The Road Home

Birthday Pie: a week late

Last Sunday was my birthday and it was a wonderful day, but with all of the bug stuff happening, baking and cooking was not top of my list.

BUT, I had seen this pie about a week before my birthday:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDtZz3tlxyM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I immediately bought a subscription to Bake from Scratch Magazine .

It is a gorgeous magazine full of wonderful recipes including Erin Jeanne McDowell’s Banana Coconut Cream Pie from her book:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDv7Fi_lVXk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I have the book on pre-order :)

Late May, I happened on a YouTube video from Erin’s series for Food52.com called “Bake it up a Notch”. The video I watched was how to make puff pastry and it included both traditional puff pastry and a fast, easy “rough puff” which takes about 10 minutes to put together and after an hour in the refrigerator is ready to use. I had so much fun and so much success with the rough puff! Erin is fun and funny as well as a great teacher of “how to” do some complex baking things. She always includes a section on “how to fix what went wrong and/or why something can go wrong”. AND, she spends time on encouraging observation, i.e. yes, follow the recipe, but also pay attention to look/feel/smell.

My next EJM baking success was biscuits. Biscuits have been my baking nemesis! But this video, released on Father’s Day, of Erin and her Dad making biscuits … Erin in New Jersey and her Dad in Kansas … so helpful and now I make both the sky high traditional biscuits and drop biscuits whenever I want. Both freeze well (pre-bake) so it is also fun to have some in the freezer, ready to pop in the oven.

All of the above to say that I am now a HUGE Erin Jeanne McDowell fan! Aside from being an excellent baking teacher, her passion for food and being in the kitchen and just her general joie de vivre (exuberant enjoyment of life) are just what I want right now!

Back to Birthday Pie!!

I also did not have all the ingredients I needed for the pie … on my birthday and as I’ve been grocery shopping every 2-3 weeks vs every week, I find I really don’t WANT to run to the grocery on a non-shopping week.

But, this week was my week for grocery so I got the few things I didn’t have … except, I forgot Nilla Wafer cookies … RATS. I looked for a recipe to make my own and wow – they are easy and I had everything needed and in a happy coincidence the wafers take 3 egg whites and the coconut custard for the pie takes 3 egg yolks … so happy, happy, no leftover whites or yolks to use up in whatever.

The wafers:

The only tricky thing – for me – is that the cookies are piped. I have tips and pastry bags but I have not done a lot of piping. I need more practice and also to follow the recipe directions of leaving a lot of space because the cookies spread. However, as they were going to be buried in custard and some crushed over the bananas … appearance was not an issues. AND they are SO good: crispy, light, vanilla wafer cookies

I used Erin’s “All buttah” pie crust recipe and for this pie, it includes some toasted coconut.

The coconut custard in the making … crust and wafers awaiting.

Half of the custard topped with vanilla wafers…

Top with the remaining custard and into the refrigerator for 4 long hours! Long because it smelled so very good!

Finally! The custard gets topped with banana, crushed wafers, whipped cream and then some bits of banana and coconut. Mine is not nearly as pretty as Erin’s, but it is delicious.

Birthday Pie!!

Wine o’clock on the front porch

So.

We all had a very full Saturday!

Auggie: out and about on cat business, checking in for food and short naps

Emmett: Sprinkler, fetch games, supervising me :)

Me: a baking project to be shared tomorrow!! And I made a few more masks for myself and hemmed some curtains. And… the sprinklers don’t turn themselves on and the toys don’t throw themselves, i.e. I was outside playing some myself. Oh … and this weekend’s problem … leak under the kitchen sink. Plumber scheduled for Tuesday. Meanwhile dishes are being washed in a dishpan which means many trips to toss dishwater. Who needs a gym???

5:45 ish … after Emmett had his supper and we had a post supper walk … wine o’clock while I think about what to have for my supper.

See you tomorrow with some baking fun :) !!

A good week

Here we are: Friday night, 2/3 of the way to Autumnal Equinox and NOAA says the worst of the summer heat is behind us (in NW Montana) – YEA!

Thursday was beautifully cool after a warm, muggy start that included some welcome showers … then a cool front with drier air and I never had to turn on the A/C. This, after 4 days of mid-90’s daytime and upper 60’s overnight … not my favorite!

The Jeep had a long overdue service including it’s Air Conditioning and even though it was a pleasant 70F on Thursday, WOW – great to have excellent cooling as I drove through the valley to pick up this week’s vegetables from the farm.

Today, Friday, although it did get up to 85F, it started very cool so took all day to heat up. There was a nice breeze, so between bouts of work, we all got outside.

A good week.

Wednesday catch up

A quick catch up.

I think no bedbugs. This based on finding nothing in my steam clean frenzy AND nothing in the traps that have been in place for 2 nights.

Based on reading/research, info from friends/neighbors/countrymen … my current thinking is that there is something in the woods that bit me. And then, a reaction (hives) to those bites.

There are definitely bites and also welts that do not seem to be bites.

I’m taking antihistamines late afternoon and overnight … schedule because I have only Benadryl which knocks me for a loop and the Jeep was at service so I could not get an alternative.

BUT, I have the Jeep back and and now a hopefully non-drowsy alternative.

Even so, the afternoon/night time antihistamine dose has helped. Also, I am walking in the woods in tall boots, long pants, long sleeved shirt.

Onward!

Bergamot … or as I call it, the court jester flower.

A beautiful bake and windowsill herbs.

Lovely stuff.

Happy Wednesday!!

More birthday fun

First, thank you to all who commented and emailed such lovely birthday wishes! Always appreciated, but especially now!!

And even the emails from companies for whom I am a client. Several discount codes which I might take advantage of, but also some special wishes:

A lovely watercolor image from my Medicare Part C provider. And there is a story.

Last Fall, I was approaching my Jeep after grocery shopping and a man of my vintage (maybe a bit more), asked me about the Jeep. We chatted and somehow ended up on health insurance and Medicare. He gave me the name of his Part C representative with HIGH recommendation. Sarah, returned my calls immediately and ultimately, I went with her company, Humana, for my Part C. Sarah also guided me through the Medicare signup and we hope to meet for a cuppa when it is safe. I owe “Bob from the grocery parking lot” but that is as much as I know about him except that Sarah agrees with me that he is a thoughtful, sweet, gentleman!

Then… hopefully the below link works. I am not sure how long these links stay live. This is a JibJab video customized with Auggie and Emmett headshots for my birthday e-video-card. I LOVE it! (it might not look like a link, but click on the text below.

From my “boss” at my primary client …

Meanwhile, bedbugs or woods bugs or hives???? I have received much advice as well as my neighbor, a retired pharmacy tech who has seen a lot … she retrieved me from dropping off the Jeep for service. We talked, she looked at the welts … a new thought. I dunno. I have looked at many internet photos.

BUT. The bedbug traps arrived today and they are installed so we’ll see tonight.

My hand in the photo for size reference. The traps are largish to accomodate bed legs of various sizes. There is some slippery stuff in the base and the idea is that bedbugs, that do not fly or jump, will become enmired in whatever and then we will know!

We are ready. All 4 legs of my bed are set in the traps to see what we can see.

Holy COW! I never, ever thought that I would have this kind of mystery. I am not sure what to wish for. I’d love if there were no critter infestation in my house, but if a woods thing … no resolution until a killing frost. And if hives … why and from what?

***Note the next morning 8/18 … no bugs in traps. I think I am happy about that.

But to end on a fun note. If you watched the birthday e-video-card and liked it, here is an Apple video that I continually laugh at. The video is a kind of subliminal promo for Apple OS collaborating tools, but if you have paid attention to current “Zoom meeting” stuff re the whole Covid-19 work from home paradigm … anyway, it is hilarious if you have some context.