Bound and Determined

So now that Christmas is over and New Year's is imminent, I wondered if I should post on the rest of my Thanksgiving pies.  I figured since I took the pictures, I might as well finish them off.  If people aren't interested, they don't have to read it, right?  :)  As I'm blogging on the rest of the pies all in one post, you'll have to e-mail if you want the recipes.

 

In quick succession...

This is a German Chocolate pie (a variation of a recipe from Aunt Carol Ann) that is best made a couple of days in advance and served cold, which also makes for wonderful leftovers.  Notice the braided edging.

 

Made in a springform pan with a cream cheese crust, this Deep Dish Pecan pie was pretty good.  I could never get Mom's recipe to set up right, so I tried something new this year.  It still needs some tweaking, but I'm glad I tried it out.

 

 

This is the traditional Lawrence family Squash pie (similar to a pumpkin pie, but better) and I got a little artistic with the crust.  I cut out leaves for the edging and decorative flair.  Here's a close up of the detail.

 

 

And finally, the Key Lime that wasn't.

The carrier became unhinged (the plastic carrier, not the human carrier--okay, well maybe me too) and this fell into the grass as I was bringing it into the Patterson's house.  This is what I could salvage.  Those who were willing to brave a stray leaf or two vouched for its goodness, so we gave it another try at our holiday meal this past Sunday.  It's my favorite Key Lime recipe that I've tried--and I've tried a few.

 

So, if you've made it this far and want any of the recipes, feel free to e-mail me or indicate it in a comment and I'll send them to you.  Don't you think I should do a baking show?  I think that would be a fun job.

 

 

 

 

 

I Cannot Tell a Lie

Cherry pie is one of my absolute favorites.  This year I came across the best recipe yet. It's definitely a keeper.

1 can dark, sweet cherries

1 can red, tart cherries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Line a pie plate with pie crust.  Drain cherries, reserving liquid.  Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a saucepan.  Add 1 cup cherry liquid and ring to a boil, stirring with a wire whisk.  When sauce thickens, reduce to simmer and cook for 5 minutes, still stirring.  Remove from heat and add butter and almond extract.  Add drained cherries and pour into crust.  Dot with butter.  Weave top crust.  Coat top crust with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes. (Again, I used crust saver to keep crust golden).

The combination of the two cherries was delicious and this pie was not overcooked and soggy like some get.  Yum, yum!

Now that Christmas is around the corner

 

I'll get around to posting on my Thanksgiving Pies.  It's been said that I go a bit overboard.  I like to think of it as artistic expression.  I think those of you who know me well will find it not the least bit surprising that we have almost as many pies or more as guests each year.  This year I did try to scale it back, making only six pies of my own.  Wendy made a chocolate cream and her in-laws made a pumpkin.  In the spirit of my experimentation this year, I'll report my findings one pie at a time.

 

I'll start with the apple.  This pie is a bit non-traditional.  It is a deep dish caramel apple pie.   Here is the recipe:

 

Make a double crust and line a deep dish pie plate.

Thinly slice eight apples--gala work well for this pie.  Following the advice of the Internet recipe, I left the peels on for nutrition and color, but would remove them next time.  Mix 1/4 cup of flour and some cinnamon together, pour over apple slices and stir to coat.

Assemble the pie as desired (I think my wide weave looks attractive here). 

In a medium saucepan, combine

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup cream

Bring to a boil and pour over assembled pie, being sure to coat the top crust well. (Note:  I will double the caramel sauce next time.  I would have liked more).

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 35-40 more minutes.  I used the crust saver gadget from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and thought it did a wonderful job of protecting the crust from getting burnt. 

It was a good pie, and with the changes noted above, I think it will be exceptionally so next time.

Chocolate!

Dylan and Marshall were both sick this morning and Wendy was slated to sing in Sacrament Meeting and various other duties as RS Pres., so I volunteered to take Abby to church with me then to my house to spend the day.  We had a good time together.  Abby especially enjoyed making and eating Oreo Cream Cheese Truffles (see picture above for the end results).  I thought you might enjoy some action photos.  She's a woman after my own heart.

 

 

Congratulations are in order?

I'm never quite sure how to respond when people congratulate me on receiving a new calling.    I always say "thank you" and wonder what type of pithy, clever comment would be appropriate.  Is it really an accomplishment?  It's not like a promotion at work.  So, I've decided what they really mean to say is that they're supportive of me and are willing to fold all my laundry and rake my leaves so that I'll have time to do what I need to do.  Just kidding.

I was released over the pulpit as Primary President today and sustained as the Young Women's President.  Isn't there some adage about frying pans and fire that would be appropriate here?  It's been 17 years since I've been in Young Women's.  I'm currently feeling a bit overwhelmed and daunted by the task of getting everything figured out.  However, I do know most of the girls from camp already, so that is a bonus.  I will be doing some serious reading and planning this Christmas break to get up to speed.

On another note, I took the final for my first graduate class this past Friday.  I am glad it is over and hope I will enjoy the other classes more.  The program I am in is a series of 12 classes that are five weeks each during an 18-month period.  So, by May of 2010 I should be finished with a Master's Degree in Educational  Administration.

In the meantime, I'm way behind on getting my Christmas decorations up.  I finally finished my outside lights yesterday at one in the morning.  I wish I were a better photographer so that I could figure out how to work the settings on my camera to show how the lights really look.  They look better in person.  

The tree got put up this afternoon. Now I just have to get the lights and ornaments on it.  Maybe someday I'll get to the posts on the Thanksgiving pies and the reviews of Christmas music I wanted to do.  'Til then, I hope you find as much joy in this season as I do.

Twilight and Beyond

I know what you're thinking--I've gone blogger mad what with postings two days in a row and all.  Truth is, I'm on day two of being sick with a virus at home and avoiding the real work in my graduate class that I should be doing.  I recently posted the following as a comment on Diana's blog, but I put enough words into it that I thought it worthy of it's own posting:

 

Okay, I'm gonna speak from my experience as an English teacher here--even as I use slang to do so :). I’ve been meaning to hash this out for some time. Let me say first, however, that if you read the books expecting some life-changing epiphany worthy of all the attention these books are getting, then you will be sadly disappointed. They are escape reading—almost purely for pleasure. The dangerous romance and teenage angst inherent in the story make for a compelling read. When you do allow yourself to get lost in the story, it is amazing how quickly you make it through the books.

While there are some deeper themes and symbolism involving the sacrifices required to create an eternal love and the intrinsic spiritual and emotional danger in such relationships, etc., for the most part it is just a fantasy that teenagers can relate to in their own lives. Bella, a seemingly ordinary girl with problems many identify with, is able to find something truly extraordinary. It is disheartening for many teenagers to realize that they are, in reality, basically just like everyone else. They’re really not that different—they are mortal and the rules that govern everyone else really do apply to them. These books allow them to indulge in the fantasy that that is not the case a little longer.

The understanding that just because they are basically just like everyone else doesn’t mean they aren’t magnificent creations usually doesn’t come until much later in life, and only if they are able to see themselves through the eternal perspective of the gospel. I could go on, but as this missive is approaching short-story length already, I’ll forbear.

The librarians and English and reading teachers with whom I’ve discussed the books are generally in agreement with my point of view—these books are not classic pieces of literature, but teenagers are reading!!! Really long books!!! And talking about them!!! And then talking about other books!!!

Well, if you’ve made it to the end of my long-drawn-out commentary, you apparently like reading, too. So, if you haven’t read the books yet, I think you should. Just appreciate them for what they are.

 

PS--I did go see the movie.  While it had definite faults, I enjoyed it anyway.  Maybe it's because, like MaryAnn, it's the first movie I've seen in the theater in a very long time.

The Fifth Time's the Charm?

I Am a Child of God

 

 

 

Leon Valley Ward Primary

Sacrament Meeting Presentation

November 9, 2008

 

“All of you are children of the most High.”

—Psalms 82:6

 

Although my bishop has been strongly hinting that it will soon change, I've been the primary president for four-and-a-half years.  So, this past Sacrament Meeting Presentation was the fifth one I've been in charge of.  I'd like to think I have it down to a science by now.  This one did go a bit overtime though--I blame it on the new-member confirmation and lengthy announcements before we even got started:)  This is the picture that went on the cover of the bulletin:

 

We give the children their "parts" about a month in advance so that they have time to work on them, but we only practice one time on the Sunday prior to the presentation.  I want the children to feel comfortable with what they are supposed to do, but not get bored before we do the real thing.  At the end of the practice on the Sunday before, we assign each class one or two posters to make that correspond with the monthly themes.  We give them pictures already cut out from old church magazines and art supplies and let them have at it.  They have a good time making them and I think it adds a little to the presentation.

 

 

I tried to have as many children as possible express themselves in their own words.  We also added a solo flautist to "I Am a Child of God," added sign language to a couple of the songs (a member in our ward is deaf), and had the children hold posters of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve during "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet." 

 

 

I have wonderful, reliable teachers, counselors, and leaders, which makes my calling much easier.  As you can see, they're willing to get right down into it with the children.  If I do end up being released, I'll miss working with them so closely.