Category: food

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It’s a Fine Afternoon for Iced LemonTea

Izzylemon iced tea

We’ve been having an oddly rainy September. Thunderstorms. Hail. Lightening. Then big blue sky. Anytime of day or night.

I love, love, love sitting out on the front porch during a storm. Staying dry. The little hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up in the electrical gold glow while thunder booms and rain drums the porch roof.

I feel so alive!
Thunder storm clouds

Yesterday we spent the day getting ready for an outdoor bbq party while storms rolled in and out of the valley. I fretted that the 20 or so guests would have to crowd into our tiny house. But we lucked out. We got to hang out on the porches and in the garden. The kids built a fire and roasted marshmallows while the adults caught up with each other’s lives. After everyone left, Tim and I sat out in the garden with the fire for another hour. A perfect evening.

So today is another weird weather day. Warm. Perfect temperature for a September day. Earlier today, we had a downpour and now, enormous thunder clouds are building up around the valley perimeter again. Tim is cleaning his woodworking shop, getting organized to start making a board-room table and set of chairs.

I just got back from a fun photo shoot with two young moms and their families.

And now, it’s time to relax.

With a tall glass of lemony iced tea. Sun tea. Red Rose Black Tea. With a little honey. Reminds me of my childhood when we visited Grandma and Grandpa and there was always a big pitcher of lemon sweet-tea. Mmmmmm!

lemon iced tea

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Best Pie Crust Ever

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Does your pie crust recipe usually end up in pieces on the kitchen counter when you try to roll it out? Do you get frustrated because your pie crusts are heavy and thick and uninspiring? Try my pie crust recipe and see if it makes a difference. This is a recipe my mom found at some point in my growing up years and it made all the difference in the world to add a little egg and vinegar to the ingredients. The sugar or honey is to counteract the tartness of the vinegar. I don’t know the chemistry of why it works, but crusts made with this recipe almost always turn out very tender and flakey. And a nice bennie is that they are easy to roll out and transfer to the pie pan without falling apart.

I substitute coconut oil for at least some of the butter, just for health’s sake. The original recipe called for lard. Or (Gasp!!!) shortening. Ack! I also use half the original amount of salt. So, if you follow my recipe (below) I think you will have an easy, yummy, tender crust for your pie.

Best Pie Crust Ever

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 small egg, beaten (or just the yolk if you have a large egg)
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 T brown sugar or honey
  • 1/2 cup (or less) very cold water

PREPARATION

  1. blend the flour and salt.
  2. add butter and coconut oil and using a pastry cutter, blend into the flour until you have a crumbly mixture. Don’t overblend!
  3. beat the egg (or yolk), add vinegar, brown sugar (or honey) and about half of the icy cold water.
  4. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid and stir QUICKLY with a fork until it’s almost all incorporated. VERY important not to overstir or your crust will be tough instead of flakey.
  5. If it’s really really dry, add a little more of the cold water and stir just a little. Dump the dough onto a floured surface like a cutting board or clean counter.
  6. Quickly, and using as little touch as possible, round the dough up into a ball. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill while you make your pie filling.
  7. When you are ready to roll out your dough, cut the ball almost in half (one side should be a bit more than the other. The larger “half” will be your bottom crust) Chill the smaller half and roll out the larger half.
  8. Place the bottom crust into the pie pan, fill with fruit or whatever. Then roll out the other half and carry on. (see pie preparation above)

Some people think lattice pie crusts are complicated and difficult. They’re really not. Yes, it takes a couple of extra steps beyond just rolling out the top crust and plopping it over your pie filling. But it’s easy — and it does not have to be perfect (as you can see by my pie photos. Ahem!) Believe me, the little extra effort is SO worth it!

LATTICE CRUST INSTRUCTIONS: 

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Make your bottom crust normally, place in pie pan and fill with filling.
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Roll out the second half of your pie dough to the same thickness, about 1/8 inch.

 

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Using a long knife or a pie crust rolling cutter, cut strips about 3/4 inch wide
Leaving the strips in place, start with one of the longest (center) strips and lift it, placing it on top of the pie filling
Leaving the strips in place, start with one of the longest (center) strips and lift it, placing it on top of the pie filling
Alternating strips, place every other strip on the pie. The rolled out dough on your counter will look like stripes now. (see photo) Your pie will also look like it has stripes of dough on it.

Alternating strips, place every other strip on the pie. The rolled out dough on your counter will look like stripes now. (see photo above.) Your pie will also look like it has stripes of dough on it.
Now comes the fun part: you get to "weave" the strips. Fold back every other dough strip on the pie, halfway.
Now comes the fun part: you get to “weave” the strips. Fold back every other dough strip on the pie, halfway.
Then, starting again with the longest strip on the counter, lift it and place it across the pie. Fold the strips down over it.
Then, starting again with the longest strip on the counter, lift it and place it across the pie. Fold the strips down over it.
Now, fold the alternating strips back halfway. Place the next pie dough strip across the pie, and fold them down over it.
Now, fold the alternating strips back halfway.
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Place the next pie dough strip across the pie, and fold them down over it.
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Continue doing this until your pie is covered with a woven beautiful pattern of dough strips.

 

Continue doing this until your pie is covered with a woven beautiful pattern of dough strips. It sounds complicated, but once you try it, you'll realize it's easy.
It sounds complicated, but once you try it, you’ll realize it’s easy.
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Now, you are ready to trim the edges, fold the edges under …

 

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… all the way around the pie …
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… then pinch them like you would a regular pie crust.