Friends to the Rescue! Impossible Pie and Dried Apple Snacks

Hello, everybody!

 Changes are afoot in the cafe! Oooh, I sure miss seeing my pretty books up there on top but maybe the page will load faster for all our visitors, now. Half the time I can't really see the food, so I'm just commenting blind. But I today DID see that Ruthy and the Seekers (who run this blog, too) have a collection out.

Happy release day! I'll just post that below, with a link, in case anybody hasn't ordered it yet. I know I did, and probably all of us working here in the cafe. But maybe there's a visitor today who didn't? Raise your hands! I know you're out there. 2.99... really, what is that? A latte? And look at all the book goodness you get! I'm sure the stories are fabulous!

 So, this little crooked picture is of a plant called a "dancing dolphin". Our treasured friend Eleanor loved this plant. :) It blooms about once a year. Anyway, when Eleanor passed away, we inherited the plant and this is one of the starts that is now blooming. (We've grown starts continually for two years. Every time one gets big enough, we pass it on. We're spreading the Eleanor love!)

I blogged about Impossible Pie here. 

 Anyway, on to the meat of this post. (Actually, not meat. Just pie.) I'd completely lost track of the days and thought it was Thursday. Which, really, is pretty much like Wednesday and very much like Friday... except it's hubby's birthday!!
  So, at ten this morning, my beautiful friend Barbara came over with a pie for my husband. I was a little confused. I'll always accept pie, no question, but why today? Why Thursday? Until I saw the card and realized...

With some strawberry sauce.

 OH MY WORD. The love of my life is turning forty seven! He's survived almost twenty years with me and keeps his sanity with six kids running through the house. (Ignore the fact he doesn't actually like to celebrate his birthday. It's not a custom he grew up with and thinks it's a little weird how Americans love birthdays. Just ignore all that. We love birthdays!!)

 She also brought dried apples. She makes them by slicing very thin and sprinkling with Jello and then putting them in the dehydrator. Isn't that clever? Flavored dried apples!

These are orange and strawberry. We saved hubby some, I promise.
 So, my friend saved me from completely forgetting my beloved's birthday even though we're all packed for a family reunion tomorrow, have baseball games scheduled in the morning, and hit all the dental appointments this week AND got the puppy neutered. Hubby wouldn't have been offended at being forgotten but I'm so tickled that Barbara reminded me... and she did it with pie! I can't think of a better or sweeter reminder. That's what friends are for!
  Okay, we're off to celebrate with a fancy dinner. And maybe a movie, if he can find something he wants to see. He's like me, sort of a picky movie watcher, but we'll see what happens.
  Until next time! (And don't forget to order those Seeker books!!)

Impossible Pie!

Hello, everybody! I'm baaaaaack! I've got a recipe my sister told me about. I wasn't too thrilled about the title because I already have enough trouble with the POSSIBLE recipes. But, I decided to give it a whirl.

 Photo credit: allrecipes.com

Here's the recipe I used at allrecipes. I should have read the reviews first, because after I got started, I read that almost everyone who was thrilled with the pie added MORE coconut and FEWER eggs. But it turned out all right.

(Frankenstein, Universal Studios, 1931)

Before everyone who is dieting grabs their pitchforks, lights the bonfire, and ties me to the stake- let me just say this pie is supposed to be healthy. Wait, that's not right. It's supposed to be low calories. No... wait, still not it. I think the deal is that the sugar and the protein are balanced, and therefore your body doesn't grab all the sugar and run wild with it. (Did I get that right, Susie?)

  The original recipe is:
 2 cups milk
1 cup coconut
4 eggs
6 TBS margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg

But you know me (or you should by now) and I made a few changes... not because I'm overly confident in the kitchen and think I know better, but because I didn't have nutmeg or vanilla. (I KNOW! What on earth happened in my pantry?? The vanilla and nutmeg sprites came by and cleaned me out.)

 So, I substituted a little cinnamon for the nutmeg and maple for the vanilla. (Hey, my options were cloves and peppermint.)  You throw all these ingredients into the blender. Really, just lob them in.  Hit the button. Then pour it into the pie pan.
                                       

(Good heavens. This is the point where I almost gave up. Two pans? Three? Down the drain?)

 I doubled the recipe because I'm deep-down an optimistic person and if it's a winning recipe, I wan there to be TWO delicious pies! Unfortunately, as I was pouring the mix into the pans, I started thinking about those eggs. Don't eggs fluff up? Won't these spill over? Am I dooming my nice, clean oven? I put them in, put a cookie sheet underneath (WHERE ARE THE COOKIE SHEETS?) and hoped for the best. As usual, I've realized it's Tuesday at the very end of Tuesday, specifically coming back from the library where I was working on edits.

 So, I couldn't wait around to see if the pies were going to go all Mt. Vesuvius on my oven. I had little kids to put in bed, since it was already an hour past their bedtime.
There... Done. Small people tucked in. Now for the great "pie watch".
While we wait, we can just chat. Pull up a chair, I'll make some coffee. We can talk about... life.
  Is it just me, or do you guys ever get the sense that we're all just a few steps behind? (Or for me, a whole day behind.) I just read an article where a psychologist and a physicist declared we were actually living in the past, perpetually, with no chance of escape. How? You see, we  process the world around us a fraction of a second after something has happened, so we never do live in the present... ever.
 It made me feel better. I will NEVER CATCH UP so I'm just going to stop trying! I love science.

Speaking of other wonderful things, don't you love this art by Kristy Zink? I gave away a picture like this on my blog, and she sent me one, too! I think these Austen girls are soooo cute! Now I have to find the perfect frame!

Well, that went fast. Maybe because we got lost on etsy... But the oven timer went off and I peeked... afraid of what I would see! Some reviews said it took almost 2 hours to cook, and they were still liquid in the center. Mine look... not too bad! I think I'll take them out to cool. And miracle, the oven did not get the Mt. Vesuvius treatment!

But getting it out of the pan proved difficult, even after waiting about half an hour. I think this is one of those dishes where we need to distract the guests with a pretty tea cup or two.

All in all, definitely not an "Impossible Pie" in terms of difficulty and it was delicious tasting... but not great for presentation. I would give it a 5 if there was a Pie scale universally used in the cooking world.
  So, I say if you're ever in the mood to make a pie in a blender, this here's your recipe! Or, if you're weighing carbs against sugar, this is a good way to go. Otherwise, a fruit pie, a flan, or even a coconut pie might be a better choice.
 Maybe it will be better after a night in the fridge? I'll let you know after I have a piece for breakfast!
Until next time!