. You have to wash the cookie sheets in between batches since you never have enough of them. You never ever get to leave the kitchen when you make cookies.
Six pies? That’s just six pre-made crusts spread over six tin foil pans. A few ingredients all mixed together in the biggest bowl you have. All can be baked at once. All come out at the same time. Plus or minus a minute or two of cooking time won’t ruin them, and they take long enough to bake that you can go sit on the couch for a while! Easy peasy!
At least I thought so, until I got an email from someone who bought one, loved it, and asked if I would make more for her. Huh? She thought I did if for a living. Huh? It occurred to me that not everyone realizes how easy it is to make a pumpkin pie. Have they always just had the crappy ones from the grocery store and don’t know the difference? Seriously?
Have any of you never made a pumpkin pie?
If you haven’t you really should try it. Don’t worry about the crust. No one cares about the bottom crust anyway, just use the Pillsbury ones that you unroll out on to the pie plate. (Now pies with a top crust are different. You really need to make homemade crust for that. Sorry!) Pumpkin pie is all about the filling.
So here’s my recipe for easy pumpkin pie, adapted my way from the back of a can of pumpkin.
1 – 15oz can of pumpkin (do not use the One-Pie brand, only use plain canned pumpkin)
1 – 12oz can of evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla (I use just a little extra – and I do use homemade vanilla so that makes a slight difference in taste.)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
dash ground cloves
Mix well with whisk. Pour into pie shell.
Bake at 450 for ten minutes then turn oven down to 350 for another 30 minutes. At this point it’s good to cover the crust with a little tin foil (or a crust cover if you have one) to keep them from over browning. I hate burnt crust! Keep baking for another 10-20 minutes – until you stick a fork in and it comes out clean, and it doesn’t jiggle. Really scientific!
Oh, and no, I didn’t bake more pies for her. I have to work on my real job so I sent her this recipe instead!
Filed Under cooking, recipes Tagged cooking, food, holidays, pie, recipes
wish list
One of the reasons why I waffled about participating in NaBloPoMo was that I was afraid the pressure of posting every day would make me despise my own blog. Well, if you could see my stats, you’d know, as I now realize, that my real fear should have been that I would make you all despise my blog. ~bwahahahaha!~ Have mercy, this was the dumbest of my dumb ideas evah, but I vow to see it through! Just don’t expect a freaking post on December 1st. Sheesh.
So the boy finally made his Christmas wish list yesterday – we haven’t written our usual ‘Dear Santa’ email yet but at least I know what he wants now. (You read that right, no old fashioned letter in this house, we send an email to the North Pole!)
Here’s the list:
- Bakugan – typical cartoon tie-ins! No surprise there.
- Lego sets - he’s getting good at the hard ones! Castle, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones are all vying for top spot in his heart. I think he’s getting whatever Santa finds on sale.
- Pokemon cards – this is his newest obsession that must. be. collected!
- Leapster games – I’m down with this – love the Leapster! He’s had it for almost 3 years and it’s still going strong.
- a CAMERA (!) – well at least I’d stop having a heart attack every time he uses mine. I fear for my cute little Leica lens.
- a CELL PHONE (!) – who the heck is he gonna call?? Seriously, a cell phone? I told him not to hold his breath.
It’s funny, it seemed like such a normal list at first. Then it went off the deep end! Clearly, it’s a very bad thing that my husband is a techno-geek and we have so many electronic things around the house. Now the boy wants them too, and thinks they are basic necessities. He is just like his father. Well, maybe his mother too. But his father is much, much, much worse. His father might actually give him a digital camera. (A used one, but still (!) a camera for a 5 year old.)
And what do I want for Christmas? I just want a new a kitchen faucet, and maybe a decent soup pot. Really high tech eh?
ps. dear family members, that is not supposed to be a hint! (at least, it’s only a hint to my husband!) 
pps. what do you want for the holidays?
ppps. if you really want to give me something, you can click on my ads! hee hee…
Filed Under shopping, the boy Tagged holidays, shopping, the boy, the husband
Veteran’s Day
Today is the 90th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. Armistice Day was changed to Veteran’s Day after World War II to encompass all Veterans of all branches of our military. I hope you take a moment today to remember those who’ve served this country, fought for our rights, and for us.
One of the guns of Battery D, 105th Field Artillery, showing American flag which was hoisted after the last shot had been fired when the armistice took effect. Etraye, France., 11/11/1918. National Archives.
The announcing of the armistice on November 11, 1918, was the occasion for a monster celebration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thousands massed on all sides of the replica of the Statue of Liberty on Broad Street, and cheered unceasingly. National Archives.
A few years ago I had a job in which I worked regularly with veterans of all of our wars, talking to them about their experiences and looking at their photographs. I saw first hand how much it meant to them to be recognized and appreciated. How important it was for their history to be recorded. I still tear up thinking about some of them. Now when I meet a veteran I always try to take the opportunity to shake their hand and thank them for their service. It sounds hokey in writing, but it’s not. It’s important, to them, and to us, to never forget.
One of my best memories was in talking to a man who had served in Korea. During our chat I referred to his time in the Korean War and he looked at me strangely and told me how good that felt – that I had called it a war. I knew that for years it was called a “conflict” instead of a war, but a war it was, and the vets who fought and died there have a right for it to be called by its correct name. That meant something to him and now it will always mean something to me.
So if you meet a veteran today, or any other day, don’t forget to thank him or her. It’s worth the effort, I promise you that. And to the veterans in my life – I love you and and I’m indebted to you.
Edited to add: To our Canadian, French, British and Australian friends (and anyone else!) who also celebrate today, it may be called a different name but the sentiment is still the same. xoxo
caped crusader
da na na na na na na na, da na na na na na na na, Batman!
Holy smokes Batman, where’s the fire?
Oh, yeah, these are the obligatory post-Halloween photos!
He was cracking me up with his Batman poses!
Trick or Treating was a blast of course. Some people went all out with the decorations. Who has that kind of time??
See the yellow Batman symbol on his shirt? I painted that! We had a hard time with the whole costume thing this year. He’s too big for a 4/5 and too small for a 7/8 and those are the only sizes costumes seem to come in. I ask you, WHY no size 6??
I had bought a 7/8 Batman costume on clearance after Halloween last year so he had the mask and cape already. I thought I would just buy him a black tee shirt with the symbol on it but the cheapest I found were about $15 plus shipping. Not a chance. So I took one of his old black tees, printed and cut out a symbol to use as a template and filled it in with fabric paint.
It came out pretty freaking good if I do say so myself and all I spent was ONE DOLLAR for the paint! The only extra items I bought were the gloves – and they totally made the costume – and a flashlight that beams the Batman symbol.
Then we went home, he fell into a sugar coma and I raided his stash for the good stuff. Well really, all I did was take out the FULL-SIZE candy bars some people gave out. He doesn’t need that much candy, for sure!
I hope you all had a great Halloween too!
Happy Halloween!
Halloween flashback:
This was taken in 2003. He was 7 months old and pretty much the cutest baby on the planet.
His cheeks aren’t quite that pinchable anymore!
Silly old bear!
So. The consensus is I should participate in NaBloPoMo – you’ll see the badge on my sidebar now that I’ve officially joined. You can expect an entire month’s worth of photos, and bullet posts, and other miscellaneous crap! If I bore you – just remember it’s your own fault. Hee hee.
holiday $pending
I’m curious.
I know it seems early to ask this, but I’m really curious how everyone is planning to handle their holiday shopping this year. Especially compared to years past.
I made a decision that we’re cutting way back this year. We’ve never done really extravagant presents for anyone, even the boy, but all the little things really really add up. Part of the problem is that I end up getting a bunch of last minute things that I shouldn’t have. This year I’m planning better, budgeting better, shopping smarter, and frankly, shopping less. There will be no new camera, no new iphone, no Wii in sight. (We don’t really have video games around here, and I don’t mind keeping it that way.)
This is embarrassing to admit, but last year, I thought I did really well with my planning for presents for the boy. I found some Lego sets and action figures on clearance in September/October, hid them from him, and apparently from myself too, since I promptly forgot about them. No really, I forgot I bought them, and went and bought completely different things for him in November/December. When I found everything the week before Christmas I was pretty mad at myself. I had enough freaking toys for both Christmas and his birthday in March. Ridiculous.
That won’t be happening this year, that’s for sure.
So here’s what I want to know, how is the current economy affecting your plans for the holidays? Are you cutting back a little, a lot, not at all? Did you already cut back in recent years? If you are planning to spend less, what are your strategies, or tips for doing so?
Have you even thought about any of this yet? Am I too early to even ask the question?
I’m really very curious.