Lessons from my Mother - Part I

My mother did not teach me how to boil an egg or roast a turkey. She did not teach me how to blanch asparagus, make a roux or grow basil in my backyard. She did not teach me to make homemade vinergrettes or how to peel a mango. All these things I learn after I left home. But she did teach me the most import lesson of all - the joy of cooking.

While her cooking was done of necessity (seven mouths to feed, seven nights a week), she did it with grace and skill and love. Our dinner table was the heart of the household - and family and friends were always treated to good food and fun. There was laughter and learning --sprinkled with a few arguments no doubt -- over the course of the years. But always, it was the meal that anchored us. Good simple meals. Bar-B-Q Brisket. Grilled hamburgers. Lasagna. Artichokes dripping with butter. Homemade macaroni and cheese. The list could go on and on. And while I may not be recreating her exact method of preparation, I have tried for the same result: nurturing family and friends with food for their bellies and their souls. What a better place to begin than with a fresh, fruit pie.

Berry Pie
adapted from Joy of Cooking

Basic Pie Dough
Sift together :
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teas. salt

Measure and combine
⅔ cup chilled shortening (I use Crisco)
2 tbs. chilled butter

Cut the shortening and the butter in to the flour mixture with a pastry blender, or work it in lightly with a fork until it has the consistency of peas. Work at it a little at a time. Then, sprinkle the dough with:

4 tbs. water (If needed, you can add a touch more water)

Separate into halves (for a double crust pie) and refrigerate for about one hour. Bring to room temp before rolling out.

Filling:
3 cups black berries, 1 cup strawberries; sliced
⅔ cup - 1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 ½ tbs. of lemon juice or ½ teas. cinnamon (I used both!)

Pour mixture into pie pan lined with crust. Dot with butter. Add top layer of crust. Crimp edges. Make several small slits in the top to let the steam escape. Use pasty brush and brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake at 425° for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350° and bake 45 minutes or until juice bubbles through and crust is lightly browned (I sometimes need to turn heat up in the end to promote browning).

Let cool before serving. Enjoy!

P.S. My mother did teach me how to roll out a pie crust!

Eleanor and Andy. Two smart cookies.

I recently sent a belated congratulations card to a young college graduate, with a quote on it from Eleanor Roosevelt that said, "Do one thing every day that scares you." The very next week, as my nephew moved to New York City, I gave him a card with some advice from Andy Warhol - "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." As I reflect on the meaning of both messages, I realized my twenty-something loved ones should actually have sent those cards to me! Young people (typically) are much more willing to take a risk (change jobs) or do something daring (move). They are much more willing to embrace change (Facebook) or try something new (tatoos). It's ME that needs to heed my own advice. I don't want to get swept up in the proverbial current of change, with no control over my own destination. And I don't want to drown. So I better figure out what I can do to make the changes that will enhance my life. In my fifties, in my sixties, etc. etc. It's a lifelong endeavor. Even if I stumble. Even if it is scary. Thanks Francis and Randy, for leading me to Eleanor and Andy.

Brown Sugar "Cookie" Bars
(an old family favorite, great for graduation or going away parties)

Crust
1 Cup Flour
2 T. Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
(Cut butter in to flour & sugar; pat into crust in a 9 X 5 pan; bake 325° for 10-12 minutes)

Filling
2 Beaten Eggs
3 T. Flour
1 T. Vanilla
1 Cup Coconut
1.5 Cup Brown Sugar
.5 teasp. Baking Powder
1 T. White Karo
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
(Mix all ingredients and pour onto cooled crust; bake 30 minutes at 325°; let cool and cut into small squares)

Slumps Happen. What's a Girl To Do?

It's April, and that means baseball season is officially here. As a true blue Royals fan, that always comes with some trepidation. What will this year be like? Will I sit through game after game of 7th inning disasters? Will I see the starting pitchers walk player after player? Will I witness promising young hitters slide into a slump? Most likely, yes. Because slumps happen. To all of us, on and off the field. At any time. Perhaps when we least expect it. Perhaps for no known reason. And just like struggling baseball players, each of us need help to pull us through the slumps of life. I've been through one just recently, and I'm grateful for my "coaches". I'm grateful for my walking buddies, for my steadfast husband (my number one fan), for my long-distance girlfriend who feels like she's right next door, for my parents who gave me the foundation to know that faith and hard work will win the day, for my lunch bunch who knows me inside and out, and for my siblings who somehow knew what I needed without me ever asking. In this case, food was not the answer. It was about friendship and love, support and advise, new tools in my tool belt. In the big scheme of things, my slump didn't last too long. Now, if only the Royals could be so lucky.