Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Ah, Spring at Last!

It finally feels like SPRING!  Not that the winter was so terrible.  We had hardly any snow.  There were no ice storms.  The temperatures weren't anything to get excited about.  But winter in central Indiana isn't pretty.

Winters here are an ugly dark gray/brown, wet, and cold, with an occasional frigid day or week.  Snow makes things look bright and cheery for a bit, then it melts in the late afternoon and refreezes at night.  Or it rains during the day and freezes overnight.  Or there's freezing rain.  Or the ever-popular "wintry mix."  UGH.

Mostly it's hypothermia weather - wet and cold-ish.

Then there's the precursor to spring - rain and wind and mud - oh my!  Still not pretty.

But this past week - suddenly SPRING!  The grass glows with the color of a green crayon. Dandelions and violets have invaded the yard!  Daffodils and tulips bloom in their beds!  Peonies, day lilies, and hostas poke up from the ground!  Asparagus begs to be cut in the garden!  Fuzzy ducklings and goslings block traffic at the marina!  Tree frogs sing in the evening!  Magnolia, dogwood, and redbud trees bloom in a riot of magenta, pink, and white!  All at once!

Nature has had enough of winter, and as my dad would say, "Spring has sprung!"  

Friday, April 7, 2017

Hoosier Pie, Revisited

It has been pointed out to me that in my excitement to write about yummy Hoosier Pie I thoughtlessly neglected to provide the magic recipe!  (It has been suggested that it was intentional, to see just exactly how many people actually read this blog - HA!)

So here it is, in all its glory.  The only thing I changed from the original recipe is the addition of nutmeg.  I used my trusty Sunbeam Heritage stand mixer, which made it super easy to make the filling nice and smooth.

If you're curious about the history of Sugar Cream Pie, there's some interesting information here and here.  




OLD FASHIONED CREAM PIE

1 cup sugar
scant 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
9" pie crust, unbaked

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Whisk or sift together the dry ingredients.  Stir in half of the cream to make a thick paste.  Stir until very smooth.  Add the remaining cream, then beat lightly, again until very smooth.  Stir in the vanilla.  Pour into the unbaked pie crust.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, then dot with butter.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 45 minutes.  Let it cool on a wire rack about 15-20 minutes before cutting.
      


Sunday, April 2, 2017

Hoosier Pie

Indiana has had an official state pie - sugar cream - since 2009.  I had it for the first time sometime in the 1970s - I think Christmas or New Year's Eve.

It.  Was.  Amazing.

But all the sugar cream pies I've had since have been disappointing - pale, bland, heavy, and tasteless.

Until today.

I got a copy of the recipe of that long ago first sugar cream pie, and it has quite a lineage.  My sister had the recipe, given to her by her mother-in-law, and given to her by her mother.

Oh my.  It's just as I remembered it - rich and sweet and flavored with vanilla, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Talk about a sugar rush!

It's not a custard pie - no eggs.  It's closer to pecan pie in texture, but not really the same.  It's just...itself.  I believe it will have to make an appearance this Thanksgiving...

Anyway, I used to think having an official state pie (or rock, or insect, for that matter) was frivolous at best, but frivolous or not, that's a mighty fine pie!  Thanks, oh sister of mine, and thanks, Grandmother Scheidler!