The Peaks & Valleys of Pies

"There's a lot of peaks and valleys on the days you make pies, honey."
"A lot of foot stompin' over there sometimes," he says.

Well, yes, sorry there is crying and yelling and stomping while I try to perfect an All-American dish.

My Pie Adventure 2014 is in it's last month and I have so many things to tell you about pie.  I think December calls for lots of pie baking so I will write more after we get through all 12 months of pie baking.

The first month was definitely a valley.....when my husband came home to me crying because my crust wasn't quite working out.  Like the good man he is, he opened up a bottle of wine for me and then just stayed out of the way.  That was until I cried some more and then he ran to town to buy crust for my already made, delicious filling.

Someone called this my french fry pie.
Definitely a valley moment.

This fall I somehow perfected making my own caramel for this peanut-caramel-apple pie.

I mean it event looks pretty.  A peak moment for sure.

Then there was the time that I started making a pie and then had that awful moment when I realized  the recipe was really for a custard pie.  I don't really do that nor do I have the ambition too.
I think I called my mom crying this time.

The bacon and peanut butter cookie crust was so, so good and a peak moment for me.

The custard, a low.....low....runny valley.

Then a total peak moment happened last week.  

I was talking to grandma about the Thanksgiving Day meal and she uttered those words I thought I would never hear, "So....are you bringing a pie, Katherine?"  

"Well, I was thinking about it, and thought I would ask you first. 

 But YES, I can bake a pie for Thanksgiving, grandma!"  

And just like that, I was a grown-up bringing pie to Thanksgiving. 

My pie crust was too thick....valley.  But the apple, pear and raisin filling was good and the brown sugar crumble topping was delicious....another peak during the Pie Adventure 2014.

The months have seemed to fly by during this adventure, just as they do in life.

I have learned that each pie crust and pie filling are unique in their own ways and that they aren't perfect.  I will never perfect the art of making a pie, but many of them will be delicious and some will make grandma's pie hutch for the holidays.

I will always have peaks and valleys with my pies, just as in life.  But it's all an adventure, right?

Eating Pie & Dreaming of Bacon

Remember when I told you about the 

"Spoken Lesson From the Farmer:  There's No Burnin' Daylight"?

Well, today I met that challenge and rose before the sun.  

I finally answered "yes" to my farmer husband's question he asks me a few times each fall, 

"you want to get up with me and take cattle to the butcher?"

I decided that since I don't see him that often during harvest, I should probably go with him......at least once.  So with wet hair and camera in hand, I put my boots on and off we went to load up the trailer.

Our cattle are pretty calm and collected.  They don't fuss much and are usually pretty nice.  

So Brett just opened up the gate....

....and after giving me a few dirty looks, they went right onto the trailer. 

 That didn't take long so I kind of just stood there, in the barn under the stars and looked around.  

I noticed the hayloft, which was decorated with licenses plates from various trucks and tractors from the farm.  I thought of the miles and miles of roads and fields those plates had seen.

And then I noticed this old toy sitting on a stack of bricks in the barn.  Who knows the last time this was touched, but I bet it has seen the hands of three generations by now and will wait for the next.  

When we got to the butcher, I hopped out of the truck and turned to see this on a barn next door.  A sign that we were in the Heartland and in the Hoosier State.  And something every young kid should have and experience, a barnyard basketball goal.

The boys unloaded the cattle, caught up on some butcher talk as I tried to stand in the background.  

I am sure the flash on my camera wasn't noticed at all......

I thought, though, this young man is a part of the agriculture process too--helping farmers with their livestock and butchering in a clean and safe way to provide food on our tables.  I mean the bacon he has to provide for just our family is quite remarkable!  Ha!

But I bet he has played in a hayloft and with an old toy and some games barnyard basketball.

I felt grateful for him, and for the cattle that provide for our family and so many others.  

And then I realized that it was only 7:00 a.m. and that I would probably crash in a few hours.  So when I got home, I decided a sugar high was necessary and that I would eat some of that pie that I made on Monday night.  

While I ate my pie I watched the sun rise and shine through the fog.  I dreamt of some barnyard basketball and bacon, like a good Hoosier farm girl who decided "there's no burnin' daylight" today.

I'm On An Adventure....A Pie Adventure

I see life as a journey--long for some, short for others.  Crazy and fabulous for many and screwed up for a lot.  Along this journey called life I like to seek adventures.  I'm not talking backpacking through the wilderness or running a marathon type of adventures.  Someday I might do those crazy things, but the types of adventures I like to take are simpler than that.  Taking me back home, back to my roots, back to the basics.  

My Pie Adventure 2014 started back in January, and someday I will tell you about that dreadful, first made-from-scratch pie crust that consisted of tears, yelling, jumping, wine and my wonderful husband running to the store to buy a pre-made crust. 

For the #pieadventure2014 I am making a different type of pie every month and making my own crust.  First mistake I made was not having more in-depth conversations with grandma about the crust.  So in the month of June, my birthday month and half way through my adventure, I decided to head home and learn some basics from Grandma in her kitchen where apparently kids not only eat for free but take free baking lessons too.

I arrived to this scene.  Fresh flowers from her yard,which she always has, along with the pie pan and recipe book open and ready for a Sunday afternoon of baking. 

She had already made the crust which had been in the fridge for two hours. 

LESSON #1:  Your pie crust HAS to be cold before rolling or it will break down into crumbles and so will your baking soul......

"Katherine" she says, "let's get started.  Now put lots of flour on the counter, LOTS."  

"Now take this rolling pin, it's my mother's, and spread it out.  Be gentle.  Stop, you are pushing too hard."  

Okay, well it's cold......

"Oh stop, I have something else we can use."  

She went into the other room in search of this questionable device in one of her many antique cupboards.  She came back with a little, plastic, simple rolling pin looking thing.  

"What is that?" I asked. 

"It's from Pampered Chef.  It works better than that heavy, old rolling pin when you are rolling out your crust."

"GRANDMA, you seriously use that?!?!  I thought you used this old, beautiful, classic rolling pin?  I can't believe this!"  (As my heart breaks like I have been cheated on.)

"Well heaven's yes, I use this.  It's better." 

Even the oldest and wisest can appreciate technology and little luxuries.  Hey, the pie still comes out the same right?

She DID use the rolling pin to get the pie into the pie pan which boggled my mind.

LESSON #2:  Use whatever method you deem appropriate to roll the crust but DO use a rolling pin to get it into the pan. 

We made a cherry pie because it's my absolute favorite and it's very American and it's almost the 4th of July.  I call grandma before Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter to make sure she has it on her list to bake.  And she always does....not sure why I ask anymore. 

The recipe came from an old Farm Journal Cookbook.  These are pretty much staples in grandma's house.  And hilarious to read the really old ones.  Their thoughts about cooking are similar to ours but the ingredients, gadgets and methods have gotten better over time.  

 Time.....gives us opportunities for more adventures and more pies!

And more time around the table in grandma's farm house kitchen.

 Once the bottom crust had baked a little and the cherries were ready to pour in, she asked me what kind of top crust I wanted to do.  

"Well, I have been afraid to do a lattice top for fear of really screwing it up."  

"Okay then, we will do it.  It's not always easy Katherine, but I'll teach you."

And she did.  And it wasn't very pretty.

LESSON #3:  Everyone can bake a pie but it's not always beautiful.  And it's not always easy.  But it's usually pretty tasty and I think that's all that matters (especially if it's cherry and you know there is ice cream in the freezer).

If you have a good time making it or it teaches you something or someone teaches you something along the way or you spend time with someone, I think that's pretty adventurous all in itself.  

As we let the pie bake and then cool, we caught up over old cookbooks and the usual stack of cooking and home magazines grandma has saved up for me every time I come home.   

All the while my great-grandmother's rolling pin sat on the kitchen counter next to us waiting for the next adventure, pie or otherwise.