Pi Day

Hurray it's Pi Day!  Ok Ok... it's not the pie I was hoping for, but I can wish.
Find ways to make today a fun with your kids. Fun with Math on Pi day.

As if we need a reason for pie, for me Pi day is another reason to make this sweet flakey treat.  (even if it's the Math Pi we are celebrating.)

My favorite pie to bake from scratch is apple pie.

Best tip I have when making apple pie. Simmer apples in seasonings, lemon juice and sugar. It will prevent a gap from forming between the fruit and the crust when juices are cooked out of the apples.

Fell off it again..

I fell off the healthy wagon again..  right into a big pile of mini chocolate cream pies and cookies.  With a month of virtual school under our belt you would think I was in a schedule that would leave some time for me.  This is so far from the truth.

There have been nights I fall into bed struggling to stay awake long enough to have a conversation about our day with my husband.   Sure, I could get up extra early in the morning and sneak in my own workout, but with a huge sleep debt it's a mountain I choose not to climb every morning.  Bad choice.. I know.
How do I get myself out of this chunky rut I am digging for myself?   Stuffing my face with sweets and not working them off.. not even attempting to.  With Magnus now a year old I can no longer call the extra baggage baby weight.. unless it's a food baby I'm talking about.

Even though I am over being sick with a nasty case of Sinusitis paired with the lovely ear aches to keep you awake all night, I will be honest and say my bike hasn't left the garage in months.

Time to make a health promise to myself.  No more 380 calorie mini pies. They are really not as good as pictured and you would rather wear your goal jeans again.  No more snacking after 7pm, because those snack are never a healthy choice.  If I feel hungry between meals I'm going to try drinking water first.

National Compliment Day

Today is National Compliment Day.

What is the nicest compliment you have received?

The best compliments I've received:

As mom, when my mom told me my kid's are the most kind, politest, and well-behaved kids.  (With 5 kid's I guess everyone is expecting a pack mentality to take over.. like lord of the flies.)

As a chef, it was when one of the customers asked to speak with me on what was a really bad night.  I was pleasantly surprised when she told me that eating a slice of my Kahlua Mocha Fudge Pie was better than sex.  (to be fair that pie is awesome.. but she must be doing something wrong)

As a woman, when my husband upon seeing me naked just days after delivering our 5th child, told me that I am  the most beautiful, strongest, sexiest woman in the world to him.  (smart man)

From a stranger, While 8 months pregnant with Nadia, an older man stopped at a red light turned to me as I was waiting for the light to change, He told me that I was glowing with a natural beauty that radiated.  It sure made my very pregnant day.  (no makeup, overalls and very round belly is a good look for me.. I guess)

Compliments aren't just for receiving make sure to give a few out to those around you.  You never know just how much happiness your words could bring to someone's day.

Some Sanity in the Madness

It's that time again this year. Time to start your OVENS!! Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Every year I go baking mad and it all starts with the baking marathon that is Thanksgiving.  My very large family still gathers together every year even though we have all grown and had our own families.  In this gorging spectacle my job has always been the pies.  I love to bake, if you don't... tough cookies and nasty store bought brick cookies to you too.  I'll add a few more tips for Thanksgiving to satisfying even the most baking challenged.

Various Thanksgiving Tips

Even with all the dangers of stuffing turkeys people still enjoy doing it.  Nothing like bonding over a family struck down with food poisoning.  To be safer this holiday after draining the excess blood from the turkey heavily sprinkle kosher salt on the inside cavity of the turkey.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes and rinse in cold water.  The salt will draw the excess blood out of the cavity.

A good time saver is to cut all the vegetable for the hor'dourves tray the day before and just store the cut vegetables in an ice bath in the fridge.  You can also cut the veggies in to decorative flowers if the mood strikes you.  The easiest to make by far is a mum.  Cut a criss-cross pattern (4 lines intersecting from 2 different sides in an X) into the top half of a radish and store in an ice bath for it to "bloom" open.

When making your apple pies this year for thanksgiving be sure you simmer the apples in a pan before baking in the pie shell.  If you don't precook the apples you could end up with a large gap between the top crust and the apples. 

A extra tip when making the pie dough crust use ICE cold water.  It keeps the fat from blending easily with the flour.  The less you blend the dough the flakier the crust. I prefer placing all my ingredients in the freezer after measuring out the dry ingredients (salt and flour) into a freezer bag.  In a separate bowl cool the fats (butter or shortening).  I cool all ingredients separately for 30 minutes before blending together as usual.

While baking your pies and the crust starts to darker long before the pie will be done. Make a ring around the outside edges of your pie with tinfoil.

To get that extra golden look to your crusts lightly brush the crusts with a egg wash.  Sprinkle with sugar to give it extra crunch.

Egg wash for browning baked goods. 1 egg whipped with 1TB water.  Brush on baked goods lightly to get a golden sheen.  Then bake as usual.  This will even work well on rolls.