Life On The Central Coast

This week really got away from me! I did make a pie but I haven't had time to write the blog. For this week's pie, I decided to try a different crust. Making a good crust is the biggest problem for me when it comes to piemaking.  I can't seem to get it to the perfect wetness/ dryness and have it roll out nice. The crust for this week comes from the King Arthur website for a two-crust pie. It made two crusts and I used the food processor to make it up. I like that it was mostly butter but had just a bit of vegetable shortening and I think that helped it have that perfect moistness. Once I rolled it out I used a stainless steel ring to cut the size I needed. You can find these pie cutting rings HERE . And for my pie dish, I used a little pie dish I found at Aldi's last Fall. I only picked up two but wished I had gotten more like 4 or 6. How fun to have a party and have individual pie for each guest! I hope they bring them back sometime this year! I wasn...

For this week's pie, we are going SAVORY! Probably the most well known savory pie is the Quiche Lorraine. Named for the Lorraine region of France, the Quiche Lorraine features a crispy crust filled with Swiss cheese, onions, "lardon" or strips of bacon all covered in a creamy eggy base. IT IS DELICIOUS!! Today's recipe comes from the Simply Recipes  website. The crust will be made in a tart pan this time, a Pate Brisee crust, and blind baked before filling it using this Quiche recipe. It also is giving us a chance to cook our bacon using the oven method . Have you heard of this? It's supposed to make the easiest, most perfect bacon EVER! The recipe begins with lining a tart pan. I used parchment rounds for this and tried to downsize them just a bit. Notice the flowery petal shapes... but it did work! I sprayed the parchment with a bit of non-stick spray. This is blind baking the pie crust. I took my wonderful crust out of the refrigerator for abo...

Every year I try to choose a word or theme to base my year on. This year it took a bit longer to settle on words but finally, they have arrived. The words for the year are... ADAPT TO CHANGE How did I come by this word? My husband and I are over 60 now. We've been together since I was 15 years old. We've grown up together and fell into a happy routine with our lives. BUT, we are noticing more and more that our beliefs and the way we've done things all those years aren't necessarily working for us anymore. So we will need to analyze and change what isn't working. You know the saying, God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. It's time for some changes in our lives that will help us live happy, more satisfying lives. I don't know about you but sometimes my husband and I feed off of each other's negativity. And...

One of my favorite things to do is pick a topic, run to the library and check out tons of books on that topic and if I really like a particular book, I'll try to find them at my local Goodwill or on Thriftbooks to save some money. Last year, knowing I wanted to challenge myself with making a pie a week for a year, I bought up several books and they will be featured on the blog as I make the pie recipes from them. This week's recipe is taken from a book I found on Thriftbooks. Well, of course you know there is a story here! I chose a used book on Amazon from a Thriftbooks location and when it got here, I realized the entire section for making the pie crusts had been torn out so carefully you couldn't tell it was missing until you went looking for them. Luckily for me, when I wrote this company they sent me out another copy that is GLORIOUS, even featuring an errata section in the front! They are one of the BEST used book dealers out there you guys! If you want to do...

Hi All! I know, it's been a LONG time since you heard from me but I'm not dead! I've been busy with home and family and thinking about my 2020 goals. How about you? Have you been doing the same? One of the things on my 2020 Bucket List of Goals was going to be making a pie once a week for the entire year based on things that are plentiful in my garden, local Farmer's Markets and what's on sale at the market.  For week one, a Pantry Challenge month, I decided to make a French Coconut Custard Pie with a flaky self-rising pie crust. This week's recipe was based on a YouTube video by one of my FAVORITE southern Cooks, Tammy from Collard Valley Cooks.  Her Video Recipe is HERE Things I used from the pantry were; self-rising flour, Butter Flavored Crisco, shredded sweetened coconut, vanilla extract, and eggs from my backyard flock of hens. I made the buttermilk from milk and vinegar the way my mom showed me years ago. This Pie went toget...