Patellar Tendonitis Cherry Pie

That's right. Sounds delicious, eh?

I overdid the workout yesterday and am completely paying for it. I have an ice packet strapped to the knee and am looking fabulous today.

Made a cherry pie last night from Morello (sour) cherries. I took the juice and sweetened and thickened it. I didn't add much juice to the pie, but plan on using the "sauce" for something delicious and decadent later.

Sauce:
cornstarch (like 3 T. or so)
water
3/4 c. sugar
juice from jarred morello cherries
lemon juice
almond extract

In a heating double-pan boiler, dissolved the cornstarch in the water. Added everything except extract. Whisked until thickened. Cooled and added extract. (Added the sauce to the strained cherries while preparing the crust.)

Pie crust:
The usual on the crust, except split the Crisco to half butter, half Crisco

Added some cinnamon to the top of the cherries, once they were added to the pie. Expect the pie to be tart due to most of the sugar staying in the juice and not the cherries. We shall see...

I would consider adding some kind of chocholate to this to make it a chocolate cherry pie, but not being too adventurous due to soreness of the knee.

Pie in the Sky

So I watched Waitress on Friday. People kept telling me I should watch it because, well, I'm pigeon-holed into a pie-maker. It was an interesting movie. Partially related with reality, yet there were scenes so obviously fake it made it look almost overdramatized--like Broadway or something.

Anyways, it did inspire me to make a pie out of ingredients in my house. So, without further adieu, I will share how I made my candied strawberry pie.

1 pkg. of crushed graham crackers
1/4 c. raspberry preserves

Mix well and moosh around on a greased pie plate. Bake btwn 325 and 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes in the oven.

1/2 pkg. semi sweet choc. chips
1/2 c. 2% milk

Heat milk until boiling. Whisk in choc. chips until melty & consistency is gooey. Add some vanilla flavoring. Spread mixture on graham cracker crust.

1 pkg fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and blended
1 c. sugar (I would halve this next time)
3 T. cornstarch
1/2 - 1 c. water
(Next time I would add at least 2 T. lemon juice)

Mix cornstarch, water and sugar in double-pan boiler. Add strawberries and lemon juice. Heat on stovetop until thickened. Pour over chocolated crust. Chill until set.

Future notes (besides listed above):

I would lighten this by adding less sugar. Also, I would vary this by making a lemon-strawberry pudding for the inside of the crust and without the chocolate covering. Ah well, that is part of the fun, eh? Next time, we'll chat about soup.

My mom loves birds...

Childhood songs:

"There was a little bird and he had a yellow bill.
I lured him in on my windowsill.
I fed him with,
crumbs of bread...
.
.
.
.
.
.
Then I SMASHED his little head."

"Turkeys trotting down the lane
down the lane
down the lane
Turkeys trotting down the lane
Watch out Thanksgiving day.

Don't go near the house today
house today
house today
Don't go near the house today
Oh turkey, run away!"

Rearranged the office today. Got some stuff done. Painted another picture. Ran out of canvas. Also groomed my husband. See, he had this hair, at least an inch long, coming out of his forehead, near his eyebrows. I couldn't take it any longer. Bye, bye hair, just like Mom's birdies...

Oh yes, and the range arrived today. I don't know what I think about it. It's just so...clean, black and menacing--like it's waiting to mess up my cookies or something.

Oh yes, and husband got his berry pie last night from his mom. He's so spoiled.