Thursday, January 19, 2012
New Blog Address!!!
Please visit me at my new and improved blog Urban Hippie in the Emerald City. It's much more organized and informative!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Peach Pie
This is one of my all-time favorites. Not to brag, but in 4th grade, I entered my peach pie in the Antelope Valley Fair and won 1st place! Haha! (That's probably the only time I've ever won anything). Needless to say, I've been making pies since I was very young and am proud of it!
Peach Pie Recipe
(This makes 2 pies)
Filling:
About 10 large peaches
6 cups of sugar
4 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/2-3/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup butter (1/2 cube)
Crust:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shortening (I use Crisco religiously)
1 tsp vinegar
1 egg
5 tbls ice water
_____________________________________________________________________________
Preparing the crust:
I start with making the crust first because after mixing it, I like to refrigerate it before I roll it out. It makes the crust not so sticky and easier to handle.
I mix the dry ingredients and shortening first with a fork in a medium size bowl. I mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour them into the dry ingredients. I then mix everything together, usually with my hands to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed.
I then break the dough into four balls, the first two will be larger than the last two. The two larger balls will be used to roll out for the pie dish. The two smaller balls will be rolled into the top crust.
Place the four balls of crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Pie Filling:
Never throw the peels down the sink drain. It will burn out your garbage disposer and clog your pipes. Food waste makes up an estimated 14% of our landfills, instead of throwing it in the trash, create a compost pile and use your compost to grow your own garden!
After peeling the peaches, cut them into equal size slices. If they are not equal, they will not cook evenly, so this is very important.
Once all the peaches are sliced, mix them with the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
Assembling the Pie:
Set the bowl of peaches aside and pull out one large ball of crust dough. You will roll this out for your pie dish. I like to use the Harriet Carter Pie Crust Maker, but you can also put your ball of dough in-between two pieces of wax paper. Do this helps keep your dough from splitting and breaking when you move it to your pie dish.
Roll out the crust and place into the pie dish. Take out the second large ball and repeat, placing in the second pie dish. Once the bottom crusts are in the dish, use a fork to prick the crust a few times. This will help the bottom crust cook.
Place 3 pads of butter in the crusted pie dish.
Fill the crusted pie dish with the peaches (I also make apple pies this way).
Roll out the remaining balls of dough and place on top of the peach-filled pie dishes.
You will need to seal the bottom and top crusts together to prevent the filling from overflowing while it bakes. Some people use a fork and simply press the two together. I think doing the finger-pinch looks prettier, so I do that.
Shape your thumb and forefinger into a "V" with one hand. Use a bent forefinger of the other hand, and squish edge of the crust together in a pinching motion.
Once you pinch it together, the top and bottom crusts are sealed and you get a pretty ripply effect.
You must provide air vents to keep the pie from exploding in the oven. To do this, use a knife and create several slits in the center of the pie. I also like to top the crust with sugar, cinnamon and love.
To keep your crust edges from burning, you can place foil around them. Take the foil off for the last 15 minutes of baking to turn them golden brown. Half of the time, I forget to even place the foil on the pie and it usually turns out okay, but it seems to vary by oven.
Bake at 350 for approximately one hour.
In one hour, the top crust should be golden brown. Take the pie out of the oven and let it cool for at least an hour. I like to make the pie at night and then let it cool so I can eat it for breakfast in the morning. It's one of the best ways to start off the day!
Peach Pie Recipe
(This makes 2 pies)
Filling:
About 10 large peaches
6 cups of sugar
4 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/2-3/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup butter (1/2 cube)
Crust:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shortening (I use Crisco religiously)
1 tsp vinegar
1 egg
5 tbls ice water
_____________________________________________________________________________
Preparing the crust:
I start with making the crust first because after mixing it, I like to refrigerate it before I roll it out. It makes the crust not so sticky and easier to handle.
I mix the dry ingredients and shortening first with a fork in a medium size bowl. I mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour them into the dry ingredients. I then mix everything together, usually with my hands to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed.
I then break the dough into four balls, the first two will be larger than the last two. The two larger balls will be used to roll out for the pie dish. The two smaller balls will be rolled into the top crust.
Place the four balls of crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Pie Filling:
Begin with approximately 10 large peaches.
Begin by peeling the peaches. I prefer to peal with a potato peeler, but some people prefer to peal with a knife or by slipping the skins.
Once all the peaches are sliced, mix them with the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
Assembling the Pie:
Set the bowl of peaches aside and pull out one large ball of crust dough. You will roll this out for your pie dish. I like to use the Harriet Carter Pie Crust Maker, but you can also put your ball of dough in-between two pieces of wax paper. Do this helps keep your dough from splitting and breaking when you move it to your pie dish.
Roll out the crust and place into the pie dish. Take out the second large ball and repeat, placing in the second pie dish. Once the bottom crusts are in the dish, use a fork to prick the crust a few times. This will help the bottom crust cook.
Place 3 pads of butter in the crusted pie dish.
Fill the crusted pie dish with the peaches (I also make apple pies this way).
Roll out the remaining balls of dough and place on top of the peach-filled pie dishes.
You will need to seal the bottom and top crusts together to prevent the filling from overflowing while it bakes. Some people use a fork and simply press the two together. I think doing the finger-pinch looks prettier, so I do that.
You must provide air vents to keep the pie from exploding in the oven. To do this, use a knife and create several slits in the center of the pie. I also like to top the crust with sugar, cinnamon and love.
To keep your crust edges from burning, you can place foil around them. Take the foil off for the last 15 minutes of baking to turn them golden brown. Half of the time, I forget to even place the foil on the pie and it usually turns out okay, but it seems to vary by oven.
Bake at 350 for approximately one hour.
In one hour, the top crust should be golden brown. Take the pie out of the oven and let it cool for at least an hour. I like to make the pie at night and then let it cool so I can eat it for breakfast in the morning. It's one of the best ways to start off the day!
M & M, Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tonight was baking night. I guess I needed some comfort foods!
We started off with m&m, chocolate chip cookies. I followed the Toll House recipe on the back and also dumped in 3 small packages of m&m's. My son just participated in a fund raiser for his football team and he wanted to purchase this type of cookie for $15! Instead, we made it for about $3!
We started off with m&m, chocolate chip cookies. I followed the Toll House recipe on the back and also dumped in 3 small packages of m&m's. My son just participated in a fund raiser for his football team and he wanted to purchase this type of cookie for $15! Instead, we made it for about $3!
My trick to keeping them soft and yummy is to take them out of the oven at the least amount of recommended minutes. Toll House says 9-11 minutes. I take them out at 9, even if they don't look finished. Let them sit for another 5 minutes outside of the oven while still on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack. This allows them to cook themselves the rest of the way, but slowly which keeps them soft.
I like to re-purpose items, so instead of storing them in a plastic bag, I reused an airtight container I saved from the cashews I purchased at Costco. It's great for storage and even better for the environment!
Madeleine quickly discovered the dessert after finishing her dinner tonight!
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