Monday, August 19, 2013

Deadline Dessert! Coconut Custard Pie

We've been a bunch of busy writers here! Just go back to Ruthy's post here or Mindy's post here to see what I mean!

And yes, here in the midwest, I'm working on a deadline, too!

(But don't we love deadlines, because that means another book is coming out!)

But the negative aspect of deadlines is that our families get the short end of the stick - at least temporarily.

We end up serving box macaroni and cheese, or pizza, or even the dreaded "you guys are on your own tonight!"

Over the weekend, with my new story down to the proof-reading stage (and not due until tomorrow!), I decided to treat my family with pie. Delicious, scrumptious...and EASY pie. I'm not kidding. It took longer to take the pictures for this recipe that it did to put it together.

Here it is: Coconut Custard Pie

Ingredients: 

2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose flour (or bisquick)
3/4 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, softened

Now, here's the hard part (just kidding).

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a 9 inch greased pie plate.



Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°, or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.


This is one of those pies that makes its own crust, kind of like a clafouti, or those "impossible Bisquick" pies that were so popular years ago.




Now that the pie is all done (and enjoyed by my family), let me tell you about this new story!

This is my "Ruthy story". I'd love to have a Tina, Debbie, Julie, Missy, Myra, Sandra, Glynna, Cara Lynn, Pam, Janet, and Audra story someday (those are the Seekers of Seekerville), but their names don't really fit in an Amish historical. (Did anyone notice I left out Mary? She may show up some day). 

But Ruthy? An excellent name for an Amish girl. Especially one who loves children.

It's a good thing she loves children, because she's been hired by Levi Zook to be his housekeeper.


You remember Levi Zook, right? He's the guy who wanted to marry Ellie in "The Prodigal Son Returns", and if you remember right, he has ten children.

A nice guy, for sure, but he just can't find a wife to take the place of his dear Salome who passed away last year, in the fall of 1935. And his children need a mother...until then, Ruthy will be a good substitute.

But will Ruthy be able to handle ten children? And what about the mess she left behind in Lancaster County?

I love this story, and I hope you will, too! I don't have a release date yet, but I'll keep you posted!


And, of course, here is a picture of poor Thatcher, post surgery.


He didn't have to wear the cone of shame for long...and by the next day, we couldn't tell he had even had surgery.

It's hard to keep a good man (or dog) down, right?




14 comments:

  1. 10 kids I'd run for the hills..don't care how hunky he looks!
    cute litte puppy! are you gonna do agility with him? I know someone who does a lot of agility and has a corgi and one of those tiny greyhounds - italian? the little dog is better but too sensitive - she prefers corgis and her hubby even got a corgi so he could do it along with her. I debated doing it with my shepherd when she was 6 or 7 (kinda old even then) but figured my energy wasn't there and I'd probably be the one messing up.
    pie sounds good - working night shift and hungry!
    Susanna

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    1. I'd like to do agility with Thatcher. He loved the taste of it in puppy preschool, and it would be good for both of us - exercise for me, and somewhere to channel his energy!

      Night shift. Ugh. But it's temporary, right?

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    2. every 2 weeks I switch shifts so it's temporary but recurring
      Susanna

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  2. Yay! The book sounds like a winner.

    I am a total coconut fan. And I can sub in coconut flour.

    Thanks, Julie

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    1. I thought you'd be able to adapt this one, Julie :)

      And it's so quick and easy!

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  3. Wow, that pie looks great. I can't believe how easy it looks. Yum.

    Poor Thatcher looks a tad betrayed, don't you think? Probably more traumatized by the cone of shame than the operation itself. LOL.

    Poor Ruthy -- 10 children???? You do realize that if the romance works out and they get married there will be more, right? That's darn right scary!

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    Replies
    1. Ha ha! I have a scene in the story where Levi is thinking about getting married again...his grandfather had married twice, and had twelve children with his second wife. The thought of that shakes him up a bit....

      And you're right about Thatcher - the cone of shame was the worst part about the whole ordeal.

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  4. YUMMM!!!! I want to make this. Trying to remember if we have coconut in the pantry...

    Poor little Thatcher! He looks so precious, though. What a sweet puppy. I want one!

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  5. Jan, did you mean all-purpose flour? Because I thought Bisquick had all the stuff in it that self-rising has.

    I'm asking because I think all-purpose is all I have right now.

    Dang. It just hit me that I may have to use soy milk. The regular milk is gone.

    And again, this is all riding on whether I have coconut in stock. I'm already days past my regular grocery day. :)

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    1. Yes, regular all-purpose flour! I didn't try it with the Bisquick, but I'm sure the crust would be quite different. With the flour, it turns out like a pie crust, but only on the bottom.

      And yes, Missy, it sounds like it's time for a grocery run!

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  6. Jan, you had me at coconut custard. This is comfort food to me. And I can't wait to try this recipe. YUM!

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    Replies
    1. shhh...don't tell anyone, but I had a piece for breakfast.

      Why not? Eggs, milk, coconut...better than a donut, right?

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  7. The pie looks scrumptious! I'm glad your doggie is better. I wonder if I could replace the sugar with Splenda?

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