I don't know if it's the weather, or the stupid technical failures at the bench, or the phase of the moon, or what, but I've been feeling a little depressed of late. No reason to be, really, just settled into some of the old gloom. Terrible place to be, really. Life's too short.
So I'm making a pie.
Apple, of course. I keep experimenting with other kinds, but inevitably I decide that I like plain apple pie better. I made pumpkin pie last week, which was good, but astonishingly labor-intensive. Dinosaur icebox or sweet potato pecan are excellent as well, but somehow, 2.5 lbs of fresh apples, 2.5 cups of flour, a stick of butter, and half a cup of Crisco comes together better. Something to be said for simplicity, I suppose.
Anyhow, 2 Gala apples, 2 Fuji, and 2 Jonagold. We'll see how it turns out. The Gala may have been a mistake, they seemed a little mushy when I peeled them, but hopefully it'll all even out. Should go nicely with dinner, which is butternut squash soup and fresh apple cider cranberry bread from Francois'. Fall food.
Am I the only one who combats depression with cooking? I bought a 1 quart measuring cup and a kitchen scale today, too. At least I can buy kitchen toys without getting glared at. Probably because I let her share the pie.
5 comments:
I've never been much good at baking; I'd rather cook. I've been getting pretty good at crock-pot soups.
What kind of soup? I've been dabbling in that line, myself.
Last night's experiment was with a butternut squash and leek soup recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Lots of ginger and a little fresh parsley - it actually turned out really well. You can nearly always trust that cookbook. I may chop some cilantro into it next time.
Crock pots frighten me. I'm always afraid I'll leave it to run for the day and come back to find that the cats have managed to set themselves on fire or something.
My most successful ones have been French onion, beef stew, chicken corn chowder, and cheesy ham and potato. I had decent luck with a black bean soup, but a ham and navy bean soup totally failed. Not thick enough. I might try potato-leek next, or a differnt black bean recipe.
Lately I've been putting them together before I go to bed, then they're ready when I wake up, and I take some to work for lunch.
I've been meaning to get Joy of Cooking. My sister-in-law made me some chicken pot pie from that book that was very good.
I really can't recommend Joy of Cooking highly enough. It covers just about everything, and I can't remember ever making anything from it that wasn't good. Well worth whatever they charge for one.
The only downside is that there aren't any pictures to speak of, so it can be hard to know what it's supposed to end up looking like. Not a big deal to me, but Anita likes her cookbooks with large shiny photos.
Last night for dinner I made some oven-roasted fingerling potatoes and a pan-seared pork chop. I added some thin slices of apple to the frying pan at the end, then ate the chop with the slightly browned apple. Mmmm. Worth all the smoke it created in my kitchen and dining room.
I think I'm going to have to try some crock pot soups this winter, though.
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