A life with pie

Training Update - End of March

And it's the end of March already. How does time fly that fast? All my best laid plans washed right out the window with the rain. Time to get to the IMA.

Besides the St Patrick's Day Dash, outings with my nieces and some short walks it's been a slow month. Managed to make it on campus one night at dusk to smell the cherry trees in bloom. Little puffs of white flowered clouds everywhere. A beautiful sight to behold.

On the plus side, it is a pretty sunny evening. I've just enough time to get home, change, lace up and get out there for a walk/run before the light fades.

 

Postcards from the UW campus - Spring

 

selfie

in full bloom

majestic beauty

 

#10 - Coconut Cream Pie

 The Inspiration:

My pie inspiration was my friend family, in particular Eric. Coconut Cream Pie...here we go!

 

It all started with a question...I'm bringing pie to our Saturday St Patty's Day party, any requests? As those nearest and dearest to me know, coconut is my kryptonite. I loathe it. A shred of it makes the nerves up and down my spine shiver. Coconut tends to be in the love/hate category. Rarely does one have a middle of the road opinion about this ingredient.  So when the lone reply comes back with "coconut cream with toasted coconut and coconut crust" known in these parts as the OMG I don't even like coconut and I love the Coconut Pie from Dahlia Lounge pie, one considers the requester and takes a deep breath before typing... For you, I will do it!

This pie is so infamous in Seattle's dessert culture, our local public tv station has a 15 minute how to video with Tom Douglas himself making the pie. Found it while searching for the recipe online to share with you. It's actually a pretty awesome clip if you are a baking geek like me.

 

The Production:

I just needed to reach for my copy of The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook for the recipe. On a side note, it's a wonderful and very detailed baking book. I love to read through it from time to time. This was the second pie I've made from it (the pumpkin creme pie with sugared cranberries was lovely). But, I digress.

Brace yourself, the Coconut Cream Pie contains three kinds of coconut. Honestly, it's in every element of the pie except for the whipped cream. The crust comes together with 1/2 cup of sweetened shredded coconut in the mix. The dough is chunky and not completely formed into a ball when you wrap it up to rest. The crust is completely blind baked and the coconut seems to help the crust hold it's structure well.

The pastry creme is made with half milk and half coconut milk. One of my favorite things to make in the world is pastry creme. Love watching it thicken beneath my whisk. It's a little pot of heaven to me. And with the vast quantities of Thai food I've consumed since moving to the PNW, I've grown a tolerance for coconut milk. The pastry creme had a lovely flavor with the coconut milk, but you can keep the shredded stuff that was mixed in.

The cherry on the top is the larger chunks of toasted coconut sprinkled liberally on top with shaved white chocolate. Thank you Bob's Red Mill for the larger unsweetened flakes, the perfect size for toasting.

As with all cream pies, the ingredients have to be stone cold and it's best assembled right before serving. Smooth in the pastry creme, pipe over a layer of whipped cream, sprinkle over the toppings and ohh-la-la, you have yourself a beautiful pie.

 

The Verdict:

In the spirit of fair reporting, I did eat a small sample of the pie (3-4 bites). I can definitely see why everyone seems to love this pie. It was quite enjoyable and surprisingly balanced considering the sheer volume of coconut per mouthful. My friends around me that love that white flaky stuff, they were in dessert nirvana.  So I passed the challenge of making this iconic dessert well. And I made my friends very happy. Mission accomplished!

 

 

The Photographic Evidence:

 

ooohhhh coconut

lovely dreamy pie

the remains for breakfast piehappy pie recipient

Coming Soon: Shepherd's Pie

 

 

 

 

#9 - Pear & Ginger Crumble Pie

Catching up with the writing, but the pie making is on track!

 

The Inspiration:

My pie inspiration was my sister's family. Pear & Ginger!

A sunday dinner invite is always a great excuse to bake a pie. BIL's dad was in town visiting which can only mean one thing - LAMB is on the menu. Sign me up for that invite anyday! This time I took a chance on a flavor profile that might have been too grown-up for my neices. I'm fairing 50% in the like to not like ratio, so I figured what could it hurt.

Another go with pears was on task. This Pear & Ginger Pie recipe from a local cookbook Pure Flavor (by the founder of Beecher's Cheese Kurt Beecher Dammeier) won my curiosity and baking time. The world's best mac & cheese recipe is in this book as well and OMG it lives up to it's name. But it was high time I made it past the M&C recipe in the book and delve a bit further.

 

The Production:

What I appreciated about the recipe is the reliance on candied and powdered ginger. Twice the ginger fun. I used local anjou pears that were slightly ripe. Borrowing a trick from other recipes, I  dredged the pears in lemon juice and coat with 2 tsps of sugar to sit for 20 minutes and drain out some of the juices. And the only other alteration was to forego the currents.

The topping butter crumble needed to be setup in the freezer while the pears juiced. The recipe doesn't call for this step, but the butter was pretty soft once the crumble was assembled. I loved the lemon zest scenting the crumble top and filling. It added a nice touch.

The pie was fairly easy to assemble and it contained a healthy amount of candied ginger.

 

The Verdict:

Butter crumbles are not my favorite toppings. For me they tend to not set up as densely as I would like. While the butter crumble's delicacy complimented the filling, I'd prefer a more robust crumble. This one provided a slight crunch layer on top, but too much of the butter melted into the filling for my taste. The pie was a touch soupy and benefited from a bowl.

 

All the nit-pickiness aside, the pie had a wonderful flavor. The candied ginger added a lovely depth to the pear that played around in the filling. The butter from the crumbled definitely added richness. And the lemon note from the zest was still present. It was warm and comforting. And the nieces loved it. I would play with the topping on this one for future iterations. But the pear and candied ginger combo was a definite keeper.

 

 

The Photographic Evidence:

elements - pears, shell, candied ginger, ginger and crumblefresh out of the oven goodnessthe remainsa bowl was in order

 

Next up - Coconut Creme Pie

Florida & Training Update

Catching up and recapping February training efforts...well, I went to Disney World. 

The week through the Orlando Parks:

1. Killed my shoes - dead! Note to self - really important to buy new shoes when you say you will.
2. Logged so many miles that my new fitbit decided to jump ship. Translation was lost somewhere between Monster's Inc and Big Thunder Mountain in the Magic Kingdom.
3. Highest mileage day tracked before the departure of said FB, 9.36 miles through Universal Studio Island Adventure. Woot!!
4. The highest mileage day didn't kill my feet. The standing in the long lines at Magic Kingdon was the guilty party.
5. By week's end, the total would have been over 40 miles, in 6 days. Yah us!

All in all it was a fun winter vacation with the family. Been twisted, turned, spun, thrown upside down, wet, shaken and stirred enough for one winter. Lived through all the end of the day steps/miles that brought tears to my eyes. And had a blast.

 

Postcards from Orlando:

sister's family

fav of M & I

fav of H, Em & I

happiest place on earth

jungle cruise - best pic of Mom & Dad

hmmm

my heart!

 

St Patty's Day Dash 2014

First goal achieved - participate in the St. Patty's Day Dash - one of the first big running events in Seattle each year. This one was the 30th annual. Among the supported charities was The Healing Center, which was a key support component in my journey through grief after Chuck's passing. And today was also Chuck's birthday. What better way to honor life and celebrate.

When I awoke this morning, it was pouring buckets. I freely admit that staying cozy in bed would have been a great Sunday option. Not as rewarding as sticking to the plan however and preserving through the weather. I've braved much worse conditions, for much longer, to cheer on my football teams. Time has come to cheer myself on.

What I didn't quite realize until I reviewed the course map last night was how much of my past with Chuck would be revisited this morning in route. Parking was close to my "single" apartment and I passed all our neighborhood milestones on my way to meeting up with my friend. The site of our first date, our coffee shop, the lounge were we had the exclusive talk... even the starting gate was in front of the Opera were I took him to celebrate his birthday during our dating year. Treading along very familiar ground.

The course treked up Aurora with the turn around at the exit onto Queen Anne by our married home. I could view the house from the road as we turned. This was the half way mark of the race. Seemed appropriate somehow. While none of us knows when our time here will be complete, in my heart it feels like "Us" (Chuck & I) was at the mid-point intersection of my life. Life certainly has gone in a vastly different direction than what we set a course for a decade ago. It's one of pieces I still struggle with, especially in the anniversary weeks of March, how much of my lifetime Chuck will be missing from.

And like all second halfs of a race there were moments of pushing forward, talks of plans & dreams for the future and happiness in the sprint across the finishline.

Thank you to my race partner Leigh. It was a pleasure to share the morning with you and to experience our first race together. Next year, bring on the green wigs and tutus!

As for me, I was able to run only about 6 minutes sprinkled throughout the course (which corresponded with my efforts training) and completed in a little over an hour. Not attempting to break any landspeed records. Now, I have my starting baseline and more incentive to push training harder for the upcoming events. Onward and upward!

Looking at Top Pot Donut Dash (5K) at the end of April for my next adventure. 6 weeks from now - goal is to triple my running time. According to my 0-5k app, that is an appropriate goal.

 

Postcards from the St Patty's Day Dash

new shoes, number and t-shirt

geared up and ready

leigh & I  pre-race

awaiting the start of our heat

working our way up Aurora

post race

30th St Pattys Day Dash complete - check

 

Upcoming - Top Pot Donut Dash for Childhaven on April 27th @ Greenlake

 

 

Happy Pi Day Everyone!

Reprised the Salted Caramel Apple Pie from Four & Twenty Blackbirds for my lucky co-workers to celebrate Pie Day 3.14 today!

Find some pie today to celebrate! And enjoy it!!!

Next up - Pear & Ginger

 

Reflections on a March Day

This time March you softly crept in. The past swirled up naturally into an ever engaging, fast paced present. Bless you.

Forever - today is sacred to me. 

• It's the last time I heard you say I love you
• Your pain ended
• One of my favorite people was born today
• My friends and family craddled me with so much love 
• My greatest spiritual oddessey began
• Life shattered to rebirth into something new
• Did I mention the urgency with which you asked me if I knew how much you loved me?

Today is my holiday. Reflect and remember. Let the tears flow as long as needed without pushing them aside. To do something to nurture me. Recount my blessing from the privilege of being your wife. To remember you my sweetie.

And then tomorrow start anew, again.

 

 

#8 - Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie

The Inspiration:

My pie inspiration was my lucky co-workers. Two pies in one day!

This pie was also from Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. Our markets still have fragrant and local pears, so it was time to bust out a pear option. I toyed between the Pear Anise Pie and the Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie for this offering. While I adore anise, it runs that love/hate gamut for most people and I'm not one to disappoint the crowd.

Besides, I love cooking and baking with bourbon. For a brief instant when I open the bottle, I'm transported back to our backyard on a breezy summer's eve. Just Chuck & I together talking the night away, cocktails in hand. Our moments together were too precious few. That I've captured one in a bottle of bourbon (Maker's Mark to be exact) is a priceless gift. Here's to you my sweetie with every little shot I pour!

 

The Production:

Sorry to say, but this recipe is not available online. It utilizes the same all butter crust as the Salty Honey Pie. I found a video of the 4 & 20 gals demoing this crust ( All Butter pie crust) if your are interested. It's a wonderful crust.

 

The pear slices are dredged in lemon juice and set for 20 minutes to drain off some of the juices. The red pears I used were paper bag ripened for a few days and seriously juicy. Beyond bourbon, the pears were spiced with white pepper, all-spice, cardamom and a splash of bitters. 

 

The oat crumble top was hand mixed butter, oats, brown sugar and a mix of cinnamon, ginger and all-spice.  Make sure to let it re-set in the fridge before using.

 

 

The Verdict:

Place a cookie sheet under this one, the juices definitely runeth over. Needed to bake it 10+ minutes longer to get the crust to color up just right. The pie was tasty. The bourbon and spices mixed nicely with the delicate pears. The crumble provided a good crunch. I thought the crust on the bottom melted away some, but I just missed it's subtly with the crumble crunch. It was a nice alternative to apple pie. Definitely a recipe for the dessert library.

 

 

The Photographic Evidence:

 

missed the whole pie pic

pie status by lunch time ~ gone by day's end

 

Coming soon - Pie Day 3/14

 

#7 - Salted Honey Pie

Whoo hoo - baked two pies yesterday during the Oscars and caught up! The 2nd one will post in a few days.

The Inspiration:

My pie co-conspirators this week were my lucky co-workers. Happy Monday! Welcome to the Implementation planning phase. Let the fun begin.

Turned again this week to the Four & Twenty Blackbirds charming cookbook. Completely infatuated with their favor profiles. Honestly, the whole pie challenge could come from this book. Purusing the Book Larder site this evening, they are offering a pie baking class centered on this book. In sync with the pastry chef, as I made two of the three pies they are featuring. Fun.

 

The Production:

The Salty Honey Pie was near the top of my list. Love depth of flavor that honey brings to everything it touches. Excited to feature honey as the main ingredient. Used local liquid gold from Spooner Farms that I luckily stocked up last summer.

The crust was their all-butter recipe with cider vinegar. The dough rolls out beautifully and is wonderful to work with. The crust is formed and frozen before you entertain adding the custard.

The custard is hand mixed with layers building upon each other. So satisfying to feel the batter taking form under my wooden spoon. The ladies at 4 & 20 use Vanilla Paste for favoring instead of extract. Paste imparts a more intense vanilla flavor and sprinkles vanilla seeds throughout the batter. And oh what a lovely scent journey from butter, to heedy vanilla and intoxicating honey. A true pleasure.

The baking process was interesting. The custard puffs up like a huge marshmellow as it bakes. Completeness is judged by color and the quality of the pie's wiggle. It sets like gelatin, there will always be some movement. Just make sure the movement is in a solid state. During cooling the center collapses back on itself.

 

The Verdict:

Of the two pies I brought in, this one was the clear winner. It disappeared pretty fast and gartered many requests for the recipe. At one point it was theorized that it contained crack and I was akin to a dealer (kidding I think!).  I do have to say, it tasted as good as I hoped it would. Rich honey, buttery custard with a bit of salt to make the overwhelming sweetness bearable. And the bottom crust caramelized right up.  Oh, the salty honey pie definely is an instant classic and a keeper!

 

 

The Photographic Evidence:

My only disppointment was my crust edge didn't hold up through baking. Proof that it did exist at one time. Pretty color, but not the world's most beautiful pie. In this case, the inner beauty far outshines it's humble shell.

 

proof that a border went into the ovengolden brown goodness

up close and personal

and so it begins, within 5 mins of being placed in kitchen

 

happy sight for any baker

 

Coming soon - Pears & Bourbon