Birthday Pie

The story is that mom put the blueberry peach pie in the oven. And then her water broke. Thus, pie is mandated for my birthday.

Recipes used for today's potluck picnic.

Easy Oil Pie Crust
The family classic.

Stir together:

2 cups flour (we usually use up to 1/4 of it [1/2 cup] whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

Combine:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

Mix into flour mixture with a fork. Shape into a ball and divide into two balls. Make one ball slightly larger for the bottom crust. Roll out between two sheets of wax paper.

Blueberry Peach Pie

Mom won a blue ribbon at the Gilbert Peach Festival for this one.

Makes one 9” pie.

Mix together the pie filling:

   1 c. blueberries

   3 c. peaches

   1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice

   3/4 c. sugar

   2 Tbsp. tapioca (or 3 Tbsp. flour)

   1/2 tsp. cinnamon

   1/2 tsp. salt

Make Easy Oil Pie Crust (or other pie crust of choice).

Shape into ball and divide into two balls, making one slightly larger for the bottom crust.  Roll out larger ball between two sheets of waxed paper.

Place rolled out dough into pie crust.  Place filling on top.  Dot with 2 Tbsp. margarine. For top crust, roll second ball between used wax paper. Cut into strips for lattice top, or simply place crust on top of filling.

Making the lattice.

Bake at 400º for 10 minutes; then 30-35 minutes at 350º.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Adapted from Vegalicious

Makes one 9” pie.

Mix together the pie filling:

   2 c. rhubarb

   2 c. strawberry

   1/2 c. sugar

   1/2 c. brown sugar

   2 Tbsp. tapioca (or 3 Tbsp. flour)

   1 tsp. cardamom (I used about 5 green pods worth. Cut them open, grind them up with a mortar and pestle. Or a rock and bowl. Same difference.)

   1 tsp. ground ginger

   1/2 tsp. salt

And the rest is the same. I baked them in the oven at the same time.

But I'll copy/paste here to help us all out later.

Make Easy Oil Pie Crust (or other pie crust of choice).

Shape into ball and divide into two balls, making one slightly larger for the bottom crust.  Roll out larger ball between two sheets of waxed paper.

Place rolled out dough into pie crust.  Place filling on top.  Dot with 2 Tbsp. margarine. For top crust, roll second ball between used wax paper. Cut into strips for lattice top, or simply place crust on top of filling.

Bake at 400º for 10 minutes; then 30-35 minutes at 350º.

Edited to add photos taking on a getaway weekend.

Palak Paneer...of a sorts

This evening, I was craving Indian food and palak paneer is my favorite Indian dish. However, I didn't have all of the ingredients and am heading out of town tomorrow. Additionally, this house doesn't have a food processor or a blender (which is even more of a travesty when it comes to pesto but that's another story). Anyways, I just had to make do. Nevertheless, it turned out well, and I'd make it again.

Recipe:
1. Bring water to a boil. Add in however much spinach you feel like eating/having leftover. Boil for 3 minutes. Then, drain. (Note: nothing was measured. Just done by feel/what looked right, so feel free to adjust accordingly.)
2. Pour a couple of teaspoons of olive oil into a saucepan on medium heat. Briefly saute a bit of cumin and tumeric before adding garlic and ginger.
3. Dice a quarter of an onion, and add it to the saucepan. Saute until it becomes translucent.
4. Add a diced eighth of a tomato, some salt and a crushed red chili. Cook for about 3 more minutes.
5. Add in the spinach, and turn the burner down to 2 on the dial. Add a pinch of garam masala. Simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Turn off the stove, and stir in a spoonful of yogurt and some chunks of monterey jack (I warned you that this wasn't real palak paneer).
7. Let sit for a few minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Then, serve over rice.