Fruit Pies

Pear Pie (Memaw's)

2 cups cooked pears
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons butter
Double pie crust dough

Line pie pan with half of pie crust dough.
Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Combine pears, lemon juice, lemon rind, and butter.
Sprinkle dry ingredients over pear mixture and combine well.
Pour into unbaked pie shell.
Top with lattice crust and bake at 375 degrees F until bubbly and brown. (about one hour)
To lattice crust, roll remaining dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into long strips. Criss-cross on pie. Flute edges and bake.

Dewberry Pie /Cobbler (Memaw's)

1 quart berries
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 double pie crust mix

Line the bottom of a deep dish pie pan with half the pie crust dough. Let the dough extend up the sides of the pan.
In a saucepan, combine berries, sugar, and butter and bring to a boil. This should be really juicy. If necessary, add a little water. Pour berries into prepared pie pan.
Top with remaining crust. Sprinkle sugar generously over pie crust. Dot with butter. Bake at 375 degrees F until crust is golden brown and crunchy.
Blackberries can be used the same way. If you like a soft crust, use a rich biscuit dough. Bake the same.
Blackberries can be used the same wy. If you like a soft crust, use a rich biscuit dough. Bake the same.

Harvest Moon, Shine On

According to a fellow blogger, tonight is Harvest Moon (if you can see it through the clouds!).

Shine On, Shine On Harvest Moon!

Lemon Cloud Pie and Rain

Raining here this weekend. Yesterday when F and B came out to bush hog around F's property, the skies fell in. F said he always brings rain when he brings out his mowing equipment.

Anyway, our plants and grass are now watered, as well as the pond. It was beginning to look scummy. Last night at dark Flip and I saw a small snake jump from the tall grass along the pond bank and swim off to safety. Needless to say, he need not be afraid of us. We don't like his type one bit.

Let's finish up lemon pies on this dark, warm(still !), and rainy Saturday.

Lemon Cloud Pie (Memaw's)

Pastry--
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1 slightly beaten egg
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sift together flour and salt in mixing bowl.
Cut in shortening until particles are fine.
Combine egg, lemon rind, and lemon juice. Sprinkle over mixture while stirring with fork until dough is moist enough to hold together. (Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water, if necessary.)
Form into ball. Roll out to fit 8 to 9 inch pie pan. Flute edge. Prick generously with fork.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes.

Filling--
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 egg yolks
4 ounces cream cheese
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

Combine sugar, cornstarch, water, lemon rind, lemon juice, and slightly beaten egg yolks in a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat. Stir constantly until thick. Remove from heat.
Add cream cheese and blend well. Cook while preparing meringue.
Beat egg whites until soft mounds form. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into lemon mixture.
Spoon into pie shell. Chill.

Lemon Chess Pie (Memaw's)

2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
Dash salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
Juice and grated rind of 2 lemons
4 eggs, beaten
1 nine inch unbaked pie shell

Combine sugar, flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Add melted butter and milk. Blend well.
Add lemon juice, lemon rind, and eggs, beating until well combined.
Place unbaked pie shell under broiler for 1 minute.
Remove shell from oven and pour in filling.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until slightly firm in center.

Happy Birthday, Holiday Child

Today is my hub's birthday! 

Anyone born at this time of the year is pretty much guaranteed to be a product of the Christmas through NewYears holidays. Even one of my favorite television chefs Mario (with the orange shoes and short pants) discussed that recently on "The Chew."

But the holidays during the Hunger Winter of 1944-45 in The Netherlands was not the abundant  holidays that we celebrate today. In the western part of the small country, sometimes erroneously called Holland, the people were literally starving to death.

It was the winter of boiled tulip bulbs and bread crumbs and potato peelings, since the Nazis had blocked all food and fuel supplies to the Dutch provinces in the west of the country. People in the big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague were lucky if they could scrounge up 500 calories each day of nutritional food.

18,000 people died of starvation during the five long months of starvation! http://www.news.leiden.edu/news/dutch-hunger-winter.html

But my in-laws lived in the east of the country, not far from Germany. According to my mother-in-law, during the Hunger Winter they never had a shortage of food. Farmers in the area still farmed, and they would rather give up their animals to their Dutch neighbors than to the Nazis.

I wish there were Time Machines. I would love to go back in time to just see what life was like in my hub's family during the holidays of 1944-45. Since I can't do that, I can enjoy the product (HeHe) of that time. 

Happy 67th Birthday, Hub.

Four Generations On the World Wide Web

I am sure there are some families with five generations on the Internet every single day, but we have four generations. In fact Memaw has been an avid emailer for almost 14 years! That is saying something, since I know people who are 35 years younger than she is who don't even know how to send an email message or Reply to All when sending private messages! Hard to believe in this day of technology.

This week Memaw started her own blog! Yippee! If I can just get her to type up her Spice Cake recipe on her blogspot, then I can paste it here and finally be finished with the cake section of Just Plain Cooking. (hint hint)

I still have a few more pie recipes to type, but not today. Actually I say "but not today" quite often.

By the way, Memaw's blog is www.RidgesofLeeCounty.blogspot.com/.

I passed the 3,000 th page view last night on this blog. My Pinterest pins number over 11,000 and I am edging toward 300 followers.

The only numbers that are down are our visitors on the apartment for sale in The Netherlands:(((
Check it out before we move out most furnishings.
http://www.funda.nl/koop/deventer/appartement-47327973-ceintuurbaan-8-f17/
More lemon pie recipes later this week.

Too Pinterested!

I know! I know! I spend too much more time Pinteresting than actually doing what I pin.

But yesterday I had to laugh at myself. I bought some 20 year old Southern Living Christmas books with recipes and crafts from my friend who is selling everything to go do mission work in Africa. (doesn't this sound like something from the 1970's??!)

Anyway, I was enjoying my Sunday afternoon and flipping through the books when I subconsciously started pressing the pictures with my finger. LOL! What a goof! I was treating the photos in the book like Pinterest on my iPad! Big disappointment for me.

My hub said to take photos of the photos and then pin them. Guess I will try that.

Lemon Meringue Pie

(We accidentally frightened off 20 ducks from our pond yesterday at dark. :((((()

I have never even tried to make Lemon Meringue Pie. I know this is a delicious recipe, since Memaw did make it during my childhood.

Lemon Meringue Pie (Memaw's)

1 baked 9 inch pie crust
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter or oleo
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
Grated peel of 1 lemon
4 eggs, separated

In a saucepan stir cornstarch, salt, and 1 cup sugar. Stir in water, lemon juice, and grated lemon peel. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and boils. Remove from heat. Best egg yolks and stir in small amount of hot mixture.
Slowly pour yolk mixture into lemon mixture, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping. Return to heat. Cook while stirring constantly until lemon filling is thickened.
Stir in butter.
Pour into pie crust.
Cool 10 minutes and top with meringue.

Meringue

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
Gradually sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over egg whites.
Beat egg whites until they stand in stiff glossy peaks.
Spread over lemon pie.
Bake in hot oven until golden brown.