Baboon Achievers, Family, Food, home, Kids, Uncategorized

Frenzy of Pie

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It’s a pie trifecta here (hope I’m using that correctly).  Stuck in the house, a little blue (working at home is not growing on me yet) and have lots of pie ingredients hanging around.

Last weekend I made a blueberry pie for YA and a pear croustade (fancy way to say pears in puff pastry).  Then a couple of days ago, a blender lemon pie (SO easy).  Yesterday I made a peanut butter cream cheese whipped cream Reese’s pie… not sure what the actual name is.  Over the weekend, there is apple crumble to be made and I might make another of the blender lemon (it went fast and I still have lemons).  My neighbors on either side are benefitting from this frenzy.

Of course, I’m also doing other dishes for comfort.  Made a pizza on Monday, roasted cauliflower on Wednesday, hash brown parmesan “cups” last night.  YA has requested tomato soup… I still have tomatoes in the freezer from last summer so that’s do-able.  Might have to make a quick run to the store for onions and garlic.  I think I might do ramen pad thai too.

I know we’ve talked about comfort food before, but anything you’re craving this week?

68 thoughts on “Frenzy of Pie”

  1. Naturally I try to accommodate cravings but I’m also trying to minimize trips to the store for ingredients I’m missing, so meal planning involves a mental inventory of what we have on hand. We have plenty, so that’s in no way spartan, but it’s more calculated than usual. Last night I made a big stir-fry to use up odds and ends of fresh produce—broccoli, snow peas, carrots, green pepper, celery, onion and garlic.

    Last week I made a batch of my rice pudding. Usually I only make that around the Christmas holidays, not because it’s not crave-worthy but because it’s too much so. Custardy and delicious, it was gone by the next day and we can’t be eating like that all the time.

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    1. I haven’t made it for awhile, but my mom used to cook a simple version of rice pudding on the stovetop for breakfast. Just white rice cooked in milk with sugar, then served hot with cold milk and cinnamon. No eggs, no baking. I’ll have to do that soon.

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      1. I have never made rice putting in my life-one of those things that I didn’t have growing up so I never really think about. But I’m thinking about it now!

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        3. What’s really sad about this is that I actually looked that paragraph over before I hit Send. And the “t”s got right by me.

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        5. I actually think voice recognition is very interesting. It gives me a great appreciation for the human brain, because the part of the machine that is listening must have some of the same mechanics as our ears but the translation from what it heard messes up at a much higher rate than our ear/brain connection.

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        7. First of all, notes:

          I make this in a commercial stoneware bowl that I’ve had for over fifty years. I don’t know the exact capacity, but it has a 9-inch diameter at the top and is just the right size for the recipe.

          We use short grain Japanese rice because that’s our preferred rice, but my mother used to make it with regular American rice and that was OK too. The Japanese rice is chewier and stickier. The 1 cup listed in the ingredients is the precooked amount.

          I’ve been using 2% milk. Whole milk would be even richer but I wouldn’t expect skim to be very good.

          The recipe calls for one half cup raisins but I usually just throw in a handful (probably more than 1/2 cup).

          INGREDIENTS

          1 cup rice
          5 eggs
          3/4 cup sugar
          3 cups milk
          1/2 cup raisins
          1/2 tsp salt
          1 tsp vanilla
          1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
          1/2 tsp cinnamon
          1/4 tsp nutmeg

          Preheat oven to 375

          Cook the rice.
          In bowl suitable for the oven, beat together the eggs and the sugar.
          Add the other ingredients to the egg and sugar mixture, stirring to separate the clumps of rice and adding the cinnamon and nutmeg last.
          Put bowl in shallow pan of water.

          Bake for 1 hour.

          Allow to at least partially cool before you start eating it if you can.

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        12. i looked after and missed it

          bill what’s the recipe
          linda’s may get a try but your is more intriguing
          i’ll bet i can make mine last past the end of the day

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        13. i just bought the japanese rice for sushi and it’s nice
          the sushi turned out well and the remaining rice has been a nice change up vs the other rices i use

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        15. Not sure I understand your directions, Bill. What do you mean by “cook the rice”? Do you boil the rice (in water? milk?) before you mix it with the eggs etc.?

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        16. Just cook the rice separately. I use a rice cooker, so that’s just a matter of adding rice and water and pushing the button. The rice is cooked when it goes in the milk/egg mixture.

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        17. This rice pudding recipe, incidentally, is older than I am and it’s the same one my grandmother, who had a Swedish-born father, made for my grandfather, who was also Swedish born. I know there are different opinions about rice pudding and the stuff Ingebretsen’s sells ready made is not custardy like this but, at least in our family, it passes for authentic.

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        19. Kind of funny in a way isn’t it? Since most people associate rice pudding with simplicity and ease.

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  2. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    I have had a yen for tuna casserole, which I have not had for years. A friend stocked our fridge with necessities while we returned to MN, but my larder is incomplete after 3 mos away. I have been going to the store at 7 am during “Old Lady” hours when the store is empty of both customers and TP. Now I am cooking again so I am getting a list together for a mega trip tomorrow morning, then I will refrain from going as much as possible. It has taken awhile to make the shift to shopping ahead for weeks at a time.

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    1. Our microwave broke before we left in Dec, so we had to get one yesterday. We ordered it from Target, then just went in the entry to pick it up. It was deserted with people primarily using the pick up services. That felt safe.

      Later we walked our dogs outside. It was so nice to say hi to neighbors from a distance.

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      1. best buy went to entry pick up too
        good idea
        i had to go into cub yesterday and it’s odd keeping your distance and handling cash

        walking by people dropped in the aisle puts you within the 6’ circle

        my daughters came home yesterday and want to keep their distance but my wife just wants to be by them.i had to be the ass last night who told my wife that sitting in the bed at my daughter feet is not 6 feet it’s 3 1/2

        i can get a chair and let you sit in there 6 feet away but i can’t ignore and regrets are not good to look back at

        pizza, chex mix kind of kibble in bowls is popping up around our house, more popcorn. (i was really disappointed when sams discontinued the50# bags of uncooked popcorn that world last 6 months at my house and it was hard to find a secondary source. restaurant depot turned out to be the answer with 4 options at least to choose from. last choice was simply wrong kernel husks in your teeth and throat are an issue
        only 15-20 left to go
        maybe i can carmel corn it ala rice pudding to get it gone
        by the way restaurant depot is amazing but you need a business llc or something to get a membership
        cheese $2 a pound jars of dressings and sauces by the gallon for unbelievable reasonable prices
        maybe a trail shopping list for the group would be a good idea.
        giant cans of olives and jalapeños are ok if divided by 3 or 4 instead of having 4 tupperwares of black olives to deal with

        ooohhh olive salad is a favorite
        mayo and olives on bread or lettuce bed
        easy peasy and ummmm

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    2. YA and I are heading out to the grocery store in a few minutes. Hopefully it will go well. One of the positive affects of our quarantine is that YA is much more interested in talking to me and spending time with me. She even suggested that tonight we watch Little Women together since it will be on demand on our TV.

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  3. I have been craving lots of food since Wednesday when I started on my clear liquids diet due to diverticulitis. I had some fish stew yesterday, and I tolerated it pretty well. I will make chili today at Friend’s house.

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  6. I have a well-stocked larder, and I welcome the opportunity to use some of this stuff. Dried beans of many kinds, several kinds of lentils, multiple grains, including wild rice, all sorts of pasta. The freezer is pretty full, too.

    Because of my current vision issues, I’ve opted for simple one pot meals lately, and am enjoying dishes such as pasta e ceci, linguine with tuna and walnuts, and soups of various kinds. Last night I made a gingery pork and bok choy soup, and it was wonderful. Hans is no fan of fish, but he loves the linguine with tuna.

    Yesterday Hans flew to Tuscon, where he met up with our friends Bill and Charlotte late last night. They had driven up from their winter home in Kino, Mexico, but because of age and health issues, they can’t drive the distance from Tuscon to here, so Hans is their chauffeur. I expect them to be home tomorrow, probably late in the day. At the moment, I’m contemplating what to cook that I can just hand off to Bill and Charlotte to reheat at home. Any ideas?

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        1. I coincidentally made it for dinner last night. Lacking bok choy, I used spinach and we used udon for the noodles. It’s a keeper. Next time I make it, I’m thinking I might add a ramen-style soft boiled egg.

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  7. Well, WordPress ate my earlier comment. Clearly it needed comfort food.

    I participate in a meat CSA – friends in Stillwater have a small farm raising beef and pork. They also cooperate with another farm in Hugo that raises chickens. It makes me feel a whole lot better that the animals that are my dinner had a good life before they became my meal. This means I generally have a well-stocked freezer, and when it’s time to get my next share later this week, they will come and put my goodies in a cooler on my steps so we can keep appropriate distances. I know not everyone here is a meat eater – and I’m generally not a huge fan of beef – but I gotta say the beef is really tasty. Apparently the magic for me is lovingly raised Highland cattle (the shaggy ones) who are fed spent grains from the local breweries and distilleries. Today I will roast a chicken – and tomorrow it will become soup (along with some vegetables in my freezer that need to get used up). When we are done with that there is some ground beef destined to become extra tasty tacos.

    Working from home has not really afforded me with extra time (yet) for projects around the house – though there are plenty I could tackle. What it has done is made me realize how much walking I get in a “regular” day just moving from meeting to meeting – and how little I get now that moving to the next meeting means clicking on a different link. I have been trying to get out for a walk in the neighborhood most days – and the dogs make sure I am standing up periodically to let them outside. I have been fighting the urge to bake, because if I bake, then I have baked goods. And if I have baked goods, I could easily put on a COVID fifteen, even with walks in the neighborhood…

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      1. Heh, yep. And every time the dogs want to go out, it means a trip through the kitchen. Kind of need blinders for that… (I have actually taken to dancing around a bit while the dogs are out to get in a little extra movement in the day. It probably looks ridiculous – good thing none of the neighbors can see me.)

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  9. i made my potato pancakes yesterday morning and they were/are wonderful
    but a day of nibbling and dipping in apple sauce makes me feel like i am a tank of lard. my apple and peanut butter side bar distraction works ok but doesn’t work magic
    my tea consumption is at 4 pots a day as my ass in the chair time allows for it to happen.
    popcorn with butter and parmasian is good but should not be allowed to be placed strategically in large bowls in multiple locations around the living room kitchen level. 1 cup of popcorn + 1 stick of butter = 2 giant bowls of corn and 1 1/2 days of munchies
    a bag of chips lasts a long time until it gets opened then voila it vanishes. not right away but little by little ( i go check it often so i can attest) it mystically disappears from right inside the bag just small quantities at a time. by the end of the day only the bag remains

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  10. I soaked some chickpeas overnight, and they are now simmering on the stove. I’ve decided to make a spiced chickpea stew with kale, coconut and turmeric. I have never tried this recipe before, but I happen to have on hand everything I need, so I’ll give it whirl since time is of no concern at the moment.

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    1. my wife who cooks nothing ever…. made a chick pea salad ala chicken salad with various veggies minced and chickpeas minced and stir up the mayo and bam ….decent

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  11. I am watching the sun rise, then heading out to the store. It is so nice to know the sun rises during a national health crisis. If anyone else on the Trail sees, there is a pattern available for hand sewn medical masks. I will make this my project for the duration of this slice of life to keep up my spirits by contributing.

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  13. Turned on TV to movie. Two people were talking to each other and my mind automatically said, “No, back up. don’t stand so close.”

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  14. Evening-

    Yesterday morning I woke and thought to myself ‘We don’t have enough meat’. Went to the local butcher shop; it’s a small store and there was 12 people in there. May have encroached each other a bit, but I’ve got meat now.

    Last night was pizza night.
    Tonight will be chicken and pork shiskabobs from the butcher shop. Beyond that, haven’t had much actual comfort foods. Or anything out of the ordinary.

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  16. When I was a kid, there was a tent at the county fair (maybe sponsored by the local Greek community) they served pork-ka-bobs with a piece of bread stuck on the end and they were THE. BEST. things I have ever had.
    Over the years the spices changed a bit or maybe my taste buds changed, and they didn’t live up to my memories.
    But the ones we get from the butcher shop, while missing the bread (I wonder if it had garlic butter on it or oil or something) are pretty darn Close.

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    1. Welcome to the trail. I only have all of these ingredients because I did a big shopping for Pi Day right before everyone started hitting the stores to stock up.

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