Ross Square Pie Champion

Dangit! Oops I mean Yay me! Made a tremendous mixed-berry pie yesterday!!!!! (The dangit is 'cause I just realized I completely forgot to take a picture of it when it was still whole - I might go ahead even tho SOMEONE has already eaten 2/3 of it! -- one way in which a relationship would be handy - keeping me from being a complete glutton....)

Anyway it rocks. I haven't made a pie crust from scratch since 9th grade and it is delish!!! Very very flaky and completely cooked, not gooey in the slightest. It is a little thin but very good. Also on the filling I underestimated a bit so it's only about 2/3 as thick as your standard pie but I don't care.

I of course used my incredibly yummy and dependable-to-a-fault Better Homes cookbook for the crust recipe - as usual it was great. On the filling I changed a little what they said because it had dawned on me by then that I didn't have enough filling for the recipe.

The next one is going to be blueberry - I still have my last batch of frozen ones from going picking in Waverly last summer. The mixed-berry one (frozen Kroger berries) was the dress rehearsal; didn't want to risk messing up on the hand-picked berries. (Of course now I just jinxed myself but oh well - knocking wood...)

Giving a test tomorrow and finished some last minute changes this evening and got my copies made here at the office. Also wrote a rec. letter for a former student. Now heading home - crazy! Only at the office for 2.5 hours this whole weekend! Nice break.

Still really not in the mood to go to school tomorrow but as I told Paul on the phone a little bit ago, at least since I'm giving a test I don't have to come in as early as normal. I'll push back the daily apt. departure time from 6h30 to 7h or 7h15. I know... livin' on the edge.

Also made a yummy vegetable soup this afternoon and some of my baked sweet potatoes in olive oil with salt and cracked pepper. I was using up veggies before they crossed the line of putrefaction... In fact the soup was mostly to use up my last bit of cabbage but when I pulled it out it was already too far gone... So the soup is mostly sweet potatoes, onions and lentils with some rice and garbanzos in, too. I did use veg. bouillon tho plus coriander and white pepper (I almost can't make anything w/o white pepper... it is so great!!) Anyway... kind of a basic low-glamour stick-to-your-bones soup but still yummy. Of course I made enough for threshers as usual so I'll be freezing some I guess. Will try to remember to bring in some to school for lunches this week as I'm out of office food for the moment anyway...

OK off home to spend some time with the crazy lovecats before bedtime. We are quite chilly in our wee abode lately (I know, not by real cold-climate-livers' estimates) so there's lots o' cuddlin' goin' on. Also due to the chill, they are much keener about getting fed on time so Sammers has upped the ante on the morning face-pawing ritual. I finally got round to clipping his claws again this week so that at least I don't end up with little mystery scratches on my nose anymore.

Holy Babblefest Batman.
bai